AWS

Hi, Can you help, when i try and open outlook i get a message boxn: Data file - The file cannot be found This is a new install, so how do I get around this. Thanks Mark View this thread

Kids today grow up online. They use computers to do their homework, play games, communicate with friends, and access the wealth of information on the web. Computers give children access to many positive experiences however, parents face challenges in monitoring what their children see online, the people they meet, and the information they share. At Microsoft, we want to help parents create a healthy computing environment for their kids. We encourage parents to talk to their children about online safety and to set guidelines for their computer use. Microsoft and many safety advocates also recommend moving the family computer to a common room in the house so parents can glance over their kids’ shoulders to gain a better understanding of their online activities. Parenting techniques like this are important, but they may be difficult to employ if your household has multiple PCs or if your kids use laptops and tablets. And glancing over a teenager’s shoulder can be awkward for both parents and kids. A safer Internet is just a click away With Windows 8, you can monitor what your kids are doing, no matter where they use their PC. All you have to do is create a Windows user account for each child, check the box to turn on Family Safety, and then review weekly reports that describe your children’s PC use. No additional downloads, installation wizards, or configuration steps are required. Just check the box! The “monitor first” approach[/size] In the past, many of the industry software solutions for family safety (including Microsoft’s) focused on web filtering and other software-based restrictions. This resulted in a more complex setup experience and a constant stream of parental approval requests that could be difficult to manage. The end result was that many parents abandoned family safety products and returned to in-person supervision only—a tactic that has become less effective as computers have gotten more mobile. Windows 8 gives you a “monitor first” approach, which provides informative activity reports for each child. As previously discussed on this blog, [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/09/26/signing-in-to-windows-8-with-a-windows-live-id.aspx" target="_blank">signing in to Windows 8 with a Microsoft account makes setup much simpler: just create a separate user account for each child and then check the box to turn on Family Safety. As soon as you do, you’ll receive a welcome email followed by weekly email reports summarizing your child’s computer activities. We expect you’ll find activity reports a great tool for teaching your kids about responsible computer use. Of course, you can also easily add restrictions by just clicking a link in the activity report. With the simplicity of activity reports, we believe more parents will adopt Family Safety, resulting in a safer computing environment for children. Here’s what a Family Safety activity report looks like: [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/2844.FamilySafety02_5F00_0ABFB825.png" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/8204.FamilySafety02_5F00_thumb_5F00_5B1173CB.png With a Microsoft account, you can take action from anywhere, on any device, because the reports are delivered directly to your email inbox. Any changes you make to Family Safety settings are stored in the cloud at familysafety.microsoft.com. These changes are then automatically applied to all Windows PCs where Family Safety is active. Standard accounts for the kids We’ve long recommended that parents log in as the computer administrator and make sure children have separate standard accounts. In Windows 8, accounts that the administrator –or “parent”—creates are automatically created as standard accounts. This approach has several benefits. Children: Won’t be able to access their parent’s email, online accounts, documents, etc. Can customize their own account settings without affecting their parent’s account Won’t be able to download malware or other questionable files because the [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2011/09/15/protecting-you-from-malware.aspx" target="_blank">SmartScreen Application Reputation service automatically prevents it For parents who want more control Activity reporting, which is on automatically in the new Family Safety, is the perfect solution for many parents. However, if you like more control, you can set up more powerful and customizable restrictions directly from links in the activity reporting email, or on familysafety.microsoft.com, if needed. In addition to the restrictions currently available in Windows 7, we’ve added some new ones in Windows 8, including: Web filtering: You can choose between several web filtering levels. http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/8787.FamilySafety03_5F00_49CD705B.png SafeSearch: When web filtering is active, SafeSearch is locked into the “Strict” setting for popular search engines such as [url=http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-US/bing/ff808441.aspx" target="_blank">Bing, [url=http://support.google.com/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2521692&rd=1" target="_blank">Google, and [url=http://help.yahoo.com/kb/index?locale=en_US&page=content&y=PROD_SRCH&id=SLN2247" target="_blank">Yahoo. This will filter out adult text, images, and videos from your search results. Time limits: With Windows 8, you now can restrict the number of hours per day your child can use their PC. For example, you might set a limit of one hour on school nights and two hours on weekends. This is in addition to the bedtime limits currently available in Windows 7. Windows Store: Activity reports list the most recent Windows Store downloads, and you can set a game-rating level, which prevents your children from seeing apps in the Windows Store above a particular age rating. Application and game restrictions: As in Windows 7, you can block specific applications and games or set an appropriate game rating level. Here is a short video showing how Family Safety works in Windows 8: Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Download this video to view it in your favorite media player: Watch for Family Safety in Windows 8 Release Preview[/size] We are continually striving to help you create a safe, family-friendly computing environment for your kids, but of course, we know that this means different things to different parents. Some parents prefer to simply keep an eye on their children. Others prefer to set up software restrictions on their child’s computing activities. We think the simplicity and power of the “monitor first” approach in Microsoft Family Safety addresses either style effectively and will lead to more family conversations about online safety, a safer computing experience for kids, and increased peace of mind for parents. Watch for these Family Safety features in the Release Preview. --Phil Source: Windows 8 Blog

Hey guys, I have a HP EX490 Mediasmart Server, Up untill yesterday i have no issues with it logging in threw RDP without and issue and for some reason today all of a sudden i can no longer RDP into my server. I can ping the server, i can see the server via network but when i click on a folder just gives me the constant loading bar accross the top and nothing happens?? Any one have any idea why the hell this would just stop the only thing i can think of is that i showed my brother on his ASUS Transformer Tablet yesterday how you can RDP in via a tablet and that was the last working time onto the server... any idea's would be muchly appreciated as i really dont want to loose all of my stuff on my server :( View this thread

Microsofts newest version of the Open Data Protocol (OData) is something both developers and IT managers should check out. Source: All About Microsoft

I have WHS on HP MediaSMart Server, low-end model, but with 3 HD. The first two are fine, but the 3rd drive just failed. I have duplication set on all of my folders (that I care about). I have the messages saying "Storage Status: WDC xxxxxx SCSI Disk device has failed. Ensure it is connected. If this problems continues, add a new HD and then remove the failed drive from your server storage using the console". There are some other messages, about backup service not running and the backup DB has errors, but those are a result of the failed HD. My question then is since i have duplication on, what do I need to do to fix this problem? Can I just remove the failed HD, and because duplication is on, WHS will repair itself and have my files back? Or do I need to have a new drive to make it work? Or what? Thanks Craig View this thread

There are 2 ways to submit resources to the new resources section of the site. One way is to simply post your article, tutorial or guide in this forum. Once you do staff will move it into the new Free PC Help Forum Resources section. The other way you can submit an article, tutorial or guide is to browse to the Free PC Help Forum Resources section and submit it from there. Doing it either way will work to get your resource added to the Resources section of the site.

I have converted the site back to the software we originally used. The company that made the software we converted from is in shambles and I don't want to be running anything that could be obsolete and unsupported in a few months. There are a few things left to do and when they are done the community will be much better. Some new features are turned on and in the coming days I will be moving the tutorials into the new CMS. This will not happen overnite so please be patient and pardon the dust.

Little background. I built a WHS box a few years ago and have since added 6 1T drives. I am literally out of space, without options (including 2T drives). I love this dang thing! So, it's time to build a new box with 2011 WHS, and lots of SATA expansion and 2T drive support :) The collection of parts is below, but I'm also over budget :( I would pull 1T drives out of the other box as I transfer files and get the drive freed up. SABERTOOTH Z77 LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388088 CMPSU-750AX Professional Series Gold AX750 High Performance 750 Watt Modular ATX Power Supply http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0341444 Vengeance Series 8GB DDR3-1600 (PC3-12800) CL9 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit (Two 4GB Memory Modules) http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354611 Intel Core i5 2500K LGA 1155 Boxed Processor http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589 LG12x Super Multi Blue Internal SATA 1.5Gb/s Blu-ray Combo Drive - OEM http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0372835 Windows: Home Server 2011 64-Bit, OEM W/ 10 CALs (PC) http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0372730 Caviar Black 2TB 7,200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive WD2002FAEX - OEM http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0364501 Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Computer Case http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0283272 One last question, can I effectively use this box as a media player both off files and to replace the BR DVD player? View this thread

I am sitting on two brand new drives and considering upgrading my HP EX490 to WHS 2011. If I pull out the two drives that are in there now, add the two new ones, and install WHS 2011, will reverting be as simple as removing the two new drives and putting back the two older ones? Thanks! View this thread

Severity Rating: Critical Revision Note: V2.0 (May 11, 2012): Added an entry to the update FAQ to communicate that security update KB2656353 addresses the vulnerabilities described in this bulletin for all supported systems running Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1, except when installed on Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2. There were no changes to the security update files. Customers who have successfully installed the update do not need to take any action. Summary: This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in the .NET Framework. The vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution on a client system if a user views a specially crafted webpage using a web browser that can run XAML Browser Applications (XBAPs). Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. View this security bulletin

Revision Note: V2.0 (May 11, 2012): For MS12-035, corrected the security update number to KB2656353 for all supported systems running Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1, except when installed on Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2. There were no changes to the security update files. Customers who have successfully installed the update do not need to take any action. Summary: This bulletin summary lists security bulletins released for May 2012. View this security bulletin

Severity Rating: Critical Revision Note: V1.4 (May 11, 2012): Added entry to the update FAQ to announce that KB2656353, offered in this bulletin, also addresses CVE-2012-0160 and CVE-2012-0161, which are documented in MS12-035. Summary: This security update resolves one publicly disclosed vulnerability and three privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft .NET Framework. The most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow elevation of privilege if an unauthenticated attacker sends a specially crafted web request to the target site. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take any action in the context of an existing account on the ASP.NET site, including executing arbitrary commands. In order to exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must be able to register an account on the ASP.NET site, and must know an existing user name. View this security bulletin

I couldn't get past the "network error" issue when trying to recover WHS, so I pulled drives 2 and 3 and did a reinstall with a new OS drive. The old OS drive is a brick, so I can"t mount it to get anything off of it. If I put drives 2 and 3 back in with the new OS drive, I'm sure it will want to format them. What other way can I recover data from drives 2 and 3 View this thread

The latest Bing update, coming to U.S. users soon, includes a less-cluttered results page, plus new social features displayed in a three-column layout. Source: All About Microsoft

When learning a new development platform I always find some hurdles getting my app working just the way I want it to. Like me, many of you have used our forums to get answers to the issues you run into. For this post we selected some of the most popular forum topics to highlight and provide more resources to help keep you coding. App settings and data, applying consistent colors and styles, designing for multiple languages and cultures, and Animating Metro style controls were all highly posted, viewed and replied topics. For each topic I selected resources and put them in a table. Each table is organized with quickstarts on top, SDK samples next, and in-depth documentation last. Quickstarts are a great place to start because they contain explanations and code snippets that provide the background that helps you understand the API design. SDK samples provide a deeper dive, and are a great place to start if you know what you need to do, but you just need to see an example to get started. Docs are there if you need the deepest dive use these when you want to understand the full capability of some feature you’re already familiar with. App settings and data [/b] Link Type Highlights Managing application data ([url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/Hh465109(v=win.10).aspx" target="_blank">HTML, Applying consistent colors and styles[/size] [url=http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/pl/winappswithcsharp/thread/a428be57-e76d-404c-be15-8c6105ea217c" target="_blank">“How can I change the color of the background of the GridViewItem when it's selected…?” Many developers have posted questions about how to customize apps, controls, and tiles. This section provides info about leveraging the built-in styles as well as how to create your own custom look and feel. Windows 8 has APIs that make it simple to choose between light and dark theming, to use high contrast colors for readability, and to create custom color themes for Metro style apps. Metro style apps support high contrast color schemes by default. When a user switches to a high contrast theme in Settings, apps using built in styles automatically switch to system-defined high contrast colors. Windows 8 apps are afforded the full screen, immersing the user in your app. Users will become familiar with your brand as they spend time with the colors and styles that you use consistently throughout your app. These resources provide info on styling your apps using whatever colors and styles define your brand. Theming resources Link Type Highlights [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/xaml/hh465381.aspx" target="_blank">Quickstart: styling controls (XAML) Quickstart Creating and deriving from styles, implicit/explicit styles, and control templates. [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/Hh465498(v=win.10).aspx" target="_blank">Quickstart: styling controls (HTML) Quickstart Styling HTML controls. Includes CSS and HTML code snippets, and info on the CSS pseudo-elements and the HTML parts that are specific to metro style apps. [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/xaml/hh465048.aspx" target="_blank">Quickstart: Using brushes (XAML) Quickstart Brushes, shapes, and effects. [url=http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowsapps/Theme-roller-sample-64b679f2" target="_blank">Applying app theme color (HTML theme roller) Sample This ‘theme roller’ helps you build and test a custom app color scheme and shows how to use chosen colors in your apps. [url=http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowsapps/High-Contrast-b36079d8" target="_blank">CSS styling for high contrast mode Sample CSS media queries for detecting high contrast mode, and custom high contrast styles. [url=http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowsapps/Basic-Media-Playback-662f1a7d">XAML high contrast style sample Sample Demonstrates how to support high contrast colors for custom-built app themes and styles. [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh452681.aspx" target="_blank">Building an accessible Metro style app with JavaScript Docs Includes accessibility requirements and checklists and info on Supporting [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh700340.aspx">high contrast themes . [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/xaml/hh452680.aspx" target="_blank">Accessibility in Metro Style Apps (XAML) Docs Info on high contrast theme support and other accessibility issues. Designing for multiple languages and cultures [url=http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winappswithcsharp/thread/ed8f19a3-945d-47b6-9c87-3819ee7c2bc6" target="_blank">“What's the best way to create a multi-language app?” We’ve introduced new localization resources tools for Windows 8, and we’ve seen many questions about localization and globalization. Our new localization resources format is similar to some of our previous offerings, but was designed to be common across programming languages. The resources here will help you make decisions on globalization/localization factors as you [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/xaml/hh465405.aspx" target="_blank">plan for a global market. The Windows Store can put your apps in front of a global audience. Customers will be more likely to download and use the apps in their language. The [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsstore/archive/2012/04/18/windows-store-expanding-to-new-markets.aspx" target="_blank">Windows Store for developers blog recently announced additional global coverage including new languages, and new markets for submitting and buying apps. Regardless of the [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh694064.aspx" target="_blank">Windows Store markets you make your app available to, your app must meet [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh694083.aspx" target="_blank">Certification requirements for Windows apps. Make sure that your app is [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh694083.aspx#acr_5_0" target="_blank">appropriate for a global audience and that your app name is unique across the Windows Store catalog. Decide in which languages you will [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh694083.aspx#acr_6_3" target="_blank">provide technical support. Localization resources Link Type Highlights [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/xaml/Hh771181(v=win.10).aspx" target="_blank">Quickstart: Make your Metro style app world ready (XAML) Quickstart Resource file examples and code snippets. [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/Hh465021(v=win.10).aspx" target="_blank">Quickstart: Designing a globalized Metro style app (HTML) Quickstart Resource file examples and code snippets. [url=http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowsapps/Application-resources-and-cd0c6eaa" target="_blank">Application resources and localization Sample App sample for creating apps for multiple languages. [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/hh848309" target="_blank">Multilingual App Toolkit Toolkit The toolkit can help translate your app’s resources, and the pseudo language engine can help you test your app’s global readiness even if you don’t know any foreign language. [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh465001.aspx" target="_blank">Designing for globalization and localization Docs Best practices for creating localized apps. Animating Metro style controls [url=http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winappswithnativecode/thread/1f76ffb4-7a49-4f06-a673-d99afbeee999" target="_blank">“The animation of show Edge UI is very cool. How to implement in C++?” Many developers have asked us questions about how they can add Metro Style animations to their apps. Animations bring your apps to life, and Windows 8 introduces a library of animations accessible to Metro Style Apps that weaves a thread of common personality through all apps that use it. Additional animation support from CSS and XAML allow developers to port animations from previous projects or to create custom animations for brand new apps. If you haven’t already, check out our blog post on [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsappdev/archive/2012/05/01/fast-and-fluid-animations-in-your-metro-style-app.aspx">Fast and fluid animations in your Metro style app. This post goes in depth on how we built Windows 8 to ensure animations would be consistent and smooth, and provides code-samples and descriptions to get you started. Animation resources Link Type Highlights [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/xaml/Hh452703" target="_blank">Quickstart: Animating your UI Quickstart Porting animations from Silverlight/WPF, provides code samples, explanations and links to documentation and a video of some common animations. Animations library ([url=http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowsapps/Personality-Animations-3f857919" target="_blank">XAML, [url=http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowsapps/Using-the-Animation-787f3720" target="_blank">HTML) Sample Animation Library APIs give you access to the same animations used throughout Windows UI and other Metro Style apps, giving your app that built-in look and feel. Includes animations like PopInAnimation. [url=http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowsapps/Independent-animations-app-c00b2962" target="_blank">HTML Independent Animations Sample CSS 2D and 3D transitions, transforms and animations in a Metro Style app. [url=http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowsapps/Flyout-sample-258757b3" target="_blank">HTML flyout control sample Sample Shows the HTML Flyout control’s default animation on show. [url=http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowsapps/Animation-metrics-sample-acb0220c" target="_blank">Animation metrics sample (XAML) Sample Shows how to access the parameters that define the Animations in the Windows [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/apps/Hh465165">Animation Library, so that developers can rebuild these animations. [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh465165" target="_blank">Animating your UI with the Animation Library (HTML) Docs Comprehensive references of JavaScript animations with control specific guidance, examples and CSS3 Quickstarts. Wrap up We’ve been monitoring your feedback and after we identified these important topics, I searched broadly and deeply through our documentation and samples to share these links. Teams across Microsoft participate daily in the developer forums to learn what our customers want to know and to provide answers to your questions. The [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/br229515" target="_blank">community resources, [url=http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowsapps/" target="_blank">Windows 8 Metro style app samples, [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/br211369.aspx" target="_blank">API reference for Metro style apps, and [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/apps/" target="_blank">documentation continue to evolve. As soon as the upcoming Release Preview is available, links in this post (and other content in [url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows" target="_blank">Windows Dev Center) will contain updated info to keep you productive. We couldn’t do it without your feedback and questions, so please keep posting in the [url=http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/windowsapps" target="_blank">Metro style apps forums, and let us know if you can’t find something you need. -- Aaron Wroblewski Program Manager, Windows View the full article

Hello: I had a situation in which my server appeared to be running smoothly (no strange indicator lights), but I could no longer access it through any method from any of my computers. The router and network all seemed to be fine, and I could see the server was there, but the tray icons were all grayed out, and I could get the server to come online for a brief moment right after a reboot, but then it would disconnect. I could not log on remotely, access folders, or use the console. So I read up, and found that with my HP MediaSmart EX490 server there comes a Server Recovery disk with two options: A Server Recovery that rewrites the operating system but preserves data, and a Factory Reset that wipes everything. I decided to go ahead with the former, as it said it would preserve my data. I read on various forums that this operation was tricky, and things could go wrong, but I followed the instructions very carefully (including choosing the allegedly lossless "server recovery" option), and the entire process went without a hitch. That is, until I reinstalled my client software and connected to the server and found that all of my data was gone. No more folders, or backups. I set up remote logging, and logged on to have a look at the disks, and sure enough, my one data drive is completely empty now. I read somewhere that it takes a long time to restore the data, so I waited a day. I read somewhere that you might need to restart the server and then wait a long time, so I rebooted, and waited another day. I read here that there was a hidden drive called DE that might have my data, so I went and found that, and all it had was the original, factory-installed client software files. I read somewhere else that it might be possible to get the data using some kind of disk recovery software, but I have no idea if that will work, where to get it, or even what to get. Was wondering if anyone can explain any of this, or what I might try next to get my data back? Or should I just give up, maybe? Lots of data lost at this point. It's so weird, because the whole recovery process went so smoothly I was completely broadsided by the loss of data. Leha View this thread

Mozilla and Google are just now complaining about Microsoft’s design decisions with Windows RT. But Microsoft’s response seems a bit flimsy. Source: All About Microsoft

In this blog post, Ill talk about the new NTFS health model for Windows 8 and our redesigned tool for disk corruption detection and fixing, the chkdsk utility. Weve all experienced the frustration that can be caused by an unexpected chkdsk that pops up while restarting a computer at home or a server at the office. Beyond the surprise, theres the interruption while waiting for the process to complete and Windows to be available. With Windows 8, we provide quick resolution to these problems when they arise, putting the user in control and making systems more available and more scalable. One of our key design goals for Windows 8 was to increase availability and reduce the overall down-time of systems this feature, along with other storage features such as The previous chkdsk and NTFS health model[/size] While exceedingly rare, there are a variety of unique causes for disk corruption today. Whether they are caused by media errors from the hard disk or transient memory errors, corruptions can happen in file system metadata (the information used to map physical blocks to that vacation photo you took last year). To maintain access to your data, Windows must isolate and correct these errors, and the way to do this is by running the chkdsk utility. In past versions, NTFS implemented a simpler health model, where the file system volume was either healthy or not. In that model, the volume was taken offline for as long as necessary to fix the file system corruptions and bring the volume back to a healthy state. Downtime was directly proportional to the number of files in the volume. Reliable telemetry data from systems all over the world have shown us that, although corruptions are quite rare, when chkdsk is needed, it can take between a few seconds to a few hours to run, depending on the number of files in the driveand even longer for larger storage servers. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, we made significant optimizations to the speed of chkdsk but, as hard disk capacities have continued to double every 18 months and the number of files per volume is increasing at an equal rate, chkdsk has taken longer and longer to complete (even with speed improvements) . So in Windows 8, weve changed the way we approach the health model of NTFS and changed the way we fix corruptions so as to minimize the downtime due to chkdsk. Weve also introduced a new file system for the future, [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/01/16/building-the-next-generation-file-system-for-windows-refs.aspx" target="_blank">ReFS, which does not require an offline chkdsk to repair corruptions. File system health redone The incredible growth in storage capacity and user data files has necessitated the redesign of the NTFS health model and chkdsk. There were three important requirements for file system health that our customers made clear: Downtime caused by file system corruptions must be zero in continuously available configurations and nearly zero in all other configurations. A User or Administrator must be made aware of the file system health at all times. A User or Administrator should be able to easily fix their file system when a corruption occurs in a scheduled manner. Our design included changes both in the file system and the chkdsk utility to ensure the best availability. The new design splits the process into the following phases to ensure a coordinated, rapid, and transparent resolution to the corruption. [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/7532.Picture_5F00_1_5F00_4097D30B.png" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/7357.Picture_5F00_1_5F00_thumb_5F00_3C215244.png We developed a new method of communication that describes types of corruptions as verbs that act upon the key components and points of the design the file system driver (NTFS), the self-healing module, the spot-verification service, and the chkdsk utility. All file system corruptions are classified as needing one of 18 different verbs that weve defined in Windows 8. We have also left room for possible new verb definitions that can help us diagnose issues even better in the future. Key design changes to help improve availability: Online self-healing: The NTFS self-healing feature was introduced in Windows Vista (and in Windows Server 2008) to reduce the need to run chkdsk. Self-healing is a feature built into NTFS that fixes certain classes of corruptions encountered during normal operation, and can make these fixes while still online. If all issues that are detected are self-healed online, there is no need for an offline repair. In Windows 8 we increased the number of issues that can be handled online and hence reduced any further need for chkdsk. Online verification: Some corruptions are intermittent due to memory issues and may not be a result of an actual corruption on the disk so we added a new service to Windows 8, called the spot verification service. It is triggered by the file system driver and it verifies that there is actual corruption on the disk before moving the file system along in the health model. This new service runs in the background and does not affect the normal functioning of the system it does nothing unless the file system driver triggers it to verify a corruption. Online identification and logging: When an issue is verified, this triggers an online scan of the file system, which runs as a maintenance task in the file system. In Windows 8, scheduled tasks that are for the maintenance of the computer run only when appropriate (during idle time, etc.). This scan can run as a background task while other programs continue to run in the foreground. As the file system is scanned, all issues that are found are logged for later correction. Precise and rapid correction At the user or administrators convenience, the volume can be taken offline, and the corruptions logged in the previous step can be fixed. The downtime from this operation, called Spotfix, takes only seconds, and on Windows Server 8 systems with cluster shared volumes, weve eliminated this downtime completely. With this new model, chkdsk offline run time is now directly proportional to the number of corruptions, rather than being proportional to the number of files as in the old model. [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/2161.Picture2_5F00_3FBF6D21.png" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/6355.Picture2_5F00_thumb_5F00_147AD61A.png Comparison of Windows Server: chkdsk /f vs chkdsk /spotfix Better manageability To enable better transparency into the new health model, Windows now exposes the state of the file system via the following interfaces: Action Center The health of the drive is most visible in the Action Center as the Drive Status (see figure below), which tells you when you need to take an action to bring the volume to a healthy state. Explorer: The health state is also exposed in Explorer, under Drive properties. PowerShell: You can also invoke the chkdsk functionality using a new cmdlet in PowerShell, REPAIR-VOLUME, which can be helpful for remote management of file system health. Server Manager: In Windows Server, you can also manage the volume health states directly from the server manager utility. The new file system health model In the new health model, the file system health status transitions through four states some that are simply informational, and others that require you to act. The health states are: Online and healthy Online spot verification needed Online scan needed Spot fix needed [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/8103.Picture4_5F00_53D889AA.png" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/7345.Picture4_5F00_thumb_5F00_13A27030.png Windows 8 file system health states Online and healthy In this state there are no detected file system corruptions and there is no action required of you. The file system remains in this state most of the time. [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/0511.picture3_5F00_3B48EC5A.png" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/8037.picture3_5F00_thumb_5F00_7B12D2DF.png Online spot verification needed The file system stays in this transient state only for a brief instant after the file system finds a corruption that it cannot self-heal it puts the volume in this state until the spot verification service verifies the corruption. Again, there is no user action required. Online scan needed When the spot-verification service confirms the corruption, it puts the file system in the online scan needed state. In the next maintenance window, an online scan is performed there is no user action required. This state is reflected in the Action Center, so you can run the scan manually if you want to do that before the next maintenance window. The scan is run as a background operation, which means that you can continue using the computer while the scan is performed. During this online scan, all verified issues and fixes are logged for later repair. On Windows Server 8 systems, idle time is determined by monitoring the CPU and storage idle times. [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/1072.picture5_5F00_0C8333B8.png" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/5775.picture5_5F00_thumb_5F00_335149F8.png [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/2146.picture6_5F00_5E29AE0A.png" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/1663.picture6_5F00_thumb_5F00_32E51703.png Spot fix needed The file system puts the volume in this state after the online scan is completed, if required, and this state is reflected in the Action Center. On client systems, you can restart the PC to fix all the file system issues logged in the previous step. The restart is quick (adding just a few additional seconds) and the PC is returned to a healthy state. For Windows Server 8 systems, a restart is unnecessary to fix corruptions on data volumes. Administrators can simply schedule a spot fix during the next maintenance window. [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/4300.picture7_5F00_5DBD7B15.png" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/6036.picture7_5F00_thumb_5F00_197D13C9.png [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/7345.picture8_5F00_2B59A796.png" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/6763.picture8_5F00_thumb_5F00_3D363B63.png For more advanced users who want to avoid restarting their system to fix a non-system volume corruption, they can open the Properties dialog for the affected volume, and on the Tools tab, theyll see an option to check the drive for file system errors. Corruption on drives that are not currently in use can be fixed without needing a full restart of the computer. [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/8004.picture9_5F00_43E944E6.png" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/0083.picture9_5F00_thumb_5F00_03B32B6C.png [url=http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/6443.picture9a_5F00_437D11F1.png" target="_blank">http://blogs.msdn.com/cfs-file.ashx/__key/communityserver-blogs-components-weblogfiles/00-00-01-29-43-metablogapi/1256.picture9a_5F00_thumb_5F00_6A4B2831.png Conclusion In Windows 8, we have made the detection and correction of file system errors more transparent and less intrusive. We believe these changes will be a welcome enhancement for you and we look forward to hearing your feedback. -- Kiran Bangalore Senior Program Manager, Windows Core Storage and File Systems Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Download this video to view it in your favorite media player: [url=http://media.ch9.ms/ch9/4af7/90f9956a-4b4b-404a-9f01-a8f4bcb34af7/CheckDiskImprovementsforWin8_high.mp4">High quality MP4|[url=http://media.ch9.ms/ch9/4af7/90f9956a-4b4b-404a-9f01-a8f4bcb34af7/CheckDiskImprovementsforWin8.mp4">Lower quality MP4 FAQ Q) Will the new health model work on removable drives? Yes, this works on removable drives that report fixed media, like most external hard drives. Q) How do I enable the new file system health model? You dont need to do a thingthe new file system health model is enabled by default. Q) Will the new file system health model apply to Windows Server? Yes, the health model is identical for both server and client. One thing that will be different by default is that the data drives will not be checked or fixed during boot of the system this maintenance will be left to the administrator when time permits. Q) Can I move between Windows 8 and Windows 7 and not affect the file system health model? Yes, the file system health model will adapt to whichever operating system version it is mounted on. Q) Will ReFS need to run chkdsk? ReFS follows a different model for resiliency and does not need to run the traditional chkdsk utility. Q) Will I ever need to run the old chkdsk /f? There are cases where failing hardware can produce such severe corruption as to make the file system un-mountable in these cases, you should perform a full, offline chkdsk to fix the file system. If for some reason this fails, we recommend that you restore from a backup. Q) Is a reboot absolutely required to fix non-system volumes? No, but the Action Center generally provides the simplest experience. If youre an advanced user, you can fix non-system volumes by opening the properties of the drive, or by running chkdsk scan : and chkdsk spotfix : from the command line. Q) I run chkdsk /f often to check the status of our drives, is that needed anymore? No, the system will inform you when a corruption is found, and you can then choose to run the chkdsk /scan to detect all the issues. An online chkdsk /scan will not take away from the availability of the drive or system. Q) I run read-only chkdsk today to check the status of our drives do I still need to do this? No, we recommend you run chkdsk/scan instead, since this will also perform all possible online repairs and will also prepare for a spotfix, if needed. Source: Windows 8 Blog

My computer can't install an Update for Microsoft OneNote 2010 (KB2589345) 32-Bit Edition. What should I do to get it to install or ignor this download? View this thread

Microsoft made available for download Silverlight 5.1 on May 8. Here’s what’s included in this minor update. Source: All About Microsoft

Hi, System drive on Home server (C:) is all of sudden full. I check the folders inside C drive and found C:Windows is nearly 16 GB. But inside the folder C:Windows total size of all files and folders is only 3.6 GB. Higly appreciate any help. Thanks you in advance Okay, I got it .. Inside the "windows" folder there is a folder called "Installer" which is protected operating system folder thats why it was hidden. Inside the folder there are 10s of .msi files (like 2d8b3a.msi, 2d8b4d.msi........) whose total size is nearly 12 GB. can I delete these files? I hope I will get some response. thanks View this thread

Have you tried turning off the monitor and turning it back on when you see the black screen?

Welcome to our site.

Microsoft is planning to host Dynamics CRM on Azure, according to a Microsoft Azure VP. And the expected Linux on Azure capability is still on the roadmap, too. Source: All About Microsoft

Microsoft is readying the Release Candidate of Visual Studio 11, which will include some UI modifications made in response to beta testers’ feedback. Source: All About Microsoft