News

posted on 16 May 2008 10:55

One step foward, one step back. Microsoft has a Home Server update coming out to fix the data corruption bug but has removed a much-wanted coming backup feature to the annoyance of its resellers.

Home Server Power Pack 1 will fix the data corruption bug, Microsoft claims. The update, due in June, was scheduled to have a feature enabling Home Server's database to be backed up to an external drive. That capability has been withdrawn as the code is bug-ridden and can't be fixed in time.

Windows Home Server marketing director Todd Headrick wrote in the WHS forum: "A feature isn't a feature until it ships.  And sometimes marketing gets things wrong ... by pre-announcing stuff at CES that ends up getting cut before it ships. The Home Computer Backup Technical Brief talks about how to backup, delete and restore the home computer backup database.  This is good fodder to a enthusiast add-in. The feature had to be cut (d)ue to the interplay with the connector install and the fact that consumers may hork their backup database by doing an incomplete backup or interrupting the restore processs.  The team will look to add this functionality in a future release after Power Pack 1. It will be delivered at a later date."

Resellers had been told about the new backup feature in NDA presentations and lauded it. They now find that is has disappeared because the Microsoft code quality isn't good enough.

Against the background of the data corruption bug one can understand Microsoft's wish not to ship a fix to it in an update that has its own new data protection bugs.

^{[Paul Roberts, news editor.]}