Category: Work

Busy IT Month

Well it’s been a busy month for me at home and work. I migrated my Sager NP8690 to Ubuntu 10.04 and created three virtual machines; Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. To my surprise Windows Vista SP2 is extremely stable as a VM. I disabled UAC because I don’t like being asked “are you sure you want to do this” from my PC. Both Windows 7 and Windows XP SP3 ran well also. Over all I was pleased with the performance from each VM. Of course that changed when I tried to run two VMs at the same time, I was running out of RAM. I think if I had 8GB installed, running two VMs would have worked fine.

However, I was never able to get get Blu-Ray running in any VMs or in Ubuntu. This bummed me out since I wanted I watch Star Trek. Maybe I’ll ask Santa to bring a Blu-Ray player for Christmas. Then I was informed by my wife that she needed Windows in order to work from home. Plus she was not too thrilled that I didn’t create a account in Ubuntu for her. Oops!

So I backed up everything (again) and reinstalled the image I took before wiping out my hard drive. Since I am dual booting between Windows 7 and Ubuntu 10.04, I deiced to leave Windows with a larger partition and keep all my videos there. I can access then easily enough from Ubuntu without much hassle. I still need to install a few application in Ubuntu (Thunderbird, Filezilla) but for the most part I am finished.

Instead of trying to use Gwibber a buddy of mine said I should look into TweetDeck. TweetDeck requires Adobe Air to install and run. Being Adobe has issues with x64, there were no .deb files for my OS. I downloaded the .bin file and from a Terminal window I typed ./AdobeAIRInstaller.bin. Now I can install TweetDeck and have access to my LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google Buzz accounts.

At work, I was asked to test a kickstart install script for RHEL 5.3 (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) client install on a test PC. I used a Dell Precision 370 which has a Intel P4 3.4 GHz single core, 2GB of RAM, 80GB Sata drive, Nvidia Quadro FX 1400 card, and a DVD drive. Installation took about 30 minutes. I test several applications, accessing network shares, and printing to several network printers. I still prefer Ubuntu or Linux Mint over RHEL, but it was fun to be part of a Linux project.

I also help with installing a new Dell server this week. The job required us to install a keyboard/mouse tray, move an existing server and tape library up, install a new IP console KVM, and install the new ESX server. Due to space limitations, we placed a LCD monitor on the side of the rack. Because I hurt my back several day earlier I was asked not to lift anything. So for me it was more of a learning experience. Hopefully I will be asked to assist with other data room projects.

Right now I’m downloading openSuse 11.3 x64 on DVD. Maybe this weekend I’ll try it out on a VM to see some of the new improvements I’ve read about.

Tags FaceBook, Geek Stuff, Home PC, Linux Mint, Sager, Thunderbird, Ubuntu, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Work

Ubuntu Windows Vista Work

Bootable Ubuntu 10.04 USB Stick

Post author By George
Post date June 7, 2010
No Comments on Bootable Ubuntu 10.04 USB Stick

Over the last two weeks, the client I work for had multiple power outages. The one outage broken several LCD monitors and a few PCs. One of the PCs had Windows Vista installed. The problem was a corrupt OS and would not boot into Vista. Booting from Last Known Good Configuration or Safe Mode would not allow me to fix the problem. I explained to my customer that would repair Vista using the enterprise DVD. Although he liked that option, he was concerned about losing his data.

No problem. I brought up my bootable USB Ubuntu 10.04 flash drive I made a little while ago. While it was booting my customer explained that his PC has 2 hard drives. The primary drive contained Vista on a 40GB partition, the rest was his “D:\” drive. The second hard drive was used to additional data storage. My Ubuntu flash drive found all the hardware on his HP XW4600 Workstation and using GParted I verified his hard drive configuration statement.

On the second hard drive I created 2 folders, zzz-d_drive and zzz-c_drive. All data files my customer was concerned about were copied to the perspective folders. After a shutdown, I disconnected the second hard drive to ensure all data files are safe. Unfortunately the repair for Vista failed as did restoring from the last 2 restore points. My only option was to reinstall the OS. After installation I copied all the data files back to the “C:\” drive, the “D:\” was intact since I didn’t format that partition.

If you don’t have a bootable Ubuntu flash drive you should take the time to create one. For me it is a valuable tool which enables me to meet my SLAs.

Tags Ubuntu, Windows Vista, Work

LinuxMint Ubuntu Windows 7 Work

Installed Linux Mint 9

Last week I downloaded Linux Mint 9, both x32 and x64 bit platforms using Vuze. There were 2 different ISO formats to choose from: CDs and DVDs. The DVDs contain additional software and wallpaper. Kind of a waste of a DVD, but I said OK, I want all the goodies on one disc.

At work I have 2 Linux PCs, one has Ubuntu 10.04 x32 and another running Mint 8 x32. My Mint 8 PC hosts a Windows 7 VM using VirtualBoxOSE. I use this VM to connect to a Windows Domain to manage machine accounts. I also user Terminal Server Client to log onto another Microsoft server for running Symantec Ghost Solution Suite.

I closed my Windows 7 VM and other active connections and proceeded to backup my data and VM to my Ubuntu PC. The VM was about 13GB with other data files totaling about an additional 4GB. Installed the DVD, rebooted to install Linux Mint 9.

I admit I like the slideshow better in Ubuntu 10.04 than Mint 9, but it was still informative. Installation time was under 20 minutes on my PC. After a quick reboot I logged onto my new Mint 9 PC. What do I love about Mint?

Multimedia works right from the start. I was able to play YouTube and QuickTime videos.
Color scheme and Title bar Button Layout. I like the new color scheme Canonical went with on Ubuntu 10.04, but I like the color scheme with Mint too. Under Control Center – Look and Feel – Desktop Settings, I can change where the Title bar buttons go. I moved them to the left for something different.
I can configure the menu slab to always display my Favorites instead of what was shown last, rename the menu button to anything (I went with my PC name), show side pane or recent documents, change the column size for favorites, and install a scrollbar Places and System.

I enabled Desktop Effects and Compiz to get some of the eye candy running. Afterwards it was a quick data transfer of my personal data back into my home folder. I installed the following apps:

After getting my Windows 7 VM copied back to my PC, I configure the Startup Applications to launch my Windows 7 VM when I sign onto the system using the following command:

VBoxManage startvm PCVM01WIN7

. For some reason I cannot connect to the VM using the PC name but I can connect by IP address. I guess this give me something else to work on.

Bootchart records it take 14.91 seconds for the PC to boot. Nice!

I am contemplating if I should replace my Ubuntu 10.04 x64 on my Sager notebook with Mint 9 x64. I still have some issues with fast user switching on my Ubuntu 10.04 PCs (which I disabled using Ubuntu Tweaks), and the occasional lack of response from the OS when nothing works and I have to open Gnome-Terminal and reboot. I think this might be an issue with NVIDIA drivers. I’m not sure if I’ll have the same issues with Mint 9. And then there is the issue of creating a backup of the PC before I wipe off Ubuntu in favor of Mint 9. Should I use Symantec Ghost or create the PING CD and create a backup ISO file.

Either way you should give Linux Mint 9. Download the ISO and try the LiveCD or LiveDVD. Always be sure to backup and verify your data is safe BEFORE wiping the HDD.

Tags Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Windows 7, Work

Office 2007 Work

Clear Email Address Cache in Outlook

Post author By George
Post date December 23, 2009
No Comments on Clear Email Address Cache in Outlook

Monday I received an e-mail from a colleague’s personal e-mail address. He was calling sick and asked to to complete a few tasks, and to contact him by e-mail if I had any questions. I send him an e-mail, but I wanted to remove his personal e-mail address from Outlook’s address cache. I would hate to accidentally send him a message at home when it should have gone to his work e-mail or worse, accidentally using his personal e-mail address on a respond to all.

I remember reading a post at How-To Geek regarding clearing out e-mail addresses from Outlook’s address cache file. The directions work for Outlook 2007 also.

A Thank you to the folks at How-to Geek.com

Tags E-mail, Office 2007, Work

Windows XP Work

How to Verify you have .NET 3.5 SP1

Post author By George
Post date October 15, 2009
No Comments on How to Verify you have .NET 3.5 SP1

Today I was asked how I could verify .NET 3.5 SP1 installed successfully on several PCs running Windows XP Professional. I searched the Internet and found several answers:

Check Add Remove Programs under Control Panel
Open Internet Explorer and enter this Javacript in the url bar: javascript:alert(navigator.userAgent)
Open the registry and look for this key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent\Post Platform\.NET CLR 3.5.30729
Finally click on Start => Run and enter C:\Windows\Microsoft.Net\Framework\v3.5. You should see a folder called Microsoft Framework 3.5 SP1

Thanks to Walker News for the information.

Tags Windows XP, Work

Fedora Core Ubuntu Windows XP Work

Rebuild Linux PCs at Work

Post author By George
Post date September 4, 2009
No Comments on Rebuild Linux PCs at Work

Today is the Friday before Labor Day in the United States. Many of the employees of the client I support are off today. So I am taking this opportunity to rebuild my Fedora Core 11 PC (completed) and my Ubuntu 9.04 PC. I am also building a new Windows XP PC for R&D.

So far everything is going well.

Of course I backed up my Ubuntu PC using rsync to an external HDD. Since I decided to rework my partitions I also backed up the /home directory too. Everything is being built from scratch. Hopefully I can have everything finished by end of business today.

Tags Fedora Core, Ubuntu, Windows XP, Work

Work

Netowork Issues for the new AC Unit

Post author By George
Post date August 20, 2009
No Comments on Netowork Issues for the new AC Unit

Every few weeks I switch sites with a colleague for cross-training. This allows each of us to cover if someone calls sick, or leaves for a better opportunity. The cross-training has worked out very well with positive feed back from the client at both sites.

This morning at 8:00 while looking over backup logs of laboratory PCs, I was asked by Brian (a contractor who is working on the some building automation) for some network assistance. We have installed a new AC unit which has ether-net connections for remote monitoring. The unit was working about 2 weeks ago, but today it is not functional. I tried to ping the unit from my desk but received “Host Unreachable”. So I ran nslookup to see if the IP address I was trying to ping was assigned to this AC unit; confirmed that we have the right IP address.

I asked Brian if he knew what number was written on the data jack so I can see if it was disconnect in the network closet. Brian said he was unable to read the writing on the data jack. So I said I would check it out with him. After getting on the roof we shut down the old AC unit to open the access panel. Right in front of us was the data jacks with 2 connections – one for each AC unit with writing that was faded. Maybe if the guys from CSI were with use they could tell me what numbers were. I swapped the ports to see if the connectivity lights activated on the new AC unit. They did but I lost the lights for the old AC unit. I reset the cables, closed the panel and power on the AC unit…looks like the problem is in the network closet.

At the network closet I check to see if any ports were labeled AC units – of course not. So now I started up my PC and started one of my company provided network monitoring tools. Brian supplied the IP address of the working AC unit and I began my search. I was able to find the exact data port connection on the switch and trace the wire back to the unlabeled patch panel. So I took a guess the next unlabeled port would be the second connection on the roof. And wouldn’t you know it, the cable was not connected to the switch.

After making the connection we tried to ping the new AC unit again – still host unreachable. I had Brian go back to the roof and cycle the power for the new AC unit to see if that would resolve of connectivity issue. We also verified the lights would come on and blink when we disconnected / connected the cable from the patch panel. Still I could not ping the assigned IP address. I contacted the network engineer and left him two voice messages with updates. Brian gave me his business card and asked to be notified if there are any changes or new information.

Near the end of my work day, I decided to check the connection again for the new AC unit. After receiving the same error messages from the ping command, I used the network monitoring tool to see if any information was available on the port I connect to. Finally I had some information and called Brian. It looks like the static IP address was reset to the factory standard IP of 192.168.168.1. I could also see MAC address and who the MAC Vendor was.

So now we wait for the vendor to come back and reprogram the ether-net card. I sent an update by e-mail to my colleague to hopefully expect someone tomorrow or early next week.

Tags Work

Geek Stuff Work

HDD Platters…Not Mode from Snips and Snails and Puppy Dogs Tail

Post author By George
Post date August 14, 2009
No Comments on HDD Platters…Not Mode from Snips and Snails and Puppy Dogs Tail

What are hard disk platters made of? At first I thought it was aluminum alloy or some other light weight material. And to be honest I never gave it much thought – until today.

When we take a hard drive out of service at work, we destroy the disk. Usually we bust out the TORX screwdriver (size T8 and or T10) and remove the outer case. Then we remove the circuit board, the magnets for the actuator arm, and then the actuator arm. Finally you are left with a stack of platters which you can leave in the bottom of the case or remove them.

So this afternoon I was on the phone with my wife and playing with the platters I removed from a drive about a week ago. I dropped on the floor and to my astonishment it shattered! So after cleaning up my mess I was curious and needed to know. Click the link from Wikipedia and scroll down to Manufacture.

From Wikipedia – Hard disk platters

Tags Geek Stuff, Work