Microsoft today unvieled a public beta version of Windows Home Server Power Pack 1, a significant update to the Windows Home Server operating system.

Build 1771, or also known as the Power Pack 1 Release Candidate, includes a wide variety of fixes and enhancements to Windows Home Server. The most important of these improvements is the long anticipated fix to the highly publicized "data corruption bug" (Knowledge Base article #946676).

"...we have high confidence that Power Pack 1 solves the data corruption bug that was first identified late last year..." according to the Windows Home Server Team Blog. "We are running this public beta with the aspiration that we will get thousands of beta testers to help us prove that we not only have fixed "the bug", but have significantly improved all parts of Windows Home Server with new features."

PP1 does include a number of upgrades and new enhancements, and according to the home server team, some of these include:

• Support for PCs running Windows Vista x64 editions
• Backup of home server Shared Folders
• Easier, enhanced remote access capabilities
• Better energy efficiency
• Improved performance
• Chinese and Japanese versions

According to Microsoft, the final build of Power Pack 1 will not be available until the the release candiate is tested and verified by the community at large, no doubt to ensure that the data corruption bug has truly been corrected. The Home Server Team is hoping for a large number of volunteers to aid in testing.

For those looking to take the PP1 plunge, you can download from the Microsoft Connect website. If you haven't yet signed up for the beta, you'll need to sign up before you can access the release candidate. As with any beta software, it's recommended that you back up your data to an external device prior to installation.

For those who have already installed it, head over to the Community Forums and tell us how your PP1 experience is going.

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