The Magic Jack aka magicJack is a little device that allows people to make free local and long distance phone calls within the US and Canada. The magicJack is a well-advertised voice-over-IP (VoIP) solution often seen during American-TV commercials. Please note: the magicJack’s call quality, outlining the flaws of the Magic Jack product or service is beyond the scope of this article. Instead we focus on how to best setup the magicJack directly on a Windows Home Server. The magicJack connects to Windows-based computer via USB connection and to your telephone using a standard RJ-11 connector. Although it is possible to make calls using only your computer microphone and speakers or a headset, we recommend using a physical telephone connected to the magicJack via RJ-11 for a more traditional telephone experience.The Magic Jack features:
The device comes with a special device driver and software that connects the phone to the magicJack servers over the internet, where the standard UDP/IP packets are then switched over a standard phone network for regular phone connectivity. For this to work, and in order to make and receive calls the Magic Jack software must be running at all times. If the software is not running, incoming calls would immediately route to the voicemail servers and making outbound calls would not be possible.
The magicJack software is a Windows tray-application developed for Windows PC’s (desktop or laptops) but these generally do not remain powered-on and logged on 24/7. Therefore to turn the magicJack into a true land line with uninterrupted phone service the Windows Home Server shines.
Typically users interact with the WHS via the Windows Home Server console or sometimes using a Remote Desktop connection to gain visibility into the box itself, going beyond the WHS Console provided functionality. Given the headless nature of the Windows Home Server – additional configuration steps are required to assure a smooth and reliable magicJack service.
Installing the Magic Jack on the Windows Home Server over a default remote desktop session will result in a “No output/input audio devices are found!” error message to be displayed.
The magicJack requires a working sound card, the audio drivers must be installed and the Telephony and Windows Audio Services must also be started.
By default, a remote desktop session will only engage the Microsoft RDP Sound Driver.
In Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista or Windows 7, run %systemroot%\system32\mstsc.exe /admin
Or if you are using Windows XP < SP3 the command is:%systemroot%\system32\mstsc.exe /console (Thanks Ariel)This instructs the Remote Desktop Connection client software to connect to the first session (session zero) for administrating the Windows Home Server. In the Remote Desktop Connection client software you would specify the name of your Windows Home Server, for example “hpserver”. Next, click on Local Resources and ensure the Remote audio playback is set to the “Play on remote computer” option.
We recommend you save these configuration options for future use.
When you use this modified administrative remote desktop connection to connect to your WHS, the magicJack software Windows tray application will load automatically. At this point – you should no longer receive the “No audio devices found” error message and you are ready to make and receive phone calls.
As mentioned earlier the magicJack software is a windows-tray application requiring a user to be logged into the Windows desktop in order to function. But having to keep a remote desktop session connected at all times just to keep the software running can get annoying. This represents a major inconvenience especially if the Windows Home Server is restarted. Luckily a number of solutions exist to automatically load the Magic Jack software: FireDemon, AnyService Installer and our favorite the SrvAny utility by Microsoft to wrap the magicJack software as a windows service. These do not only stop the popup but more importantly let magicJack run without a user being logged on. To accomplish this task, visit the magicJack as a Service wiki for a complete walkthrough.
With Windows XP + SP3 there's no more /console switch is /admin like on Vista and 7. Great article!
Thanks. Yes you are correct the /console switch is being phased-out on Windows XP. I will update the article accordingly.
Following your steps, I cannot seem to connect my Windows 7 machine to my server (it's running Server 2008 R2) with this above method with audio. I still get the same message “No output/input audio devices are found!” I did double check everything and I even made sure that the services you mentioned are running. Anything else I can try? I really want to make this work. Even though I'm on Server 08, the idea should be the same.
Are you sure you are connecting to the first session (session zero) and ensure the MagicJack executable is not already running in another session. Focus on getting the audio to work first, try playing any MP3 or WAVE file – can you hear it?