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Windows Home Server Vail Preview: Installation Deep Dive

By on August 21, 2010 in News, Windows Home Server, Windows Home Server Vail

With the beta downloaded, and your hardware prepared, it’s now time to get Windows Home Server Vail installed on your test machine. There are two ways of installing Vail on to your hardware, DVD and USB hard drive. For headless (ie. without a monitor, keyboard and mouse), creating an unattended installation on a USB hard drive is the way to go. Microsoft cover how to do this in the Vail Release Notes. For everyone else, it’s the traditional DVD method, which we’ll be covering in this walkthrough.

We’ll run through a step by step installation of Vail on our new homebrew Vail test machine. For Vail, we’ve decided to create a new, powerful “media” server with which we’ll be able to test Windows Home Server’s more advanced remote video transcoding and streaming features.

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We’ve built using Fractal Design’s new Array NAS Mini-ITX Chassis (which is pretty much silent, and completely rocks) into which we’ve dropped in an Intel DH57JG Media Series Mini-ITX motherboard, an Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB RAM and 2x2TB Hitachi Deskstar hard drives. This spec may be a little powerful for what we need for Vail, but we’ll get a better feel for that once everything’s installed – it should scream though!

Look out for our hands-on review of the Array NAS Mini-ITX Chassis, and a full walkthrough of our new Vail build in the next few weeks.

Step 1: Burn the Vail Installation DVD

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In your Vail download, you’ll see a file named InstallDVD – I’m sure you’ve guessed what to do with it. If you’re running Windows 7, right click the file and select Burn disc image, otherwise, use your favourite DVD burning application to create your Vail installation DVD.

Step 2: Boot Your Home Server from the Vail Installation DVD

Make sure the BIOS on your home server hardware is set to boot from the DVD drive. Our test build does not have an in built DVD drive, so we’re using an external DVD drive for the installation, which we’ll unplug and remove once the installation is complete. Place the Installation DVD in the drive and reboot the home server.

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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.
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  • Steve

    Has anyone tried installing this under VMWare Workstation 7?

  • @LPLPACA

    my test has been sitting there for about three months now, beta is downloading now, BUT, when is the X files edition coming out – :-)

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

      I'm sure Drashna's on it!

  • Michel

    I saw eariel in this web site Win 7, Vista, XP(32bits), do you mean that win 7 64 bits is now cover without the need to have Drasha involved for the PC Restore as you all know that without Drasha involvement no 64 bis OS were covered by WHS RTM, SP1, SP2 and SP3 without human intervention and sometime with no avail.

    My question is that if I jump in the bandwagon of WHS Vail, will the 64 bits of Win 7 been finaly cover without again the need of Drasha this time. Not that I don't mind Drasha involment, in the contrary I welcome it. But I am not interested if this time Microsost do not cover the 64 bits for at least Win 7 64 bits version and Vista at the minimum for the covering of the "connector/Dashboard?.

    Anyone that know if my wondering has been resolved with Vail?

    Thank you

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

    Hi

    The is no upgrade path from v1 to Vail – you'll need to migrate your data from the v1 home server, do a fresh install, and then reload your data.

    Terry

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

    Hi Terry.

    Why are you deep diving a fresh install? I would think most of us would like to see how an upgrade is going to go from current WHS to Vail. That's the important stuff.

    Thanks!

  • kiwifidget

    I would have thought that if your ethernet controller drivers were not installed it would be very difficult to download them from the internet, because that would require a working ethernet controller.

    • Vohaul

      Yah, I think he meant to say you can download them from the internet via another computer.

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

        Yes, I did mean from another computer. Most WHS owners have at least 1 PC ;)

  • Jeff C.

    in reading the posts here and wlsewhere on the web for WHS v1 there were some issues installing with drives running in AHCP. Anyone know if this issue has this issue been resolved with Vail? Can you install with drives in AHCP mode?

    • http://kaidogg.wordpress.com kaidogg

      hi jeff . vail is based on server 2008 , therefor i dont hav that issue no more.

  • http://kaidogg.wordpress.com kaidogg

    hello all. i have it setup and testing it. with the same hardware, the speed has incrse alot. i am loving vail.

    how much will retail cost by guesing ?

  • http://adacosta.spaces.live.com adacosta

    What is that green background? Is it a preview of the Windows Home Server Vail official Welcome screen branding? Notice its still showing a lot of Windows Server 2008 R2 branding.

  • http://www.popcultureshock.com Mitchell Hennessy

    It still has that "reboot infinitely when it can't detect network hardware" issue; in my case, my NICs were already installed (not connected), and then I updated the drivers on them, then teamed them (2 Intel Gigabit NICs), connected them to the network, and the install is STILL infinitely looping.

    Quite annoying.