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HP (Hewlett-Packard) MediaSmart Server EX470 500GB 4-Bay NAS Drive

MediaSmart Server EX470 500GB 4-Bay NAS Drive

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Most recent User Reviews for

HP (Hewlett-Packard) MediaSmart Server EX470 500GB 4-Bay NAS Drive

  • Reviewed by: SDTechDeals

    04-29-09

    Duration of ownership: 4 Months

    Strengths: Sleek design; Easy drive swap; Intuitive to use; decent value

    Weaknesses:Not the quietest; finally worked out bugs!

    Overall Evaluation: I originally built my own Windows Home Server out of some old computer components that I had. However, I envied the sleek HP EX470/EX475 Home Servers. I couldn't even build one as cheap as these!! So when I ran out of expansion in my DIY system, and when the EX470 went on clearance prior to the release of the new EX480/485, I bought one. It was kind of funky doing the installation without an attached monitor, but it went smoothly. I was able to transfer over my data w/out a hitch. Note that this is not the quietest unit, so take that into consideration in a living room situation. However, as it's a network appliance that only requires power and an ethernet connection, it's best to hide it away. Heck, put it in the garage! :-) It's easy to add drives, with the pull-out drive trays. The Windows Home Server software is awesome, and easy to navigate. IMPORTANT NOTE: Microsoft has finally fixed the corruption bug, so be sure and read updated reviews on these units. My HP has been running for months now, and never a hitch.

  • Reviewed by:

    11-04-08

    Duration of ownership: 2 Weeks

    Strengths: Ease of setup, low maintenance, ease of backups, expandability, small size,

    Weaknesses:Needs more RAM

    Overall Evaluation: Had it about two weeks. Extremely easy setup, just works. Have added two more drives to get the duplication, and plan to add RAM soon. I like to "play" with new toys, and it's almost disappointing how little maintenance it takes. It just works.

  • Reviewed by: tech shopper

    10-20-08

    Duration of ownership: 6 Months

    Strengths: automated backup, media streaming, low energy use, small stylish look

    Weaknesses:no display port

    Overall Evaluation: windows home server has lots of features for everyday life, it can backup all your home PCs automatically, which can save you real heart break should a hard drive with your photos, home video and songs fail a day before you were planning to take a backup. media streaming is the way to use home entertainment systems. hp has built a very good product to do full justice to windows home server. it is stlish looking compact machine, that is very energy efficient. missing display port and just enough power of hardware is intentional to keep energy use low

  • Reviewed by: PainGain

    05-17-08

    Duration of ownership:

    Strengths: Simple Setup, Automated Backups of networked computers, exapandability, Small Piece of hardware, Streams Media

    Weaknesses:Temporary Corruption Bug (To Be Fixed In June), Probably should have shipped with more RAM (512MB is pushing it)

    Overall Evaluation: After receiving my server, I was amazed at how small it actually is. It's measurements are: 5.5" x 9.8" x 9.2" Setup is a breeze. You simply connect the power and ethernet cables and power up. Then, you use the installation disk on one of your home computers and follow the steps. I love how quick and easy it is to install additional hard drives. Along with this, the ability for the server to automatically duplicate your shared filed on multiple hard drives definitely eases worries of losing data. If one of the hard drives were to actually fail, your server has it stored on another hard drive as well. Peace of mind!! Having music, movies, pictures, and whatever media all centralized on one server (that I always have running) is great for spontaneously wanting to view it either on any desktop computer, xbox 360, or a number of devices around my house. The media is ready to be viewed whenever I want. Convenience!! Another great feature is the automated backups that this server will do for your other computers on the network. Whatever time frame that you set, the server will create a backup without you having to initiate it. It's a simple thing like this that can save your butt. We all seem to procrastinate on making backups. So, it's just a matter of time until we lose important data. But, with a home server doing backups daily; you're gonna be safe. I definitely recommend this for anyone with multiple PCs or if you want to unleash your vast library of media.

  • Reviewed by: scottsmith2008

    05-13-08

    Duration of ownership: 1 Months

    Strengths: Remote Access, Happy Grandmothers, Being Able to Access Media, Files, Pictures From Anywhere, Safe Data Backup

    Weaknesses:Temporary Weakness - Data Corruption Bug - Fix Coming in June, First backup can take forever if you have a lot of media,

    Overall Evaluation: I originally purchased the ex470 primarily as a backup for my computer's 1TB internal hard drive, shortly afterward I discovered the many, many uses for this well designed product. You can have up to 10 users who can access the server remotely, Grandmothers and other family took up 4 user spots and were quickly thrilled at their new ability to access pictures of my kids anytime. My friends and I took up the remaining user spots, we keep a pool of our music, videos, pictures, and data on the server so that it can be accessed from work/anywhere else. I didn't even know about the ability to remotely access your home computers until unboxing the device. This is an amazing feature that I am constantly finding new uses for. The box itself is surprisingly small, I've heard reviewers refer to it as loud, mine is quieter than the average desktop. You will rarely touch the box itself, once everything is set up you will almost forget it is there, auto backup is great for peace of mind. I have zero tech skills and yet I had no problems installing a second hard drive, I did call tech support for a little Q&A, tech support was fast, helpful, and actually knew what they were talking about. For some the Data Corruption Bug is a deal breaker but Microsoft is readying a fix for late June, check out their Data Corruption Bug Page for all the info you'll need to know, the Bug is easy to avoid by simply setting everyone to read only. I was going to wait about purchasing this unit until the fix was out but I correctly assumed I could easily waste a month learning everything, getting the settings where I wanted them, teaching the other users how to use the server, and getting my webshare (a grandma favorite) set up. The features are great and will only get better with PP1 (Power Pack 1 - Same as a Service Pack) set to drop around the same time as the Data Corruption Bug fix. Ask any questions in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer them.

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