Tag Archives: Microsoft

Having my latest server build running on the Windows Server platform, there are a number of things that I have found to become a bit more difficult than I am used to. Not only have I switched to Windows as the platform, I am using Storage Spaces. This in itself is a departure from my comfort zone and has presented some scenarios that I wasn't quite prepared for. Like trying to remove a disk that Windows, for some reason, wants to keep.

Nothing has bothered me more about Windows 10 than when I come back to my laptop from the gym to find all the tabs I had open lost to a reboot. Out of the box, Windows 10 will reboot once an update is installed... this leads to me having to scan my browsing history trying to find all the tabs I had open or have Microsoft Office prompt me to restore a file I had open and not saved recently.

While conducting the overview of Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 Essentials, I ran into a few errors while configuring the "Set up Client Restore Service". It seems that no matter what I did, I couldn't get the service to start. Then, a little digging, a quick copy & paste; all was resolved.

Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Microsoft drops another one on my lap. I had already covered what I thought was Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 and its functions and flavors when I learned about Essentials. Essentials is still built for a NAS device, but it adds some fantastic functionality to the platform. Some of these include Active Directory Services, Computer Backups, and IIS.

Windows Storage Server is an exciting development in the storage platform. It can run on nearly any spec'd hardware and allows for simple management of storage appliances across a wide variety of manufacturers. Unlike customized NAS OS from other platforms, you get similar features and functions across an array of manufacturers. It is offered in two flavors, provides simple management, and runs like a champ. Additionally, having familiarity with Windows Server operating systems allows administrators to dive right in.

Microsoft is getting ready for their latest round of patches.

If you have ever removed a hard drive from a system and installed it in another, you may have run into a situation before where you are unable to delete some of the partitions on the drive. This usually happens when you remove the hard drive from a system made by Dell, Acer, Samsung, etc. The partitions you are unable to remove are designated for system restore and the like. Well, getting rid of those partitions is easier than you think. All you need is a command line and a cup of coffee.

Having a large focus on network attached storage here at C.O.D., we get a lot of questions regarding NAS. Lately, we have been getting some questions about NAS and Windows 8. The latest, and one of the more interesting ones, was how to interact with your NAS after moving your Windows 8 profile to a Microsoft connected account. Although there isn't really a clear and easy way to get around having two different profiles, one on NAS and one on Windows, there is hope.

I can't tell you how many times I have told people how important regularly backing up your computer is. I consider this as important as wearing your seat belt, as important as a helmet while riding a motorcycle. If you are not backing up your system, you are asking for trouble. Well, the truth is that not enough people wear their seat belt and I see bikers without helmets all the time. I am willing to bet that at least 1 out of 4 of you reading this aren't backing up your computers.

Hard Drive defragging has become routine for many of us. Through the years there have been a number of utilities that claimed to make accessing data quicker on your hard drives by placing it sequentially on your disk. We have read many guides that suggested that we defrag our hard drives often and even Windows will suggest a schedule for defragmenting your hard drive. This is all well and good for traditional hard drives, but does this apply for SSDs as well?