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Last 30 blog posts...
Windows 7 Pro does not run domain logon scripts and map drives
by Greg on Jan.17, 2012, under Networking, Windows 7
I setup a new computer for a client, and Windows 7 would not map the drives in the logon script for the domain account. Ran into this issue, again. Our domain uses a VBScript as our login script, and it appears to run. It runs correctly if started manually, just not at user login. It [...]
Click to read more...Netatalk Time Machine backups to Ubuntu Linux 10.04 Lucid AFP Network Share Configuration Guide
by Greg on Nov.29, 2011, under Backup, Linux, Mac, Networking, Ubuntu
Well… not much of a guide really. Just a very quick how-to on what I did to get Time Machine on my Macbook Pro with OSX Lion 10.7 to save the backup data to my Linux server network share using AFP, rather than SMB (Windows Share), a Time Capsule, or and Apple Server. I will [...]
Click to read more...Web site timeouts with PFSense firewall and Qwest DSL modem
by Greg on Oct.25, 2011, under FreeBSD, Internet, Networking, Security
Qwest / Centurylink DSL Web site timeouts, hangups, or failures while running a firewall or router with static IP addresses. Recently I setup the Qwest DSL service in my home. It worked great, but after a couple days I started to get hang ups and timeouts or hangups while browsing the web. Speed tests still [...]
Click to read more...Spideroak is not a good enough alternative to Dropbox (or Crashplan) for me
by Greg on Aug.17, 2011, under Backup
That’s right, I don’t like SpiderOak enough to switch from Dropbox. Why? No LAN sync! SpiderOak is also a backup service. I use CrashPlan along with Dropbox on my computers (Mac, Linux, Windows, even a FreeBSD server) and SpiderOak is not quite good enough to replace CrashPlan either. Let me just say first that I [...]
Click to read more...UnixODBC example setup and configuration on Ubuntu Lucid with Mysql and PostgreSQL using the command line only
by Greg on Jun.28, 2011, under Databases, Linux, Ubuntu
Below is a very quick example of what I did to configure a system DSN connection to a Mysql and PostgreSQL database using UnixODBC drivers on Ubuntu Lucid server from command line only. # Do the obvious, install mysql an postgresql first. :) # install unixodbc apt-get install unixodbc unixodbc-dev libmyodbc odbc-postgresql # cd [...]
Click to read more...Exchange Server 2007 MSExchangeSA Event 9335 Offline Address Book Updates
by Greg on Jun.18, 2011, under Exchange Server, Windows Server
OALGen encountered error 80004005 while cleaning the offline address list public folders under /o=OurCompany/cn=addrlists/cn=oabs/cn=Offline address book. Get-PublicFolder “\non_ipm_subtree\offline address book\/o=OurCompany/cn=addrlists/cn=oabs/cn=Offline address book” -Recurse |Set-PublicFolder -Replicas “Public Folder Group\public folders” Get-PublicFolder “\non_ipm_subtree\offline address book\/o=OurCompany/cn=addrlists/cn=oabs/cn=Offline address book” -Recurse | Set-PublicFolder -ReplicationSchedule $alwaysrun Replace the relevant items with your own database paths and company names. Our system has “Public [...]
Click to read more...Windows Security Center Says Automatic Updates Are Turned Off
by Greg on Jun.18, 2011, under Antivirus, PC Repair, Problems, Security, Windows XP
Today I ran into a problem while repairing a computer that had a partially cleaned up virus. I completed the cleanup that my client attempted, ran all my antivirus tools, and thought I had everything working. That is, until I noticed the little red shield for Windows Security Center. It said, “We’re Sorry. The Security [...]
Click to read more...Remove MyWebSearch from my default search in Firefox
by Greg on Mar.31, 2011, under Antivirus, Internet, Windows 7
Somehow my wife got MyWebSearch loaded on my Windows 7 computer, which cleaned off fine, except for Firefox web searching! Every time I used the Awesome Bar to search, MyWebSearch showed the results. Easy fix… go to “about:config” in Firefox by typing it in the URL bar. In the Filter box, type “myweb”. In my [...]
Click to read more...Unable to download Gmail from multiple POP3 clients using Outlook 2010
by Greg on Mar.31, 2011, under Internet, Microsoft Office
I ran into an issue with Outlook 2010 and Gmail POP3 access today. One of my clients had two computers he wanted his Gmail on, they both use POP3 to get the email. Problem he had was that only one computer would download the email, even with the setting to “leave messages on the server”. [...]
Click to read more...An rc.d startup script for Crashplan running on FreeBSD
by Greg on Mar.30, 2011, under FreeBSD
I have CrashPlan running on a couple FreeBSD servers now, and I thought I’d write up a quick startup rc script. Here’s what we’ll do. This assumes you’ve installed CrashPlan in the default directory, which requires the “/compat/linux/bin/bash” environment. 1. Create a startup script in /etc/rc.d called “crashplan”. Put the contents below in the script. [...]
Click to read more...Resource Usage on Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 with Window 7 Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid and Jolicloud
by Greg on Mar.14, 2011, under Linux, Ubuntu, Windows 7
I was asked about the resources used on the Dell Inspiron Mini 1012 using either Windows 7, Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid, or JoliCloud operating systems. So… here’s what I found… I didn’t do anything fancy, just boot each up and look at their system/task managers. The Linux systems have Chromium/Google Chrome running, and Jolicloud has Apache [...]
Click to read more...Reset your Windows password with Chntpw using System Rescue CD
by Greg on Mar.11, 2011, under Linux, PC Repair, Registry, Security, Windows 7, Windows XP
Quick note about using chntpw command to reset Windows passwords. Mostly, I just couldn’t remember what the command line program was or the switches. Boot to System Rescue CD. mount the Windows drive RW (mine was RO) cd to the config dir: cd /mnt/sda1/Windows/System32/config Backup your sam,security,system,software (just copy them to another directory) Now run [...]
Click to read more...Outlook 2010 Exchange Cached Mode with direct Active Directory Global Address List
by Greg on Mar.11, 2011, under Exchange Server, Registry, Windows 7, Windows Server
We have Exchange accounts in Outlook 2010 and the Global Address List would not update. One reason was due to an error on our server (address in another post), but then the default times to update are 24 ours, and that’s too long. On our internal systems, we want Cached Mode exchange accounts, but direct/real-time [...]
Click to read more...Outlook 2010 Export Exchange mailbox to PST
by Greg on Mar.11, 2011, under Microsoft Office, PC Repair
Export your Exchange mailbox from Outlook 2010 is easy, you just have to know how to get around the Microsoft logic in their menu’s. Makes great sense to put “Exporting” functions under the “Open” and “Import” options and menu. Doesn’t it? Great thinking Microsoft. So… to export to a PST, go to File -> [...]
Click to read more...Nmap network discovery port scan
by Greg on Mar.10, 2011, under Internet, Linux, Security
If you are like me, you don’t have time to run nmap scans and do other network maintenance. Running nmap is one of those really fun and useful tools that are easy to use, but since I rarely use it, I never remember the options. Today was one of those situations where I needed to [...]
Click to read more...Microsoft Kin TWOm initial reactions problems and no data plan
by Greg on Mar.09, 2011, under Phone, Problems
First, let me say the Kin TWOm is a pretty good messaging phone that’s really a dumbed-down smart phone. Also, since I got these for my wife and kids, I don’t want them to utilize any data services. Call Verizon and have them disable all data services on the phone. This will leave text messaging [...]
Click to read more...Netbook with Jolicloud vs Windows 7 vs Ubuntu Maverick vs Ubuntu Lucid
by Greg on Mar.02, 2011, under Geek, Internet, Linux, Ubuntu, Windows 7
I tested Windows 7, Jolicloud, Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick, and Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid on my new Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (1012) Netbook. First let me say, Window 7 on this netbook is barely usable. If you wait for the OS to finish booting, which takes at least 5 minutes before all the background processes finish loading, [...]
Click to read more...Installing the Minefield package – Firefox 4 beta on Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid
by Greg on Feb.27, 2011, under Geek, Linux, Ubuntu
I keep forgetting what to do to add the Firefox 4 beta to my Ubuntu Linux 10.04 Lucid systems. It’s quick and easy, just copy the lines below (one at a time) into Terminal and add the PPA sources to Apt. Then Minefield browser will be installed as the pre-packaged version of the Firefox 4 [...]
Click to read more...broadcom STA wireless driver “systemerror: installarchives() failed” on Ubuntu Maverick Dell Mini
by Greg on Feb.24, 2011, under Geek, Linux, Ubuntu
broadcom STA wireless driver “systemerror: installarchives() failed” on Ubuntu Maverick Dell Mini While attempting to Activate the proprietary Broadcom STA Wireless driver in Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick, I waited and then recieved the error, “systemerror: installarchives() failed”. I am using a Dell Inspiron Mini 1012. I am also booted into the Live USB install flash disk, not [...]
Click to read more...Revisiting MsMpEng.exe Antimalware service executable high resource usage
by Greg on Feb.23, 2011, under Antivirus, Security, Windows 7, Windows XP
MsMpEng.exe – Antimalware service executable I generally do not have any issues with Microsoft Security Essentials. It just works, and does its job quite well. From time to time I notice some weird issues on my client computers, where MsMpEng.exe (Antimalware service executable) is using way too many and high resources and cpu time. (extra [...]
Click to read more...How to remove or detach dvd from VirtualBox machine using VBoxManage command line
by Greg on Feb.03, 2011, under FreeBSD, Linux
This took a while to solve, its not exactly user-friendly. I have a FreeBSD server running VirtualBox virtual machines in headless mode, and I need to do everything using VBoxManage command line. (CLI) In one case I wanted to remove the attached DVD ISO image from my machine. They don’t have a “storagedetach” or “removehd” [...]
Click to read more...Fix ext4-fs cannot change data mode on remount with tune2fs
by Greg on Feb.03, 2011, under Linux
I thought I’d be smart and enable data=journal on my root file system. I know its slower, but I prefer data integrity over speed on this system. Even if its not my main data volume, I like the idea of the whole OS running with the best integrity. So, here’s what I did… I edited [...]
Click to read more...Tuning FreeBSD loader.conf for ZFS to prevent kmem_map too small kernel panic
by Greg on Jan.27, 2011, under FreeBSD, Networking
I finally did some reading, and found that setting my vfs.zfs.arc_max to about one-half my RAM, minus 512MB, and setting vm.kmem_size to 1.5x my RAM, it would stop giving me the kmem_map panic.
Click to read more...How to install Crashplan on FreeBSD
by Greg on Jan.26, 2011, under Backup, FreeBSD
How to install Crashplan on FreeBSD!
Note, this install is on a FreeBSD 8.1-RELEASE system.
Install FreeBSD on a ZFS pool that’s mirrored using GPT partitions
by Greg on Aug.30, 2010, under FreeBSD
Here’s my notes for ZFS root installation with FreeBSD 8.1. (amd64 on my system) Boot up the FreeBSD install disk, you’ll need one with the Fixit system. In the examples listed, I had 2 disks, ad4 and ad6. Yours may be different, replace as necessary. 1. Add the modules on boot, hit “6″ at the [...]
Click to read more...Gpart File Exists Error on FreeBSD
by Greg on Aug.25, 2010, under FreeBSD
Tried to manually setup my disks in order to install root FreeBSD on a ZFS mirror, but following the how-to’s available, I couldn’t get pass the first command. gpart create -s gpt ad0 geom ‘ad0′: File exists I tried deleting the partitions/slices, even doing a “dd of=/dev/null” on my drives. But I keep getting [...]
Click to read more...Removing offending key in known_hosts
by Greg on Aug.05, 2010, under Uncategorized
sed -i ’53d’ ~/.ssh/known_hosts Run in your home directory. Replace “53″ with the line number referred to in the known_hosts error from the ssh login attempt. You need the “d”. If you had line 12, then you’ll show ’12d’ in that sed command.
Click to read more...My idea for an open alternative to Facebook
by Greg on May.05, 2010, under Internet
I am always getting ideas, and this might be a cool one. I want a new Facebook. I want to make my own version of it. Only, not centrally controlled, and not a direct single-place-to-go site to be social. Why? Because I foresee a downfall. And because Facebook, if its not already there, is becoming [...]
Click to read more...DNS settings hijacked and av.exe won’t go away. Internet turns Inertnet!
by Greg on Feb.25, 2010, under Antivirus, Networking, Windows XP
Had a fun time today cleaning off some trojans and rootkits. On this one client system, while trying to go online, the Internet turned into the Inertnet! (Hahahha! I love that one!) As usual, I have lots of ideas why, but no real evidence and clients saying “I don’t know how it got there.” Doesn’t [...]
Click to read more...After updating login.conf in FreeBSD
by Greg on Feb.12, 2010, under FreeBSD
I only need to update this once in a while, but twice now I’ve forgotten what to run after an update to /etc/login.conf. Run this: cap_mkdb /etc/login.conf
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