HP MediaSmart Server EX485 - C 2 GHz

• Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 2 reviews
• My rating: 0 stars

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• 8 stars

  Not Perfect, but a great tool for SOHO or home

  by stevepend on September 16, 2009

  Pros: Easy Set-up; Seamless background backup of all computers on the network; HP support; remote access; RAID capability for storage drives

  Cons: Windows Home server has a few bugs;can't connect to remote computers (thru the WHS) if they are asleep; Not all versions of Windows play well with WHS

  Summary: This is an excellent solution if you are looking for a network attached storage solution. The Media Smart server comes with 4 drive bays. WHS will automatically back-up any computer ...

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  Summary: This is an excellent solution if you are looking for a network attached storage solution. The Media Smart server comes with 4 drive bays. WHS will automatically back-up any computer on the same network every night (it is picky about the versions of Windows that are on the remote computers) and restoring a computer after a crash is really easy. HP support for this product (believe it or not is EXCELLENT). I have called with all kinds of questions and have never stumped them or gotten a cranky support person. This unit ought to be the model for all HP support! But back to the product. Configured correctly you can use any internet connection to connect remotely to either the WHS or any computer attached to the same network as the WHS. I've forgotten files and had the ability to sign on to my server and upload them quickly. Great feature!! The WHS searches for and catalogs all media files on the attached network. Doesn't always work perfectly, but it's a good feature. Also, you can point your iTunes toward the server and it essentially becomes an alternate library. Lots and lots of other features that I don't have time to talk about. If you are looking for a back-up storage location and more, this is it. I had a NAS drive that melted down and lost everything. With mirroring turned on you would never have that happen with this unit. I completely, totally recommend it.

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• 2 stars

  HP MEDIA SMART EX485 (BEWARE)

  by Techguynj908 on March 19, 2009

  Pros: It looks great, much faster than the last media smart servers, more ram, gigabit NIC, ESAT connection, updated WHS software!

  Cons: Watch out they go down a lot and in most of my cases I have lost everything on the server. HP tech support is mediocre at best and eventually will tell you to do a system reset which wipes everything! Boots up very slow.

  Summary: WHS and the Media Smart Server combo could be a fantastic pairing; unfortunately I have not found that to be the case! Now with respect to HP I try and ...

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  Summary: WHS and the Media Smart Server combo could be a fantastic pairing; unfortunately I have not found that to be the case! Now with respect to HP I try and be fair when I write a review and I may I bought a lemon, or maybe they just don?t have the bugs worked out of this product yet! I have had both hardware and software issues, so this would lead you to believe that it?s a product that was put to market without through testing!
  Hey, maybe I just got a bad server; let?s hope so for HP because in an economy where the level of disposable income has significantly lower than it was consumers who do their homework will go elsewhere. HP this is your wake up call, you make a progressive ground breaking product like apple now get in the lab and work out the kinks! Steve Jobs would never put this product in the hands of the public if he ran HP, is there any other litmus test I need to apply?
  Bad product, tech support is mediocre, tech support knowledge is mediocre, wait time to talk with tech support is surprisingly good and yes they speak English. I can?t recommend this product and that is unfortunate, I went into the buying process with very high hopes this could be a revolutionary product!

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  1 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.

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