[Today’s post comes to us courtesy of Yang Cao and Ashish Sukhija]

Hello everyone, we would like to update you on an Add-In software that is now available for Windows Server 2012 Essentials. We have updated the Windows Server Essentials integration module for Windows Azure Backup and is now available for download from the link below:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=288906

More Information

A reboot might be needed if you don’t have the Visual C++ redistributable installed because it requires the server to reboot. After reboot, please launch the add-in installer again.

If you already have an old version of the Add-in software installed, then you need to:

1. Uninstall the old Add-in from the Dashboard;
2. Uninstall the Windows Azure Backup agent from the Control panel;
3. Reinstall the new Add-in

NOTE: During step #3, we’ll automatically reinstall the new Windows Azure Backup agent.

Known Issue

If you update the Windows Azure Backup agent before uninstalling the previous Windows Server Essentials Integration module for Windows Azure Backup, the Dashboard will crash. This is because of the compatibility issue between the old add-in and the new Windows Azure Backup agent. To fix this issue, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Dashboard in safe mode.
2. Disable the online backup add-in.
3. Go to Dashboard to uninstall the add-in.
4. Reinstall the new add-in.

Visit the Windows Azure Backup Forum
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsazureonlinebackup/threads