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Windows Home Server bug corrupts files

Microsoft is researching a fix for a bug in Windows Home Server that could corrupt some files saved with certain applications.

Tom Krazit Former Staff writer, CNET News
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Google, as the most prominent company on the Internet defends its search juggernaut while expanding into nearly anything it thinks possible. He has previously written about Apple, the traditional PC industry, and chip companies. E-mail Tom.
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Tom Krazit
2 min read

Given that the point of Windows Home Server is to allow you to store your media files, a bug in the storage process that could result in corrupted files is bound to get attention.

Microsoft has issued a support document for the 13 or so (just kidding) people using Windows Home Server, the company's latest product for those attempting to build the digital home of the future. Apparently there's a flaw in the way Windows Home Server works with certain Microsoft applications, such as Windows Vista Photo Gallery, that could result in corrupted files if you use those applications to save files to the server. A list of the specific applications can be found in the support document.

HP's MediaSmart Server, which runs Microsoft's Windows Home Server. Hewlett-Packard

My colleague Ed Bott at ZDNet.com looked into exactly what would have to happen for the files to go bad, and it sounds like there is a convoluted series of steps that would have to be followed to produce the error. Still, as Ed points out, any bug that deletes data is a very, very serious issue.

The main culprit seems to be if you're putting Windows Home Server under a heavy load, and I doubt many of the people running the software have reached that point yet. I can see a day where a simple, easy-to-use home server will be vital in helping people organize (and back up) their vast collection of digital movies, TV shows, photos, and music--not to mention those precious home movies of the kids opening Baby's First QPhone or whatever becomes the hot-selling gadget of 2017.

But that day is not here yet for an overwhelming majority of people, as we've learned this week from Apple and Wal-Mart. The market for movie downloads--arguably the largest files people would want to store--is far from mature.