Guide: How to install Windows Home Server on a boot drive smaller than 160GB

This guide assumes you are creating an installer from a Windows OS with at least .Net Framework 4.0 installed and using a 12GB or bigger USB flash drive.

On the computer used for setup:

1. Download and unzip WinUSB Maker.
2. Run WinUSB Maker.
   1. If you have an install DVD put it in the drive, select Setup Folder Bootable Disk, click Browse Setup Folder and select the DVD drive.
      or
   2. If you have an ISO, select ISO Image Bootable Disk, click Browse ISO Image and select your ISO.
3. Click Make it Bootable and wait for the process to finish.
   
4. Download this cfg.ini file and put it on the root of the flash drive.
   The contents are simply:
       [WinPE]
       ConfigDisk=1
       CheckReqs=0
       WindowsPartitionSize=MAX
       Processed=true 

 On the server:

1. Ensure that only your desired boot drive is plugged in.  All other hard drives should be disconnected.
2. Set your server’s BIOS to boot from USB, plug in the freshly created flash drive, and boot up!
3. Pay attention.  When the first reboot happens yank the flash drive.

Once setup is complete you can plug in any other drives and use as usual.
Have fun working with your smaller than 160GB drive!

Quick Guide: How to Bitstream Audio in Windows 7

So you’ve paid for an expensive AV receiver with all kinds of amazing audio processing capabilities and want to use it in conjunction with your HTCP.  After following the directions in this article audio will be passed untouched, aka “bitstreamed” to your receiver to take advantage of its audio processing technology.  Yes, you’ll finally get what you paid for with your AV receiver + HTPC combo!

This is a quick guide.  It should take no longer than 10 minutes to get things working.  A detailed explanation, for the curious and inquisitive, will follow in a future post.

Follow these steps and you’ll be able to double click almost any video file and it will play perfectly in Windows Media Player or any other Directshow player.

One caveat.  You need bitstreaming capable hardware:  ATI 5xxx or better video cards OR Intel H55 or better chipset.

1. Update your audio drivers to the newest available.
   
   
2. Disable the audio enhancements Windows applies to your HDMI Output device.
   1. Right click on the white speaker icon in the system tray and select “Playback Devices”
      
      
      
   2. Select your HDMI Playback device and then click the Properties button.
      
      
      
   3. Check Disable all enhancements… OK, OK.
      
      
      
3. Follow the steps 1, 2 & 4 here:
   4 Steps to Stutter Free Playback in SageTV
   EXCEPT, on the audio tab of Shark007 select “use pass-through (Digital Audio)” under FFDShow S/PDIF pass-through.  This setting affects S/PDIF and HDMI.
   
   
   
4. Install the Reclock with DSound / Wave support.
   
   The latest version is always “Stickied” to the top of this forum.  This guide was written using 1.8.7.3.
   
   
5. Configure Reclock.
   We ARE NOT using Reclock for it’s original purpose… “a new reference clock that is locked to the video card hardware clock, in order to ensure that frames are played at the exact speed of what is expected by the video card vertical sync and a frame rate adaptor for media files that do not match a multiple of the video card refresh rate”  In fact we’re bypassing this functionality completely and using it to ensure correct audio bitstreaming.
   1. Audio settings tab
      
      
      
   2. Don’t worry about the Video settings or Hotkeys tabs.
      
      
   3. Advanced settings
      
      
      
   4. Finish the configuration by clicking OK.
      I realize you just clicked a lot of things that say “not recommended”.  No worries.  :-)
      
      
6. Remove all filters in FFDShow Audio Decoder
   This step isn’t necessary but because audio is being sent unprocessed to the AV receiver there’s no need for the processing filters to be enabled.  This massively cleans up context menu that comes up when right clicking the FFDShow Audio decoder icon.
   
   
   1. Open up the Shark007 Settings Application and select the Config tab.
   2. Click the “FFDshow Audio config” button.
   3. Go to Show / hide filters and click the “remove all button”.
      
   4. Click OK in FFDShow and Exit Shark007.

 

That’s it!  Go forth and double click a bluray movie you’ve remuxed into an .mkv container.  Double click that HD-PVR recording.  Double click almost ANY video file and it will play back perfectly with unfettered audio passed directly through to your AV receiver.

BONUS: A side benefit of this procedure… I haven’t found a video file type that won’t play correctly in Windows.

WARNING:  These settings only work if you’re outputting audio to a receiver for processing.  If you’re using the speakers, connected to the green audio output on your HTPC, Directshow may throw an “output not supported” error.

Here’s what to expect when you play back a file.

1. Reclock will show Yellow in the system tray.
   
   
2. Hovering over the blue FFDShow tray icon will show bitstream input and output.
   
   
   
3. Double click the yellow clock and ReClock will show it is bitstreaming.
   
   
   
4. Your receiver will display the correct audio type.
    

 

For those who care, here’s my setup.  Let me know if you want any other details.

• HTPC running 32-bit Windows 7 with a Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 and 4GB of RAM.
• HIS Radeon HD 5570 Silence 1 GB (128bit) DDR3 HDMI DL-DVI (HDCP) PCI Express 2.1 X16 Video Card
• HDMI cable out the HTPC to a Denon AVR-4311CI.
• HDMI out the Denon to a Samsung PN63C8000.

4 Steps to Perfect Stutter Free Playback in SageTV

  +  = Awesome

The one assumption made with these instructions is you’re running SageTV on Windows 7; ideally 32-bit.  Read through to the end if you’re on 64-bit. 

1. UNINSTALL any codec packs, decoders or splitters on your machine. 
2. Install the most recent version of Shark007’s Windows 7 Codecs. 
          Warning: Shark007’s pack installs the Bing Bar. 
          Follow these instructions to stop it from installing.
   
3. Set SageTV’s A/V settings to:
   
   • Video Renderer: EVR
   • MPEG2 Video Filter: Default
   • H.264 Video Decoder Filter: Default
   • VC-1 Video Decoder Filter: Default
   • Media Player for non-MPEG Files: DirectShow
   • DScaler Deinterlacing Filter: Disabled
   • Audio Renderer: Default
   • MPEG2 Audio Decoder Filter: Default
   • HD Audio Decoder Filter: Default
   • Audio Playback Delay (ms): 0
   • HD Audio Output: Disabled 
4. Fire up Shark007’s Settings Application and apply these settings exactly.
   Start with the SWAP tab and work your way from right to left.
   1. SWAP
       
      
   2. MPG~MP4
       
      
   3. MOV~OGG
       
      
   4. MKV
       
      
   5. H264
       
      
   6. AVI
       
      
   7. Audio
       
      
   8. Misc
       
      
   9. Config
       

If you’re using Windows 7 64-bit then install Shark007’s x64 Components Addon.
The only settings difference is the SWAP tab… which really isn’t that different.

That’s it!  Fire up Sage and play your favorite recording with full DXVA hardware accelerated stutter free goodness.

To verify the correct decoders are being used, while watching a recording, right click on the FFDShow Audio tray icon.  It should look like this:

Let me know how it goes!

Installing an Epson Perfection 2450 Scanner on 64 bit Windows 7

It was a major ordeal figuring out how to get this scanner, purchased in 2002, working in 64 bit Windows 7. It’s crazy, the thing is still available on Amazon after 8 years. It’s actually ranked #4 in Electronics > Camera & Photo > Printers & Scanners > Flatbed.

Epson provides a 32-bit driver on their site but not 64-bit.  I’ve solved this problem before but it was a massive Google hunt.  Next time I’ll have this blog post to look to! :-)
The solution is pretty simple.

1. Unplug the scanner from the computer.
2. Go to the driver page for the Epson 4990, download, unzip, and install the driver by clicking the default selection in each dialog box presented.
3. Plug the 2450 into the computer.  Windows will not find the driver.
4. Click the Windows start button, type 'device manager' in the search bar, then click Device Manager.
5. Right click the EPSON Scanner device and select Update Driver Software.
6. Click 'Browse my computer for driver software'.
7. Click 'Let me pick from a list of devices on my computer'.
8. Select 'Imaging Devices' and click Next.
9. Choose Epson in the Manufacturer column and EPSON Perfection 4990 in the Model column.
10. Click Next, then Yes, let the software install, then Close.

Done!  The scanner should now show up under Imaging Devices.

P.S. - In case you're wondering why the comment section doesn't seem to align with the post; the step-by-step install instructions were added on Jan. 21st, 2012. :-)

Logitech Harmony One Remotes are Amazingly Useful and Surprisingly Unreliable

In fact they’re so amazing, even after two defects, I recently purchased another.

From left to right.

1. Our first Harmony One.  1.5 years after purchase the screen went bad with a well documented white line problem.  Logitech, providing great customer service, sent a free one time replacement for an out of warranty device.
2. Our second Harmony One, the free one time replacement, stopped charging within 2 months.  Another well documented issue.  Because it replaced of an out of warranty product Logitech won’t do anything about it.  We decided to try Harmony 700 hoping it would be more reliable.
3. Our first Harmony 700.  While good, the build quality is not One caliber.  Disappointingly, after about two weeks of use, it started making a weird noise when picked it up.  It’s like a screw or something is loose inside somewhere.  It still functions perfectly though.
4. We prefer the quality and feel of the One so much we sprung for our 3rd Harmony One.

Are my wife and I gluttons for punishment?  It’s not normally advised to dip back into the well when the well water is contaminated, but we couldn’t help ourselves.  The One is just a plain awesome device.  The buttons are solid plastic, don’t wobble or squish when pushed, and have just the right amount of travel.  The contour of the bottom, when held in your hand, feels perfect

The 700 isn’t bad.  It has rubber backlit buttons that are easy to push and it feels ok when held.  While not perfect, the 700 has a few advantages vs. the One.  The price of the 700 relative to the price of the One is a big draw for some.   The other advantage is a larger set of “hard” buttons.  There are four Activity buttons at the top and four colored assignable buttons in the middle.  We didn’t really find the need for the extra buttons.

The One has a touch screen, which can be seen as an advantage or disadvantage.  I prefer it.  However, our favorite thing about the One vs. the 700 is the charging station.  The 700 uses a dongle, like a cell phone.  The One has an aesthetically pleasing,  easy to use, docking station.  Set it and forget it.

I’m not sure what the point of this post is, but I wanted to get it out there.  It’s part love part disappointment with Logitech; part Harmony One vs. Harmony 700.  Moral of the story?  Get a Harmony One and an extended warranty. 

P.S. - Before owning either the 700 or the One we had a 720.  Although it has all the functional Harmony goodness the ergonomics aren’t satisfying.  Square form factor for a candy bar remote sucks.

The Lousy Keyboard on the Motorola Droid is Fixed?

 

In November 2009 Motorola and Verizon released the Droid to much fanfare and adoration.  The reviews were generally great except for one glaring problem repeated time and time again. And although I love the phone, I fully agree. The hardware keyboard sucks! 

Touch typing is nearly impossible as the keys are perfectly flat. It’s like someone drew keyboard keys on a piece of paper, slapped it on the phone, tested it on 12 year olds with skinny fingers and called it good.  This one fault make its difficult to convince hard core business users on the Verizon network to try Android.  They refuse to give up their Windows Mobile or Blackberry devices with trusty usable keyboards.  Handicapping their ability to touch type is a deal breaker.

Recently, a colleague decided to take the plunge and give Android a shot.  The HTC Droid Incredible is all the rage but no keyboard equals no go.  Our contract doesn’t have any upgrades in the near future and strangely Verizon doesn’t give the advertised 2 for 1 deal when paying the full $600 for the first device.  To eBay!  In a couple days a slightly used Droid is in hand for under $300.  It’s ESN is clean and the phone is activated through My Verizon within minutes.  However, there’s one strange thing.  Could it be?  The keyboard on this Droid… is… nice?

The keys are rounded raised. They push without frustration. And the screen easily slides into typing position.  I showed other touch typists around the office and they agreed it would be something they would try.  Not one of them said they would give the Droid a shot when they first laid hands on the flat keyboard version. 

Original Droid on left, new eBay’d on right.


Original Close Up
 

New Close Up
 

Lengthwise View


Left: “Old” phone purchased in 2009.
Right: New phone in 2010.  Highlighted areas may indicate the manufactured date.


There’s talk of the Droid 2 coming soon with an improved keyboard being a primary selling point. It seems revisions of Droid 1 may have improved it already. Is this old news or a fluke?  Am I missing something?  If not, these “rev 2” versions of Droid 1 may be cost effective upgrades for people in-contract wishing to try Android but in need of a hardware keyboard. Thoughts?

Do these ReSharper features make it better than CodeRush?

Our Visual Studio IDE enhancer of choice is CodeRush.  I recently hired a developer who gave CodeRush a go after using ReSharper for the last couple years.  He lasted about 2 days.  “It wants me to think in a different way than is natural” was his reaction.  CodeRush’s excellent implementation of templates does force an “unnatural” way of programming to someone who’s never used them.

The examples provided by the developer…

Example of R#’s enhanced intellisense…. I type out ‘Clas’ and it shows me everything containing those letters, not just starting with those letters.

Visual Studio Native Intellisense 

ReSharper Intellisense

                   

Another example, I type ‘CM’ and it shows all objects where the camel case matches.

And R#’s object search feature… I type ‘CR’ and I can go to all objects whose camel case contains ‘CR’

Enhanced Intellisense for method overloads… instead of flipping through all method overloads and seeing one at a time, you get all overloads in view and you flip through the method documentation instead.

Visual Studio Native

ReSharper

The developer community is generally split on the CR vs RS debate.  There seems to be a tilt towards CodeRush; moderate as it may be.  Besides pricing, most arguers exclaim “Show me why it’s better!”.  DevExpress recently did just that.  And DX fan Rory Becker followed suit.  Their example may be a little “why would anyone do that?”, but I think it speaks to the speed of the CodeRush engine.

This developer highly values Intellisense and showed why it’s better.  Is there a CR plugin that adds this Intellisense functionality?  Does CR contain a feature that solves the same usability issue and we’re  not seeing it?  Or, if one weighs usable Intellisense above all else, is ReSharper just a better product right now?