Windows Home Server data corruption bug fixed

Well, it didn't quite hit the promised June deadline, but a fix for the dreaded Windows Home Server file-swallowing bug has finally been released.

Microsoft announced on its Technet Blog for Windows Home Server yesterday that the Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 patch was finally available in finished Released to Manufacturing form.

Available for immediate download from the Microsoft Download Center [sic], users relying on Windows Update will have to wait until August to get their hands on the much-vaunted update pack – as will anyone running a Chinese or Japanese Windows Home Server install.

By far the most important change in the Power Pack 1 is the fix for a rather nasty bug we covered way back in December which resulted in files being edited directly on the server – rather than being edited on a desktop PC and then transferred to the server – in a range of applications stood a non-zero chance of being corrupted beyond use.

Now that that's fixed, the team have also bundled some other goodies into the Power Pack – including support for client computers running Windows Vista x64, the ability to back up shared files on the Home Server (which for a while looked like it wouldn't live past the beta), performance tweaks, and improved power efficiency for those of you watching your rising energy bills with alarm.

If you've been treating your Windows Home Server box with trepidation since the bug surfaced, now might be a good time to upgrade and finally get some use out of what promised to be a useful product. Unless you'd rather use something else, of course.

Any Windows Home Server users here hoping that this download is the answer to their problems, or is the product a solution looking for a problem? Share your thoughts over in the forums.

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