Building a Windows 10 Home Server - Anniversary Update Edition

Windows 10 is Microsoft's latest release of the PC operating system, with significant enhancements over its predecessor that you'll want to learn all about.

Building a Windows 10 Home Server - Anniversary Update Edition is our expanded step by step guide to installing and configuring Windows 10 as a powerful home or media server. Packed with tips, tricks and guided walkthroughs, you'll quickly get to grips with what's new in Windows before configuring your PC as the heart of your home network.

Written by nine-time Microsoft Most Valuable Professional awardee, Terry Walsh, Building a Windows 10 Home Server lifts the curtain on Microsoft's Windows-as-a-serviceproposition, guiding new and experienced users through upgrading to the new release on an existing PC or installing the software on freshly built hardware.

Get the low-down on this year's media server hardware and software recommendations and deep-dive the latest technology, like M.2 storage modules, the latest motherboard and BIOS features, real-time media transcoding and much more.

Now expanded to over 1300 pages, with hundreds of detailed, full-colour screenshots, this  step by step guide walks you through the steps to configure a first-class home server setup, using Windows 10, supporting applications and a PC you may already own.

Detailed walkthroughs include a full guide to building a home server PC, configuring network settings for local and remote access, managing storage pools and Windows RAID arrays, protecting family user accounts and integrating Microsoft's latest cloud services. 

Vital topics such as managing data security and family safety are covered in depth, showing how features already built into Windows 10 can be configured to protect the things and the people that matter most.

Building a Windows 10 Home Server - Anniversary Update Edition updates and significantly extends the first edition, with four new chapters and over four hundred pages of new content. You'll find an in-depth guide to creating and managing media libraries, in which you'll learn how to organise TV Shows, Movies, Music and Photos on your home server, enriching content with metadata from online sources. You'll discover the steps required to enhance your Windows 10 home server with the latest Smart DVR capabilities and power up the media experience for family and friends, at home or on the road, with Plex Media Server. 


And we're not yet done! Stay tuned as the book is extended over the coming months with bonus chapters covering further enhancements to take your home server to the next level! 


Spend some time with Windows 10 and you'll realise it's the best release of Windows for many years - Building a Windows 10 Home Server will help you get up to speed quickly with what's new and support you in creating a fabulous media server that will serve you for years to come. 

Chapter List

Part 1: Building Your Windows 10 Home Server 


1. Planning Your Windows 10 Home Server

2. Introducing Windows 10

3. Selecting Windows 10 Home Server Hardware

4. Assembling Your Windows 10 Home Server

5. Configuring Your Motherboard BIOS

6. Installing and Upgrading to Windows 10

7. Optimizing Windows 10 Power Settings

8. Configuring Network Settings for Your Home Server


Part 2: Configuring Windows 10 as a Home Server


9. Discovering the Windows 10 Start Menu and Desktop

10. Managing Home Server Storage and Storage Spaces

11. Pooling Storage With Stablebit DrivePool

12. Creating Windows RAID Storage Arrays

13. Securing User Accounts with Microsoft Family

14. Sharing Windows 10 Files and Folders

15. Protecting Data on Windows 10 and Other Devices 

16. Securing Data With BitLocker Drive Encryption

17. Accessing Your Home Server Remotely

18. Integrating Microsoft Cloud Services – OneDrive

19. Installing an FTP Server on Windows 10


Part 3: Extending Windows 10 With Enhanced Media Features


20. Configuring Windows Audio for Surround Sound and Lossless Audio

21. Enhancing Windows DVD and Blu-ray Support

22. Ripping DVDs and Blu-ray Discs to Populate Your Media Library

23. Integrating Smart DVR Capabilities in Windows 10

24. Running Any Application as a Service

25. Streaming and Sharing Media With Plex