Using Windows 8.1 as a Server at Home or in a Small Business

New! Second Edition - updated July 2015 to include Windows 10 clients.

This guide describes how to setup a home or small business network using a file server based around Windows 8.1. Windows 8.1 is a great choice in such environments as it offers the everyday ease and convenience of Windows, but without the additional cost and complexity of Windows Server or the unfamiliarity of Network Attached Storage (NAS) boxes. This guide is comprehensive, based around techniques that work in the real world and is written in a friendly and understandable style, along with plenty of illustrations and screenshots. It is aimed at the home, home office or small business user who has some knowledge and experience but who would not necessarily consider themselves to be an expert or enthusiast. It has been written according to the Goldilocks Principle: not too much information, not too little, but just the right amount.

Contents:
1 GETTING STARTED
1.1 The Benefits of a Server-based Network
1.2 The Case for Windows 8.1 as a Server
1.3 Hardware Considerations for the Server
1.4 Editions of Windows 8.1
1.5 Infrastructure
1.6 Location
1.7 Electrical Considerations
1.8 Printers
2 INSTALLATION AND CUSTOMIZATION OF WINDOWS 8.1
2.1 Standard desktop computer with Windows pre-installed
2.2 Blank desktop computer or Micro server
2.3 Personalization and Settings
2.4 Windows Updates
2.5 Power Management
2.6 Network Settings
2.7 Storage Spaces
2.8 Windows Product Key and Activation
3 USERS
3.1 Creating a User with PC Settings
3.2 Creating a User from the Command Prompt
3.3 Deleting a User with PC Settings
3.4 Deleting a User from the Command Prompt
4 SHARED FOLDERS
4.1 Setting up the Shared Folders
4.2 Home Folders
5 ACCESSING THE SERVER
5.1 From Windows Explorer/File Explorer
5.2 Accessing A Shared Folder Using the Run Command
5.3 Mapping Drives Manually
5.4 Using A Batch File
5.5 Conncting from a Mac
6 MULTIMEDIA & STREAMING
6.1 Setting Up Streaming
6.2 Playback Media on Other Devices
7 USING CLOUD STORAGE SERVICES
7.1 Dropbox
7.2 Google Drive
7.3 Box
7.4 Comments about OneDrive and iCloud
8 USING IPADS AND OTHER PORTABLE DEVICES
8.1 Accessing the File System with File Browser
8.2 Using a Cloud Sync Service
8.3 Multimedia Playback
8.4 Microsoft Remote Desktop app for iOS
8.5 Chromebooks
9 BACKUPS
9.1 Backing Up the Server
9.2 Restoring Data to the Server
9.3 Backing up PCs to the Server
9.4 Backing up Windows 7 Computers to the Server
9.5 Backing up Windows 8 Computers to the Server
9.6 Backing up Windows 10 Computers to the Server
10 HOUSEKEEPING AND MONITORING THE HEALTH OF THE SERVER
10.1 Applying Windows Updates
10.2 Check Disk Space
10.3 Optimizing the Hard Drives
10.4 Checking the Event Viewer
10.5 Anti-Virus & Anti-Malware Software
10.6 Remote Desktop
11 ACCESSING THE SERVER REMOTELY
11.1 Fixed IP Address
11.2 Port Forwarding
11.3 Dynamic DNS (DDNS)
11.4 Using the Remote Desktop Client