Prerequisites for connecting a computer to the home server

Updated: March 30, 2011

Applies To: Windows Home Server 2011

The following requirements must be met before you connect your computer to the network:

  • You have completed the installation of Windows Home Server 2011, and the server is up and running. The Connector software will exit its installation if it is unable to communicate with the server.

  • The computer is running a supported operating system and service pack. For more information, see Supported operating systems for home computers.

  • The computer is on the same IP subnet as the server that is running Windows Home Server 2011.

  • The computer needs to have .NET Framework 4 installed on it. The Connector software installs .NET Framework 4 on the computer if it not present. For more information, see Install the Connector software

  • The computer meets the following minimum system requirements:

    • 1.4 GHz or faster processor

    • 1 GB RAM or more

    • 1 GB of available hard disk space (a portion of this disk space will be freed after installation)

  • The boot partition—that is, the disk partition where the Windows operating system is installed—is formatted with the NTFS file system.

  • The computer is not connected to more than one Windows Home Server 2011 server, or connected to a Windows Home Server and a Windows Home Server 2011 server at the same time.

  • The computer name does not include more than 15 characters.

  • The computer name does not include an underscore (_).

For step-by-step instructions for connecting a computer to the server running Windows Home Server 2011, see How do I connect computers to the server? For additional information about connecting computers to the home server, see Connect Computers to the Server.