The Windows Home Server team has been heads down working on the data corruption issue since we first posted the Knowledge Base (KB) article in late December 2007. An update to the KB article was posted today that provides more information regarding symptoms, cause, status and guidance. You can read the KB at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946676/en-us.
One question that is getting asked is, “Will I be affected”? We are aware of only a very small percentage of users with confirmed instances of this issue, and we believe that most people are unlikely to be affected. In the KB article we offer up some precautionary measures that people can take. Some of the instances that were initially attributed to this issue ended up being something else, such as a faulty network card/driver, old routers with outdated firmware, or people incorrectly testing the limits of their home servers.
From the outside looking in, some people would say “Why is this taking so long?” Fixing this issue is the Windows Home Server team’s top priority and the team is making good progress on the fix. We understand the issue really well at this point - it is at an extremely low level of the operating system and it requires thorough testing to ensure that the fix addresses the issue. We have coded a part of the fix which is currently being tested internally. Internal testing is expected to continue for at least several more weeks.
Once the patch has passed internal quality bars, external participants will be asked to help test the fix. Our current plan is to release beta test versions of a fix over the next few months, with a final version currently estimated for June 2008, although that date could change as testing progresses. Thorough testing of the fix is critical and will take time.
If you believe you have evidence that you are experiencing the issue, please send a detailed email of your circumstances to whsforum@microsoft.com, so we can attempt to validate the cause and provide specific guidance. Thanks for your continued support.
The Windows Home Server team
The February numbers are in and there have been some shuffling of positions, however the top 8 countries remain the same. Belgium is in the top 16 and Japan is out. The USA moved from 7th to 3rd, UK moved from 6th to 4th, but Norway and New Zealand continue to hold the top 2 spots. Other notables, South Africa moved from 11th to 9th, and the Netherlands moved from 14th to 11th. Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and France all lost ground in February.
In order to compare the sales results of a smaller country with a larger country, you need to come up with a relatively simple way to equalize the field of play. So, if you look at Windows Home Server sales divided by the number of households with a broadband connection in each country, you get some interesting results.
Here are the current rankings of the top 16 seeds in the Windows Home Server World Cup competition.
Updated standings will be published next month.
An update is available for Windows Home Server today via Windows Update. It should download automatically within the next 24 hours and get applied if you have Windows Updates turned on. The title of the KB article that explains the update is titled: "You may randomly receive a false expiration notice that prompts you to activate Windows Home Server." You can learn more about the update by visiting:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946146
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