HP to Release v2.5 to All EX47x Owners, Bring MediaSmart Server Back to Europe

By on May 5, 2009 in Hardware

Two mammoth pieces of news today released in a statement from HP’s home server team. Firstly, that the company have reversed the decision to preclude EX47x users from the recent v2.5 software update by releasing a new DVD image for all existing owners of those models. Secondly, an announcement that European users have been waiting for for a long time. The HP MediaSmart Server is coming back to Europe!

Certainly on the latter point, I’ve discussed the European point with HP continuously for the last few months and I know they have been working very hard behind the scenes to make this happen, so this is fantastic news. On the decision to provide the v2.5 update to all, it sounds like all of the feedback you guys supplied (check it out here), along with the readers over at mediasmartserver.net made the difference. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the debate. I’m guessing that reversing the original decision was not a small step to take, but it’s good to see a big company like HP listen to its customers and respond in the right way.

Here’s their statement in full – give us your thoughts on both announcements:

HP Announces Software Upgrades and European Availability for MediaSmart Servers


We have two updates to share with our MediaSmart Server communities.

We have listened to the customer feedback on wegotserved.co.uk, mediasmartserver.net, mediasmarthome.com and other popular Windows Home Server blogs related to our recent software update availability.  Based on this feedback, we are working to provide a supported path to allow customers to update all generations of their EX Series and LX Series MediaSmart Server products to the current software version.

Due to the generational differences of our platform architectures, we will not be providing the updated software as traditional downloads.  Instead, we will provide complete server image DVD’s through HP support in the same manner as replacement DVD’s are provided today.  We expect that there will be certain hardware limitations and/or trade-offs for the various platforms that will be detailed once the new server DVD’s are available.

Timing is tentatively scheduled in Fall 2009.  We understand customers would like these updates sooner, but this timing is necessary to adequately develop and test these new software images.  As we get further along in our development, we will provide an updated timetable.

We have also read the inquiries regarding European availability of the MediaSmart Server products.  We are pleased to announce that our European customers can expect to see our LX and EX series products for sale in Europe.  Targeted availability is Fall 2009.

We thank everyone for their continued support of the MediaSmart Server products and appreciate the continued feedback.


Enjoyed this post? Share it.

If you enjoyed reading this post, then why not share it with your friends and followers?

About Terry Walsh

Terry Walsh is the founding editor and owner of We Got Served. Since February 2007, the site has provided detailed coverage and analysis of the emerging home server category, and has subsequently grown into a trusted outlet for digital home news and reviews.
View all posts by Terry Walsh →

Sign Up for WGS Daily News

If you don't want to miss out on the latest news from We Got Served, why not subscribe to our daily digest? You'll get the day's headlines and a short summary of each news item delivered straight to your inbox each morning.

, , , , , , ,

Newer Comments →
  • Brian

    Question – a Server image dvd? Does that mean we need to start from scratch on the server?
    I'm fine with that.. BUT… it means offloading all of the data?

    I'd like to know if this is an in-place upgrade, or a complete server re-installation along the lines of a "recovery disk"…. just so I know what I'm getting into.

  • arebesee

    Fantastic. Though I wonder if there will be any issues with overseas owners (like myself from Australia) who have imported their servers, going through HP Support for the image disc. Anyone have any ideas?

  • http://www.mediasmartserver.net Alex Kuretz

    The wording leaves it open as to whether it would be a Server Recovery (preserves data on the server but replaces the OS) or a Factory Reset (total system wipe). I think we'll have to wait and see as more details emerge.

  • soaklord

    Kudos to you Terry (and to you Alex)! Top billing from the world's largest computer maker in a statement that shows they were listening to your site's users. Thanks for letting us use you to get our point out.

  • Jason

    Fantastic!.. Hope it gives the option to provide system recovery, and factory reset.. like before, but this time i hope it comes with x64bit support.. its annoying has hell to get my old 32bit system from down the loft to recovery or factory reset my server from time to time.. just something to keep in mind HP.. Thank you!

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/PaulJG PaulJG

    Really excellent news, and congratulations on the accomplishment — no small feat. Particularly good, I think, for users in Europe.

  • http://www.overclockingwiki.org jebo_4jc

    It's incredible if you ask me that HP was responsive enough to do this.

    Huge thanks to HP (from a non MSS user) for listening to your customers. You can be sure I will recommend MSS to any/all who would benefit from it.

  • Martin

    WooHoo! But not until fall… Bummer.

    This could all have been avoided if HP had provided an upgrade path to the 48x series from the 47x series by way of a service tray replacement.

    Now i just need an explanation of why the removed the port multiplier functionality of the eSATA port on the 48x.

  • http://www.wegotserved.co.uk Terry Walsh

    @ Alex – would be amazed if it was a full system wipe, but you’re right – we’ll need to wait and see.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/tezzer Terry Walsh

    @Martin – Whoa there! Let's get this one out of the way first :-) Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange
    From: IntenseDebate Notifications

  • Josh S

    Thanks for listening

  • cj v

    spectacular information, now I don't have to wish I owned a 48x…

  • GhostWorks

    nice one…

    Typical timing, I just did over the last weekend ( Long Weekend ) a back up [670Gb], Factory Reset, updated, installed Add-ins and Applied 2.5 Hack with Enable HDD Lights

    and now suddenly news of a WIN! cool I'm Happy to be a HP MSS Owner again.
    Does anyone know when and how much the new ex48x to europe market will be, or should I wait for a newer model in October (ex49x)?

  • Julien

    In a previous news post I read :

    "I hope owners of EX470/475’s take a step back and think through the pros and cons a little bit. Most of the updates included with 2.5 update are available in other forms. For the ones that are not, are they really a MUST have update component?"

    And now the same author states :

    "On the decision to provide the v2.5 update to all, it sounds like all of the feedback you guys supplied (check it out here), along with the readers over at mediasmartserver.net made the difference. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the debate. I’m guessing that reversing the original decision was not a small step to take, but it’s good to see a big company like HP listen to its customers and respond in the right way."

    Mhhhh I don't get it…

    Anyway Kudos to HP even if this announcement sounds a little bit like you'll get it when you won't need it anymore… We'll how it ends up !

  • CJ Saretto

    Existing HP Server Recovery media for all servers can do 2 things:

    1) reinstall only the OS and keep all of the data in your shared folders
    2) wipe the entire system and start from scratch

    Microsoft hasn't made any changes to the underlying support for the process, so I would expect the same behavior from the new media.

  • David Burns

    Great news. I actually just got a call back directly from HP based on an email I sent using HP's website to deliver a message to the CEO. I guess they heard everyone loud and clear. Thanks again to Terry and all the folks on this forum.

  • http://geocline.net/ smadge1

    Would be nice if we had enough clout to get them to sell MSS in Australia/NZ.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/tezzer Terry Walsh

    Or we provide freedom of speech and you a pair of spectacles. :-) Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange
    From: IntenseDebate Notifications

  • http://fasthair.blogspot.com/ fasthair

    I'm not a MSS owner (self built) and to be honest when all of this started I thought you owners had a flippin' chance of getting HP to change their minds. Hard to believe in this day and age that a company would really care about their customers after the fact. To that I give a hardy thumbs up to HP.

    fasthair

  • jim

    kudos to hp, faith has once again been restored yeah may not be till end of the year but they have commited to support the first gen and it may take a bit of time for testing fine, will we download the image pr must we send away to hp?

  • Mastiha

    Good move by HP but the Mediasmart is still not available in Australia at all.

    I imported my EX475 over a year ago so I'm not sure how I would go about obtained the complete server image DVD’s through HP support in Australia. Hopefully, some nice member can ISO them up for me.

  • welchwerks

    Thank You HP for listening to your customers. You can be sure I will recommend HP MSS to everyone who asks, now about covering my cpu upgrade :) worth a shot?

  • Max

    I have been a proponent for the MSS units. First HP did not recommend doing the 2gig upgrade and if you did it, your warranty would be voided. They ended up detracting that warning. Then they said it was not possible to do the 2.5 upgrade. Then a hack comes out that allowed the 2.5 update to install, successfully, in the older EX47* units. I believe intelligent people here as well as the other forums opened the eyes of HP that the old units could handle the upgrade. I wonder if HP even tested the upgrade on the EX47*. Well it is water under the bridge. HP did the right thing and in this competitive environment, it pays dividends to keep your existing customers happy.

  • Shawn

    HP, thank you for appreciating the point of view of the EX47x owners.

    I feel much better and will restart recommending HP's products where they're relevant.

  • Pingback: HP releasing v2.5 to all EX47x; Bring MediaSmart Server back to Europe

  • jon

    its a smart move. i bought the first home server so i'm not going to upgrade to these new units. but i'm much more likely to upgrade to the third/fourth gen now that i know i'll be supported. thanks hp.

  • Sunscreen

    I´m guessing, someone will get the DVD sent to them (guessing they will not allow downloading from their site? Wich if they will not, is plain stupid) and then upload it somewhere… P2P?

    I have a 470 and will not accept a "470 diet-version without all the goodies"
    If that would be the case, I would like to download the full-upgrade-version somewhere.
    (since I have the CPU upgrade and RAM-upgrade, like most of us here)

  • http://www.mediasmartserver.net Alex Kuretz

    @Sunscreen – Due to licensing issues from Microsoft the Server Recovery DVD is not available for download and so this updated server image will not be available for download either.

  • Chris

    Nice to have the Mediasmart back as a option, but question is will it come out in the UK before the Acer and will it be a competitive price or a specialist enthusiast price.

  • Chris A

    Well done for HP opting to mollify the Europeans & realising there was a large wedge to be lost by not providing hardware and annoying existing users.

    I'm still looking severely at the Tranquil AVA RS5 as a long term solution. Even with the heavy price, this looks like a better bet over (let's face it…just~) a big PC with a few extra bits screwed in.

  • yug

    Well done guys, I am lovin HP once again………

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/urmaster urmaster

    Wonderful news from hp. I'm looking to buy a new laptop in the coming weeks and now it is most likely to be hp again, now that I know they are willing to listen to customers and support them. Great move from hp, I look forward to this new update.

  • King_of_Mars

    I wish I had heard this news before I went and bought a new ex48x. But I’m still happy that HP made this possible. I wonder how my upgraded ex47x stacks up compared to the stock ex48x. I plan on giving my parents which ever one is slower.

  • http://www.pocketpcsoft.net Greg

    I can't find this statement anywhere on any HP pages, does anyone know if it's posted on hp.com or hp.co.uk anywhere?

    regards,

    greg

  • Brian

    I'm a little surprised it's going to take until the Fall 2009 to have this released….. I'm glad it's coming but wow, that's a long way to wait for 2.5. My question, I hate to ask, is will 3.0 or 2.6 or some update be released for the ex48* series that we're going to need to raise Cain about again?
    I'm still not averse to paying for the upgrade… but let's do em all at once. At least until the base OS changes.

  • http://www.mediasmartserver.net Alex Kuretz

    @Greg – This is a statement from HP sent to Terry, myself, and several other home server/technology sites and not a Press Release posted on their site.

    @Brian – Note the statement says it will update "to the current version" and does not specifically state 2.5, I think we'll have to wait and see as HP releases more details about what the upgrade path will look like.

  • Pingback: HP MediaSmart Server v2.5 Update to Be Available This Fall for First Generation Owners | eHomeUpgrade

  • Simon

    well done all who let their views be known…and well done to Terry etc. who worked hard at helping all neglected EX47x owners. The next thing will be that our politicians will listen to us!

  • Allan

    Okay so when do we ANY HP Windows Home Servers in Australia & NZ then? Only option here is home-built.

  • http://www.pocketpcsoft.net Greg

    @alex – thanks.

  • Blake

    Wow I'm impressed. I have been recommending EX48x to people but have secretly envying them as my EX47x didn't have all the cool features they were going to get. This is good news and I can hardly wait to get 2.5 running on my system.

  • Pingback: Apple Time Machine, Amazon S3 Online Backup Now Available to All HP MediaSmart Server Owners | We Got Served

  • Pingback: Apple Time Machine, Amazon S3 Online Backup Now Available to All HP MediaSmart Server Owners | We Got Served - Windows Home Server & Your Digital Home

  • Manudurand

    Same as my Australia/NZ mates. Here in Hong Kong, no HP Windows Home Server yet. Been waiting for a long long time…

  • Brian

    Has anyone got an update on this? It seems like we just heard that they were going to do it then it died off? Any time frame of when the update would come out or did they just say they were going to do it to shut us up? I'm just curious?

  • Juan

    Do you know when upgrade 2.5 will be available in spanish?

  • http://daveramsey.com scott

    I'd love to hear an update on this.

  • BRG

    Yes, is there an RSS feed we can subscribe or email list we can get on to notify us of this fabled 2.5 update?

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/tezzer Terry Walsh

      Well, you can subscribe to us (see top right of page) – RSS and Email available!

  • netreg

    Must admit that I'd put my two cents in a while ago, and then relegated it to just another example of being burned by big business. Thanks to all who who've supported the sites and added their comments, and especially those who maintain them. HP – kudos due to you as well – in the age of twitter, this news will pay dividends to your bottom line.

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/MarkRadaba MarkRadaba

    Has anyone heard anymore from this? I haven't heard anything from HP. Where will we be able to find this on their website in order to order the DVD?

Newer Comments →