Tag Archives: VMWare

Windows Home Server

Microsoft Server operating system spin-off, intended for home users who were looking to create a home server to back up their files and share their media across multiple PCs and devices, like the Xbox 360. Built off the Windows Server 2003 codebase, it bares a resemblance to Windows XP and is generally compatible with it.

Install

So this took a few attempts to install, as Microsoft had implemted strict system requirements.

Attempt 1

Failed due to using a SCSI drive instead of an IDE or SATA drive, as the installer did not support VMWare’s SCSI controller which was enabled by default. Another issue was the VM memory was set too low, as Windows Home Server needs at least 512MB to pass the install

Attempt 2

Failed because the virtual hard drive was not large enough, by default VMWare created a 40GB and the installation needs 65GB

Attempt 3

Failed again because the first hard drive was 40GB, even though an 80GB HDD exists on the virtual system, it wants the primary disk to the over 65GB.

Attempt 4

Managed to make inroads into the install but after completing the setup wizard, the system restarted to a blank screen and would reboot back into the setup wizard where it would begin from the start.

Attempt 5

This time I removed both hard disks and created a new blank 80GB and attached it to IDE 1 master. Again it installed but rebooted to a blank screen,

Attempt 6

This time I created a new blank 80GB SATA disk and installed it to that. I managed to get further as at this point the install was completed and rebooted into a setup sequence similar to Windows XP, and then it BSOD

Attempt 7

Same as above but replace SATA with IDE, eventually we are able to get this cunting thing to install. At this point, the install identifies itself as Windows Server 2003 which the OS was possibly based on. Later we reboot again aback into the Windows Home Server and install the setup design looks remarkably like Windows Vista with its light auras,

Eventually we get to the desktop but the setup isn’t finished yet, and the system is rebooted once more.

Although it wants to check the disk, maybe its procedure: You can skip it but it will nag you every time it boots, so might as well get it done with.

After that we are back into the install to complete once more, this is getting like Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs where we had to reboot a fair few times before we got a usable system. I’m guessing it’s using the same setup procedure? It does look remarkably similar to FLP.

So to summarize, to install Windows Home Server in VMWare:

Have an IDE Hard Disk, 80GB or larger
Set at least 512MB of memory, more is recommended but remember this is a 32bit operating system

VMWare will autodetect the ISO image as Windows Server 2003, which is technically correct but will cause it to set the default virtual machine settings incorrectly.

Desktop

Here we see a unique desktop background that looks similar to the ones that appeared in Windows Vista.

Windows Home Server Console

This is the main user interface for setting up and configuring your home server. As this was intended to be used by a home user who may not be knowledgeable about servers.

Computers & Backup

A list of computers that are linked with your home server. This requires the installation of the Home Server Companion software in order to function on the client machine. Once added, you can schedule backups on a fixed scheduled basis.

User Accounts

You can add multiple user accounts who are then able to log into the server. Each user has their own folder to store their files in. Typically default folders will include a Picturer, Music & Videos folder.

Each user can set their own password for secure access, and user accounts can be disabled at any time.

Shared Folders

By default, there are five folders, Music, Photos, Public, Software & Videos. All are dedicated folders to help store and share files on your network. Very similar to a typical home NAS drive. Each user account also has its own folder, of which only the user themselves has access to the drive, although this can be configured by the server administrator.

After the installation, a link to the server’s network share is placed on the user’s desktop. No network drives are mapped.

Server Storage

A list of all volumes currently connected to the server shows the disk status and the capacity. The storage usage is displayed.

Windows Desktop Search

The version comes included with the operating system which replaces the Windows XP style search and is more akin to the one found in Windows Vista (Windows Search was also available as a downloadable upgrade for Windows XP) Benefit here is a full indexed search that looks in your documents folders.

Start Menu & Themes

By default, the Start menu is barren compared to a regular Windows install since this is really intended for server management rather than day-to-day application use. But we can easily customize it to look like the regular Windows XP Start Menu.

The Windows Classic theme is set by default, and upon attempting to change it appears the Luna themes from XP are missing or are not included. Even when trying to install additional themes has little to no effect (Like the Zune or Media Center Royale theme)

To enable the use of Luna themes, the Windows Theming (Visual Styles) service must be enabled by enabling it within the Windows Service management console. Once enabled, a Luna theme can be set, even the default themes included in XP are now available.

Windows Media Player 10 comes integrated into the operating system, along with Internet Explorer 6 and Outlook Express (6.00.3790.3959)

Component	Version
Internet Explorer	6.0.3790.3959
Windows Media Player	10.00.00.3997
Windows Messenger	Does not appear to be installed
Outlook Express	6.00.3790.3959
Windows Movie Maker	Does not appear to be installed

Software Compatability

Installing Anti-Virus software seemed to be problematic, with Windows Live OneCare and Avast refusing to install. Possibly this requires the server versions of these applications?

Zune software also failed to install

Internet Explorer – Version 6 comes included, but we cannot install regular versions of Internet Explorer 7 or 8. Unless there are specialized versions of these that were released, it appears these browsers are not supported, despite running Service Pack 2. (A specialized build of Internet Explorer 8 can be found here)

This probably ties into the fact Windows Home Server isn’t a consumer operating system, so later versions of Internet Explorer were not released.

Still, DirectX 9.0c comes integrated into the OS and in testing a few titles seem to work ok.

Graphis drivers should be fine, although be aware this is running on the Server 2003 codebase (NT5.2) so I’d recommend using Server 2003 drivers instead of XP. This is also a 32bit only operating system.

Windows Home Server Companion

This is a utility that is installed onto a Windows XP system to allow full compatibility with the Home Server and is required to use the Home Backup features. It requires a version of Windows XP running Service Pack 2, although it runs as fine on Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs.

This isn’t required to access files on the server, as you can do this over SMB as long as the server is part of your Workgroup (All must use the same workgroup name, typically MSHOME or WORKGROUP)

Power Packs

Major updates were released as ‘Power Packs’ which added additional functionality to the Home Server component, particularly Power Pack 2 which adds support for Windows Media Center for editions of XP and Vista that were released around the same period. The Home Server companion was also upgraded to take advantage and adds a link to the shared folders to the media menu. This allows pictures and music stored on the server to be streamed directly to the media center PC.

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs

Leave a reply

Because calling it Windows XP Basic Editon wasn’t elaborate enough…

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PC (FLP for short) is basically Windows XP but for old systems and was intended to be used in an Enterprise environment since it was only offered through this channel. It was not made an option for OEM or Retail channels and was intended to be used for computers that were previously running say Windows NT or 98, who wanted to run an XP-based os but due to the limited specifications were unable to run the ‘Full fat Xp’.
As this was released in 2005, and 98/NT4 was due to lose support the next year, this OS was intended to be an upgrade path for those old PCs that were still running those operating systems but were not capable enough of running Windows XP.

Install

You will notice that this installs differently compared to stock Windows XP, and using a newer Windows Installer. Gone is the blue install screen. This is similar to what Windows Vista would use, and the Longhorn Beta’s (Pre-Reset) would install in a similar method.

After the installation has been completed you are prompted to reboot your PC. After the initial reboot, you are treated to a configuring screen, of which you are prompted to reboot again, and again. There are several reboots needed before the install finished and we are presented with a desktop.

Well, it looks just like a regular Windows XP install, minus the desktop background which has been replaced with a regular solid blue colour.

A lot of personalization themes are missing, there are very few screen savers or desktop backgrounds available, although the desktop styles can be changed.
I’m curious as to why Luna is included and selected by default? Surley an OS intended for low-end usage would use the Windows Classic theme, or maybe there is very little performance difference between the two?

So let’s see what missing and if anything has been removed or added.
On a note, a fresh install is using 1.33GB (post-VMWare addon installed)

The security center from the XP service pack 2 is included and will warn that updates are not enabled and that no antivirus software is installed.

Windows Media Player 10 is included with the OS and was the latest release at the time, Again I’m confused why this is included instead of Media Player 9 or 8, which would have helped reduce the install size

There are no built-in games with this build, and they cannot be optionally installed (The Windows components section is missing)

Windows Messenger 4.7 comes with this build also. Strangely the audio tuning wizard does not work, just giving the error message when we try to open it

An observation I found was how Windows handles an application crashing, an error message appears in the same fashion Windows NT 4 would crash, with no option to generate a useful error report, no apology, just a notification that the program has crashed.

Software Testing

Curious to see how it handles software of the era it was released in. Most 32bit Windows software should run fine, though I wonder how well DirectX games will run. DirectX 9 does come included with the OS preinstalled.

Sonic Stage

Sony’s music player software for their Walkman music player (Think of the iPod but better), this can playback ATARC files, which was Sony’s own file format, and could connect and purchase music from the CONNECT store, which they shut down in 2008

Unreal Tournament

A DirectX-based game, but can run in software rendering instead. Here it works but is prone to graphical glitches, possibly due to the VMWare graphics acceleration

San Francisco Rush 2049

One of my favorite games in the San Franciso Rush series, and only 17 years until it becomes reality. Runs without any issues

Norton Internet Security 2006

Standard Anti-Virus and security software by Symantec

WordPerfect 2006

An alternative basic office suite similar to Microsoft Office suite included a word processor and a spreadsheet application.

Matchware Mediator

Similar to Adobe Dreamweaver, this lets you build rich multimedia pages

Microsoft Intellipoint & Intellitype 6.2

Utility commonly bundled with Microsoft keyboard and mice, adds additional functionality that is not covered by Windows but can be used with third-party keyboards. I like to use it because it adds a volume indicator when using the volume keys on a keyboard that features one.

Upgrades

By default Service Pack 2 is included, and service pack 3 can be installed as an optional upgrade. Internet Explorer 7 and 8 can also be installed as upgrades to Internet Explorer 6.

Support for Windows FLP ended on the same date as Windows XP – April 2014.

Well, I’m not sure what happened but I seem to have broken the OS, at least when it comes to shutting down. A few errors with winlogon.exe come up, before the OS BSODs completely.

eMachines eMonster 800

Leave a reply

Another eMachines system, let’s have a look at what comes bundled…

Install is as simple as always, simply boot and the recovery software will automatically partition the disk and action the recovery. Norton Ghost is the utility used to image the recovery media.

After installing the VM rebooted into the Windows ME and began detecting the new hardware. There are a lot of PCI bridges that will be picked up as part of the VM (If you are installing on Vmware Workstation) you can simply hold the enter key whilst Windows detects and notify new hardware was detected.

Eventually, it will start detecting the Network, Sound, and Video adaptors however whilst the sound and network work out of the box, video is a tad more complicated. Simply use the stock VGA driver for now.

The next part is a bit messy, we are tasked with completing the OOBE (Out Of Box Experience) by filling out a few registration details as proof of purchase. We are stuck at a low screen resolution(640×480) with no ability to change and this causes some of the text to overlap. With a bit of luck we can fill in the required fields (Use 90210 for the ZIP code) and then proceed. At some point the system will try to dial out to eMachines to complete registration, you can simply click on skip to move on.

Also that wizard from the XP OOBE (And Office) appears with a robotic voice.

Eventually, we are presented with the desktop, but we are not done yet. We need to install the VMWare VGA drivers but the OS is so old we cannot use the latest VMWARE tools, instead we can download an old version of the VMWare tools and install that. These files are iso files and can be mounded into the VM using one of the virtual drives (I recommend adding two IDE CD-ROM drives for convenience, although more can be added using SCSI which Windows ME supports)

VMWare tools old version

This one worked best, but even that generated an error, thankfully we can manually install the VMware VGA and mouse drivers through device manager. A quick reboot and we have some acceleration enabled.

Though we still have issues with the USB controller and some other PCI devices.

Alternatively, we can use 86Box to provide more accurate emulation, however im not sure which system is the best match for the eMachines monster.

Desktop

It’s a bit cluttered and there’s quite a bit already preinstalled. You will notice another bar on top of the Windows taskbar. There are a few icons and an advertisement banner on the right. Yup that space was intended for adverts direct to your desktop
Clicking on the search button opens up a search box, where you can search on multiple search engines, It’s sort of like Apple Sherlock.

Nothing seems to work, and the error box reports the program as iSearch. My guess is the server is offline.
Search engines supported are yahoo, AltaVista, InfoSeek, Excite and Lycos. No Google, thank fuck for that.
The other buttons on the toolbar are shortcuts to various web pages online, many of which are defunct or return dead links:
Accuweather
Barnes&Nobile
Shoppinglist.com
Flooz
cnet
ourhouse.com
Fool.com
You can add your own website shortcut and assign your own icon, for which there’s a large collection to choose from.

Clicking on Shop on the right of the bar opens up the eWare menu, with a bunch of categories to choose from like travel, Entertainment, Fitness, etc. these contain links to further websites, acting as a directory of online shopping sites.
The Surf button is nearly the same as Shop but contains no e-commerce sites and has various categories for entertainment, knowledge and utilities.

It’s actually not a bad idea since these PCs would be intended for first-time internet users who may not be knowledgeable on what websites to access. It’s a shame about the banner adverts.

Software

Easy CD Creator

This system came configured with a CD Burner, and I don’t think Windows had native support for CD burning, at least not integrated into Windows Explorer so additional software was required to fulfill this task. Here you can burn audio and data CDs so you can copy your Napster MP3s and convert/burn them for your CD Player or some PSX isos.
The Easy CD Creator comes will a full-blown interface, and even has Office assistance-like features that will help you use the program. Images created here to use the CIF CD Image File format, another format that nothing else uses, Alternatively ISO can be used instead.

HiWire

A radio streaming program that lets you stream internet radio over your dial-up or LAN connection, Has a unique interface that stands out from the rest of the Windows applications. You can browse a directory of preset radio stations, of which you can double click to listen to. The chat button open a link to the palace, which was an external virtual chat application.
None of the radio stations will work, and will just result in a connection error.

Deltathree

A phone dialing application is used to make phone calls with your PC, although it requires a login to the server. Possibly some sort of VoIP application.

Eudora

This was a popular email client application used as an alternative to Microsoft Outlook. However it requires registration and payment, otherwise, adverts will be shown, similar to Opera.

Incanta Video

Not sure what this is as it only shows a login box. A look on their archive website, it appears to be some sort of video music service, like VEVO?

Microsoft Works

An OEM favorite, basic office suite with a bundled word processor, spreadsheet software and a calendar application.

Microsoft Money

Money 2000 comes included here and plays a short tutoral upon the first startup.

RealPlayer

Version 6.0.8.122 is bundled here, RealPlayer was used to stream audio and video over the internet.

RealJukebox

Serves as a media music player for playing local MP3 files that you obtained from Napster

Netscape Browser

Not installed by default but can be done by clicking on the install icon on the desktop, this will install Netscape Navigator and will set it as the default browser

Trellix Web

Website building application and the first I’ve seen on an OEM system. You can generate a website built from a template and publish it online, although the bundle host has long since gone defunct.

Further Info

Archive link – CD Image

Press Release

Compaq Presario 700 (VMWare)

Leave a reply

An early Windows XP era laptop released around 2002, not to be confused with the Presario C700 which was HP branded. Windows XP Home Edition was the operating system bundled with the restore CD

Restore Process

This one used a slightly different way of restoring the default image, and I believe this is due to the copy being modified so that it will restore on any machine, instead of being tied to a specific model.
Here you must manually select the recovery image (located on the CD drive) and then proceed with the installation. If the hard disk is blank (Which it will be if we have just created the drive) the software can automatically initialize and format the disk and will create the correct partitions.
Once this has been set up, the recovery process will begin and the system will notify once it has been completed.

After the first reboot, we will most likely run into a BSOD, since we had installed it in a virtual machine instead of actual hardware, it’s expecting a motherboard that’s completely different. At this points It’s Hirens time

Same as the eMachines system, we just need to reset the hard disk controller to clear the error. After a reboot we are onto the OOBE.

OOBE

Once we cleared the BSOD boss fight we move on to the OOBE (Out-Of-Box-Experience) where we set up the system for the first time. You will notice the Compaq branding and will be informed of the Compaq Advisor, which is some sort of assistant. At this point you can also register your system, although I doubt there is much point,, Microsoft probably discontinued the registrations servers and Compaq has since been absorbed into HP.

Desktop

After that, we are presented with our new desktop, along with a funky wallpaper. There are several of these OEM wallpapers that are available in different colours. I’m not sure if these are reflective of the laptop itself or Compaq just whacked a few different colours for the user’s preference. It kinda reminds me of the original iMac with its various colours and shades.
Of course, you also have the regular Windows XP wallpapers if you prefer.

Interestingly it will try to install a driver for a Compaq Easy Access Internet Keyboard. This has little to no effect on the VMWare keyboard. On the desktop, there are a few internet shortcuts to various affiliate links like ABC, Disney,

VMWare

As this is pre-Service Pack 1 we are limited to how we can install the VMWare add-ons, the later tools require service pack 3 and will fail to install on an old Windows XP install. We can however download and mount an old version of VMWare Tools
Be careful with this, as these tools were intended for the version of VMWare they were released with. I got a BSOD when trying to display one of the 3D screensavers, and had to upgrade to a later version to fix the issue.

Software

There isn’t much included, there is Netscape 6 and RealPlayer 8 bundled, and Microsoft Works and Money 2001

Compaq Advisor

Seems to be some sort of help/assistant program, sort of similar to the Windows Help & Support but more tailored to the Compaq-related stuff. The actual Windows Help & Support has a few customizations made to it, mainly with some Compaq stuff added.

Microsoft Money 2001

There isn’t much included, there Netscape 6 and RealPlayer 8 bundled, and Microsoft Works and Money 2001

Microsoft Works

Version 6 of Microsoft Works comes bundled here, which serves as a basic productivity suite. It contains a word processor and spreadsheet software, along with a variety of templates to choose from.

OEMLink (Presario Info Center)

Another system I’ve found to make use of the OEM link feature of Windows XP. This acts like a help center that shows the different capabilities of the PC, along with recommended software, some of which might be preinstalled with the system. Some of these are not present here so there might be another disc that includes this.

SynthCore

Also, this appeared in the start menu, it’s some sort of MIDI file samples that came bundled with the soundcard. These play normally on the emulated SoundBlaster but do not sound the same as they would on an actual system.

Control Panel

Easy Access Buttons: This lets you reassign the easy access buttons on the keyboard to open different functions
Compaq Advisor: Change settings in relation to the Compaq Advisor, appears to have been developed by Neoplanet Inc
Automatic Compaq Updates: Enables updates
SoundMAX: Opens the soundcard utility, does nothing in this VM since were using a different soundcard

Other

Archive Link

Windows Longhorn (Milestone 7 – Build 7074)

Leave a reply

It’s no secret that Microsoft’s Windows Vista went through a troubled development cycle. Much of the features introduced in Vista were a reaction to Mac OS X Panther and Tiger. This is similar to what Apple went through when it developed the Copland operating system where feature creep took priority over stability and many new features would be added but were then left unrefined as the development team continued to implement more features.

Build 7074 pictured here is considered to be one of the more stable build prior to the reset, yet suffers from occasional explorer memory leaks that can impact the overall performance.

The setup utility looks very different compared to the XP and final Vista interface.

All Done

Now for the ritual of installing the drivers. I did run into an issue with the virtual box drivers initially not installing, this was fixed by running the VM addons setup applications in compatibility mode for Windows XP.

After a quick reboot and we have full graphics acceleration. The first thing you will notice is the side bar to the right, which houses the gadgets, clock, quick launch and the tray icons. These were previously on the task bar itself, freeing it for the running applications.

The start menu meanwhile remains unchanged from Windows XP aside from a new colour scheme

Pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del yields a new Windows Security Prompt screen, from here Task Manager can be invoked.

One of the many glitches that can happen in thus build, a quick reboot fixes it.

Windows Explorer has undergone a significant face lift, building on the change introduced in Windows XP, more information is shown in relation to the drive status, earlier access to common document shortcuts. While the new appearance is a welcome change, the waste in screen real estate is not, especially the blue area near the top of the screen. Storage favourites lets you bookmark folders in Windows explorer, similar to how bookmarks function in a web browser.

The new games area

I wonder if there are any updates for this build?

One of the main attractions of Longhorn was a redefined search facility, however in this build it still functions the same as how the XP search facility operated. Indexed search would not appear until after the Longhorn reset. Also no search assistant

Two Properties? One is for the start menu older properties and the other for the task bar settings.

Longhorn comes with several visual styles, Slate (currently set) and Jade

Jade version of the Start menu

Outlook Express has had a redesign

A new feature added was the hardware and Devices sections that lists all devices installed in the system, a more graphical version of device manager.

System Properties

Internet Explorer in action, I’m surprised the Windows Update page still works, although this seems to be for the final Windows Vista version

You can change how the operating system delivers notifications, presumably form the tray icons

Installing The Sims…

Whilst it works OK most of the time, running it in windowed mode and panning the camera can yield some interesting graphics glitches, thankfully they go away when you release the right mouse button.

Nice feature, you can change the starup programs without having to use MSCONFIG

Not sure I like the file details being in an explorer window, certainly not an efficient use of space

Sample of a crashed program in Windows Longhorn

Sadly GTA3 refused to install on this build, despite using compatibility mode.

Not sure what fast items are, the replacement for quick launch?

Also the side bar can be resized,

Shutting down Longhorn

Overall this is considered to be the last stable built of Longhorn pre-reset, as the next few builds would become incredibility bug ridden. The sidebar is also an unusual concept that may be seen as a distraction. Thankfully it can be set to auto hide. However a common theme is that a lot of windows have a lot of vacant space (see the top blue area of My Computer) which take up a lot of screen estate, and the UI buttons (search) in explorer are also quite large with no option to resize them. This becomes an issue when running this build on systems with a low resolution display, since it is easy for the screen to become cluttered, especially since low end laptops, ultra mobile PC’s and netbooks started to become popular towards the end of the XP era.

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31