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    Anyone else having problems with the recently released Toolkit v1.1 ?

    It seems to install with no problem on WHS via Consol/Settings/Add-ins

    However on selecting the Toolkit it causes the Console to crash and exit.

    If I reinstall Toolkit v1 I have no problems selecting the Toolkit. Any ideas?
    Thursday, November 27, 2008 10:01 AM

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    Hi,
    the Toolkit is not meaned to be installed as Add-In as usual, it has it's own installation guideline.
    Best greetings from Germany
    Olaf
    Thursday, November 27, 2008 11:42 AM
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    Olaf Engelke said:

    Hi,
    the Toolkit is not meaned to be installed as Add-In as usual, it has it's own installation guideline.
    Best greetings from Germany
    Olaf

    The WHS_ToolkitManual states :

    To install the add-in by using the Console

    1.   On your home computer, double-click the Windows Home Server tray icon to open the Console.

    2.   Click Settings to open the Windows Home Server Settings page.

    3.   In the navigation pane, click Add-ins, and then, in the details pane, click the Available tab.

    4.   On Windows Home Server Toolkit 1.1, click Install.

    Thursday, November 27, 2008 10:33 PM
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    Daedelus said:

    Olaf Engelke said:

    Hi,
    the Toolkit is not meaned to be installed as Add-In as usual, it has it's own installation guideline.
    Best greetings from Germany
    Olaf

    The WHS_ToolkitManual states :

    To install the add-in by using the Console

    1.   On your home computer, double-click the Windows Home Server tray icon to open the Console.

    2.   Click Settings to open the Windows Home Server Settings page.

    3.   In the navigation pane, click Add-ins, and then, in the details pane, click the Available tab.

    4.   On Windows Home Server Toolkit 1.1, click Install.



    the instructions are on pages 5 and 6 of the v1.1 Manual.


    To copy the Toolkit Add-in file to your home server, click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Home Server Toolkit, and then click Publish Server Add-in.

    If you previously installed the Toolkit Add-in, you must first uninstall it by using the Windows Home Server Console, and then delete the Toolkit.msi file from the Software\Add-ins folder on your home server.

    Important

    Uninstalling the Toolkit Add-in from your home server is not enough. You also must delete the Toolkit.msi file.

    The Toolkit does not copy the add-in file over an existing Toolkit.msi file, and it warns you about this.

    Alternatively, you can use a command prompt or Windows Explorer to copy Toolkit.msi from the %ProgramFiles%\Windows Home Server\Toolkit folder on your home computer to the \\ServerName\Software\Add-Ins shared folder on your home server.

    After you copy Toolkit.msi to your home server, install the add-in using the Console. The Toolkit Add-in adds a Settings page that is called Toolkit 1.1.

    To install the add-in by using the Console

    1.   On your home computer, double-click the Windows Home Server tray icon to open the Console.

    2.   Click Settings to open the Windows Home Server Settings page.

    3.   In the navigation pane, click Add-ins, and then, in the details pane, click the Available tab.

    4.   On Windows Home Server Toolkit 1.1, click Install.

    The Console closes after the add-in is installed. Open the Console again, and then open the Settings page. Verify that Toolkit 1.1 appears in the navigation pane.


    Thank you

    Lara Jones [MSFT] Windows Home Server Team
    Thursday, November 27, 2008 10:46 PM
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    Yes that is the procedure I followed - however the console closes when attempting to access the add-ins when Toolkit 1.1 has been installed.  
    Thursday, November 27, 2008 10:57 PM
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    Daedelus said:

    Yes that is the procedure I followed - however the console closes when attempting to access the add-ins when Toolkit 1.1 has been installed.  


    Did you have v1.0 installed before?  If so, did you uninstall it first?
    Thursday, November 27, 2008 11:23 PM
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    Daedelus said:

    Yes that is the procedure I followed - however the console closes when attempting to access the add-ins when Toolkit 1.1 has been installed.  



    Okay, thanks

    If you RDP (Remote Desktop) into the server and check the event logs, do they provide any information?

    To RDP:

    1. Start>run>mstsc.exe
    2. Enter your servername

    You will need to log in with administrator and the admin (WHS) password

    Once you are logged in, be very careful because this is the administrator desktop.

    1. Go Start> my computer> right click and select "manage"
    2. Expand the event viewer
    3. Select the system log
    4. You can filter the log for errors by selecting "View">"Filter" and then unchecking everything but Error and Failure audit.
    5. Do this for the System log, Application log and HomeServer log.

    Also Save these logs as .evt and put them in one of the shared directories so you can access them from a client later.

    The server also contains logs here:

    Server logs:         
    %SystemDrive%\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows Home Server\logs

    copy them to a share so that you can access them from a client.



    If the event logs do not provide a clear reason why the toolkit/console crashed, please file a bug and attach the event logs and a zipped copy of the logs from the location above. I'll have the toolkit team take a look at this as we have not seen this behavior.

    Thank you
    Lara Jones [MSFT] Windows Home Server Team
    Thursday, November 27, 2008 11:37 PM
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    OK this seems to be the issue :

    Event 5000, NET Runtime 2.0 Error Reporting 

    EventType clr20r3, P1 homeserverconsole.exe, P2 6.0.0.0, P3 48791358, P4 whscommon,
    P5 6.0.0.0, P6 487912f9, P7 32a, P8 1c, P9 n3ctrye2kn3c34sgl4zqyrbfte4m13nb, P10 NIL.

    Friday, November 28, 2008 12:12 AM
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    Hi,
    a WHS user in Germany has the same issue.
    Did you at any time install any other versions of .NET Framework?
    Is version 2.0 on your system up to date and did the last Windows Updates run through? (I have SP2 for .NET Framework 2.0 on my WHS and no problems with the toolkit.)
    Maybe you can go the unsupported route and try to reinstall .NET Framework on your server (i.i. from \\server\software\home server connector software\DOTNETFX, although the necessary removal before via Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs may cause unwanted side effects to WHS components.
    Best greetings from Germany
    Olaf
    Friday, November 28, 2008 9:31 AM
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    I'm not having any crashing issues with the 1.1 version of the toolkit but I am a little confused how this is an improvement over the previous version.  We've gone from four tabs of stuff in v 1.0 down to a single tab in 1.1.  There's a lot of functionality that was in the 1.0 add-in that disappeared and the only new setting I see is IIS related - something I'd prefer to see in Whiist.

    Can someone explain to me how the changes to the toolkit are an improvement?

    1.1 features
    Homeserver Connectivity / details (new/different setting)
    Remote Access Web site
    - custom errors (new setting)
    - restart IIS (already there)
    - session timeout value (new setting)

    Command Prompt (already there)
    Event Viewer (already there)

    Send Logs (already there)
    Log Options (same options as before)

    ------------
    1.0 features
    Remote Access History (missing from 1.1)
    Remote Desktop Troubleshooting (check if RDP support is working) (missing from 1.1)

    Remote Access Web site Config
    Website Health Status (missing from 1.1)
    - Check websites (missing from 1.1)
    - Check IIS health (missing from 1.1)
    - Restart IIS

    Storage (missing from 1.1)
    - Server Storage Diagnostics (missing from 1.1)
    - View log (missing from 1.1)

    Backup Health Notification Thresholds (missing from 1.1)
    - setable on a per client basis (missing from 1.1)
    - Backup Database Reset (missing from 1.1 but I'm not complaining, that's a dangerous button to leave lying around)

    Support
    - send log files

    Command Prompt
    Event Logs
    Tracing Logs
    - set tracing levels for all WHS logs
    - create copy of logs
    - delete old logs

    Friday, November 28, 2008 10:09 AM
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    Hi,
    some of the functions, which have gone missing in version 1.1, are now part of the product since Power Pack 1, others may have been considered as unnecessary, too confusing or dangerous by the WHS team for consumers.
    Best greetings from Germany
    Olaf
    Friday, November 28, 2008 12:11 PM
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    This is outrageous. Microsoft has removed the features I regularly used and left behind only what THEY need to fix THEIR problems. Glad I never installed 1.1.
    Hopefully, some competent Developers (outside of Microsoft) will come up with an add-in to restore the lost functionality.
    And Olaf, for Microsoft to decide to remove something that I've been succesfully using for months, because it's too dangerous, is the height of arrogance.
    Friday, November 28, 2008 12:57 PM
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    Daedelus said:

    OK this seems to be the issue :

    Event 5000, NET Runtime 2.0 Error Reporting 

    EventType clr20r3, P1 homeserverconsole.exe, P2 6.0.0.0, P3 48791358, P4 whscommon,
    P5 6.0.0.0, P6 487912f9, P7 32a, P8 1c, P9 n3ctrye2kn3c34sgl4zqyrbfte4m13nb, P10 NIL.



    Question as a result of the investigations of the German user with the same problem:
    Did you disable the Windows Firewall on your Windows Home Server?
    If yes, this could have caused the unhandled exception.

    (Just tested at my WHS at home - stopped Windows Firewall Service, opened console, clicked settings, crash, same message in event log. Restarted Windows Firewall Service, no more crash.)

    @Bobsie: Why Microsoft has removed some features, is from my side pure speculation (I wrote "may have been") and in no way the real reason.

    Best greetings from Germany
    Olaf
    Friday, November 28, 2008 2:07 PM
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    Yes the firewall is off. I'll try turning it on and see if it cures it.
    Friday, November 28, 2008 3:07 PM
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    Unfortunately, Bobsie, the toolkit doesn't exist to make my life easier, or yours. It exists to make Microsoft's life easier. Some of the tools in the original toolkit were available (I think) to allow people who wanted a better understanding of the product to gain that understanding.

    That said, what tools are now missing that you feel a need for?
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Friday, November 28, 2008 3:50 PM
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    Is this with the 32 or 64 bit Toolkit ?


    Ben
    Ben Ogilvie
    Friday, November 28, 2008 4:38 PM
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    tfieldho said:

    I'm not having any crashing issues with the 1.1 version of the toolkit but I am a little confused how this is an improvement over the previous version.  We've gone from four tabs of stuff in v 1.0 down to a single tab in 1.1.  There's a lot of functionality that was in the 1.0 add-in that disappeared and the only new setting I see is IIS related - something I'd prefer to see in Whiist.

    Can someone explain to me how the changes to the toolkit are an improvement?

    1.1 features
    Homeserver Connectivity / details (new/different setting)
    Remote Access Web site
    - custom errors (new setting)
    - restart IIS (already there)
    - session timeout value (new setting)

    Command Prompt (already there)
    Event Viewer (already there)

    Send Logs (already there)
    Log Options (same options as before)

    ------------
    1.0 features
    Remote Access History (missing from 1.1)
    Remote Desktop Troubleshooting (check if RDP support is working) (missing from 1.1)

    Remote Access Web site Config
    Website Health Status (missing from 1.1)
    - Check websites (missing from 1.1)
    - Check IIS health (missing from 1.1)
    - Restart IIS

    Storage (missing from 1.1)
    - Server Storage Diagnostics (missing from 1.1)
    - View log (missing from 1.1)

    Backup Health Notification Thresholds (missing from 1.1)
    - setable on a per client basis (missing from 1.1)
    - Backup Database Reset (missing from 1.1 but I'm not complaining, that's a dangerous button to leave lying around)

    Support
    - send log files

    Command Prompt
    Event Logs
    Tracing Logs
    - set tracing levels for all WHS logs
    - create copy of logs
    - delete old logs



    The 1.1 toolkit supports x64. It is for people who have been unable to use the previous toolkit at all.  If you want to continue to run the old toolkit, you can.  Some of the troubleshooting options are still available on 1.1 when you run it in advanced mode (cmd line -a) . Both kits submit CABs to Microsoft.  

    Server storage diagnostics is missing because it is not supported on Power Pack 1. It did not work even on the old toolkit if you had Power Pack 1 installed and should not have been used as it threw an error.

    I run all x64 in my house except for one 32bit client that I keep for server recovery and to run the 1.0 toolkit.

    Thanks
    Lara Jones [MSFT] Windows Home Server Team
    Friday, November 28, 2008 5:35 PM
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    Ken Warren said:

    Unfortunately, Bobsie, the toolkit doesn't exist to make my life easier, or yours. It exists to make Microsoft's life easier. Some of the tools in the original toolkit were available (I think) to allow people who wanted a better understanding of the product to gain that understanding.

    That said, what tools are now missing that you feel a need for?

    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)



    Remote Access History & Website Health Status. I also have used Backup Database Reset.
    Friday, November 28, 2008 5:57 PM
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    Web site health is rolled into connectivity, I believe. As for remote access history, the information is in the Home Server event log, which is available by clicking the Events Viewer... button.

    As for resetting the backup database, for all that I keep emphasizing that the backup tools in WHS aren't for archiving decommissioned PCs, Microsoft really only intends for users to do that in extremis. And I think the Repair... option is intelligent enough to detect whether repair or reset is the right thing to do now.
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Friday, November 28, 2008 7:40 PM
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    Ken Warren said:


    As for resetting the backup database, for all that I keep emphasizing that the backup tools in WHS aren't for archiving decommissioned PCs, Microsoft really only intends for users to do that in extremis. And I think the Repair... option is intelligent enough to detect whether repair or reset is the right thing to do now.


    But, if a person wants to be able to delete all backups & start over, they should be able to do so. How would one do that, if they switched from Tookit 1.0 to 1.1?
    Friday, November 28, 2008 8:21 PM
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    Thanks for the responses.  I guess I should have been a little more specific in my op since most of the comments back are on the client functionality of the Toolkit when all I had really looked into was the WHS Console Add-in.  I don't run into client connector issues very often so that part of the package isn't of much interest to me.

    @Lara: I understand the need for an x64 version.  Good to see that the x64 support is still moving forward.  It would have been nice to know that Storage Diagnostics in the 1.0 Toolkit was broken after PP1. I hadn't a clue that there was an issue with that feature.  I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope that I don't run into any more corruption issues similar to those I have had in the past.  :)

    I just checked through the PP1 release docs and the Toolkit docs and didn't find any mention of any issues with Storage Diagnostics.   Including an errata detailing issues like this and what was fixed in 1.1 would be helpful.

    Is there any issue with continuing to run the 1.0 version of the Toolkit Add-in?  It sounds like the client versions can coexist but the Add-in versions are mutualy exclusive (can't run side-by side).  I promise not to use Server Diagnostics any more :)


    @Ken: My top three uses for the Toolkit since its release over a year ago are
    1. the backup warning thresholds
    2. storage diagnostics
    3. Remote Access History
    All three of those are missing from the new version. 
    LOL at the comment about not making our lives easier.  I'm not sure that's the message MS wants to get across: we made it to make our lives easier, not yours... Good tagline--especially considering what was pulled from the Toolkit.

    Sorry if it sounded like I was complaining, I didn't post to complain about the product.  I really do want to understand what's added/removed, what's changed, and why. 
    Friday, November 28, 2008 8:40 PM
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    Ken Warren said:

    As for remote access history, the information is in the Home Server event log, which is available by clicking the Events Viewer... button.


    I just tried wading through the Events Viewer for the remote access history. Not nearly as good as the viewer in Toolkit 1.0. Takes a great deal of time to find appropriate entries. Especially since the filters don't seem to be "sticky". You can turn off "information", but it comes back the next time you access the Event Viewer.
    Friday, November 28, 2008 9:19 PM