Re: [H] P9X79_WS with i7-4930K has failed me

[Brian Weeden]

I really hope so!

Then my problem will be my 15-yr old gamer son who will insist that I redo
his rig next. And my answer of course will be "get a job and you can do it
yourself" LOL.

-
Brian



On Tue, Dec 5, 2023 at 8:17 AM James Boswell  wrote:

> That collection of parts will haul ass in the best way.
>
> On Tue, 5 Dec 2023 at 13:14, Brian Weeden  wrote:
>
> > Great to hear from you all :)
> >
> > I am also (finally) in the market for a new build, although it’s only
> been
> > 5 years for me since I put together an Intel 8700k build and not 10 like
> OP
> > :)
> >
> > I was looking for a new build that will last another 5 years (hopefully)
> > and given that Intel has said the current LGA 1700 is only going to
> support
> > one more generation I am also going with AMD for the first time ever.
> Part
> > list:
> > https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rs4YmD
> >
> > Not included are the case (Cooler Master Silencio) and video card (Nvidia
> > 3070Ti) that I will be carrying over from my current build.
> >
> > This new build not only uses the AM5 socket, which AMD claims it will
> > support for at least two more gens, but the X670 chipset that supports
> PCI
> > 5.0 for both expansion cards and NVME sockets. That means it will
> hopefully
> > support a couple more generations of new video cards as well as the next
> > gen of SSDs:
> >
> https://www.pcworld.com/article/1676119/pcie-5-ssd-5-reasons-upgrade.html
> >
> > BTW, if you guys haven't discovered it yet, there's a pretty great
> > community of PC builder enthusiasts over at
> > https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/
> >
> > On Tue, Dec 5, 2023 at 2:27 AM James Boswell 
> wrote:
> >
> > > 7800X3D?
> > >
> > > Although I think you've just brain hiccupped? Q6600 is a Core 2 Quad
> and
> > > Z87-A would take Haswell generation parts like a 4570K or 4790K
> > >
> > > On Tue, 5 Dec 2023 at 04:23, Joshua MacCraw 
> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Whoa, activity! Hello all!
> > > >
> > > > Just recently finally put my aging Asus Z87-A /w Q6600 + R9 280 out
> to
> > > > pasture in favor of a new AM5 build. Amazing 1440 gaming so far! =)
> > > >
> > > > On Mon, Dec 4, 2023 at 7:56 PM Greg Sevart  wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Truthfully this is probably the most correct answer--while a fine
> > > system
> > > > > in its day, the P9X79 platform is easily eclipsed even with the
> most
> > > > > budget-friendly builds today.
> > > > >
> > > > > That being said, I just went and found my old P9X79 WS board. It's
> > > been a
> > > > > few years since it's been in service, but you are welcome to it if
> > you
> > > > want
> > > > > to try a replacement board.
> > > > >
> > > > > -Original Message-
> > > > > From: Hardware  On
> Behalf
> > Of
> > > > > lopaka polena
> > > > > Sent: Monday, December 4, 2023 1:26 PM
> > > > > To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> > > > > Subject: Re: [H] P9X79_WS with i7-4930K has failed me
> > > > >
> > > > > I was wondering if anyone was still using the list. Hey Thane :)
> > > > >
> > > > > My recommendation would be all new everything and check your
> > components
> > > > > once you have a running system. New cpu/mobo at least. If you know
> > > > anybody
> > > > > with spare parts you could try to figure out what is still working
> > but
> > > it
> > > > > will take more time
> > > > >
> > > > > lopaka
> > > > >
> > > > > <
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email_source=link_campaign=sig-email_content=webmail
> > > > > >
> > > > > Virus-free.www.avast.com
> > > > > <
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email_source=link_campaign=sig-email_content=webmail
> > > > > >
> > > > > <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
> > > > >
> > > > > On Mon, Dec 4, 2023 at 3:15 AM Thane K. Sherrington <
> > > > > th...@computerconnectionltd.com> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > You are showing your age.  

Re: [H] P9X79_WS with i7-4930K has failed me

[Brian Weeden]

Great to hear from you all :)

I am also (finally) in the market for a new build, although it’s only been
5 years for me since I put together an Intel 8700k build and not 10 like OP
:)

I was looking for a new build that will last another 5 years (hopefully)
and given that Intel has said the current LGA 1700 is only going to support
one more generation I am also going with AMD for the first time ever. Part
list:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rs4YmD

Not included are the case (Cooler Master Silencio) and video card (Nvidia
3070Ti) that I will be carrying over from my current build.

This new build not only uses the AM5 socket, which AMD claims it will
support for at least two more gens, but the X670 chipset that supports PCI
5.0 for both expansion cards and NVME sockets. That means it will hopefully
support a couple more generations of new video cards as well as the next
gen of SSDs:
https://www.pcworld.com/article/1676119/pcie-5-ssd-5-reasons-upgrade.html

BTW, if you guys haven't discovered it yet, there's a pretty great
community of PC builder enthusiasts over at
https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/

On Tue, Dec 5, 2023 at 2:27 AM James Boswell  wrote:

> 7800X3D?
>
> Although I think you've just brain hiccupped? Q6600 is a Core 2 Quad and
> Z87-A would take Haswell generation parts like a 4570K or 4790K
>
> On Tue, 5 Dec 2023 at 04:23, Joshua MacCraw  wrote:
>
> > Whoa, activity! Hello all!
> >
> > Just recently finally put my aging Asus Z87-A /w Q6600 + R9 280 out to
> > pasture in favor of a new AM5 build. Amazing 1440 gaming so far! =)
> >
> > On Mon, Dec 4, 2023 at 7:56 PM Greg Sevart  wrote:
> >
> > > Truthfully this is probably the most correct answer--while a fine
> system
> > > in its day, the P9X79 platform is easily eclipsed even with the most
> > > budget-friendly builds today.
> > >
> > > That being said, I just went and found my old P9X79 WS board. It's
> been a
> > > few years since it's been in service, but you are welcome to it if you
> > want
> > > to try a replacement board.
> > >
> > > -Original Message-
> > > From: Hardware  On Behalf Of
> > > lopaka polena
> > > Sent: Monday, December 4, 2023 1:26 PM
> > > To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> > > Subject: Re: [H] P9X79_WS with i7-4930K has failed me
> > >
> > > I was wondering if anyone was still using the list. Hey Thane :)
> > >
> > > My recommendation would be all new everything and check your components
> > > once you have a running system. New cpu/mobo at least. If you know
> > anybody
> > > with spare parts you could try to figure out what is still working but
> it
> > > will take more time
> > >
> > > lopaka
> > >
> > > <
> > >
> >
> https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email_source=link_campaign=sig-email_content=webmail
> > > >
> > > Virus-free.www.avast.com
> > > <
> > >
> >
> https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email_source=link_campaign=sig-email_content=webmail
> > > >
> > > <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>
> > >
> > > On Mon, Dec 4, 2023 at 3:15 AM Thane K. Sherrington <
> > > th...@computerconnectionltd.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > You are showing your age.  They are DIMMS now. :)
> > > >
> > > > I'd try a single DIMM in each socket.  Does this motherboard have a
> > > > RAM config button (some do).  If so, try that.
> > > >
> > > > Have you tried a different power supply?  I've had power supplies
> > > > which will power up the motherboard but not allow it to boot.
> > > >
> > > > T
> > > >
> > > > On 03-Dec-2023 3:54 p.m., _ Winterlight wrote:
> > > > > After 10 years my E6896_P9X79_WS with i7-4930K has failed me.   My
> > > > original setup was running fine but one day it wouldn’t boot and the
> > > > board reported a CPU error. I cleaned the dust off the board and did
> a
> > > > major cleaning of the CPU fan and heat sink and it seemed to run just
> > > > fine. I had a couple extra RAM SIMMS so I decided to install them.
> > > > What I had installed was 4 CRUCIAL DDR 3 4GB SIMM running at 1866.
> > > > What I added into bank two was two 8GB CRUCIAL DDR3 running at 1600.
> > > > It didn’t seem to recognize all the RAM so I went into the BIOS to
> try
> > > > different settings. I enabled Auto Memory frequency settings saved
> and
> > > > exited out. This is when my troubles began.
> > > > >
> > > > > The PC hung at post. I saw nothing on the screen just a black
> screen.
> > > > At first I thought something must of got corrupt so I tried auto
> > > > flashing the BIOS but it wasn’t working normally so I tried clearing
> > > > the bios with the on board pin, and finally I pulled everything off
> > > > the board, removed it from the case and let it sit in it’s box for a
> > > > month. Then I cleaned everything and put it back together but same
> > > problem.
> > > > >
> > > > > It occurred to me that maybe the CPU burned out when the fan slowed
> > > > > down
> > > > and then my memory bios adjustment finished it off. So I purchased a
> > > > used but tested CPU on Ebay and tried again. 

Re: [H] Windows 11

[Brian Weeden]

Maybe? All my org's Win10 laptops use Bitlocker by default anyways. Crazy
in this day and age to not have that enabled on things that move around and
can be lost.

Home might be a different issue.

-
Brian



On Mon, Aug 7, 2023 at 2:31 PM FORC5  wrote:

>
> does not 11 force Bitlocker ?
>
> fp
>
> On 8/7/2023 9:02 AM, gm...@att.net wrote:
> > You have a problem and it's not W11. I have 3 computers running W11 over
> year with absolutely no problem.
> > I also helped install it on 10 more computers on family machines also
> with no problems.
> > W11 runs fine.
> >
> >
> > -Original Message-
> > From: Hardware  On Behalf Of
> Thane K. Sherrington
> > Sent: Monday, August 7, 2023 8:55 AM
> > To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> > Subject: Re: [H] Windows 11
> >
> > In my experience, W11 is flakier than 10, and a bit slower.  When it
> > goes wonky (gets trapped in a boot loop for instance, or a repeated
> > explorer.exe crash) there doesn't appear to be a way to fix it other
> > than a fresh install.  I'd avoid it unless you really need it.
> >
> > T
> >
> > On 06-Aug-2023 3:30 p.m., _ Winterlight wrote:
> >> Those of you who are using or dealing with Windows 11..I am talking to
> you Greg and Chris ...what do you think of it.   I can see myself updating
> my Win10 NUC by the end of the year...which I use with my TV...as a way to
> ease into this. So any reviews, hints and or warnings appreciated!
> >> 
>

Re: [H] Windows 11

[Brian Weeden]

FWIW on my personal machines I"m still running Win10 (and I've used GRC's
handy little InControl  utility to get
it to shut up about the upgrade notifications). But that's because a)
they're old (still running a 8700k on a A370 mobo) and b) I don't see much
additional value in Win11 yet.

But at some point I will make the leap to take advantage of the free
upgrade and the previously mentioned lack of security patches. Perhaps just
before I build a new machine...

-
Brian



On Mon, Aug 7, 2023 at 8:55 AM Thane K. Sherrington <
th...@computerconnectionltd.com> wrote:

> In my experience, W11 is flakier than 10, and a bit slower.  When it
> goes wonky (gets trapped in a boot loop for instance, or a repeated
> explorer.exe crash) there doesn't appear to be a way to fix it other
> than a fresh install.  I'd avoid it unless you really need it.
>
> T
>
> On 06-Aug-2023 3:30 p.m., _ Winterlight wrote:
> > Those of you who are using or dealing with Windows 11..I am talking to
> you Greg and Chris ...what do you think of it.   I can see myself updating
> my Win10 NUC by the end of the year...which I use with my TV...as a way to
> ease into this. So any reviews, hints and or warnings appreciated!
> > 
>
>

Re: [H] Modern day listserv?

[Brian Weeden]

Yes, I think google groups still does it, but I'm going to have to work
with orgs that block pretty much everything google by default (government
defense contractors) so that might be a challenge.

And I know Microsoft 365 offers lots of ways to collaborate via Teams, but
everything I've seen is for only people in that domain. Not sure if there's
a way to do it via other domains.


-
Brian



On Sun, Dec 18, 2022 at 10:23 AM Scott Sipe  wrote:

> I haven't used it in a few years, but my recollection was that Google
> groups did allow adding anybody. I just took a look at our domain admin
> page, and I was able to add a non-domain email to a group, but there may be
> some limitations I don't know about.
>
> It does seem like many organizations are moving to Microsoft 365 now.
>
> Scott
>
> On Thu, Dec 15, 2022 at 9:03 AM Brian Weeden 
> wrote:
>
> > Hey everyone, hope all are well.
> >
> > I'm starting up some IT services for a small non-profit and struggling to
> > find the answer for one of them. I need a service that can provide
> several
> > old school listservs (like this one!) - where members of the list can all
> > post to it - in addition to the standard mass email marketing stuff for
> > monthly newsletters and the such.
> >
> > Seems that most places these days only do the latter, and services like
> > Google and Microsoft 365 only offer listservs to people who are in the
> > domain already. For this application, I need to be able to add people
> > outside the domain who can participate in the listserv.
> >
> > Any ideas? Free is good, but we're willing to pay as well.
> >
> >
> > -
> > Brian
> >
>

[H] Modern day listserv?

[Brian Weeden]

Hey everyone, hope all are well.

I'm starting up some IT services for a small non-profit and struggling to
find the answer for one of them. I need a service that can provide several
old school listservs (like this one!) - where members of the list can all
post to it - in addition to the standard mass email marketing stuff for
monthly newsletters and the such.

Seems that most places these days only do the latter, and services like
Google and Microsoft 365 only offer listservs to people who are in the
domain already. For this application, I need to be able to add people
outside the domain who can participate in the listserv.

Any ideas? Free is good, but we're willing to pay as well.


-
Brian

[H] Any idea why Ubuntu VM would lose ability to map shared drives?

[Brian Weeden]

I occasionally dabble in Ubuntu and do it primarily through a virtualbox VM
running on my main Win10 system. I've been using the same image for a
couple of years now with only minor updates for new patches to Virtualbox
and recommended updates within Ubuntu.

Last night I went to do something that involved accessing a shared drive
from the host system mapped into Ubuntu and it wasn't working. Further
investigation revealed that while Virtualbox could still see the shared
drive, it wasn't showing up in Ubuntu. Tried removing and recreating the
shared mapping to no avail.

Any ideas what might have caused this? It literally just stopped working
between one day and the next and I don't recall installing any patches or
updates to Virtualbox or Ubuntu.


-
Brian

Re: [H] New gaming PC specs/recommendation for Bino?

[Brian Weeden]

https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2021/11/29/22808536/cyber-monday-gaming-pc-prebuilt-sales-deals-rtx-3080-3070-3060-ti


On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 6:07 PM Greg Sevart  wrote:

> It (pre-built) is about the only way you can get DDR5 right now, too.
> DIMMs are OOS everywhere and I've had suppliers say there's no ETA on
> restock. I was lucky to grab a couple 8GB sticks when I got the Z690 board
> and 12900K, but I'll have to wait for more before I can actually switch out
> my main machine - 16GB isn't enough, and I won't pay scalper prices.
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware  On Behalf Of
> Brian Weeden
> Sent: Monday, November 29, 2021 4:56 PM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] New gaming PC specs/recommendation for Bino?
>
> I would wait if at all possible. Part of the reason your cost estimate is
> going so high is that good video cards are still scarce as heck (combo of
> mining, chip shortages, supply chain snafus, and just overall huge demand).
>
> It might actually be cheaper to buy a pre-made system than trying to find
> a separate video card yourself.
>
> But as always, this is a great site for comparing various specs:
> https://www.userbenchmark.com
>
>
> On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 5:39 PM Greg Sevart  wrote:
>
> > Re: #2 - Yes, Alder Lake (12th gen) is definitely worth $200 more. I'm
> > even going to be upgrading from my Zen3 5950X to a 12900K. However,
> > the hybrid architecture is tripping up DRM for some games, so validate
> > your titles before executing. You can probably assume anything newish
> > either will work OOB or will be patched though.
> >
> > AMD is also going to be adopting a hybrid architecture with Zen 5.
> >
> > -Original Message-
> > From: Hardware  On Behalf Of
> > Bino Gopal
> > Sent: Monday, November 29, 2021 4:22 PM
> > To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> > Subject: [H] New gaming PC specs/recommendation for Bino?
> >
> > Hey guys, hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!
> >
> > I wanted to get a new desktop gaming PC-I decided to split the laptop
> > and gaming, so I got an LG Gram 17" laptop for work/mobility (still
> > need the screen size and resolution for emails and browsing-but I love
> > how light it
> > is!) so now I want to build a decent gaming system that will last me a
> > while...
> >
> > I wanted to spend like $2500 but the specs I'm coming up with for what
> > seem like I decent system are coming out to more like $4k and I'm
> > wondering if I really need to spend that much...
> >
> > I used xoticpc.com 4 years ago to buy my MSI GS73VR gaming laptop
> > (that is still going strong and it's what I'm writing this email
> > on-well, after lots of repairs at the local MSI repair shop, heh) and
> > I spent about $3k on it in March 2017, and that was the last computer
> > I'd bought until I got the Gram for $900 last month at Costco, so it's
> served me well.
> >
> > So here's the configs I came up with with the guy at xoticpc
> >
> > 12th gen:
> > https://xoticpc.com/collections/gx18-torrent/products/xotic-gx18-torre
> > nt-z690-ddr5?conf=525726
> > 11th
> > <https://xoticpc.com/collections/gx18-torrent/products/xotic-gx18-torr
> > ent-z690-ddr5?conf=52572611th>
> > gen:
> > https://xoticpc.com/collections/gx18-torrent/products/xotic-gx18-torre
> > nt-z490-z590?conf=525722
> >
> > They're basically the same system, using this Fractal Torrent glass
> > case as the base:
> > https://www.newegg.com/black-fractal-design-torrent-atx-mid-tower/p/N8
> > 2E16811352148
> >
> > which they call the GX18 Torrent model on the xoticpc site.  I
> > upgraded both systems with a GTX 3080, i7, MSI Carbon MBs, ASUS Thor
> > 850W PS, 32GB Corsair RAM in 2x16, a 1TB Samsung 980 Pro Gen 4 (no
> > other SSDs/HDs), kept the integrated sound, USB wireless dongle (no
> > cost), upgraded the thermal paste, kept the AIO cooling loop, and
> upgraded to Win 10 Pro 64-bit.
> >
> > The difference b/w the two configs is the newer gen chipset/MB, CPU
> > and faster RAM: Z690 vs Z590, 12th vs 11th gen Intel CPU, 5.2k vs 3.6k
> > MHz RAM-and $200 more for the 12th gen stuff...
> >
> >
> > So the main questions are:
> > 1)  Did I basically spec things out right for gaming and is this what
> > a new gaming system should cost about now given parts shortages and
> > GPU prices (damn, they're expensive!)?  Are there any major things any
> > of you would change/recommend?
> > 2)  If I stay with this config, is the extra $200 worth it to go from
> > 1

Re: [H] New gaming PC specs/recommendation for Bino?

[Brian Weeden]

I would wait if at all possible. Part of the reason your cost estimate is
going so high is that good video cards are still scarce as heck (combo of
mining, chip shortages, supply chain snafus, and just overall huge demand).

It might actually be cheaper to buy a pre-made system than trying to find a
separate video card yourself.

But as always, this is a great site for comparing various specs:
https://www.userbenchmark.com


On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 5:39 PM Greg Sevart  wrote:

> Re: #2 - Yes, Alder Lake (12th gen) is definitely worth $200 more. I'm
> even going to be upgrading from my Zen3 5950X to a 12900K. However, the
> hybrid architecture is tripping up DRM for some games, so validate your
> titles before executing. You can probably assume anything newish either
> will work OOB or will be patched though.
>
> AMD is also going to be adopting a hybrid architecture with Zen 5.
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware  On Behalf Of
> Bino Gopal
> Sent: Monday, November 29, 2021 4:22 PM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: [H] New gaming PC specs/recommendation for Bino?
>
> Hey guys, hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!
>
> I wanted to get a new desktop gaming PC-I decided to split the laptop and
> gaming, so I got an LG Gram 17" laptop for work/mobility (still need the
> screen size and resolution for emails and browsing-but I love how light it
> is!) so now I want to build a decent gaming system that will last me a
> while...
>
> I wanted to spend like $2500 but the specs I'm coming up with for what
> seem like I decent system are coming out to more like $4k and I'm wondering
> if I really need to spend that much...
>
> I used xoticpc.com 4 years ago to buy my MSI GS73VR gaming laptop (that
> is still going strong and it's what I'm writing this email on-well, after
> lots of repairs at the local MSI repair shop, heh) and I spent about $3k on
> it in March 2017, and that was the last computer I'd bought until I got the
> Gram for $900 last month at Costco, so it's served me well.
>
> So here's the configs I came up with with the guy at xoticpc
>
> 12th gen:
> https://xoticpc.com/collections/gx18-torrent/products/xotic-gx18-torrent-z690-ddr5?conf=525726
> 11th
> 
> gen:
> https://xoticpc.com/collections/gx18-torrent/products/xotic-gx18-torrent-z490-z590?conf=525722
>
> They're basically the same system, using this Fractal Torrent glass case
> as the base:
> https://www.newegg.com/black-fractal-design-torrent-atx-mid-tower/p/N82E16811352148
>
> which they call the GX18 Torrent model on the xoticpc site.  I upgraded
> both systems with a GTX 3080, i7, MSI Carbon MBs, ASUS Thor 850W PS, 32GB
> Corsair RAM in 2x16, a 1TB Samsung 980 Pro Gen 4 (no other SSDs/HDs), kept
> the integrated sound, USB wireless dongle (no cost), upgraded the thermal
> paste, kept the AIO cooling loop, and upgraded to Win 10 Pro 64-bit.
>
> The difference b/w the two configs is the newer gen chipset/MB, CPU and
> faster RAM: Z690 vs Z590, 12th vs 11th gen Intel CPU, 5.2k vs 3.6k MHz
> RAM-and $200 more for the 12th gen stuff...
>
>
> So the main questions are:
> 1)  Did I basically spec things out right for gaming and is this what
> a new gaming system should cost about now given parts shortages and GPU
> prices (damn, they're expensive!)?  Are there any major things any of you
> would change/recommend?
> 2)  If I stay with this config, is the extra $200 worth it to go from
> 11th gen to 12th gen and the new MB and smaller CPU die size worth it for
> future-proofing and upgrading?
> 3)  Anything that I missed here?  Any recs on better parts?  Better
> place to buy from?  I was going to get another MSI system but the tech
> (Eric F, same guy I spoke to over 4 years ago, which is cool) said that MSI
> generally uses the minimum spec parts and isn't as customizable and that
> building with xoticpc you can select better stuff (like the ASUS Thor PS,
> etc) so I went with the xoticpc custom build as I saw that to be the case...
>
>
> Any thoughts/help/feedback much appreciated!  Cheers all!
>
> BINO
>
>
>
> --


-
Brian

Re: [H] Blocking YouTube?

[Brian Weeden]

You could handle a shared device a couple of ways. One would be to toggle
Youtube on/off depending on who's using it (in the app, you can set
Allows/Blocked/Unmanaged for each individual website/service). The other
would be to move the device between users.

Toggling it would probably be easier.


-
Brian



On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 9:07 PM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> Would the Circle device work if the device is a shared PC that's being
> used during the day for classes on Zoom but then by the parents later in
> the day...?
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware  On Behalf Of
> Brian Weeden
> Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 1:52 PM
> To: christopher.f...@thefisks.org
> Cc: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Blocking YouTube?
>
> We use a Disney Circle device to do both content filtering/blocking and
> time limits on internet access for our kids. You can do different profiles
> for each person and assign all their devices to their profile. Nice
> iOS/Android app for managing things and also has an app to control access
> on phones over LTE.
>
> On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 1:10 PM Christopher Fisk <
> christopher.f...@thefisks.org> wrote:
>
> > " I have the same issue with my daughter and she stays up half the
> > night on YouTube."
> >
> > Well, that's your problem.  Your problem isn't youtube, it's your
> > daughter staying up late! ( xyproblem.info )
> >
> > Use a router with access controls and disable access for her MAC
> > addresses after bed time.
> >
> > That way your internet works fine, you don't have to do things that
> > she can work her way around.  Your router just doesn't let her
> > machines connect to the internet during that time.
> >
> > DD-WRT has support for this built in:
> > https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwiki
> > .dd-wrt.com%2Fwiki%2Findex.php%2FParental_controldata=04%7C01%7C%
> > 7C18657d66864b4b7f71ae08d88c0c33cd%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%
> > 7C1%7C0%7C637413331321310893%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwM
> > DAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000sdata=t4J
> > vJtV%2F8NDcPX9JKGLB0FZeuFIQzVw%2F%2Fm4ycQ%2FsZLo%3Dreserved=0
> >
> >
> > Is that more of what you're looking for?
> >
> > On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 12:46 PM Z00100  wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >  So my question to you is why not?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I have the same issue with my daughter and she stays up half the
> > > night on YouTube. We can’t take the phone per se because she uses it
> > > as an alarm clock etc and the only safe place to ensure she doesn’t
> > > take it at night
> > is
> > > in our bedroom.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > >
> > > > On Nov 18, 2020 at 9:44 AM,   > > christopher.f...@thefisks.org)>  wrote:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >  Can I ask WHY you're looking to do this? Is the kid just not
> > > > following
> > > the rules? Taking away the device they're using to circumvent the
> > > rules seems like the right thing to do to me. This isn't a simple
> problem.
> > > Removing just access to youtube for someone with computer skills and
> > > determination to get it will be almost impossible without really
> > tightening
> > > down things. 1. Remove admin rights from the teenager's PC for their
> > > user account 2. Remove the ability to boot from anything except the
> > > installed HDD (to prevent creation of admin account through tools or
> > > running linux from livecd) 1. Set a BIOS password after configuring
> > > the boot sequence
> > 2.
> > > Teen might be able to reset password, so seal the computer case so
> > jumpers
> > > can't be touched 3. Setup Chrome and all other browsers in locked
> > > down
> > mode
> > > using either kiosk mode for the browser, or GPO 1. the GPO should
> > > set a
> > web
> > > proxy server to a machine running squid or other proxy software  so
> > > you
> > can
> > > block youtube there, as well as track what they're doing to
> > > circumvent
> > the
> > > block 4. Setup the PC so they can't run anything that isn't on the
> > > whitelist of applications (so they don't download a standalone
> > > version of firefox/chrome and get around your lockdowns) 1. (This is
> > > insanely time co

Re: [H] Blocking YouTube?

[Brian Weeden]

We use a Disney Circle device to do both content filtering/blocking and
time limits on internet access for our kids. You can do different profiles
for each person and assign all their devices to their profile. Nice
iOS/Android app for managing things and also has an app to control access
on phones over LTE.

On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 1:10 PM Christopher Fisk <
christopher.f...@thefisks.org> wrote:

> " I have the same issue with my daughter and she stays up half the night on
> YouTube."
>
> Well, that's your problem.  Your problem isn't youtube, it's your daughter
> staying up late! ( xyproblem.info )
>
> Use a router with access controls and disable access for her MAC addresses
> after bed time.
>
> That way your internet works fine, you don't have to do things that she can
> work her way around.  Your router just doesn't let her machines connect to
> the internet during that time.
>
> DD-WRT has support for this built in:
> https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Parental_control
>
>
> Is that more of what you're looking for?
>
> On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 12:46 PM Z00100  wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >
> >  So my question to you is why not?
> >
> >
> >
> > I have the same issue with my daughter and she stays up half the night on
> > YouTube. We can’t take the phone per se because she uses it as an alarm
> > clock etc and the only safe place to ensure she doesn’t take it at night
> is
> > in our bedroom.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > >
> > > On Nov 18, 2020 at 9:44 AM,   > christopher.f...@thefisks.org)>  wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >  Can I ask WHY you're looking to do this? Is the kid just not following
> > the rules? Taking away the device they're using to circumvent the rules
> > seems like the right thing to do to me. This isn't a simple problem.
> > Removing just access to youtube for someone with computer skills and
> > determination to get it will be almost impossible without really
> tightening
> > down things. 1. Remove admin rights from the teenager's PC for their user
> > account 2. Remove the ability to boot from anything except the installed
> > HDD (to prevent creation of admin account through tools or running linux
> > from livecd) 1. Set a BIOS password after configuring the boot sequence
> 2.
> > Teen might be able to reset password, so seal the computer case so
> jumpers
> > can't be touched 3. Setup Chrome and all other browsers in locked down
> mode
> > using either kiosk mode for the browser, or GPO 1. the GPO should set a
> web
> > proxy server to a machine running squid or other proxy software  so you
> can
> > block youtube there, as well as track what they're doing to circumvent
> the
> > block 4. Setup the PC so they can't run anything that isn't on the
> > whitelist of applications (so they don't download a standalone version of
> > firefox/chrome and get around your lockdowns) 1. (This is insanely time
> > consuming and will run into issues when you're trying to update the
> > computer) In a business environment you can do the majority of this and
> > centrally maintain things and it's a full time job. Doing it at home?
> That
> > seems insane. Non-admin rights, locked down profile, not being able to
> > install software and not being able to change the browser settings will
> get
> > the majority. On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 1:18 AM Bino Gopal  <
> > binogo...@hotmail.com (mailto:binogo...@hotmail.com)>  wrote:  >  So
> > what’s the simplest/most elegant way to block YouTube on a PC when  >
> > you’ve got a resourceful teenager who can Google and attempt to
> circumvent
> > >  any methods you use?  >   >  Is it on the PC or on the network first
> > off?  >   >  On the PC would UAC and an admin account and editing the
> hosts
> > file be  >  enough? Or fwd proxy software for all browsers preventing new
> > browser  >  install?  >   >  Or just do it with filtering on the router
> > outbound?  >   >  How complicated do you need to get exactly?  >   >
> > Thanks in advance!  >   >  BINO  >   >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
-- 


-
Brian

Re: [H] 1440p or 4k for gaming?

[Brian Weeden]

i7-8700K
GTX 1080
Alienware 1900R 34.1", Curved Gaming Monitor

Runs pretty much all modern games (or at least the ones I choose to play)
at max settings. Yes, I'm limited to 1440p but I don't care because that
monitor is soo amazing.


-
Brian



On Fri, Jun 5, 2020 at 10:48 AM Christopher Fisk <
christopher.f...@thefisks.org> wrote:

> What do you guys run for your gaming setups?  I'm currently on a ~5 year
> old system (6700k & Geforce 970) and my daughter is looking to get a gaming
> PC.  I'm considering giving her my current setup (She plays minecraft
> mostly) and going with something new for myself.
>
> I'm leaning heavily towards 1440p due to the price on good 4k gaming
> monitors, then in the future once monitor pricing (hopefully) comes down I
> can just add 4k to it.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> (Currently looking at the following: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MJxNwh
> )
>
>
> Thanks!
>
> Christopher Fisk
>

Re: [H] 32 GB stick of RAM showing up as 16 GB

[Brian Weeden]

Well then I guess that's the answer. Never thought of that.

Doh :(


-
Brian



On Sat, May 9, 2020 at 3:11 PM Z Vaper  wrote:

> According to the docs on their site it seems that the platform supports
> only 16gb dimms.
> On May 9, 2020, 3:08 PM -0400, Brian Weeden ,
> wrote:
> > Son's computer needed an upgrade so rummaging through my spares box I
> found
> > a single stick of 32 GB DDR4 RAM. Stuck it in his machine (Inspiron 5680
> > running Win10) and it boots just fine. However, it only shows up as 16
> GB.
> >
> > Is this because I'm only using 1 DIMM slot? Otherwise not sure what could
> > be the problem.
> >
> >
> > -
> > Brian
>

[H] 32 GB stick of RAM showing up as 16 GB

[Brian Weeden]

Son's computer needed an upgrade so rummaging through my spares box I found
a single stick of 32 GB DDR4 RAM. Stuck it in his machine (Inspiron 5680
running Win10) and it boots just fine. However, it only shows up as 16 GB.

Is this because I'm only using 1 DIMM slot? Otherwise not sure what could
be the problem.


-
Brian

Re: [H] Ubiquiti UniFi AP AC PRO 802.11ac

[Brian Weeden]

POE is the key - if you have a POE switch, all you need to run is CAT 5 or
6 to the locations where you want to have an AP. It doesn’t need to have an
electrical outlet.

I have two AC-Pros in my house (one in the roof and one in the basement)
that both go back to the same switch and it works beautifully. They’re on
the same WiFi network and each client connects to whichever AP it suits it
better.

On Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 3:18 PM Naushad Zulfiqar  wrote:

> That would be correct.  I have a similar setup to you with a 8 Port
> Ubiquiti POE switch and 2x AC-LR's and they both work solid as a rock and
> seamless switching between the 2AP's on my devices.
>
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 3:14 PM Winterlight 
> wrote:
>
> > so best to connect each of them CAT6 to the router or switch/router
> >
> > At 12:45 PM 3/24/2020, you wrote:
> > >Hi,
> > >
> > >You can configure the AP to use wireless backhaul but the performance is
> > >degraded quite a bit.  Better to have wired backhaul.
> > >
> > >You can try the wireless and switch to wired if need be.
> > >
> > >On Tue, Mar 24, 2020 at 2:39 PM Winterlight <
> winterli...@winterlight.org>
> > >wrote:
> > >
> > > > I have a single Ubiquiti UniFi AP AC PRO 802.11ac and I am thinking
> > > > of adding another. If you use  multiple devices do they  both connect
> > > > wired to the router...or each other or wireless?  Thanks
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >--
> > >Best Regards,
> > >
> > >
> > >Zulfiqar Naushad
> >
> >
>
> --
> Best Regards,
>
>
> Zulfiqar Naushad
>
-- 


-
Brian

Re: [H] Virtualbox won't let me turn off my microphone

[Brian Weeden]

And if I need sound from one of the VMs then I have to live with the mic
being on all the time?


-
Brian



On Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 11:07 AM Christopher Fisk <
christopher.f...@thefisks.org> wrote:

> Virtualbox will enable the microphone on your machine if any of the VMs you
> have created have audio enabled.  To prevent it from occurring you need to
> disable all audio on all VMs on your virtualbox setup.  Just checking the
> boxes doesn't seem to work.
>
> On Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 9:53 AM Brian Weeden 
> wrote:
>
> > I'm using Virtualbox to run a couple of VMs for various things and one
> very
> > annoying problem is that it won't let me turn off my microphone. The
> minute
> > I launch VirtualBox it forces my microphone on and I if I hit the mute
> > button it comes right back on again.
> >
> > I've tried disabling the "Audio input" checkbox on the VM I'm using but
> > when I close VirtualBox it defaults to enabled again. And even when it's
> > disabled in the VM, simply having the VM running forces the mic to be
> > always on, even if the VM is locked and in the background.
> >
> > Any ideas on how to fix this?
> >
> >
> > -
> > Brian
> >
>

[H] Virtualbox won't let me turn off my microphone

[Brian Weeden]

I'm using Virtualbox to run a couple of VMs for various things and one very
annoying problem is that it won't let me turn off my microphone. The minute
I launch VirtualBox it forces my microphone on and I if I hit the mute
button it comes right back on again.

I've tried disabling the "Audio input" checkbox on the VM I'm using but
when I close VirtualBox it defaults to enabled again. And even when it's
disabled in the VM, simply having the VM running forces the mic to be
always on, even if the VM is locked and in the background.

Any ideas on how to fix this?


-
Brian

Re: [H] Two wifi extenders different | or same SSD

[Brian Weeden]

Yes, it turns out houses are shockingly bad for propagation of signals in
the 2.4 - 5 GHz ranges, which is why analog TV and cell phones are at much
lower frequencies.

UniFi has a nifty heat mapping tool you can use to figure out exactly what
stuff in your house is causing problems and where the most ideal placement
of your APs is. I was able to get by with two AC-APs - one up in the attic
and one on the wall in the basement - to cover my house, or at least the
areas that we use the most.



On Wed, Oct 2, 2019 at 5:57 PM Winterlight 
wrote:

> I thought of going Unifi and I would of,  but then I had the two
> TRENDnets so I gave it a try and it works so well I decided to use
> them. Plus running the CAT, and power, from one Unifi to another
> would be difficult given my high ceilings and the routhing of the
> wires.. I was surprised the my Unifi...even at AC could not do this
> on it;s own given that the distance from the Unifi to my back fence
> is less then 50 feet. Apparently going through the windows or walls
> and maybe interference was too much for it to overcome. I won't be
> using wifi in the yard very often and when I do I just manually log
> into the appropriate router... primitive I know but it works. Thanks
> for the link and the help!
>
>
> At 03:04 PM 10/2/2019, you wrote:
> >Best case you'd be Unifi across the board and allow them to handle the
> >roaming handoff.  When you have different brands of APs you can use the
> >
> https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/05546/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html
> >Wifi Roaming Aggressiveness (or equivalent for your vendor).  With 3 APs
> >you should set one each on channels 1 6 and 11 so there is minimal
> overlap.
> >
> >To answer your SSID question, you'll want to have the same SSID, otherwise
> >your clients will connect for as long as possible to a weaker signal until
> >it becomes unusable and it then tries other SSIDs.
> >
> >
> >Good luck!
> >
> >On Wed, Oct 2, 2019 at 3:03 PM Winterlight 
> >wrote:
> >
> > > I have a Ubiquiti UniFi_AP-AC-Pro mounted in the hallway of my single
> > > story house. It is plugged into my Ubiquiti Edge router  and it works
> > > great... in the interior. However in my front and backyard  wifi
> > > becomes spotty. I happen to have two   TRENDnet 300 Mbps Wireless
> > > Easy-N-Upgrader routers so I wired one up on my back patio and it
> > > solved my backyard problem. I have a second older version one that I
> > > want to put in my garage to handle the front yard. The routers will
> > > be plugged into two different switches on my LAN and will DHCP =
> > > different IP address. They will both use WP2 AES but have identical
> > > passwords.
> > >
> > > Would it be best to give them different  SSD names or use the same SSD
> > > name?
> > >
> > >
>
> --


-
Brian

Re: [H] List seems dead these days?

[Brian Weeden]

I have a Synology server on my network as the main fileserver and have
stuck with 1gbps (albeit two ports at once). I don't have any real use
cases for faster, at least not yet.


-
Brian



On Fri, Aug 9, 2019 at 2:19 PM Z Vaper  wrote:

> I have 3 wires devices at home. My VM server, unraid server and my desktop
> and all 3 are 10gbps. The difference is substantial and unraid handles it
> well provided you're using a caching drive.
> On Aug 9, 2019, 8:17 AM -0400, Steve Tomporowski ,
> wrote:
> > Has anyone gotten into 10G ethernet? A little pricey but is it worth it?
> > Right now I don't know if Unraid can handle that. There is the thought
> > that Win10 will just goof it up and waste the bandwidth.
> >
> > On Fri, Aug 9, 2019 at 3:18 AM James Boswell 
> wrote:
> >
> > > Userbenchmark isn't without utility, but it should be noted that
> they've
> > > just recently rebalanced their cpu performance reporting in a really
> silly
> > > way, basically massively understating the performance of >4 core cpus
> by
> > > making cores above the 4th 2% of the weight of the score, so by their
> > > current metrics an i3 can be preferable to a like, 28 core xeon...
> Which...
> > > Just no.
> > >
> > > On Fri, 9 Aug 2019, 08:09 Brian Weeden, 
> wrote:
> > >
> > > > It's alive!
> > > >
> > > > I actually did a rebuild of my main machine at the end of last year
> > > > (i8700k, Asus Z370-Prime, GTX 1080 SC) and learned the hard way about
> > > DDR4
> > > > incompatibilities when filling all four RAM slots.
> > > >
> > > > BTW, if you haven't seen it yet, this is a great site for comparing
> > > various
> > > > builds:
> > > > https://www.userbenchmark.com
> > > >
> > > > But when it came to my kids' gaming machines, I just bought a pair of
> > > Dell
> > > > Inspiron desktops because they were the same price as what I could
> have
> > > > built myself and just less hassle.
> > > >
> > > > I have found myself getting more into networking gear. I recently
> rebuild
> > > > my home network using Unifi gear from Ubiquity (including switches,
> APs,
> > > > and POE cameras) and that has proven to be very rewarding. The gear
> is
> > > much
> > > > more customization and powerful than most consumer networking gear.
> > > >
> > > > -
> > > > Brian
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On Fri, Aug 9, 2019 at 3:12 AM Tim Lider <619be...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > I've been a part of the list since 95 or 96. I remember when we
> have
> > > the
> > > > > get together in Vegas that year when ComDEX was happening.
> > > > >
> > > > > Those were the days,
> > > > >
> > > > > Tim Lider
> > > > > Red Belt Arnis de Mano
> > > > > https://www.facebook.com/CardenasArnis
> > > > >
> > > > > -Original Message-
> > > > > From: Hardware  On
> Behalf Of
> > > > > didymus7
> > > > > Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2019 3:46 PM
> > > > > To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> > > > > Subject: Re: [H] List seems dead these days?
> > > > >
> > > > > When did the list begin? I've only been here since '95. Not sure
> what
> > > > > month.
> > > > >
> > > > > On 8/8/2019 4:53 PM, Scott Sipe wrote:
> > > > > > I'm embarrassed to say my last serious build was an i7-4970 and a
> > > > > > Geforce970 (and also embarrassed I had to look up in my email to
> see
> > > > > > when that was -- 2014!). I do have an itch to try out AMD again.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I put together a small AMD system a year or so ago with my
> son--who
> > > is
> > > > > > now 9. I think I first joined the HWG when I was around 13 or 14
> > > (does
> > > > > > anybody remember when the list started?). Now THAT'S scary.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Great to see so many people still around.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Scott
> > > > > >
> > > > > > On Wed, Aug 7, 2019 at 9:01 PM Thane K. Sherrington <
> > > > > > th...@computerconnectionltd.com> wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > Anyone else getting double posts?
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > On 07/08/2019 9:58 p.m., Thane K. Sherrington wrote:
> > > > > > > > Yeah, those were the days. :)
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > T
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > On 07/08/2019 3:16 p.m., Christopher Fisk wrote:
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Gone are the days of getting a 50% overclock out of a
> slocket'ed
> > > > > > > > > Celeron 300a malaysia.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > On Wed, Aug 7, 2019 at 1:37 PM Joshua MacCraw <
> maccr...@gmail.com
> > > >
> > > > > > > > > wrote:
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Is there an issue at my end or is the list faded?
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
>

Re: [H] List seems dead these days?

[Brian Weeden]

It's alive!

I actually did a rebuild of my main machine at the end of last year
(i8700k, Asus Z370-Prime, GTX 1080 SC) and learned the hard way about DDR4
incompatibilities when filling all four RAM slots.

BTW, if you haven't seen it yet, this is a great site for comparing various
builds:
https://www.userbenchmark.com

But when it came to my kids' gaming machines, I just bought a pair of Dell
Inspiron desktops because they were the same price as what I could have
built myself and just less hassle.

I have found myself getting more into networking gear. I recently rebuild
my home network using Unifi gear from Ubiquity (including switches, APs,
and POE cameras) and that has proven to be very rewarding. The gear is much
more customization and powerful than most consumer networking gear.

-
Brian



On Fri, Aug 9, 2019 at 3:12 AM Tim Lider <619be...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I've been a part of the list since 95 or 96. I remember when we have the
> get together in Vegas that year when ComDEX was happening.
>
> Those were the days,
>
> Tim Lider
> Red Belt Arnis de Mano
> https://www.facebook.com/CardenasArnis
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware  On Behalf Of
> didymus7
> Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2019 3:46 PM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] List seems dead these days?
>
> When did the list begin?  I've only been here since '95.  Not sure what
> month.
>
> On 8/8/2019 4:53 PM, Scott Sipe wrote:
> > I'm embarrassed to say my last serious build was an i7-4970 and a
> > Geforce970 (and also embarrassed I had to look up in my email to see
> > when that was -- 2014!). I do have an itch to try out AMD again.
> >
> > I put together a small AMD system a year or so ago with my son--who is
> > now 9. I think I first joined the HWG when I was around 13 or 14 (does
> > anybody remember when the list started?). Now THAT'S scary.
> >
> > Great to see so many people still around.
> >
> > Scott
> >
> > On Wed, Aug 7, 2019 at 9:01 PM Thane K. Sherrington <
> > th...@computerconnectionltd.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Anyone else getting double posts?
> >>
> >> On 07/08/2019 9:58 p.m., Thane K. Sherrington wrote:
> >>> Yeah, those were the days. :)
> >>>
> >>> T
> >>>
> >>> On 07/08/2019 3:16 p.m., Christopher Fisk wrote:
> >>>
>  Gone are the days of getting a 50% overclock out of a slocket'ed
>  Celeron 300a malaysia.
> 
>  On Wed, Aug 7, 2019 at 1:37 PM Joshua MacCraw 
>  wrote:
> 
> > Is there an issue at my end or is the list faded?
> >
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
>
>

Re: [H] Godaddy

[Brian Weeden]

I’m pretty happy with Cloudflare for both domain register and DNS.

On Thu, May 30, 2019 at 8:22 PM Joe User  wrote:

> Left GoDaddy also - I went with Dreamhost, so far so good. 3+ years.
>
>
> On 5/30/2019 2:46 PM, Winterlight wrote:
> > Ever since Godaddy went public they have gone down terribly.Their
> > support is awful and it is off shore now. Support is so bad that they
> > don't even ask for "how did we do" surveys anymore. Support incompetence
> > has actually cost me quite a bit of money and now I am looking to move
> > my domains and hosting somewhere else. I am asking the collective for
> > recomendations? Thanks
> >
>
-- 


-
Brian

Re: [H] using wifi and ethernet

[Brian Weeden]

Yep - that way you can support both wired and WiFI devices on the same
network. For example, I have the streaming boxes on my home network
connected via CAT6 but then all the phones, laptops, and tablets are
connected via WiFi. The streaming boxes can take advantage of the higher
bandwidth and reliability of the wired connection, freeing up the WiFi for
the mobile devices.

It doesn't necessarily all need to come from the same router but it does
need to be on the same network segment for all the devices to talk to each
other. Easiest way to do that is to have them all served by the same DCHP
host, which for most people is their router.

-
Brian



On Sun, Apr 28, 2019 at 4:43 PM Winterlight 
wrote:

> Is there any advantage in using both wifi and Ethernet on the same
> router>cable modem? I know there are programs that will combine them
> if they are from two different sources but how about from the same
> source.. is there a way to do this?
>
>

Re: [H] New Win10 computer says some settings are restricted to administrators

[Brian Weeden]

There are subfolders for Lenovo and Microsoft, with a whole bunch of
folders/keys under Microsoft.

Interestingly, when I go into gpedit.msc and look under Administrative
Templates for either Computer or User config, nothing is configured.



-
Brian


On Tue, Jul 31, 2018 at 6:42 PM, Jamie Furtner  wrote:

> The controlled by administrator message usually means that group policies
> are set in my experience, but I’ve not heard of a machine being sold with
> policies set.
>
> Can you check the machines registry under HKLM/software/policies? If there
> are any folders or keys under it, try using gpedit to clear out all
> policies. I’m not sure if manually clearing the folder will work
> permanently.
>
> > On Jul 31, 2018, at 4:11 PM, Brian Weeden 
> wrote:
> >
> > Yes, I'm using Win10 Pro. I use that on my laptops for bitlocker.
> >
> > The Administrator account is disabled for security precautions. I can
> > re-enable it, but it's not enabled on my other Win10 Pro machines that I
> > use at home, and I have full access to everything.on those.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -
> > Brian
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Jul 31, 2018 at 5:23 PM, Winterlight <
> winterli...@winterlight.org>
> > wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> Are you using Win 10 PRO? This will make it easier to access some
> >> settings. By default you are  user with administrator  privileges...
> not
> >> THE Administrator. I will assume you are running pro. So open computer
> >> manager >> users  enable and give a password to THE Administrator
> which
> >> is like a Super Administrator. Log in as the administrator or open
> things
> >> as The administrator and you can make the changes you wish.
> >>
> >>
> >> At 02:30 PM 7/31/2018, you wrote:
> >>
> >>> Just ordered a new Lenovo laptop with Win10Pro on it and it's a great
> >>> machine, with one problem. I'm not able to access a lot of the admin
> type
> >>> stuff (add/remove programs, bitlocker, windows updates, etc). They're
> >>> either not there, or have a message that says "some settings are
> managed
> >>> by
> >>> your system administrator".
> >>>
> >>> Well, I am the system administrator, and I can't figure out how to undo
> >>> this. I did some googling and it seems that this is due to a group
> policy
> >>> setting being enabled. Articles like this say you can fix it by
> toggling
> >>> the windows diagnostics on or off, but it apparently doesn't work for
> the
> >>> latest version of windows:
> >>> https://www.drivereasy.com/knowledge/solved-how-to-fix-some-
> >>> settings-are-managed-by-your-organization-error-on-windows-10/
> >>>
> >>> Any ideas, particularly from those of you who've managed enterprise
> >>> machines before?
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> -
> >>> Brian
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >
>

Re: [H] New Win10 computer says some settings are restricted to administrators

[Brian Weeden]

Yes, I'm using Win10 Pro. I use that on my laptops for bitlocker.

The Administrator account is disabled for security precautions. I can
re-enable it, but it's not enabled on my other Win10 Pro machines that I
use at home, and I have full access to everything.on those.






-
Brian


On Tue, Jul 31, 2018 at 5:23 PM, Winterlight 
wrote:

>
> Are you using Win 10 PRO? This will make it easier to access some
> settings. By default you are  user with administrator  privileges... not
> THE Administrator. I will assume you are running pro. So open computer
> manager >> users  enable and give a password to THE Administrator which
> is like a Super Administrator. Log in as the administrator or open things
> as The administrator and you can make the changes you wish.
>
>
> At 02:30 PM 7/31/2018, you wrote:
>
>> Just ordered a new Lenovo laptop with Win10Pro on it and it's a great
>> machine, with one problem. I'm not able to access a lot of the admin type
>> stuff (add/remove programs, bitlocker, windows updates, etc). They're
>> either not there, or have a message that says "some settings are managed
>> by
>> your system administrator".
>>
>> Well, I am the system administrator, and I can't figure out how to undo
>> this. I did some googling and it seems that this is due to a group policy
>> setting being enabled. Articles like this say you can fix it by toggling
>> the windows diagnostics on or off, but it apparently doesn't work for the
>> latest version of windows:
>> https://www.drivereasy.com/knowledge/solved-how-to-fix-some-
>> settings-are-managed-by-your-organization-error-on-windows-10/
>>
>> Any ideas, particularly from those of you who've managed enterprise
>> machines before?
>>
>>
>> -
>> Brian
>>
>
>

Re: [H] Should I rebuild my machine now or wait until the next gen of CPUs?

[Brian Weeden]

I agree with that. I have a DS1817+ and I’m not that concerned. An attacker
would have to get their own code running on my Synology in order to exploit
the vulns, and I don’t install new code on there all that often. It’s not
like a desktop where you’re constantly downloading and opening/executing
new files.

On Sat, Jul 7, 2018 at 10:08 AM Greg Sevart  wrote:

> Synology does have some vulnerable models and does not appear to have
> released any fixes yet.
> https://www.synology.com/en-global/support/security/Synology_SA_18_01
>
> However, I don't think this is a big concern for appliances like that.
> Effective exploitation of meltdown or spectre requires running code on the
> target system.
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf
> Of Winterlight
> Sent: Friday, July 6, 2018 11:41 PM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Should I rebuild my machine now or wait until the next gen
> of CPUs?
>
>
> I was planning on getting a Synology
> NASshould I be concerned about security? I assumed that they would have
> this problem locked down on their new hardware...but I am not sure.
>
> At 07:01 PM 7/6/2018, you wrote:
> >Thus far, AMD's story has been more compelling than Intel's. AMD is
> >immune to meltdown, and is broadly speaking less vulnerable to the
> >Sceptre variants. However, it would be naïve to believe that AMD is in
> >the clear, as additional vulnerabilities are slowly coming out in this
> >new and novel class of attack vector.
> >
> >My thinking is that while both Linux and Windows are currently only
> >doing the PTI/KernelVA shadowing for Intel, it will eventually be
> >mandatory for all architectures--for defense in depth if nothing else.
> >
> >-Original Message-
> >From: Hardware
> >[mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Brian
> >Weeden
> >Sent: Friday, July 6, 2018 3:42 PM
> >To: hardware 
> >Subject: Re: [H] Should I rebuild my machine now or wait until the next
> >gen of CPUs?
> >
> >Winter, that is exactly the situation I'm in and the question I'm
> >asking. I have not applied any patches to my system because a) they're
> >only partially effective and b) they have a performance hit.
> >
> >So I'm trying to see if it makes sense to upgrade to a new machine now,
> >or whether I should stick it out for another several months
> >(year?) to see if Intel or AMD rolls out something that actually fixes
> >the underlying problems.
> >
> >
> >
> >-
> >Brian
> >
> >
> >On Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 4:38 PM, Winterlight
> >
> >wrote:
> >
> > > This has been an interesting thread. So Greg the Ivy Bridge patch
> > > that you posted will be delivered by Windows 10 ...eventually...
> > > maybe? I am still running a P9X79 WS with my six core Ivy Bridge with
> Win10.
> > > InSpectre tells me Spectre is not protected and performance is slower.
> > > Just how much at risk am I. I figure I will never see a BIOS update..
> > > ... or will I. The whole thing is a big mess, and I would imagine
> > > there are all sorts of class action law
> > suites heading toward CPU and motherboard manufactures.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > At 10:08 AM 7/6/2018, you wrote:
> > >
> > >> The chipset vulnerabilities were ugly, yes, but for their part AMD
> > >> did ensure they were resolved quickly despite the research firm not
> > >> following industry best-practices regarding vulnerability disclosure.
> > >> My bigger beef is that AMD would use ASSmedia (not a typo) at all,
> > >> given their fairly well-established track
> > record of being roughly equivalent to dog excrement.
> > >> I don't subscribe to the AMD Fanboy narrative that it was an Intel
> > >> hit-job, though.
> > >>
> > >> Intel's roadmap is a real mess right now. A sudden and surprisingly
> > >> competitive AMD portfolio coupled with severe yield and performance
> > >> issues with their ambitious 10nm process technology has painted
> > >> them into a corner with no good near-term options. So, they're
> > >> going to push their 14nm++ tech for another iteration, adding
> > >> cores, to (try
> > >> to) re-establish clear superiority . Luckily
> > for them, their 14++ is actually really good.
> > >>
> > >> Greg
> > >>
> > >> -Original Message-
> > >> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-bo

Re: [H] Should I rebuild my machine now or wait until the next gen of CPUs?

[Brian Weeden]

Agree with  all of that, although as I mentioned earlier AMD's utter
failure in screening their motherboard chipset vendor also gives me pause.
Hard to tell if that's a one-off mistake, or a sign that they don't really
care that much about security.



-
Brian


On Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 9:01 PM, Greg Sevart  wrote:

> Thus far, AMD's story has been more compelling than Intel's. AMD is immune
> to meltdown, and is broadly speaking less vulnerable to the Sceptre
> variants. However, it would be naïve to believe that AMD is in the clear,
> as additional vulnerabilities are slowly coming out in this new and novel
> class of attack vector.
>
> My thinking is that while both Linux and Windows are currently only doing
> the PTI/KernelVA shadowing for Intel, it will eventually be mandatory for
> all architectures--for defense in depth if nothing else.
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On
> Behalf Of Brian Weeden
> Sent: Friday, July 6, 2018 3:42 PM
> To: hardware 
> Subject: Re: [H] Should I rebuild my machine now or wait until the next
> gen of CPUs?
>
> Winter, that is exactly the situation I'm in and the question I'm asking.
> I have not applied any patches to my system because a) they're only
> partially effective and b) they have a performance hit.
>
> So I'm trying to see if it makes sense to upgrade to a new machine now, or
> whether I should stick it out for another several months (year?) to see if
> Intel or AMD rolls out something that actually fixes the underlying
> problems.
>
>
>
> -
> Brian
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 4:38 PM, Winterlight 
> wrote:
>
> > This has been an interesting thread. So Greg the Ivy Bridge patch that
> > you posted will be delivered by Windows 10 ...eventually... maybe? I
> > am still running a P9X79 WS with my six core Ivy Bridge with Win10.
> > InSpectre tells me Spectre is not protected and performance is slower.
> > Just how much at risk am I. I figure I will never see a BIOS update..
> > ... or will I. The whole thing is a big mess, and I would imagine
> > there are all sorts of class action law suites heading toward CPU and
> motherboard manufactures.
> >
> >
> >
> > At 10:08 AM 7/6/2018, you wrote:
> >
> >> The chipset vulnerabilities were ugly, yes, but for their part AMD
> >> did ensure they were resolved quickly despite the research firm not
> >> following industry best-practices regarding vulnerability disclosure.
> >> My bigger beef is that AMD would use ASSmedia (not a typo) at all,
> >> given their fairly well-established track record of being roughly
> equivalent to dog excrement.
> >> I don't subscribe to the AMD Fanboy narrative that it was an Intel
> >> hit-job, though.
> >>
> >> Intel's roadmap is a real mess right now. A sudden and surprisingly
> >> competitive AMD portfolio coupled with severe yield and performance
> >> issues with their ambitious 10nm process technology has painted them
> >> into a corner with no good near-term options. So, they're going to
> >> push their 14nm++ tech for another iteration, adding cores, to (try
> >> to) re-establish clear superiority . Luckily for them, their 14++ is
> actually really good.
> >>
> >> Greg
> >>
> >> -Original Message-
> >> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On
> >> Behalf Of Brian Weeden
> >> Sent: Friday, July 6, 2018 9:03 AM
> >> To: hardware 
> >> Subject: Re: [H] Should I rebuild my machine now or wait until the
> >> next gen of CPUs?
> >>
> >> Thanks,  Greg. That pretty much aligns with my thought process on
> >> this, so I guess it's good at least one other person is coming to the
> >> same conclusions I am :)
> >>
> >> Didn't know about the Ivy Bridge patches - will look into that more.
> >> But one of the reasons I haven't patched at all is that all the
> >> mitigations for older chips like mine have had significant
> >> performance penalties. And at this point that's a bigger issue for me
> >> than the security, as I'm not really in that big of a threat
> environment.
> >>
> >> But I plan to use whatever I buy for the next several years and it
> >> would be good to get something that's not going to have major
> >> structural vulnerabilities that will be problems that entire time.
> >>
> >> My major hangup with AMD is not the performance but rather the
> >> massive vulnerabilities found in their Ryzen chipset, all because
>

Re: [H] Should I rebuild my machine now or wait until the next gen of CPUs?

[Brian Weeden]

Winter, that is exactly the situation I'm in and the question I'm asking. I
have not applied any patches to my system because a) they're only partially
effective and b) they have a performance hit.

So I'm trying to see if it makes sense to upgrade to a new machine now, or
whether I should stick it out for another several months (year?) to see if
Intel or AMD rolls out something that actually fixes the underlying
problems.



-
Brian


On Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 4:38 PM, Winterlight 
wrote:

> This has been an interesting thread. So Greg the Ivy Bridge patch that you
> posted will be delivered by Windows 10 ...eventually... maybe? I am still
> running a P9X79 WS with my six core Ivy Bridge with Win10. InSpectre tells
> me Spectre is not protected and performance is slower. Just how much at
> risk am I. I figure I will never see a BIOS update.. ... or will I. The
> whole thing is a big mess, and I would imagine there are all sorts of class
> action law suites heading toward CPU and motherboard manufactures.
>
>
>
> At 10:08 AM 7/6/2018, you wrote:
>
>> The chipset vulnerabilities were ugly, yes, but for their part AMD did
>> ensure they were resolved quickly despite the research firm not following
>> industry best-practices regarding vulnerability disclosure. My bigger beef
>> is that AMD would use ASSmedia (not a typo) at all, given their fairly
>> well-established track record of being roughly equivalent to dog excrement.
>> I don't subscribe to the AMD Fanboy narrative that it was an Intel hit-job,
>> though.
>>
>> Intel's roadmap is a real mess right now. A sudden and surprisingly
>> competitive AMD portfolio coupled with severe yield and performance issues
>> with their ambitious 10nm process technology has painted them into a corner
>> with no good near-term options. So, they're going to push their 14nm++ tech
>> for another iteration, adding cores, to (try to) re-establish clear
>> superiority . Luckily for them, their 14++ is actually really good.
>>
>> Greg
>>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On
>> Behalf Of Brian Weeden
>> Sent: Friday, July 6, 2018 9:03 AM
>> To: hardware 
>> Subject: Re: [H] Should I rebuild my machine now or wait until the next
>> gen of CPUs?
>>
>> Thanks,  Greg. That pretty much aligns with my thought process on this,
>> so I guess it's good at least one other person is coming to the same
>> conclusions I am :)
>>
>> Didn't know about the Ivy Bridge patches - will look into that more. But
>> one of the reasons I haven't patched at all is that all the mitigations for
>> older chips like mine have had significant performance penalties. And at
>> this point that's a bigger issue for me than the security, as I'm not
>> really in that big of a threat environment.
>>
>> But I plan to use whatever I buy for the next several years and it would
>> be good to get something that's not going to have major structural
>> vulnerabilities that will be problems that entire time.
>>
>> My major hangup with AMD is not the performance but rather the massive
>> vulnerabilities found in their Ryzen chipset, all because they did a very
>> poor job providing oversight of the company they outsourced it to. That
>> doesn't speak well of their commitment to security in my mind.
>>
>> I had heard that Intel's 2018 lineup was delayed until next year as they
>> try and fix all this stuff, but maybe that was just for their mobile chips?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -
>> Brian
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 2:20 AM, Greg Sevart  wrote:
>>
>> > Actually, your Ivy Bridge CPU had new microcode revision with
>> > additional Spectre defenses released just this past Monday. While it's
>> > a long-shot for your motherboard manufacturer to release a new FW
>> > update, it *is* likely to appear in an OS patch. CPU microcode can and
>> > is loaded via multiple mechanisms, including during OS early boot. On
>> > Windows, your options are a bit more limited as you must wait for
>> > Microsoft to update their microcode patch.
>> >
>> > Microsoft's microcode patch information, which is ONLY available for
>> > Windows 10 1709 (or later?) can be found here:
>> > https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4090007/intel-microcode-updat
>> > es
>> >
>> > It's something of a mess. As you may see, Ivy Bridge desktop CPUs are
>> > not listed explicitly, but I've heard reports of the patch taking
>> > effect on them anyway. Use a tool such as InSpectre or
&g

Re: [H] Should I rebuild my machine now or wait until the next gen of CPUs?

[Brian Weeden]

Thanks,  Greg. That pretty much aligns with my thought process on this, so
I guess it's good at least one other person is coming to the same
conclusions I am :)

Didn't know about the Ivy Bridge patches - will look into that more. But
one of the reasons I haven't patched at all is that all the mitigations for
older chips like mine have had significant performance penalties. And at
this point that's a bigger issue for me than the security, as I'm not
really in that big of a threat environment.

But I plan to use whatever I buy for the next several years and it would be
good to get something that's not going to have major structural
vulnerabilities that will be problems that entire time.

My major hangup with AMD is not the performance but rather the massive
vulnerabilities found in their Ryzen chipset, all because they did a very
poor job providing oversight of the company they outsourced it to. That
doesn't speak well of their commitment to security in my mind.

I had heard that Intel's 2018 lineup was delayed until next year as they
try and fix all this stuff, but maybe that was just for their mobile chips?




-
Brian


On Fri, Jul 6, 2018 at 2:20 AM, Greg Sevart  wrote:

> Actually, your Ivy Bridge CPU had new microcode revision with additional
> Spectre defenses released just this past Monday. While it's a long-shot for
> your motherboard manufacturer to release a new FW update, it *is* likely to
> appear in an OS patch. CPU microcode can and is loaded via multiple
> mechanisms, including during OS early boot. On Windows, your options are a
> bit more limited as you must wait for Microsoft to update their microcode
> patch.
>
> Microsoft's microcode patch information, which is ONLY available for
> Windows 10 1709 (or later?) can be found here:
> https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4090007/intel-microcode-updates
>
> It's something of a mess. As you may see, Ivy Bridge desktop CPUs are not
> listed explicitly, but I've heard reports of the patch taking effect on
> them anyway. Use a tool such as InSpectre or Get-SpeculationControlSettings
> in the PowerShell Gallery to verify your status post-update.
>
>
> With regard to an upgrade...hard to say. On the desktop side, with Ryzen,
> AMD has finally released a product that is competitive. Broadly speaking
> (i.e., on overall average), it is not clearly superior despite higher core
> counts, but very competitive and hence a viable option to Intel's Coffee
> Lake SKUs. If you're interested in HEDT, that's a bit harder to
> answer...for highly threaded workloads, the Threadripper/X399 platform wins
> on both performance and price (despite the dumb name and attempt to usurp
> Intel's existing platform naming scheme), but if single-threaded
> performance is more important, Skylake-X/X299 is still the better bet.
>
> CPUs with integrated defenses to the various Spectre variants are expected
> near the end of the year. As it stands now, performance wise, Intel's
> silicon is more negatively impacted via existing mitigations, but not
> enough to make a meaningful difference in *most* client workloads for
> current silicon. Older CPUs (such as your Ivy) that do not support INVPCID
> are especially hurt by Meltdown's mitigation. Fundamentally, I don't think
> either one is substantially more secure if your mitigations are current.
> While we've already seen some since the initial 3 CVEs were announced, it's
> widely expected that more vulnerabilities will be discovered in the coming
> months and years as this new and novel class of attack vector is researched.
>
> Major items rumored to be coming soon-ish:
> Intel desktop: Widely expected to have a new 8-core mainstream chip out
> sometime later this year.
> Intel HEDT: Cascade Lake-X expected in Q4, up to 28C, though the series
> may span sockets. Maybe a 22C interim offering?
> AMD Desktop: Zen+ 2000-series just released offering minor improvements,
> Zen 2 expected next year
> AMD HEDT: Zen+ refresh of Threadripper expected soon, up to 32C.
>
>
> My personal take: I'd buy Intel for intensive, lightly-threaded workloads,
> and AMD for intensive, heavily-threaded workloads. Anything not intensive
> isn't going to be different enough to matter, so go with whatever floats
> your boat and/or wallet.
>
> Greg
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On
> Behalf Of Brian Weeden
> Sent: Thursday, July 5, 2018 9:45 PM
> To: hwg 
> Subject: [H] Should I rebuild my machine now or wait until the next gen of
> CPUs?
>
> Currently running a core i5-3750K with 32GB of RAM on my main machine,
> which I use for both work and gaming.
>
> Been looking to replace it for several months now, but have held off in
> part because of all the vulnerabilities that kee

[H] Should I rebuild my machine now or wait until the next gen of CPUs?

[Brian Weeden]

Currently running a core i5-3750K with 32GB of RAM on my main machine,
which I use for both work and gaming.

Been looking to replace it for several months now, but have held off in
part because of all the vulnerabilities that keep turning up in modern CPUs
(Meltdown, Spectre, and all their variants). The thing is, my existing CPU
is old enough that it doesn't support any of the mitigations, so I'm
actually less secure now than if I bought a new CPU that at least had
mitigations against the vulns (even if the new CPUs that actually fix them
are 6-12 months away).

So first question is, is the time right to go do this now?

Second question is, Intel or AMD? Is one better off than the other from a
security standpoint that's worth taking into consideration?


-
Brian

Re: [H] Radio stations coming out of my home theater speakers

[Brian Weeden]

Hi Julian. This is why I stuck to the digital side of EE in college. RF is
just damn black magic :)

Yes. Disconnecting everything and it's gone. Reconnecting just the center
channel, and there's no sound. But as soon as I add the L and R fronts,
it's back, very faint. Adding in the side surrounds makes it stronger, and
then rears stronger yet. Seems without the side surrounds its very faint.
Still there, but tolerable.

Here's what I don't get. I made my front channels (L,R,C) all the same
length, but they're not the same length as the surround sides, which
themselves are a different length from the rears. So what are the odds that
I made them all some resonance of 199.9 meters?

Ideas for solutions? There's gotta be a way to filter this out?

And yes, we've lived in the DC area since 2011. Moved to just north of
Silver Spring about 18 months ago. Wife and I both work in DC.



-
Brian


On Sat, Jan 6, 2018 at 11:42 AM, Julian Zottl <jzo...@radiantnetworks.net>
wrote:

> Hey Brian,
> I take it the sound isn’t there when the speakers are not plugged in to
> the receiver?
>
> There could be lots of reasons for it unfortunately. I would try (I know
> it’s annoying) everything, then just plug in the F center speaker and turn
> the receiver on with nothing else connected. If you hear something, then it
> could be the receiver has an issue. Try plugging in one source and see if
> there is sound. Then I’d add the speakers one by one and see if the sound
> comes back. After that, I’d start adding in the sources.
>
> Hopefully that helps you track down the source of the issue. I know it
> sounds crazy, but you might be hitting a harmonic on one of your cables.
> 1500AM = 199.9 meter wavelength. If one of your cables is multiplier of
> that, you could literally have set yourself up a nice antenna for that
> station, which would feed back in to your receiver.
>
> Where in DC are you? I’m out in Ashburn :)
>
> Take care,
> Julian
>
> Sent from my iProduct, cause I'm iSpecial But not in that iShort Bus
> kind of way...
>
> > On Jan 6, 2018, at 10:45 AM, Brian Weeden <brian.wee...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > I know this isn't a computer question, but figured there might be some on
> > the list who have some expertise that can help me figure out this pesky
> > question.
> >
> > Two years ago we remodeled our basement, and I ran speaker cables for a
> 7.1
> > setup. I used good quality 14AWG CL2 cable, and HDMI for the video.
> > Everything goes back to a Yamaha A/V receiver.
> >
> > Almost immediately I noticed that there was faint sounds coming from the
> > speakers unrelated to what was playing. It's gotten worse over time, to
> the
> > point where now it is clearly identifiable as WFED AM 1500 radio station,
> > about 10 miles away. It's loud and clear to the point where the radio is
> > just as loud as the source audio with volume set to -40 dB, and if the
> > volume is set lower than that the radio is louder. The radio comes
> through
> > no matter what I seem to do. Muting the A/V receiver, switching inputs,
> > it's still there.
> >
> > Clearly there's some sort of interference going on, but I can't seem to
> > identify the source. It comes through all the speakers at about equal
> > level, suggesting it's being broadcast and amplified from the receiver
> and
> > not just randomly being picked up by the wires. The wires are not
> > extraordinarily long - about 20 ft for the rear surrounds. I actually had
> > the same receiver in a previous house that was much closer to the radio
> > station, but didn't have any problems. All the inputs to the receiver are
> > HDMI (Fios TV box, HTPC, WiiU), so it's hard to see how they could be
> > picking up interference.
> >
> > Thoughts? Suggestions?
> >
> > -
> > Brian
>

[H] Radio stations coming out of my home theater speakers

[Brian Weeden]

I know this isn't a computer question, but figured there might be some on
the list who have some expertise that can help me figure out this pesky
question.

Two years ago we remodeled our basement, and I ran speaker cables for a 7.1
setup. I used good quality 14AWG CL2 cable, and HDMI for the video.
Everything goes back to a Yamaha A/V receiver.

Almost immediately I noticed that there was faint sounds coming from the
speakers unrelated to what was playing. It's gotten worse over time, to the
point where now it is clearly identifiable as WFED AM 1500 radio station,
about 10 miles away. It's loud and clear to the point where the radio is
just as loud as the source audio with volume set to -40 dB, and if the
volume is set lower than that the radio is louder. The radio comes through
no matter what I seem to do. Muting the A/V receiver, switching inputs,
it's still there.

Clearly there's some sort of interference going on, but I can't seem to
identify the source. It comes through all the speakers at about equal
level, suggesting it's being broadcast and amplified from the receiver and
not just randomly being picked up by the wires. The wires are not
extraordinarily long - about 20 ft for the rear surrounds. I actually had
the same receiver in a previous house that was much closer to the radio
station, but didn't have any problems. All the inputs to the receiver are
HDMI (Fios TV box, HTPC, WiiU), so it's hard to see how they could be
picking up interference.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

-
Brian

[H] Win10 reverts resolution settings on reboot

[Brian Weeden]

Recently upgraded from a 1080p monitor to a 1440p one, and discovered that
every time I reboot Win10 reverts to the old resolution setting. It's not a
huge hassle to go in and change it, but still annoying.

Tried googling around but doesn't seem to be very common. Any ideas?


-
Brian

Re: [H] Windows 10 Boot problem

[Brian Weeden]

It could be a bad sector on the boot section of the drive.

Spinrite is a useful tool for diagnosing that, and in some cases fixing it
to the point where you can at least boot the drive and/or get the data off
it.



-
Brian


On Wed, Nov 1, 2017 at 3:36 PM, Thane K. Sherrington <
th...@computerconnectionltd.com> wrote:

> No external drives.  I can boot to a flash drive or DVD (I'm booting to
> DVD to get into RE.
>
> T
>
>
>
> Are you sure there are no external drives are plugged in? External drives
>> can sometimes re-order the way 10 sees the drives. I have had this happen
>> more then once with windows 10.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 1, 2017 at 7:15 PM, Thane K. Sherrington <
>>> th...@computerconnectionltd.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> > I've got a laptop that started giving the dread "inaccessible boot
>>> device"
>>> > message in Windows 10.
>>> >
>>> > I've had this before, and normally I boot to the recovery environment
>>> and
>>> > then:
>>> >
>>> > Rename the current BCD and rebuild it with
>>> >
>>> > bootrec /fixmbr
>>> > bootrec /fixboot
>>> > bootrec /rebuildbcd
>>> >
>>> > But this time, I get "access denied" when I do the bootrec /fixboot -
>>> all
>>> > the other commands succeed and it rebuilds the BCD, but still no
>>> boot.  So
>>> > I'm convinced it's the fixboot part that isn't working. However, I
>>> can't
>>> > find any links in Google that would point in in the right direction.
>>> >
>>> > Any ideas?
>>> >
>>> > T
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>

[H] Files disappeared when moving from Win10 to Synology???

[Brian Weeden]

I am panicking. I just bought a Synology DS1817+ NAS and am in the process
of moving over all my files and stuff from my old server.

As part of it, I moved over a bunch of archive files that had photos and
backups of stuff. Used Windows Explorer to simply drag them over. However,
it only moved the folders, not the files They no longer exist on either
the original server nor the new NAS. The folders appeared on the NAS, but
none of the files got moved. But they did get deleted from the old server.

Any idea what the heck happened? I've moved plenty of other (less
important) files over without any problems, and I'm tearing my hair out
trying to figure out why it failed on the stuff I really cared about
keeping safe.

-
Brian

Re: [H] Security question

[Brian Weeden]

Yes, as long as it's over SSL.

On Wed, Mar 1, 2017 at 9:40 PM Winterlight 
wrote:

> I am at a hotel. The only internet connection I have available to me
> right now is the hotel wifi OPEN connection. I want to purchase a one
> month VPN to make the open connection safe but I have to pay for the
> VPN before I can use it. Once I am on the VPNs  secure / locked web
> page I can sign up and use  a credit card and I am safe because the
> page and the transaction is SSL encrypted  ...right? Somebody might
> be able to see I went to the page but they can't see my transaction?
>
> --


-
Brian

Re: [H] Torrent Client

[Brian Weeden]

I use Deluge,  but here's a list:
https://www.howtogeek.com/197542/the-4-best-alternatives-to-utorrent-on-windows/

On Sun, Feb 26, 2017 at 5:57 PM Jim Maki  wrote:

> I have stuck with uTorrent 2.2 as I too got upset with the "additions"
> over the years. It is a Spartan application that does the job.
>
> JMHO
>
> Jim
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On
> Behalf Of Steve Tomporowski
> Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2017 2:26 PM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: [H] Torrent Client
>
> Since uTorrent has finally pissed me off (adverts are now randomly
> un-muted), what something good to replace it?
>
> Thanks...Steve
>
> --


-
Brian

Re: [H] Can't boot with bad SMART data on non-OS drive

[Brian Weeden]

Of course, and the system boots right up. I can also pop the drive in an
extended enclosure and it sounds up and is recognized.

But I can't boot with the drive attached, which means I can't run any tools
on it to try and see if I can fix it.

It just seems weird that it won't boot with a bad non-OS drive.

On Feb 26, 2017 17:06, "Thane K. Sherrington" <
th...@computerconnectionltd.com> wrote:

> Hi Brian,
>
> Have you tried unplugging the bad drive?
>
> T
>
>
>
>
>

[H] Can't boot with bad SMART data on non-OS drive

[Brian Weeden]

Weird problem with my HTPC. On boot, at the end of POST, it gives me an
error about one of the attached drives having bad SMART data, and then the
only option is to hit F1 and enter the UEFI setup. It's a data drive, not a
boot drive, so one would think I could go ahead and continue booting, but I
can't seem to find a way.

I even put in a bootable USB to try and run Spinrite on it, and still get
the same error and the only option of going into UEFI.

Suggestions?

It's an Asus P8B WS LGA1155 mobo with a Xeon chip, normally runs Win10x64.

-
Brian

Re: [H] New Android Phone

[Brian Weeden]

Huawei is the company that built the phone for Google.

Just like HTC is the one who built the newer Pixel phone. Google still
doesn't have in-house hardware design and manufacturing facilities yet.



-
Brian


On Mon, Dec 12, 2016 at 2:37 PM, Winterlight 
wrote:

>
> I am looking a Nexus 6P and I keep seeing Huawei - Google Nexus 6P
> So what does the Huawei mean? thanks
>
>
>
>
>
>
> At 12:14 PM 12/11/2016, you wrote:
>
>> My Android phone of choice is the ones by Google, Nexus and the current
>> Pixel, for the simple reason that updates are direct from Google with no
>> lack time. Best Buy still has some Nexus 6P in stock.
>>
>> My second choice would be the OnePlus Three, as close to the stock Android
>> OS without owning a Google phone.
>>
>> On Sun, Dec 11, 2016, 10:23 AM Winterlight 
>> wrote:
>>
>> > I have been a Windows Phone user for many years. I really liked the
>> > interface, but unfortunately the lack of apps that I need compel me
>> > to move on. 18 months ago my business needs forced me to use an
>> > Android phone. So for the last year and a half I have been using  a
>> > Lumia 1520 for personal use, and a Motorolla G 2nd generation for
>> > business. Once my Lumia was upgraded to Win10 a lot of things I
>> > needed stopped working correctly.
>> >
>> > It is time to start using a single phone, and the apps I need are on
>> > Android. I am looking to buy a new Android phone...something better
>> > then the Motto G...something better designed, more modern, and will
>> > work well with Win 10. I am not goint to get a contract and I don't
>> > need the latest greatest.  I don't use any social media. I am never
>> > going to hack the bios or do anything esoteric with my phone. My
>> > primary goal is simplicity or use, and  productivity without
>> > frustration. I don't know if there is any big differences outside of
>> > physical appearance between Android manufacturers but I want one that
>> > is easy to use, and doesn't catch on fire. Any suggestions or advice
>> > appreciated.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>
>

Re: [H] New Android Phone

[Brian Weeden]

I'll second the suggestion to get as close to a pure Google Android phone
as you can. Otherwise, you're unlikely to get any security updates at all,
and there's been some big vulns found in the Android platform recently.

You're also much more likely to be able to avoid the crappy software many
of the carriers pre-install.



-
Brian


On Sun, Dec 11, 2016 at 6:43 PM, Joshua MacCraw  wrote:

> Still using and recommending the Asus zen fone 2 ze551ml specifically.
> Other zf2 variants, especially the branded ones, are not as good. factory
> unlocked and easily debloated with the power of a an Atom netbook running
> x86 android.
>
> On Dec 11, 2016 11:29 AM, "Eli Allen"  wrote:
>
> > If you can wait till mobile world congress at the end of February, lots
> of
> > new phones come out then
> >
> > On Dec 11, 2016 1:22 PM, "Winterlight" 
> > wrote:
> >
> > I have been a Windows Phone user for many years. I really liked the
> > interface, but unfortunately the lack of apps that I need compel me to
> move
> > on. 18 months ago my business needs forced me to use an Android phone. So
> > for the last year and a half I have been using  a Lumia 1520 for personal
> > use, and a Motorolla G 2nd generation for business. Once my Lumia was
> > upgraded to Win10 a lot of things I needed stopped working correctly.
> >
> > It is time to start using a single phone, and the apps I need are on
> > Android. I am looking to buy a new Android phone...something better then
> > the Motto G...something better designed, more modern, and will work well
> > with Win 10. I am not goint to get a contract and I don't need the latest
> > greatest.  I don't use any social media. I am never going to hack the
> bios
> > or do anything esoteric with my phone. My primary goal is simplicity or
> > use, and  productivity without frustration. I don't know if there is any
> > big differences outside of physical appearance between Android
> > manufacturers but I want one that is easy to use, and doesn't catch on
> > fire. Any suggestions or advice appreciated.
> >
>

Re: [H] Ideas for a new build

[Brian Weeden]

One of the big recent advancements is in the new M.2 interface for SSDs,
which finally creates an interface that can match the inherent speed of
modern SSD:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/02/understanding-m-2-the-interface-that-will-speed-up-your-next-ssd/

If you do a lot of disk-intensive apps, I think that would be something
worth upgrading for. Will require a new mobo, however.



-
Brian


On Tue, Nov 29, 2016 at 7:59 PM, Jim Maki  wrote:

> Hi,
>
>
>
> My last new build was a 2.67 GHz i7 system in 2009. I have been using a
> dual
> Xeon 6-core, 2.67 GHz refurb (HP Z600)for about 2 years. I have outgrown
> the
> storage capacity (hard drives, etc.) of the HP case. It is very proprietary
> and would not easily transfer to the larger case I have (from the i7
> build).
> In addition, the Z600 does not have new features such as USB 3.0.
>
>
>
> Anyway, I have been "out of touch" with state of the art and am looking for
> some suggestions for a new build. While price is important, a high
> performance to price ratio is more important. I am not much of a gamer (an
> occasion Civ V game) but do have multiple programs open a one time. I do
> some graphics (CorelDraw) but my next major task is a book on family
> genealogy (pictures, genealogy charts, text).
>
>
>
> So suggestions and a "why" would be highly appreciated.
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
>
>
> Jim Maki
>
> jwm_maill...@comcast.net
>
>

Re: [H] backup image

[Brian Weeden]

I use this:
https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/image-for-windows.htm



-
Brian


On Fri, Aug 26, 2016 at 1:17 PM, Winterlight 
wrote:

> What is the collective using for backup imaging software these days? I
> started out with Disk Image but when Norton/Symantec bought them and
> screwed them up with their usual Nortification procedure (how many great
> apps has Norton ruined) I switched to Acronis. I liked Acronis back in
> version 4 through 8 and then of course it went down the yearly update road
> to where now I don't like it very much at all. Why can't developers see the
> advantage of keeping things clean and simple and stop trying to be all
> things to all people.
>
> So I am looking for something new, clean, and simple. Any recommendations?
>
>

Re: [H] SATA Add-in Card

[Brian Weeden]

Quick search on Amazon turned up some more as well:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps=pci-e+card+sata+6.0



-
Brian


On Tue, Jul 5, 2016 at 10:58 AM, Steve Tomporowski <didym...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Despite the mixed reviews, it seems like UNRAID users had no problem with
> the card.  With 8 ports, it'll exceed my license, which is good.  I'll have
> to look into MB compatibility,  I'm running a LGA775 Intel 'corporate
> stable' model.  I plan on running a cache SSD with the system to speed up
> access, so 3GB/sec might not be an issue.  The current MB probably has a
> mixture of 6 and 3 already.
>
> ThanksSteve
>
>
> On 7/5/2016 10:46 AM, Brian Weeden wrote:
>
>> I currently use a pair of these cards in my HTPC box (running FlexRAID):
>> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816101358
>>
>> I use them under Windows, no experience with the quality of the Linux
>> drivers. But they've been great for the last few years, no issues. Reviews
>> on Newegg have mixed reports about Linux compatibility.
>>
>> Two things to look out for. One, they only support up to 3 GB/S, so
>> they're
>> not as fast as I'd like. Two, even with that speed limitation, you need to
>> be really careful about what motherboard you pair them with to ensure they
>> can work at full speed. I had to go with a server-class LGA 1155 board
>> when
>> I did my last rebuild in 2011.
>>
>>
>>
>> -
>> Brian
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jul 5, 2016 at 10:36 AM, Steve Tomporowski <didym...@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> I'm upgrading my server (running UNRAID) and at this  point I've run out
>>> of SATA ports on the MB (all 6 full).  So I'm looking for recommendations
>>> on an add-on card, preferably PCI-E (I've got empty slots), but the card
>>> will need Linux drivers.
>>>
>>> Any Ideas?
>>>
>>> Thanks...Steve
>>>
>>>
>>>
>

Re: [H] SATA Add-in Card

[Brian Weeden]

I currently use a pair of these cards in my HTPC box (running FlexRAID):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816101358

I use them under Windows, no experience with the quality of the Linux
drivers. But they've been great for the last few years, no issues. Reviews
on Newegg have mixed reports about Linux compatibility.

Two things to look out for. One, they only support up to 3 GB/S, so they're
not as fast as I'd like. Two, even with that speed limitation, you need to
be really careful about what motherboard you pair them with to ensure they
can work at full speed. I had to go with a server-class LGA 1155 board when
I did my last rebuild in 2011.



-
Brian


On Tue, Jul 5, 2016 at 10:36 AM, Steve Tomporowski 
wrote:

> I'm upgrading my server (running UNRAID) and at this  point I've run out
> of SATA ports on the MB (all 6 full).  So I'm looking for recommendations
> on an add-on card, preferably PCI-E (I've got empty slots), but the card
> will need Linux drivers.
>
> Any Ideas?
>
> Thanks...Steve
>
>

Re: [H] Microsoft Issues End of Support Warning for Win7

[Brian Weeden]

This is not a total end of support for Win7. As is the case with WinXP,
this is an announcement of the end of the standard support. However,
Microsoft will continue to provide extended support for Win7 until 2020.

When you purchase a Microsoft product, it comes with 5 years of support. If
you are a Business user, you can get an extra 5 years of additional
support. But after than, you're on your own.

http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/search/default.aspx?alpha=windows+7
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy



-
Brian



On Sun, Jul 13, 2014 at 10:22 AM, Anthony Q. Martin amar...@charter.net
wrote:

 I don't get how that can announce a EOS warning that are 6 months out.
 That should have come two years ago.  It makes zero sense in the light of
 Windows 8 failure and while at the same time talking of Windows 9. People
 will find it easier to just jump to Mac OS.


 On 7/13/2014 7:24 AM, Steve Tomporowski wrote:

 http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Issues-End-of-
 Support-Warning-for-Windows-7-Users-449974.shtml

 My company just got finished updating to Windows 7.  This should be
 interesting.

Re: [H] Bioshock ultimate

[Brian Weeden]

Ok, good. It's been long enough since I've played that I don't really
recall myself :)



-
Brian



On Wed, Jun 18, 2014 at 8:17 PM, Winterlight winterli...@winterlight.org
wrote:


 Never mind... I finally figured out that you have to hold down the F key
 like when swapping a weapon.


 At 03:01 PM 6/18/2014, you wrote:

 Brian...weren't you playing Bioshock Infinite?  What is the deal with the
 things that appear to be in other dimensions.. like weapons and medkits
 that glimmer and you can walk though and now I came across a gate lock
 like this... how are you suppose to activate them?

Re: [H] Win7 frustrations?

[Brian Weeden]

Open up a Windows/File Explorer window. At the top Choose Organize -
Folder Options and then the tab for View. Uncheck the box for hide
extensions for known file types.



-
Brian



On Thu, Jun 5, 2014 at 7:47 PM, DSinc dsinc...@epbfi.com wrote:

 I truly mean no dis-respect. I am really trying to join the Collective
 again.
 Have win7PRO 32bit and win7PRO 64bit loaded 2 machines).
 Both seem to run well, BUT,

 Can anyone point me to where I can find the 'switch' to turn ON the
 file extensions (doc, zip, txt, msi, exe, jpg, xyz, etc.)???
 I tried IE11. Found zip. Used to was an Advanced tab from an Options
 button. Totally confused!

 I've deleted all my links to XP help. Can anyone share links to Win7/8.1
 sites I
 might go peek/poke at

 Thank you very much.
 Duncan

Re: [H] Hotmail?

[Brian Weeden]

Duncan, it sounds like some sort of 2-factor authentication has been
enabled on your account. It might be part of some new security procedures
Microsoft is putting in place, as are many others.

When you log in with a normal username and password, you are using
something you know (ie your password) to prove your identity. A 2-factor
system adds another type of verification, usually something you have
(like a dongle that generates random keys) or something you are (like a
fingerprint). For example, I have 2-factor enabled on my Gmail account and
when I go to log in it requires both a password and a one-time code
generated by an app on my phone. I can set it so I don't need to re-enter
the code on the same computer for 30 days. The advantage is that if someone
gets my password, they still can't access my account without also having
the second factor (in my case my phone).

The other thing that may be happening is that you are locked out of your
account, and Microsoft is trying to send you a code to verify that you are
you by another means, like a second email account or a text to your phone.
Maybe you had one of those set up on your account and forgot about it, or
changed emails/phones?

In either case, I think maybe calling Microsoft might help. They should be
able to rest your account, provided you can prove that you are you to them.



On Saturday, April 26, 2014, DSinc dsinc...@epbfi.com wrote:

 Brian,
 Thanks for the share. I was too pissed yesterdy to reply.
 Now post a sleep, wakeup, and a cold beer, I've come just
 give up and let M$ just erase my old mid-1990's account and all
 the stored email. I suppose I am just disappointed that yet another
 block in the M$ 'wall of shame' is dorked up to me.
 I will speak to my ISP about a 2d email address for business/commercial
 use.
 Thanks,
 Duncan

 On 04/26/2014 01:53, Bryan Seitz wrote:

 On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 09:23:37PM -0400, DSinc wrote:

 What is up with Microsoft Hotmail/Outlook.com?
 My long old uname/pw creds no longer work; and I get sent to some page
 that requests a 'security code.'  I am clueless how to proceed, but it
 appears that
 something will happen on 5/14/14 if I don't do something. Has M$ been
 hacked?

 I don't know but i'd honestly not use that ;)

Re: [H] Hotmail?

[Brian Weeden]

Duncan, are you 100% certain you are going to https://outlook.com? Because
there is no way the real Microsoft is going to send you to nunyabizness.com




-
Brian



On Sat, Apr 26, 2014 at 12:54 PM, DSinc dsinc...@epbfi.com wrote:

 Brian,
 Thanks for the share. More inline below..

 On 04/26/2014 12:10, Brian Weeden wrote:

 Duncan, it sounds like some sort of 2-factor authentication has been
 enabled on your account. It might be part of some new security procedures
 Microsoft is putting in place, as are many others.

 Yes, this did occur to me; however, M$ usually announces pending changes
 well in
 advance of turning it on. I am aware that 'Hotmail' is now called
 Outlook.com, but I have
 been told to use my old Hotmail creds which no longer work.


 When you log in with a normal username and password, you are using
 something you know (ie your password) to prove your identity. A 2-factor
 system adds another type of verification, usually something you have
 (like a dongle that generates random keys) or something you are (like a
 fingerprint). For example, I have 2-factor enabled on my Gmail account and
 when I go to log in it requires both a password and a one-time code
 generated by an app on my phone. I can set it so I don't need to re-enter
 the code on the same computer for 30 days. The advantage is that if
 someone
 gets my password, they still can't access my account without also having
 the second factor (in my case my phone).

 I understand your share. Perhaps true. They keep asking me for a 'Security
 Code.'
 But I do not know what it is! They do give me 3 ways to share this code:
 1. A valid un...@nunyabizness.com (clueless!)
 2. The last 4 digits of my phone number (no good)
 3. A text file to something or other (I read a 'smartphone')
 In any case, the confusing additional logic they give gives me pause and
 does not work per my
 comprehension. I am 66.


 The other thing that may be happening is that you are locked out of your
 account, and Microsoft is trying to send you a code to verify that you are
 you by another means, like a second email account or a text to your phone.
 Maybe you had one of those set up on your account and forgot about it, or
 changed emails/phones?

 Tes, perhaps, but, per above, M$ is making this interchange damn neat
 impossible.


 In either case, I think maybe calling Microsoft might help. They should be
 able to rest your account, provided you can prove that you are you to
 them.

 Fine. Do you have a working phone number I can try next Monday afternoon?
 Thanks,
 Duncan




 On Saturday, April 26, 2014, DSinc dsinc...@epbfi.com wrote:

  Brian,
 Thanks for the share. I was too pissed yesterdy to reply.
 Now post a sleep, wakeup, and a cold beer, I've come just
 give up and let M$ just erase my old mid-1990's account and all
 the stored email. I suppose I am just disappointed that yet another
 block in the M$ 'wall of shame' is dorked up to me.
 I will speak to my ISP about a 2d email address for business/commercial
 use.
 Thanks,
 Duncan

 On 04/26/2014 01:53, Bryan Seitz wrote:

  On Fri, Apr 25, 2014 at 09:23:37PM -0400, DSinc wrote:

  What is up with Microsoft Hotmail/Outlook.com?
 My long old uname/pw creds no longer work; and I get sent to some page
 that requests a 'security code.'  I am clueless how to proceed, but it
 appears that
 something will happen on 5/14/14 if I don't do something. Has M$ been
 hacked?

  I don't know but i'd honestly not use that ;)

Re: [H] 2nd Asus Monitor and dual 2440 x 1440 displays

[Brian Weeden]

As my time to do my own intensive research has gone down, I find myself
turning pretty frequently to a website called the Wirecutter for insight
into technology buying decisions.

They just happen to have a recent piece on 27 inch LCDs:
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/a-great-27-inch-lcd-monitor/

I think driving both is a function of what the video card can support. I
would like at the Radeon docs and website.

On Friday, April 25, 2014, Anthony Q. Martin amar...@charter.net wrote:

 I'm thinking of adding a second 27-inch panel to my main home rig, in
 particular, this one:

 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009C3M7H0/ref=ox_sc_
 act_title_2?ie=UTF8psc=1smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 Any thoughts on this?  Seems like a good price. Also, I'm currently using
 a Radeon 6850.  It drives a single Asus monitor at 2560 x 1440.  I *think*
 I'm using a display port connection (going by memory) to get this 2560 x
 1440. The other connection option have been unable to get the 2560 x 1440.
  How can I ensure I can drive both 27-inchers at 2560 x 1440?  New vid
 card?  Connection type (DVI, HDMI, etc)?

 Thanks.



-- 


-
Brian

Re: [H] What are we up to (Was-Are we alive?)

[Brian Weeden]

Jim, have you thought about setting up multiple shares instead of multiple
pools?  For example, you could have one big drive pool with all your data
but share out any folder on that pool as a separate network share.



-
Brian



On Sun, Feb 23, 2014 at 2:46 PM, Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.comwrote:

 If you're doing an initialization and building parity for 23 TB of data, I
 can expect that to take quite a while. The update I'm not so sure about. It
 should only need up update parity for whatever files were changed. So if
 the update needs just as long, that indicates maybe all your data changed.
 But if it's just video files then it shouldn't.

 I do know people have talked about exempting things like nfo files and
 thumbnails from the RAID so the parity process will skip them.



 -
 Brian



 On Sun, Feb 23, 2014 at 2:17 PM, James Maki jwm_maill...@comcast.netwrote:

 Hi Brian,

 I switched to FlexRAID to combine a total of 23 2tb drives spread over 5
 Sans Digital port multiplier towers plus extra drives on several PCs used
 as
 HTPCs. I have ripped all my Blu-ray, DVDs and recorded TV to the various
 arrays and over time had just gotten too large to easily manage. I wanted
 to
 centralize everything on one system. The system I started with utilized a
 AMD FM2 motherboard with 8 onboard SATA ports, 2 SAS ports on an add-on
 card
 (for a total of 8 additional SATA ports, and 3 of the Sans Digital towers
 (5
 disks each) for a total of 31 drives distributed as 1 OS drive, 4 parity
 drives and 26 data drives (several were empty). When this continued to
 fail
 on creation, I moved the Sans Digital based drives to a 6 port SAS
 controller card.

 When I still had problems, I found that several drives were bad (scan
 disk),
 including the 1st parity drive. Replacing the drives gave me a successful
 creation but it took 4 days. The Update took another 4 days. That's when I
 started having second thoughts on using the Parity backup option. I guess
 I
 am just expected too much from the software. That's when I thought
 creating
 several pools would reduce the strain for each update/validate.

 I am using a modestly powered AMD dual core 3.2 GHz processor and mostly
 consumer drives (mixed with a few WD reds). I went with Windows Home
 Server
 for economy reasons ($50 vs. $90-130 for Windows 7 Home
 Premium/Professional). I utilized a HighPoint RocketRAID 2760A SAS RAID
 controller card. I am using RAID over File System 2.0u12, SnapRAID 1.4
 Stable and Storage Pool 1.0 Stable (although not using the SnapRAID at
 this
 point).

 Overall, I am happy with the pooling facility of the software. I just wish
 my large setup would not choke the parity option. Thanks for all the
 input.

 Not sure if there is an answer to my problem. More powerful hardware?
 Reading the forums seems to indicate that hardware should NOT be the
 bottleneck. There seems to be the option of Updating/Validating only
 portions of the RAID each night. More research is needed on that front. My
 current plan at this point is to fill the RAID in the pooling only mode,
 make sure all names and organization is correct, then commit to a stable,
 unchanging file system that I will then commit to the SnapRAID parity
 option. That way I will only need to Validate/Verify periodically.

 Thanks,

 Jim

  -Original Message-
  From: hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com [mailto:hardware-
  boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Brian Weeden
  Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2014 6:06 AM
  To: hardware
  Cc: hwg
  Subject: Re: [H] What are we up to (Was-Are we alive?)
 
  Hi Jim. Sorry to hear you're having such troubles, especially since I
 think I'm
  the one who introduced FlexRAID to the list.
 
  I've been running it on my HTPC for several years now and (knock on
 wood)
  it's been running fine. Not sure how big your setup is, I'm running 7
 DRUs
 and
  2 PRUs of 2 TB each. I have them mounted as a single pool that is shared
 on
  my LAN. I run nightly parity updates.
 
  Initilaizing my setup did take several hours, but my updates don't take
 very
  long. Sometimes when I add several ripped HD movies at once it might
 take
 a
  few hours but that's it. How much data are you calcluating parity for at
 the
  initialization? Do you have a lot of little files (like thousand of
 pictures) or lots
  of files that change often? Either of those could greatly increase the
 time it
  takes to calcluate parity.
 
  I'm running it under Win7, and unfortunately I don't have any experience
  with Server 2011 or any of the Windows Server builds.
 
  From what I've gathered you can only have one pool per system. I think
  that's a limit of how things work. But I've never needed more than one
 pool,
  so it hasn't bothered me.
 
  For hardware, I'm running the following based largely on a HTPC hardware
  guide I found online. It's based on a server chipset to maximize the
  bandwidth to the drives.
 
  Intel Xeon E3-1225
  Asus P8B WS

Re: [H] What are we up to (Was-Are we alive?)

[Brian Weeden]

Anthony, I'd also add to Jim's comments that once you have one big central
drive you can use someting like XBMC to have a very nice interface on all
your HTPCs in the house and accessibility to all your content.



-
Brian



On Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 9:42 AM, James Maki jwm_maill...@comcast.netwrote:

 That's how I started! :) But the desire for ease of use for my family (if
 it's not in plain sight, they can't find the drive, folder or location of a
 desired movie or TV show) and it just got out of control! A couple of
 drives here. A Sans Digital tower there. A new HTPC in the family room.
 Gigabit network hooking upstairs bedroom to the main computer downstairs.
 You name it, it got added.  I ended up spending lots of time cataloging,
 especially when adding drives. The pooling aspect of FlexRAID allows me to
 have one BIG drive with a folder for Blu-rays, one for DVDs, and another
 for
 recorded TV shows. Previously, a desired file might have been on one of 4
 computers and any one of the approximately 30 drives. I did compromise
 awhile back and create 8 and 10 TB JBODs on the Sans Digital towers and
 internal in the main HTPC. This made it slightly easier to catalog.

 Of course, all of this ignores the building computers, etc. is fun factor
 of this hobby. :)

 If nothing else, I have learned lots about SAS (which had intimidated me
 before), building my own NAS, and a little about Server software. Always a
 fun (if not occasionally, frustrating) experience.

 To Brian: I am doing exactly that-One big drive with 3 shared folders. The
 multiple pool idea was to facilitate doing smaller Updates/validates that
 could be done overnight rather than over 3 or 4 days. Once I get the drive
 set up as desired, I will give the parity backup another try and see if
 once
 it is set if the periodic updates of a static pool are quick. Thanks for
 the
 input and feedback.

 Jim

  -Original Message-
  From: hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com [mailto:hardware-
  boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Anthony Q. Martin

  You guys are so sophisticated!  I'm just stringing all my drives off a PC
 with
  external enclosures (10 drives inside the box, 8 more in two four-bay
  enclosures).  Using 3 and 4 TB drives (greens, mostly, from WD and
 seagate).
  Mine or just NTFS mount volumes all shared over my GB network.  That way,
  I can just navigate to any drive and any folder to play my rips from my
 other
  HTPCs.  Easy setup.  If a drive goes down, I just re-rip as I have all
 the
 optical
  discs as backup.  Poor man's setup.  Lazy man's setup. :) Raid is too
  complicated for my brain and I don't see my use as super critical.
 Ripping to
  mkv is mostly done in the background while working on other stuff.
 
  On 2/24/2014 8:30 AM, Brian Weeden wrote:
   Jim, have you thought about setting up multiple shares instead of
   multiple pools?  For example, you could have one big drive pool with
   all your data but share out any folder on that pool as a separate
 network
  share.
  
  
  
   -
   Brian
  
  
  
   On Sun, Feb 23, 2014 at 2:46 PM, Brian Weeden
  brian.wee...@gmail.comwrote:
  
   If you're doing an initialization and building parity for 23 TB of
   data, I can expect that to take quite a while. The update I'm not so
   sure about. It should only need up update parity for whatever files
   were changed. So if the update needs just as long, that indicates
 maybe
  all your data changed.
   But if it's just video files then it shouldn't.
  
   I do know people have talked about exempting things like nfo files
   and thumbnails from the RAID so the parity process will skip them.
  
  
  
   -
   Brian
  
  
  
   On Sun, Feb 23, 2014 at 2:17 PM, James Maki
  jwm_maill...@comcast.netwrote:
  
   Hi Brian,
  
   I switched to FlexRAID to combine a total of 23 2tb drives spread
   over 5 Sans Digital port multiplier towers plus extra drives on
   several PCs used as HTPCs. I have ripped all my Blu-ray, DVDs and
   recorded TV to the various arrays and over time had just gotten too
   large to easily manage. I wanted to centralize everything on one
   system. The system I started with utilized a AMD FM2 motherboard
   with 8 onboard SATA ports, 2 SAS ports on an add-on card (for a
   total of 8 additional SATA ports, and 3 of the Sans Digital towers
   (5
   disks each) for a total of 31 drives distributed as 1 OS drive, 4
   parity drives and 26 data drives (several were empty). When this
   continued to fail on creation, I moved the Sans Digital based drives
   to a 6 port SAS controller card.
  
   When I still had problems, I found that several drives were bad
   (scan disk), including the 1st parity drive. Replacing the drives
   gave me a successful creation but it took 4 days. The Update took
   another 4 days. That's when I started having second thoughts on
   using the Parity backup option. I guess I am just expected too much
   from the software. That's when

Re: [H] What are we up to (Was-Are we alive?)

[Brian Weeden]

In our family we don't really care about extra features or stuff. We have
two small kids, so having all their movies and TV shows on demand is a big
bonus.

What I like about XBMC is that it keeps an entire library of movies and tv
shows up to date, can be sorted by genre or whatever, and can be driven
from the same remote control we use for the TV. Very wife/kid friendly. It
also supports AirPlay so you can push iPad/iOS content to it.

Downside is that the integration with browser-based streaming services like
Netflix still needs work but it's there.



-
Brian



On Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 3:08 PM, James Maki jwm_maill...@comcast.netwrote:

 What is the main advantage of XBMC over, for instance, MPC and PowerDVD? It
 looks like an interesting program that needs addition investigation on my
 part. I support movie only ripping, but my wife and daughter often spend
 hours watching the extras from some movies. It takes me extra time to try
 and catalog the extras whereas using the ISO and PowerDVD menu structure,
 it
 is simple.

 Thanks for any input.

 Jim

  -Original Message-
  From: hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com [mailto:hardware-
  boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Anthony Q. Martin
  Sent: Monday, February 24, 2014 7:43 AM
  To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
  Subject: Re: [H] What are we up to (Was-Are we alive?)
 
  Oh...I run XBMC on mine tooI just have to add folders...and you do
 that
  once and you're done.  That's when you get a nice interface.
 
  BTW, I had initially ripped to ISO...the I decided I don't want ISOs...so
 I'm re-
  ripping to mkv.  That is taking a long time, but I do a few each day. the
 recent
  stuff is already mkv...but stuff I ripped two years ago is what i'm
 working on
  now. I assume you guys are all using mkv, right?
 
  On 2/24/2014 9:45 AM, Brian Weeden wrote:
   Anthony, I'd also add to Jim's comments that once you have one big
   central drive you can use someting like XBMC to have a very nice
   interface on all your HTPCs in the house and accessibility to all your
 content.
  
  
  
   -
   Brian
  
  
  
   On Mon, Feb 24, 2014 at 9:42 AM, James Maki
  jwm_maill...@comcast.netwrote:
  
   That's how I started! :) But the desire for ease of use for my family
   (if it's not in plain sight, they can't find the drive, folder or
   location of a desired movie or TV show) and it just got out of
   control! A couple of drives here. A Sans Digital tower there. A new
 HTPC
  in the family room.
   Gigabit network hooking upstairs bedroom to the main computer
  downstairs.
   You name it, it got added.  I ended up spending lots of time
 cataloging,
   especially when adding drives. The pooling aspect of FlexRAID allows
   me to have one BIG drive with a folder for Blu-rays, one for DVDs,
   and another for recorded TV shows. Previously, a desired file might
   have been on one of 4 computers and any one of the approximately 30
   drives. I did compromise awhile back and create 8 and 10 TB JBODs on
   the Sans Digital towers and internal in the main HTPC. This made it
   slightly easier to catalog.
  
   Of course, all of this ignores the building computers, etc. is fun
   factor of this hobby. :)
  
   If nothing else, I have learned lots about SAS (which had intimidated
   me before), building my own NAS, and a little about Server software.
   Always a fun (if not occasionally, frustrating) experience.
  
   To Brian: I am doing exactly that-One big drive with 3 shared
   folders. The multiple pool idea was to facilitate doing smaller
   Updates/validates that could be done overnight rather than over 3 or
   4 days. Once I get the drive set up as desired, I will give the
   parity backup another try and see if once it is set if the periodic
   updates of a static pool are quick. Thanks for the input and
   feedback.
  
   Jim
  
   -Original Message-
   From: hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com [mailto:hardware-
   boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Anthony Q. Martin
  You
   guys are so sophisticated!  I'm just stringing all my drives off a
   PC
   with
   external enclosures (10 drives inside the box, 8 more in two
   four-bay enclosures).  Using 3 and 4 TB drives (greens, mostly, from
   WD and
   seagate).
   Mine or just NTFS mount volumes all shared over my GB network.  That
   way, I can just navigate to any drive and any folder to play my rips
   from my
   other
   HTPCs.  Easy setup.  If a drive goes down, I just re-rip as I have
   all
   the
   optical
   discs as backup.  Poor man's setup.  Lazy man's setup. :) Raid is
   too complicated for my brain and I don't see my use as super
 critical.
   Ripping to
   mkv is mostly done in the background while working on other stuff.
  
   On 2/24/2014 8:30 AM, Brian Weeden wrote:
   Jim, have you thought about setting up multiple shares instead of
   multiple pools?  For example, you could have one big drive pool
   with all your data

Re: [H] What are we up to (Was-Are we alive?)

[Brian Weeden]

Hi Jim. Sorry to hear you're having such troubles, especially since I think
I'm the one who introduced FlexRAID to the list.

I've been running it on my HTPC for several years now and (knock on wood)
it's been running fine. Not sure how big your setup is, I'm running 7 DRUs
and 2 PRUs of 2 TB each. I have them mounted as a single pool that is
shared on my LAN. I run nightly parity updates.

Initilaizing my setup did take several hours, but my updates don't take
very long. Sometimes when I add several ripped HD movies at once it might
take a few hours but that's it. How much data are you calcluating parity
for at the initialization? Do you have a lot of little files (like thousand
of pictures) or lots of files that change often? Either of those could
greatly increase the time it takes to calcluate parity.

I'm running it under Win7, and unfortunately I don't have any experience
with Server 2011 or any of the Windows Server builds.

From what I've gathered you can only have one pool per system. I think
that's a limit of how things work. But I've never needed more than one
pool, so it hasn't bothered me.

For hardware, I'm running the following based largely on a HTPC hardware
guide I found online. It's based on a server chipset to maximize the
bandwidth to the drives.

Intel Xeon E3-1225
Asus P8B WS LGA 1155 Intel C206
8 GB DDR3 SDRAM
Corsair TX750 V2 750W
2x Intel RAID Controller Card SATA/SAS PCI-E x8
Antec 1200 V3 Case
3x 5in1 hot swap HDD cages

Part of the key is the controller cards. I'm not actually using the
on-board RAID, just using it for the ports and the bandwidth. I've  got two
SAS to SATA cables plugged into each card, which gives me a total of 16
SATA ports. The cards are each on an 8x PCIe bus that gives them a lot of
bandwidth. Boot drive is an older SSD that is attached to one of the SATA
ports on the mobo.

Once trick I figured out early on was to initialize your array with the
biggest number of DRUs you think you'll eventually have, even if you don't
actually have that many drives at the start. That way you can add new DRUs
and not have to reinitialize the array.

When I started using FlexRAID it was basically a part-time project being
run by Brahim. He's now created a fully-fledged business out of it and has
gone way beyond just FlexRAID. Apparently he now has two products. I think
the classic FlexRAID system I'm still using has become RAID-F (RAID over
filesystem) and he's got a new Transparent RAID product as well:
http://www.flexraid.com/faq/

I'm still running 2.0u8 (snapshot 1.4 stable) so I guess at some point I'll
need to move over to the commercial version. But for now it's working fine
so I don't want to disturb it.

Hope all this helps, and happy to answer any other questions however I can.



-
Brian



On Sat, Feb 22, 2014 at 8:00 PM, James Maki jwm_maill...@comcast.netwrote:

 I have beating my head against the wall trying to install FlexRAID on
 Windows Home Server 2011 since the beginning of the year. I spent the first
 month trying to install using several Sans Digital port expanding towers. I
 kept having errors/crashes when the system tried to calculate parity on the
 initial install. I thought it might be the slow access to the
 port-multiplier set-up, but I finally ran scan disk on  all the drives and
 found one parity drive (out of 4) had disk errors that were probably
 causing
 the problem. Then, the initial install was taking over 4 days. I found this
 unacceptable and kept looking for a reason and whether this was typical. I
 upgraded to a hardware RAID care (?), with multiple SAS ports. The Create
 process was still very slow. The Parity Update took a similar length of
 time. As did the Validate Parity procedure. And I assume the Verify
 procedure would take a similar period of time. The suggestion is to run the
 Update every night, the Validate weekly, and the Verify monthly. With the
 length of time for an Update, it would be impossible to keep up with this
 schedule.

 The program seems to be in a period of flux, with the developer not sure of
 its direction. There is no firm documentation, just the wiki, forums, and
 some how-tos. It is easy to find the how to do the general set-up, but I
 believe most are going with small RAID sizes. Now, my storage needs are
 more
 for convenience and video access rather than any important, can't be
 replaced files (for the most part). My business and personal files are
 saved
 to a different system. The attraction of FlexRAID is its ability to combine
 multiple hard drives into a single pool to the user. This is what
 attracted me to the software. Also, removing FlexRAID gave you access to
 the
 individual drives and contents, unlike most traditional RAID setups.  Its
 T(infinity) parity was an added bonus. With multiple parity drives, it was
 reported that you could lose multiple drives and still be able to
 reconstruct the missing drives from the parity drives. It is just that the
 time involved in parity 

Re: [H] What are we up to (Was-Are we alive?)

[Brian Weeden]

If you're doing an initialization and building parity for 23 TB of data, I
can expect that to take quite a while. The update I'm not so sure about. It
should only need up update parity for whatever files were changed. So if
the update needs just as long, that indicates maybe all your data changed.
But if it's just video files then it shouldn't.

I do know people have talked about exempting things like nfo files and
thumbnails from the RAID so the parity process will skip them.



-
Brian



On Sun, Feb 23, 2014 at 2:17 PM, James Maki jwm_maill...@comcast.netwrote:

 Hi Brian,

 I switched to FlexRAID to combine a total of 23 2tb drives spread over 5
 Sans Digital port multiplier towers plus extra drives on several PCs used
 as
 HTPCs. I have ripped all my Blu-ray, DVDs and recorded TV to the various
 arrays and over time had just gotten too large to easily manage. I wanted
 to
 centralize everything on one system. The system I started with utilized a
 AMD FM2 motherboard with 8 onboard SATA ports, 2 SAS ports on an add-on
 card
 (for a total of 8 additional SATA ports, and 3 of the Sans Digital towers
 (5
 disks each) for a total of 31 drives distributed as 1 OS drive, 4 parity
 drives and 26 data drives (several were empty). When this continued to fail
 on creation, I moved the Sans Digital based drives to a 6 port SAS
 controller card.

 When I still had problems, I found that several drives were bad (scan
 disk),
 including the 1st parity drive. Replacing the drives gave me a successful
 creation but it took 4 days. The Update took another 4 days. That's when I
 started having second thoughts on using the Parity backup option. I guess I
 am just expected too much from the software. That's when I thought creating
 several pools would reduce the strain for each update/validate.

 I am using a modestly powered AMD dual core 3.2 GHz processor and mostly
 consumer drives (mixed with a few WD reds). I went with Windows Home Server
 for economy reasons ($50 vs. $90-130 for Windows 7 Home
 Premium/Professional). I utilized a HighPoint RocketRAID 2760A SAS RAID
 controller card. I am using RAID over File System 2.0u12, SnapRAID 1.4
 Stable and Storage Pool 1.0 Stable (although not using the SnapRAID at this
 point).

 Overall, I am happy with the pooling facility of the software. I just wish
 my large setup would not choke the parity option. Thanks for all the input.

 Not sure if there is an answer to my problem. More powerful hardware?
 Reading the forums seems to indicate that hardware should NOT be the
 bottleneck. There seems to be the option of Updating/Validating only
 portions of the RAID each night. More research is needed on that front. My
 current plan at this point is to fill the RAID in the pooling only mode,
 make sure all names and organization is correct, then commit to a stable,
 unchanging file system that I will then commit to the SnapRAID parity
 option. That way I will only need to Validate/Verify periodically.

 Thanks,

 Jim

  -Original Message-
  From: hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com [mailto:hardware-
  boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Brian Weeden
  Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2014 6:06 AM
  To: hardware
  Cc: hwg
  Subject: Re: [H] What are we up to (Was-Are we alive?)
 
  Hi Jim. Sorry to hear you're having such troubles, especially since I
 think I'm
  the one who introduced FlexRAID to the list.
 
  I've been running it on my HTPC for several years now and (knock on wood)
  it's been running fine. Not sure how big your setup is, I'm running 7
 DRUs
 and
  2 PRUs of 2 TB each. I have them mounted as a single pool that is shared
 on
  my LAN. I run nightly parity updates.
 
  Initilaizing my setup did take several hours, but my updates don't take
 very
  long. Sometimes when I add several ripped HD movies at once it might take
 a
  few hours but that's it. How much data are you calcluating parity for at
 the
  initialization? Do you have a lot of little files (like thousand of
 pictures) or lots
  of files that change often? Either of those could greatly increase the
 time it
  takes to calcluate parity.
 
  I'm running it under Win7, and unfortunately I don't have any experience
  with Server 2011 or any of the Windows Server builds.
 
  From what I've gathered you can only have one pool per system. I think
  that's a limit of how things work. But I've never needed more than one
 pool,
  so it hasn't bothered me.
 
  For hardware, I'm running the following based largely on a HTPC hardware
  guide I found online. It's based on a server chipset to maximize the
  bandwidth to the drives.
 
  Intel Xeon E3-1225
  Asus P8B WS LGA 1155 Intel C206
  8 GB DDR3 SDRAM
  Corsair TX750 V2 750W
  2x Intel RAID Controller Card SATA/SAS PCI-E x8 Antec 1200 V3 Case 3x
 5in1
  hot swap HDD cages
 
  Part of the key is the controller cards. I'm not actually using the
 on-board
  RAID, just using it for the ports and the bandwidth. I've  got two SAS to
 SATA

[H] Weird mouse problem

[Brian Weeden]

I've got a mouse problem that is driving me nuts. It doesn't click and drag
properly, like say to select a rectangular area for cropping a photo. Each
time I do it, there's about a 95% chance that it will somehow lose the
signal partway through the motion and make the box smaller than a want or
will somehow continue past and clear the box before I can click or hit any
keyboard commands.

I'm currently using a Logitech wireless mouse and I've tried replacing the
batteries as well as reinstalling the drivers to no avail. It works fine
otherwise. Haven't had any issues in gaming or anything. But when it comes
to dragging selection boxes (like in Photoshop or Google Earth or whatever)
it is an incredibly frustrating experience.

Any thoughts on what's going on?

-
Brian

Re: [H] AC Router

[Brian Weeden]

I have the Asus and love it.

On Wednesday, December 25, 2013, Winterlight wrote:

 Is AC wifi ready for prime time, or is it too early to buy AC routers.
 Does the adaptor specifically need to support AC? I am looking at  the ASUS
 RT-AC66U Dual-Band, and the NETGEAR Nighthawk AC1900 Dual . Is there a
 preference?  I am drawn to the Netgear because they are a network hardware
 company, and I have a number of Netgear switches. Comments or warnings?



-- 


-
Brian

[H] USB Charger Tester

[Brian Weeden]

What looks to be a very useful device:
http://www.thepowerpot.com/solar-power-optimized-practical-meter

It's a little meter that tells you how well a particular USB port and cable
will be a charging devices.


-
Brian

Re: [H] USB Charger Tester

[Brian Weeden]

Haven't gotten mine yet but there's a review here:
http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/383454/little-meter-shows-big-differences-charging-plugs-and-cables



-
Brian



On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 9:44 AM, Thane Sherrington 
th...@computerconnectionltd.com wrote:

 At 10:10 AM 20/11/2013, Brian Weeden wrote:

 What looks to be a very useful device:
 http://www.thepowerpot.com/solar-power-optimized-practical-meter

 It's a little meter that tells you how well a particular USB port and
 cable
 will be a charging devices.


 Looks very cool.  Have you used it?  I think I'll get one, but they don't
 give a lot of info about the meter which is the most interesting part to me.

 T

Re: [H] USB Charger Tester

[Brian Weeden]

Not sure. Frankly, I hadn't done much research before ordering - $25 is
within my impulse buy range. I think maybe the difference is price - these
guys are including a fast charge cable in addition to the tester for $25,
while the others you linked seem to be offering just a tester (but with
digital output) for $30 or more.

If the cable works as advertised then I'll be happy with the analog reader.
We'll see.

And if anyone has recommendations for good, high-quality USB wall warts
that aren't massive, I'm all ears.



-
Brian



On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:26 AM, Christopher Fisk 
christopher.f...@thefisks.org wrote:

 I'm not sure I would kickstart this.  You can get a USB 3 version here:
 http://www.amazon.com/Centech-USB-Power-Meter/dp/B00DAR4ITE and a less
 expensive one that doesn't do USB3 here

 http://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Monitor-Multimeter-Ammeter-Chargers/dp/B00DF2485S

 Why kickstart?


 On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:16 AM, Alex Lee a...@kukaki.net wrote:

  looks great, ordered one too.  wonder why they didn't make it with a
  display to show the precise values instead of just bars.
 
 
  On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 6:49 AM, Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com
  wrote:
 
   Haven't gotten mine yet but there's a review here:
  
  
 
 http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/383454/little-meter-shows-big-differences-charging-plugs-and-cables
  
  
  
   -
   Brian
  
  
  
   On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 9:44 AM, Thane Sherrington 
   th...@computerconnectionltd.com wrote:
  
At 10:10 AM 20/11/2013, Brian Weeden wrote:
   
What looks to be a very useful device:
http://www.thepowerpot.com/solar-power-optimized-practical-meter
   
It's a little meter that tells you how well a particular USB port
 and
cable
will be a charging devices.
   
   
Looks very cool.  Have you used it?  I think I'll get one, but they
  don't
give a lot of info about the meter which is the most interesting part
  to
   me.
   
T
   
   
   
  
 

Re: [H] USB Charger Tester

[Brian Weeden]

Definitely useful for home, but I'm also in need of portable chargers for
travel.



-
Brian



On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 7:47 PM, Christopher Fisk 
christopher.f...@thefisks.org wrote:

 I've actually converted the plug near my bed and one in the kitchen to
 these:
 http://www.lowes.com/pd_369050-63374-WP2UWR_4294689722__?productId=3482323

 2.1 amp chargers built directly into the outlet.

 You can even get ones that don't use up a plug:

 http://www.amazon.com/Newer-Technology-Power2U-Outlet-Charging/dp/B00BGF00TO


 On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:35 AM, Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com
 wrote:

  Not sure. Frankly, I hadn't done much research before ordering - $25 is
  within my impulse buy range. I think maybe the difference is price -
 these
  guys are including a fast charge cable in addition to the tester for $25,
  while the others you linked seem to be offering just a tester (but with
  digital output) for $30 or more.
 
  If the cable works as advertised then I'll be happy with the analog
 reader.
  We'll see.
 
  And if anyone has recommendations for good, high-quality USB wall warts
  that aren't massive, I'm all ears.
 
 
 
  -
  Brian
 
 
 
  On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:26 AM, Christopher Fisk 
  christopher.f...@thefisks.org wrote:
 
   I'm not sure I would kickstart this.  You can get a USB 3 version here:
   http://www.amazon.com/Centech-USB-Power-Meter/dp/B00DAR4ITE and a less
   expensive one that doesn't do USB3 here
  
  
 
 http://www.amazon.com/PortaPow-Monitor-Multimeter-Ammeter-Chargers/dp/B00DF2485S
  
   Why kickstart?
  
  
   On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 10:16 AM, Alex Lee a...@kukaki.net wrote:
  
looks great, ordered one too.  wonder why they didn't make it with a
display to show the precise values instead of just bars.
   
   
On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 6:49 AM, Brian Weeden 
 brian.wee...@gmail.com
wrote:
   
 Haven't gotten mine yet but there's a review here:


   
  
 
 http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/383454/little-meter-shows-big-differences-charging-plugs-and-cables



 -
 Brian



 On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 9:44 AM, Thane Sherrington 
 th...@computerconnectionltd.com wrote:

  At 10:10 AM 20/11/2013, Brian Weeden wrote:
 
  What looks to be a very useful device:
 
 http://www.thepowerpot.com/solar-power-optimized-practical-meter
 
  It's a little meter that tells you how well a particular USB
 port
   and
  cable
  will be a charging devices.
 
 
  Looks very cool.  Have you used it?  I think I'll get one, but
 they
don't
  give a lot of info about the meter which is the most interesting
  part
to
 me.
 
  T
 
 
 

   
  
 

Re: [H] NAS Software

[Brian Weeden]

I've been using FlexRAID for the last few years to run my HTPC and I really
like it. Much more flexible than traditional RAID and you also it's much
harder to completely lose everything.



-
Brian



On Tue, Nov 12, 2013 at 9:02 AM, Steve Tomporowski didym...@gmail.comwrote:

 Are you using WHS2011 for streaming?  I'm assuming that flexraid can be
 used standalone?


 On Mon, Nov 11, 2013 at 8:36 PM, Chris Reeves tmse...@rlrnews.com wrote:

  I've been using whs2011+flexraid.  Whs2011 can be found for $29. I paid
  $39 for flexraid.
 
  I currently have 48tb online and performance has been really solid
 
  -Original Message-
  From: Steve Tomporowski didym...@gmail.com
  Sent: 11/11/2013 5:40 PM
  To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
 
  Subject: [H]  NAS Software
 
  After picking up some scrap hardware, most notably a couple of E8400's,
  I've got a bunch of stuff to build a NAS.
 
  For software, I want something that will give me some sort of parity, so
  that I can replace a dead drive without loosing stuff and the ability to
  add storage without doing a nuke and reinstall.  I looked at FreeNAS,
  but that's a pain to increase storage, but then noticed UnRaid (I think
  it's been mentioned here before), which seems to fit the bill.
 
  Anyone familiar with UnRaid --- good/bad points --- or is there some
  other software I missed?  Free is to be preferred, but UnRaid seems to
  be worth the extra $70.
 
  Thanks...Steve
 

[H] Powerline Question

[Brian Weeden]

I've been using the Netgear Powerline system for a couple years now with
great success. However, I've always only had one device plugged into each
adapter.

Does anyone know if you can plug a hub or a switch into an adapter and that
way have more than one device connected through each adapter?

I know Netgear sells something that does this, but I'd love to be able to
use a regular old hub/switch than have to buy another $100 device.

-
Brian

Re: [H] Powerline Question

[Brian Weeden]

So just any old switch should do?

---
Brian

On Oct 26, 2013, at 7:59, James Boswell torazch...@gmail.com wrote:

 Yeah, I've got switches hanging off of 3 out of 4 powerline ethernet
 adapters in my current digs.  (actually routers, but two have their routing
 switched off)
 On 26 Oct 2013 12:35, Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com wrote:
 
 I've been using the Netgear Powerline system for a couple years now with
 great success. However, I've always only had one device plugged into each
 adapter.
 
 Does anyone know if you can plug a hub or a switch into an adapter and that
 way have more than one device connected through each adapter?
 
 I know Netgear sells something that does this, but I'd love to be able to
 use a regular old hub/switch than have to buy another $100 device.
 
 -
 Brian
 

Re: [H] Android

[Brian Weeden]

Ok, update on this and good news.  Some Good Samaritan just released an
S-Off Unlock for Verizon HTC One:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2473644

That means I can finally dump the HTC Sense crap and Verizon bloatware.

Suggestions for my first ROM?  Cyanogen?

---
Brian

On Saturday, August 24, 2013, Alex Lee wrote:

 If your Nexus 4 has bloatware, it's not a Google Play or Nexus phone.

 Look at the phones on play.google.com

 On Sat, Aug 24, 2013 at 4:57 PM, Brian Weeden 
 brian.wee...@gmail.comjavascript:;
 wrote:

  That would be even worse. N4 bloatware is pretty hideous. At least the
 HTC
  stuff is not that bad.
 
  --
  Brian
   On Aug 24, 2013 7:23 PM, Bryan Seitz se...@bsd-unix.netjavascript:;
 wrote:
 
   I meant a different phone. Like the nexus 4?
  
  
   On Sat, Aug 24, 2013 at 07:14:20PM -0400, Brian Weeden wrote:
Not really an option as you're just giving them more money - they
  charge
you the same whether you have a subsidized phone or not.
  
   --
  
   Bryan G. Seitz
  
 



-- 


-
Brian

[H] Android Assisted Dialing Question

[Brian Weeden]

Recently switched from iOS to Android and am having trouble dialing
numbers. All of my contacts have the country code included in the stored
phone numbers. So all the US numbers are +1 (xxx) xxx-, the Belgian
numbers +32 (xxx) xxx-, etc.

But I can't actually dial any of the US numbers. When I try to do so, I get
a network busy message.  If I remove the country code, it works just fine.

Googling around I discovered that it might be due to a feature called
Assisted dialing which apparently is something for lazy Americans who
don't realize that country codes exist. I have the feature turned off, and
expected my phone to just figure it out like my iPhone did.

Short of going through all of my numbers and removing the +1 country code,
suggestions?


-
Brian

Re: [H] iOS 7

[Brian Weeden]

And something Apple is unlikely to ever support since they're going with
their own proprietary iBeacon protocol which is based on Bluetooth.Lowe
Energy:

http://gigaom.com/2013/09/10/with-ibeacon-apple-is-going-to-dump-on-nfc-and-embrace-the-internet-of-things/

Main difference is range and cost - iBeacon is higher in both. From a
security standpoint, I don't think that's good news. There are already
plenty of attacks against NFC that are ultimately limited because you have
to get within a few centimeters of the chip. If that range is now tens of
meters with iBeacon, it's a whole new class of problem.



-
Brian



On Sat, Sep 21, 2013 at 1:38 AM, Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com wrote:

 Near field communications

 It's basically a non contract or light touch method of exchanging data.
 On Sep 21, 2013 2:34 PM, DSinc dsinc...@epbfi.com wrote:

  Guys.NFC? Enjoying the shares.
  Duncan
 
  On 09/20/2013 15:56, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
 
  Sorry, I wasn't trying to imply that NFC is not useful...or even that it
  won't be one day.  But, its promise is not fulfilled on a large scale
 yet
  as no one as made it indispensable to the masses.  I have at least two
  devices that support NFC (and I bought them in part because of this
  feature), so I personally see the potential there. As far as I can tell,
  NFC is not a compelling technology yet because too many folks are
 getting
  along happily without it.
 
  The same with the touch-ID. Fingerprint readers aren't new...and, no one
  has shown them to be something most really want or need. It will be
  interesting to see if Apple can incorporate it into their devices in
 such a
  way to make it compelling.  If they can, it will be yet another example
 of
  not invented here, but hey, we figured out how to make it really work
 for
  folks.  I'm not a believer.
 
  On 9/20/2013 8:19 AM, tmse...@rlrnews.com wrote:
 
  Well, I'd wildly disagree on NFC.   I use NFC frequently and frankly,
  it's one of the cooler phone technologies I've worked with.  Using NFC
 tags
  I: set my thermostats on the way out the door with a swipe; auto-update
  calendar schedules, evernotes will auto-tag notes to NFC tags which for
  those of us with 'eh' memory is damn slick.
 
 
  On 2013-09-20 05:14, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
 
  The unwashed masses will always be ignorant.  Having a beef with them
  will be counter productive.
 
  Monikers help sell things.  A retina screen is no big deal to us, but
  to the unwashed masses it makes sure they get the high-resolution
  screen without having to remember all of the details.  And I do give
  apple the credit for realizing that WE needed this in everything and
  starting to bring it out. But they certainly didn't invent
  high-resolution screens, but they are the main reason they are
  ubiquitous on tablets.  If the touch-ID thing pans out, they won't
  (and shouldn't) get credit for a fingerprint reader but making is a
  thing we can use and depend on, they should get credit for, if it
  works, which remains to be seen.  Still to this day no one has made
  NFC into a useful product.  So who invented that is not really so
  important.
 
  On 9/20/2013 5:02 AM, Zulfiqar Naushad wrote:
 
  My beef in general is with people who don't understand the technology
  and believe the advertising that companies do.
 
  And let's not forget that Apple is the master of masking the
  underlying technology with a moniker that they call their own and
  making people believe that they were the ones who either invented it
  or are the first one to do it.
 
  But as I mentioned it really doesn't make a big difference in the end
  as long as the steady march of progress is being made but what really
  bothers me is the uneducated people out there.
 
 
 
  Sent from my iPhone
 
   On Sep 20, 2013, at 11:20 AM, Anthony Q. Martin 
  amar...@charter.net wrote:
 
  So your beef is with fanboys. Nobody likes fanboys. :)
 
  Sent from my mobile device.
 
   On Sep 19, 2013, at 9:12 PM, Zulfiqar Naushad z00...@gmail.com
  wrote:
 
  What annoys me is when Apple fanboys see something and say apple
  invented it. Good example is iCloud.
 
 
 
  Sent from my iPhone
 
 
 
 
 
 

Re: [H] iOS 7

[Brian Weeden]

Increased battery drain may be because they added a feature that allows
apps to update in the background (ie, the multitasking that many said they
wanted).. See this for how to disable it:

http://www.tuaw.com/2013/09/18/how-to-stop-ios-7-from-destroying-your-iphones-battery-life/





-
Brian



On Fri, Sep 20, 2013 at 2:22 AM, tmse...@rlrnews.com wrote:

 IOS7 good: function seems to be nice, control center seems to be nice.
 Bad: my battery life on my Ipad4 has went to total shit.   I'll have to
 figure that out, that's going to kill me.  Dislike the folder popout; now
 instead of filling screen it's a smaller box that ou have to scroll to get
 all the items of.  Dislike that idea.   Icons kind of goofy/rainbow bright
 like.

 Like the function, some things are quite nice.. but for right now the
 battery life thing is making all the rest hard to judge.



 On 2013-09-20 04:20, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:

 So your beef is with fanboys. Nobody likes fanboys. :)

 Sent from my mobile device.

  On Sep 19, 2013, at 9:12 PM, Zulfiqar Naushad z00...@gmail.com wrote:

 What annoys me is when Apple fanboys see something and say apple
 invented it. Good example is iCloud.

Re: [H] Using two routers at the same time. but only one for WiFi

[Brian Weeden]

So I've discovered that using a second router with my FIOS box is going to
be fairly complicated. Here's a list that's been put together of all the
various ways to do it and the pros/cons of each:

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16077

I only have a coax drop from the ONT and it's not really an option to run
CAT5 from it, so I'm going to have to probably try the dual-bridging option
since I need my TVs to work.



-
Brian



On Tue, Sep 17, 2013 at 3:01 AM, Robert Martin Jr. lopaka_...@yahoo.comwrote:

 Yes. Tomato with openvpn. I followed a tutorial to set it up initially and
 have only messed with is once since then, to change the IP address of the
 VPN Server. The router gets set up as a client and auto connects to the VPN
 server on each reboot. Any clients behind that router go out through the
 VPN and are not visible to anything else on the network.

 lopaka


 
  From: Scott Sipe csco...@gmail.com
 To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
 Sent: Monday, September 16, 2013 6:17 PM
 Subject: Re: [H] Using two routers at the same time. but only one for WiFi


 Are you running tomato with OpenVPN? What tomato
 distribution/mods/plugins/whatever do you use? I've only ever used the
 stock tomato without VPN and would love to give it a shot.

 Scott

 On Sep 15, 2013, at 9:30 AM, Robert Martin Jr. wrote:

  Sorry didn't give all the info. One router is bridged to primary and the
 other uses tomato going out an encrypted VPN. Haven't had any issues and
 have been running 24/7 for over a year. All tomato firmware.
 
  lopaka
 
  
  From: Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com
  To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
  Sent: Sunday, September 15, 2013 6:07 AM
  Subject: Re: [H] Using two routers at the same time. but only one for
 WiFi
 
 
  Wouldn't double NAT be an issue?
 
 
  On Sun, Sep 15, 2013 at 4:01 PM, Robert Martin Jr. lopaka_...@yahoo.com
 wrote:
 
  Yes, no problem at all with that setup. I have 3 wireless routers at my
  house. The second and third use the first as the gateway. My network's
  using 3 different subnets so I can prioritize traffic easily. Gaming,
 work,
  and home/VOIP networks.
 
  lopaka
 
 
  
From: Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com
  To: hardware hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
  Sent: Sunday, September 15, 2013 5:51 AM
  Subject: [H] Using two routers at the same time. but only one for WiFi
 
 
  Got a bit of a problem with my home network. I've got FIOS (which I
 love)
  but the WiFi signal from the FIOS router is not strong enough to go up
 to
  our bedroom. Also, it's speeds are not all that great.
 
  A few months ago I looked into setting up a WiFi extender for the
 network.
  Unfortunately, none of the Actiontec routers that Verizon uses support
 it:
 
 
 http://forums.verizon.com/t5/Home-Networking/Actiontec-router-does-not-support-wireless-range-extender-so-how/td-p/553721
 
  I've confirmed that my router is one of these. I was also told that
  replacing the FIOS router completely was not an option because it's
 needed
  for the IPTV to function.
 
  So, I was thinking it should be possible to turn off the WiFi portion of
  the FIOS router and add a new router to the network that will handle the
  wireless duties. As long as I set the new router to use the FIOS router
 for
  its gateway, things should work, right?
 
  Would it be preferable to run off DHCP for the new router and have the
 FIOS
  router handle those duties? Or should I let the new router get it's IP
  address from the FIOS router and then all the wireless devices get
 their IP
  addresses from the new router? In that case I'd obviously have to make
 sure
  they were on different IP ranges.
 
 
  -
  Brian
 
 
 
 
  --
  Best Regards,
 
 
  Zulfiqar Naushad

Re: [H] Using two routers at the same time. but only one for WiFi

[Brian Weeden]

Would love to run tomato, but it's not an option for me on the FIOS router.
 It should still work without it, right?



-
Brian



On Sun, Sep 15, 2013 at 9:30 AM, Robert Martin Jr. lopaka_...@yahoo.comwrote:

 Sorry didn't give all the info. One router is bridged to primary and the
 other uses tomato going out an encrypted VPN. Haven't had any issues and
 have been running 24/7 for over a year. All tomato firmware.

 lopaka

 
  From: Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com
 To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
 Sent: Sunday, September 15, 2013 6:07 AM
 Subject: Re: [H] Using two routers at the same time. but only one for WiFi


 Wouldn't double NAT be an issue?


 On Sun, Sep 15, 2013 at 4:01 PM, Robert Martin Jr. lopaka_...@yahoo.com
 wrote:

  Yes, no problem at all with that setup. I have 3 wireless routers at my
  house. The second and third use the first as the gateway. My network's
  using 3 different subnets so I can prioritize traffic easily. Gaming,
 work,
  and home/VOIP networks.
 
  lopaka
 
 
  
   From: Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com
  To: hardware hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
  Sent: Sunday, September 15, 2013 5:51 AM
  Subject: [H] Using two routers at the same time. but only one for WiFi
 
 
  Got a bit of a problem with my home network. I've got FIOS (which I love)
  but the WiFi signal from the FIOS router is not strong enough to go up to
  our bedroom. Also, it's speeds are not all that great.
 
  A few months ago I looked into setting up a WiFi extender for the
 network.
  Unfortunately, none of the Actiontec routers that Verizon uses support
 it:
 
 
 http://forums.verizon.com/t5/Home-Networking/Actiontec-router-does-not-support-wireless-range-extender-so-how/td-p/553721
 
  I've confirmed that my router is one of these. I was also told that
  replacing the FIOS router completely was not an option because it's
 needed
  for the IPTV to function.
 
  So, I was thinking it should be possible to turn off the WiFi portion of
  the FIOS router and add a new router to the network that will handle the
  wireless duties. As long as I set the new router to use the FIOS router
 for
  its gateway, things should work, right?
 
  Would it be preferable to run off DHCP for the new router and have the
 FIOS
  router handle those duties? Or should I let the new router get it's IP
  address from the FIOS router and then all the wireless devices get their
 IP
  addresses from the new router? In that case I'd obviously have to make
 sure
  they were on different IP ranges.
 
 
  -
  Brian
 



 --
 Best Regards,


 Zulfiqar Naushad

Re: [H] Android

[Brian Weeden]

Finally got my HTC One today.  Had to wait for it to come to Verizon
because my wife and I decided we were going to stick with her existing
account there.

Bad news is that one day after launch the evil f$ckers at Verizon blocked
the ability to unlock the boot loader:
http://androidandme.com/2013/08/smartphones-2/verizon-htc-one-bootloader-no-longer-unlockable/

So, question is, what should I do now?  I really want to get rid of the
Veizon bloatware, and would love to put either Google Edition firmware on
it or maybe even Cyanogen.  Do I have any hope for either of those to be an
option at some point in the near future?  Or am I screwed?

---
Brian



On Monday, August 5, 2013, Robert Martin Jr. wrote:

 I'm interested in hearing how it goes. I've had a few android phones and
 all were rooted with custom ROM's within the first couple days. I use
 virgin mobile and on that network it's very important to register the phone
 to their service before you root and install a custom ROM. The phone won't
 register correctly otherwise. I love android phones but only after
 installing a custom ROM with the tools I prefer. They usually come with
 loads of crapware that needs to be gone. CyanogenMod is usually my
 preferred ROM.


 lopaka



 
  From: Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com javascript:;
 To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com javascript:;
 Sent: Monday, August 5, 2013 1:08 PM
 Subject: Re: [H] Android


 Cool, just excited to see what you think of Android.  Let me know once you
 get it.

 Thanks!


 On Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 11:06 PM, Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com
 wrote:

  No, had  to wait a week. It's going to be a work phone and I have to
  double-check with my employer to make sure they're going to cover the
 plan
  I want before signing the contract.
 
 
 
  -
  Brian
 
 
 
  On Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 4:04 PM, Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com
 wrote:
 
   Did you get it?
  
   :)
  
  
   On Sun, Aug 4, 2013 at 4:48 AM, Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com
   wrote:
  
Thanks man, I think I'll pull to trigger tomorrow on the phone and
 then
I'll start playing around.
   
I don't really play games on my phone or do anything really
 intensive.
 Mostly email, browsing, reading, and light apps.  So the max battery
   life
tweak sound good to me.
   
---
Brian Weeden
Secure World Foundation
+1 202 683-8534
   
On Aug 3, 2013, at 20:45, Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com wrote:
   
 I agree with your assessment.  HTC has better hardware (physical)
 and
 software (sense 5) vs Samsung (Plastic and Touchwiz).  Samsung is
 too
 cartoony and weird looking for me.  Regarding the hardware button,
 I
   also
 agree, hardware button is pretty bad to use and I don't like it.
   That
 said, the HTC ONE is a capacitive button and also set up the wrong
  way
(not
 following android guidelines).  There is some weirdness going on
 with
   HTC
 also, such as hitting home twice for the task manager and other
keypresses
 to get Google Now.

 I've owned several high end phones over the years, and for some
   reason, I
 still prefer the on screen keys that the Nexus 4 provides.  Along
  with
the
 MOTO X and some other models.

 About OTA, some custom roms do offer OTA, but their OTA can be half
   baked
 or really well done.  But in either way, you download the full
  package
and
 then upon accepting the OTA it automatically goes into recovery and
flashes
 it or you flash it manually.  Thankfully the process is not too
  painful
and
 the OTA's don't come too often, maybe once a couple of weeks or in
  some
 cases once a month.

 One more thing, with android you never change the bootloader, just
  the
 recovery and ROM.  Speaking of recoveries there are mainly 2 out
  there.
 CWM (Clockwork) and TWRP.  TWRP is more graphical and supports the
  Open
 Recovery Script that a lot of ROMS use to automate stuff like
  flashing
the
 ROM, then modem, then something else, then wiping dalvik cache and
   other
 stuff, so that's why I recommended TWRP (Team Win Recovery
 Project).

 With either recovery it's advisable to first do a nandroid backup
  from
 within the recovery.  This is akin to creating an ISO image of your
phone,
 so if you flash to a newer version of a ROM or to a different ROM
 and
don't
 like it, you can always re-image your phone back to it's previous
   state
 including all preferences and wallpapers that you have se



-- 


-
Brian

Re: [H] Android

[Brian Weeden]

Not really an option as you're just giving them more money - they charge
you the same whether you have a subsidized phone or not.

--
Brian
 On Aug 24, 2013 7:09 PM, Bryan Seitz se...@bsd-unix.net wrote:

 return the phone get a google edition phone.  I love Verizon's network
 hate their customer treatment / support.

 On Sat, Aug 24, 2013 at 12:48:51PM -0400, Brian Weeden wrote:
  Finally got my HTC One today.  Had to wait for it to come to Verizon
  because my wife and I decided we were going to stick with her existing
  account there.
 
  Bad news is that one day after launch the evil f$ckers at Verizon
 blocked
  the ability to unlock the boot loader:
 
 http://androidandme.com/2013/08/smartphones-2/verizon-htc-one-bootloader-no-longer-unlockable/
 
  So, question is, what should I do now?  I really want to get rid of the
  Veizon bloatware, and would love to put either Google Edition firmware on
  it or maybe even Cyanogen.  Do I have any hope for either of those to be
 an
  option at some point in the near future?  Or am I screwed?
 
  ---
  Brian
 
 
 
  On Monday, August 5, 2013, Robert Martin Jr. wrote:
 
   I'm interested in hearing how it goes. I've had a few android phones
 and
   all were rooted with custom ROM's within the first couple days. I use
   virgin mobile and on that network it's very important to register the
 phone
   to their service before you root and install a custom ROM. The phone
 won't
   register correctly otherwise. I love android phones but only after
   installing a custom ROM with the tools I prefer. They usually come with
   loads of crapware that needs to be gone. CyanogenMod is usually my
   preferred ROM.
  
  
   lopaka
  
  
  
   
From: Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com javascript:;
   To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com javascript:;
   Sent: Monday, August 5, 2013 1:08 PM
   Subject: Re: [H] Android
  
  
   Cool, just excited to see what you think of Android.  Let me know once
 you
   get it.
  
   Thanks!
  
  
   On Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 11:06 PM, Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com
   wrote:
  
No, had  to wait a week. It's going to be a work phone and I have to
double-check with my employer to make sure they're going to cover the
   plan
I want before signing the contract.
   
   
   
-
Brian
   
   
   
On Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 4:04 PM, Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com
   wrote:
   
 Did you get it?

 :)


 On Sun, Aug 4, 2013 at 4:48 AM, Brian Weeden 
 brian.wee...@gmail.com
 wrote:

  Thanks man, I think I'll pull to trigger tomorrow on the phone
 and
   then
  I'll start playing around.
 
  I don't really play games on my phone or do anything really
   intensive.
   Mostly email, browsing, reading, and light apps.  So the max
 battery
 life
  tweak sound good to me.
 
  ---
  Brian Weeden
  Secure World Foundation
  +1 202 683-8534
 
  On Aug 3, 2013, at 20:45, Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com
 wrote:
 
   I agree with your assessment.  HTC has better hardware
 (physical)
   and
   software (sense 5) vs Samsung (Plastic and Touchwiz).  Samsung
 is
   too
   cartoony and weird looking for me.  Regarding the hardware
 button,
   I
 also
   agree, hardware button is pretty bad to use and I don't like
 it.
 That
   said, the HTC ONE is a capacitive button and also set up the
 wrong
way
  (not
   following android guidelines).  There is some weirdness going
 on
   with
 HTC
   also, such as hitting home twice for the task manager and other
  keypresses
   to get Google Now.
  
   I've owned several high end phones over the years, and for some
 reason, I
   still prefer the on screen keys that the Nexus 4 provides.
  Along
with
  the
   MOTO X and some other models.
  
   About OTA, some custom roms do offer OTA, but their OTA can be
 half
 baked
   or really well done.  But in either way, you download the full
package
  and
   then upon accepting the OTA it automatically goes into
 recovery and
  flashes
   it or you flash it manually.  Thankfully the process is not too
painful
  and
   the OTA's don't come too often, maybe once a couple of weeks
 or in
some
   cases once a month.
  
   One more thing, with android you never change the bootloader,
 just
the
   recovery and ROM.  Speaking of recoveries there are mainly 2
 out
there.
   CWM (Clockwork) and TWRP.  TWRP is more graphical and supports
 the
Open
   Recovery Script that a lot of ROMS use to automate stuff like
flashing
  the
   ROM, then modem, then something else, then wiping dalvik cache
 and
 other
   stuff, so that's why I recommended TWRP (Team Win Recovery
   Project).
  
   With either recovery it's advisable to first do

Re: [H] Android

[Brian Weeden]

That would be even worse. N4 bloatware is pretty hideous. At least the HTC
stuff is not that bad.

--
Brian
 On Aug 24, 2013 7:23 PM, Bryan Seitz se...@bsd-unix.net wrote:

 I meant a different phone. Like the nexus 4?


 On Sat, Aug 24, 2013 at 07:14:20PM -0400, Brian Weeden wrote:
  Not really an option as you're just giving them more money - they charge
  you the same whether you have a subsidized phone or not.

 --

 Bryan G. Seitz

Re: [H] Android

[Brian Weeden]

No, had  to wait a week. It's going to be a work phone and I have to
double-check with my employer to make sure they're going to cover the plan
I want before signing the contract.



-
Brian



On Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 4:04 PM, Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com wrote:

 Did you get it?

 :)


 On Sun, Aug 4, 2013 at 4:48 AM, Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com
 wrote:

  Thanks man, I think I'll pull to trigger tomorrow on the phone and then
  I'll start playing around.
 
  I don't really play games on my phone or do anything really intensive.
   Mostly email, browsing, reading, and light apps.  So the max battery
 life
  tweak sound good to me.
 
  ---
  Brian Weeden
  Secure World Foundation
  +1 202 683-8534
 
  On Aug 3, 2013, at 20:45, Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com wrote:
 
   I agree with your assessment.  HTC has better hardware (physical) and
   software (sense 5) vs Samsung (Plastic and Touchwiz).  Samsung is too
   cartoony and weird looking for me.  Regarding the hardware button, I
 also
   agree, hardware button is pretty bad to use and I don't like it.  That
   said, the HTC ONE is a capacitive button and also set up the wrong way
  (not
   following android guidelines).  There is some weirdness going on with
 HTC
   also, such as hitting home twice for the task manager and other
  keypresses
   to get Google Now.
  
   I've owned several high end phones over the years, and for some
 reason, I
   still prefer the on screen keys that the Nexus 4 provides.  Along with
  the
   MOTO X and some other models.
  
   About OTA, some custom roms do offer OTA, but their OTA can be half
 baked
   or really well done.  But in either way, you download the full package
  and
   then upon accepting the OTA it automatically goes into recovery and
  flashes
   it or you flash it manually.  Thankfully the process is not too painful
  and
   the OTA's don't come too often, maybe once a couple of weeks or in some
   cases once a month.
  
   One more thing, with android you never change the bootloader, just the
   recovery and ROM.  Speaking of recoveries there are mainly 2 out there.
   CWM (Clockwork) and TWRP.  TWRP is more graphical and supports the Open
   Recovery Script that a lot of ROMS use to automate stuff like flashing
  the
   ROM, then modem, then something else, then wiping dalvik cache and
 other
   stuff, so that's why I recommended TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project).
  
   With either recovery it's advisable to first do a nandroid backup from
   within the recovery.  This is akin to creating an ISO image of your
  phone,
   so if you flash to a newer version of a ROM or to a different ROM and
  don't
   like it, you can always re-image your phone back to it's previous
 state
   including all preferences and wallpapers that you have set.  It's a
 true
   image.
  
   Also read up on Titanium Backup.  That app is worth it's digital weight
  in
   gold!!  I use it regularly and almost every day.  It can do some
  freakishly
   amazing stuff!!
  
   In the end, if none of this custom ROM malarkey makes you happy, it's
  also
   very easy to revert back to stock and continue using it that way.
  
   For a vanilla experience with some bells and whistles over stock, try
   Cyanogenmod.  It's compiled from the AOSP (Android Open Source Project)
  and
   has some really nifty features built in that I wish were in stock
  android.
   In fact a lot of stuff in stock comes from Cyanogen.  These guys are at
   the leading edge of Android Development.
  
   But there are some caveats with Cyanogen (www.get.cm)  Stable builds
 for
   the S4 and One don't exist, and you would have to run nightlies.  That
  can
   also mean flashing every night.  Thankfully there is a free app called
   Cyandelta on the play store that downloads only the delta's and flashes
   that, so instead of a 180 MB download every day, it's around 5-6 megs.
   But
   then again, if a particular build of the nightly is working fine, then
   there is no real reason to upgrade.  But you know me, I like to inflict
   hurt on myself :)
  
   Hope that's not too overwhelming.  It may seem as such, but once you
   understand the basics, flashing ROMS and Kernels is really fun and you
  can
   really tailor your device to your particular usage needs.  Like I
 said, I
   value battery life, so I flashed the ROM and Kernel that gave the best
   battery life for me.  But at the same time, when I wanted to play
 games I
   wanted full performance.  Hence I chose Carbon Rom and Matri1x Kernel.
  
   I'll do some general research on the HTC one and will provide some
   suggestions on which Kernel and/or ROM you should start off with.
   Speaking
   of which, the best path in the beginning is to stick to a customized
  stock
   ROM.  That's where they take the stock rom and tweak it to remove
  excessive
   bloat, add new features and tweak the speed.  You get the stock look
 and
   feel but with generally better performance and features

[H] Android

[Brian Weeden]

Anyone on here have experience with putting custom mods on Android phones?


-
Brian

Re: [H] Android

[Brian Weeden]

Thanks, this is good stuff.

I've been going back and forth about S4 or One, and I could probably live
with either.  The one thing that sort of annoyed me about the S4 was that
it still has a hardware menu button, despite that going away in Android.
 Plus the Samsung software is just horrible.  While I could probably live
with the default HTC software, no way I could deal with the Samsung crap.

Part of what I'm struggling with is being overwhelmed with options.  Unlike
iOS where you get one bootloader, one recovery, and one ROM there's a ton
of options out there for Android.  However, I have gotten really used to
OTA updates and a good backup/recovery if something goes wrong.  Do any of
the options you suggest offer OTA?  Does going such a customized route make
recovery any harder? What about backing up your device?



-
Brian



On Sat, Aug 3, 2013 at 6:01 PM, Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com wrote:

 Hey there Brian.

 First off good choice on the phone.  In my opinion and after using both
 phones I do say that the One is better than the S4.  That said, the Verizon
 versions info is sparse at best.  I found info on most other carriers
 except verizon.  Anyway, that link you had seems okay.

 The basic premise for HTC phones is as follows.

 1.  Unlock Bootloader  (do this as soon as you get your phone because if
 you unlock the bootloader you basically end up deleting all user data on it
 and returning it to factory settings)
 2.  Once the bootloader is unlocked you need to flash a custom recovery on
 it.  Having a custom recovery will allow you to basically flash any file
 into the OS.
 3.  I recommend TWRP for the recovery.  I find it the best.
 4.  Also download superuser (like supersu or others) from the web and
 download it.
 5.  Once you flash the recovery and copy the supersu onto the phone;
 6.  You would boot into TWRP and flash supersu from there.

 That's it your phone is rooted with a custom recovery.  From there you can
 do anything you want.

 Now regarding stock Android...I think you will be losing a lot.
  There are a lot of camera optimizations on these devices that you would
 lose if you went that route.  I would suggest doing the following.

 1.  Put the custom recovery and root the device.
 2.  Keep the stock rom
 3.  Use a launcher such as APEX or NOVA (I use APEX) and you will then have
 a pure vanilla android homescreen experience, but still retain the
 optimizations that HTC did for the camera and speakers and other things.

 If you insist to have vanilla android on it then if I'm not mistaken then
 the Google Edition HTC One ROM does work flawlessly on the HTC One.

 There are no major caveats to doing a custom rom.  Make sure that you check
 out custom kernels also, they really really really improve the performance
 of the phone.

 Just for info I'm using a Nexus 4 with Carbon ROM and Matr1x Kernel with
 GPU Overclock.  I'm getting similar performance to the S4 with all day
 battery life.  What's not to like!!  The new MOTO X looks good to me also,
 despite it being called a mid range device, I would have to disagree.
  People are becoming spec whores and in the end there is no benefit to
 having all that power when the apps don't need it and the battery life
 suffers.  For me, if I was in the US right now, the MOTO X would be near or
 on the top of my list.   One more thing, do consider getting a nexus 4,
 they are cheap as chips and still a very viable phone and a powerhouse.
  Otherwise wait till November for the Nexus 5.

 Oh and one more thing..

 XDA Developers website and forums are your best friend.  Repeat after
 me... XDA Developers is awesome!!

 LOL!

 Good luck and welcome to the world of Android.


 On Sat, Aug 3, 2013 at 7:42 PM, Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com
 wrote:

  I'm switching from iOS to Android in the next week or so.  I want an HTC
  One with just stock Android on it.  Only real option for good coverage
  where I need it is Verizon, and with them I would get charged the same
  price whether I had a subsidized phone or not.  So, my plan is to get a
  new, subsidized HTC One and then root it to put stock Android on it.
  This
  guide seems to be just what I need:
 
 
 http://www.cultofandroid.com/26527/rooting-the-htc-one-the-right-way-how-to/#BPoyTdi0vV0cqaz0.99
 
 
  I'm wondering if there are any gotchas I'm going to run across. Like,
 would
  the fact that the phone is locked to a carrier (because it's under
  contract) prevent me from rooting it?
 
 
 
  -
  Brian
 
 
 
  On Sat, Aug 3, 2013 at 12:38 PM, Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com
  wrote:
 
   Yeah I do it all the time.
  
   What do you need.
   On Aug 3, 2013 7:34 PM, Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com wrote:
  
Anyone on here have experience with putting custom mods on Android
   phones?
   
   
-
Brian
   
  
 



 --
 Best Regards,


 Zulfiqar Naushad

Re: [H] Android

[Brian Weeden]

Thanks man, I think I'll pull to trigger tomorrow on the phone and then I'll 
start playing around.

I don't really play games on my phone or do anything really intensive.  Mostly 
email, browsing, reading, and light apps.  So the max battery life tweak sound 
good to me.

---
Brian Weeden
Secure World Foundation
+1 202 683-8534

On Aug 3, 2013, at 20:45, Naushad Zulfiqar z00...@gmail.com wrote:

 I agree with your assessment.  HTC has better hardware (physical) and
 software (sense 5) vs Samsung (Plastic and Touchwiz).  Samsung is too
 cartoony and weird looking for me.  Regarding the hardware button, I also
 agree, hardware button is pretty bad to use and I don't like it.  That
 said, the HTC ONE is a capacitive button and also set up the wrong way (not
 following android guidelines).  There is some weirdness going on with HTC
 also, such as hitting home twice for the task manager and other keypresses
 to get Google Now.
 
 I've owned several high end phones over the years, and for some reason, I
 still prefer the on screen keys that the Nexus 4 provides.  Along with the
 MOTO X and some other models.
 
 About OTA, some custom roms do offer OTA, but their OTA can be half baked
 or really well done.  But in either way, you download the full package and
 then upon accepting the OTA it automatically goes into recovery and flashes
 it or you flash it manually.  Thankfully the process is not too painful and
 the OTA's don't come too often, maybe once a couple of weeks or in some
 cases once a month.
 
 One more thing, with android you never change the bootloader, just the
 recovery and ROM.  Speaking of recoveries there are mainly 2 out there.
 CWM (Clockwork) and TWRP.  TWRP is more graphical and supports the Open
 Recovery Script that a lot of ROMS use to automate stuff like flashing the
 ROM, then modem, then something else, then wiping dalvik cache and other
 stuff, so that's why I recommended TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project).
 
 With either recovery it's advisable to first do a nandroid backup from
 within the recovery.  This is akin to creating an ISO image of your phone,
 so if you flash to a newer version of a ROM or to a different ROM and don't
 like it, you can always re-image your phone back to it's previous state
 including all preferences and wallpapers that you have set.  It's a true
 image.
 
 Also read up on Titanium Backup.  That app is worth it's digital weight in
 gold!!  I use it regularly and almost every day.  It can do some freakishly
 amazing stuff!!
 
 In the end, if none of this custom ROM malarkey makes you happy, it's also
 very easy to revert back to stock and continue using it that way.
 
 For a vanilla experience with some bells and whistles over stock, try
 Cyanogenmod.  It's compiled from the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) and
 has some really nifty features built in that I wish were in stock android.
 In fact a lot of stuff in stock comes from Cyanogen.  These guys are at
 the leading edge of Android Development.
 
 But there are some caveats with Cyanogen (www.get.cm)  Stable builds for
 the S4 and One don't exist, and you would have to run nightlies.  That can
 also mean flashing every night.  Thankfully there is a free app called
 Cyandelta on the play store that downloads only the delta's and flashes
 that, so instead of a 180 MB download every day, it's around 5-6 megs.  But
 then again, if a particular build of the nightly is working fine, then
 there is no real reason to upgrade.  But you know me, I like to inflict
 hurt on myself :)
 
 Hope that's not too overwhelming.  It may seem as such, but once you
 understand the basics, flashing ROMS and Kernels is really fun and you can
 really tailor your device to your particular usage needs.  Like I said, I
 value battery life, so I flashed the ROM and Kernel that gave the best
 battery life for me.  But at the same time, when I wanted to play games I
 wanted full performance.  Hence I chose Carbon Rom and Matri1x Kernel.
 
 I'll do some general research on the HTC one and will provide some
 suggestions on which Kernel and/or ROM you should start off with.  Speaking
 of which, the best path in the beginning is to stick to a customized stock
 ROM.  That's where they take the stock rom and tweak it to remove excessive
 bloat, add new features and tweak the speed.  You get the stock look and
 feel but with generally better performance and features.
 
 Till next time, take care!
 
 
 
 On Sun, Aug 4, 2013 at 3:02 AM, Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com wrote:
 
 Thanks, this is good stuff.
 
 I've been going back and forth about S4 or One, and I could probably live
 with either.  The one thing that sort of annoyed me about the S4 was that
 it still has a hardware menu button, despite that going away in Android.
 Plus the Samsung software is just horrible.  While I could probably live
 with the default HTC software, no way I could deal with the Samsung crap.
 
 Part of what I'm struggling with is being overwhelmed

Re: [H] Change of status

[Brian Weeden]

As does most of the business world

---
Brian Weeden
Secure World Foundation
+1 202 683-8534

On Jul 29, 2013, at 17:47, Thane Sherrington th...@computerconnectionltd.com 
wrote:

 At 05:59 PM 29/07/2013, DSinc wrote:
 As a founding member of our List, I have decided to move from semi-active to 
 Lurker status.
 It seems that most on our List now use W7 or W8. I do not. I still use 
 WinXPpro.
 BTW, 'Geforce Experience' does not work on WinXP. Shame on me. No trouble, I 
 just
 removed it!
 
 I still have some XP machines as well. :)
 
 T 
 

Re: [H] Nas 3.0

[Brian Weeden]

ZFS is something different, it's a file system and logical volume manager.  
FlexRAID is a piece of software that does data redundancy using parity, similar 
to conventional RAID but with significant differences.  I use it on my media 
storage server.

---
Brian Weeden
Secure World Foundation
+1 202 683-8534

On Jul 8, 2013, at 13:53, DSinc dsinc...@epbfi.com wrote:

 Chris,
 My ReadyNas devices (3) all use Flex-RAID. Seems to work great.
 I've had zero issues since install 3yrs ago.
 Duncan
 
 On 07/08/2013 12:29, Chris Reeves wrote:
 Flexraid.com
 
 They make a product that they refer to as NZFS, I'm using flexraid-f, which 
 also uses that algorithm.  I simulated a drive fail last night. Flawless 
 recovery. Nice.
 
 -Original Message-
 From: Alex Lee a...@kukaki.net
 Sent: âEURZ(7/âEURZ(7/âEURZ(2013 8:40 PM
 To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
 Subject: Re: [H] Nas 3.0
 
 flexraid is zfs-based?
 
 
 On Sun, Jul 7, 2013 at 6:37 PM, Chris Reeves tmse...@rlrnews.com wrote:
 
 I ended up going with flexraid. So far, very happy with it. 18tb avail in
 one array and 26tb in the other.  All good so far.
 
 -Original Message-
 From: Bryan Seitz se...@bsd-unix.net
 Sent: 7/7/2013 6:45 PM
 To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
 Subject: Re: [H] Nas 3.0
 
 On Fri, Jul 05, 2013 at 05:14:00AM -0700, Tim Lider wrote:
 I have not done a project like that . When I price out a NAS project it
 is
 actually less expensive (when you think of equipment and time) to get one
 premade. The NAS' we use are WD's right now. The boss also does not like
 to have
 the TB size of the NAS' too large, I limit the size to around 8TB to
 12TB.
 If you do make a NAS with NAS4Free, I have looked into it, remember it
 is a
 software RAID not a Hardware RAID.  What do I mean by that? Software
 RAID's are
 basically made using a Volume Manager (usually Linux VLM or VLM2),
 hardware
 RAID's are actually considered a 1 physical disk to the PC when managing
 the
 Volume(s) at the operating system level.
 
 I myself prefer hardware RAID setups. This is due to the ease of
 replacing disks
 if needed. Also, Hardware RAID's are a bit easier to recover when things
 go bad.
 Have a great weekend all,
 Anything using ZFS makes replacements quite easy to be honest.   Also with
 ZFS my
 disks can be on any controller I can dig up...onboard, addin card, etc
  With
 hardware raid if your controller eats it you have to find the same card /
 family
 to import your config.  Personally I would not use anything BUT zfs right
 now as
 far as mass storage goes.  For OS disks I still prefer hardware raid.
 
 --
 
 Bryan G. Seitz
 

Re: [H] Windows 8 Copy function

[Brian Weeden]

Windows 8.1 does reintroduce the Start Button to show that they are listening 
to the customer but crucially not the Start Menu.  

In 8.1 there's an option to boot into the classic desktop with a Start Button. 
But when you press that button it simply launches the Metro UI.

Methinks that's not going to placate the pitchforks.


Brian

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 7, 2013, at 15:26, Winterlight winterli...@winterlight.org wrote:

 This is true, however, I have been using OPUS explorer replacement since 
 switching to Windows XP, and ever since, I have never had a problem copying 
 anything. In fact, I had completely forgotten that there ever was a Windows 
 copying problem.
 
 w
 
 
 
 At 06:06 AM 7/7/2013, you wrote:
 Duncan,
 
 The problem of copying large amount of files has been a problem with Windows
 since I can remember. So, this is not really a problem with Windows 8. On
 Windows 8's defense it does a lot better at handling the files while copying
 them.
 
 Regards,
 
 On July 6, 2013 at 2:52 PM DSinc dsinc...@epbfi.com wrote:
 
  Another W8 glitch? Sheesh!
  Read in the paper last weekend that MS will release 'something' called
  Windows 8.1 this September. Don't know whether this is an
  upgrade, a patch, or whatever. Article mentions many fixes from their
  'complaints' mail. WUP?
  Still no 'START button'  Bummer... :(
  Duncan
 
  On 07/05/2013 21:57, tmse...@rlrnews.com wrote:
   Well, points for style, it appears MS has tried to really improve
   this.  But, in copying over a large amount of files today, I realize
   this thing can get VERY confused.. I get to the end of a 4Tb copy, and
   it says your target already has 868 of these files..   Oh.. Hmm.
   Interesting.   So, I let it show me where the target has these files..
   I see them.  I try to open them (any of them) they do not open (period).
  
   Since this was a fresh copy onto blank drives, I don't know how they
   could be there originally anyway, but still interesting.
  
 
 Tim Lider
 Sr. Data Recovery Specialist
 Advanced Data Solutions, LLC
 http://www.adv-data.com
 timli...@adv-data.com
 

Re: [H] The SSD and how Windows can make your life miserable

[Brian Weeden]

If anything things have gotten easier. I just built two new systems in the last 
6 months.  A lot of the tweaking needed to get a system running is no longer 
needed.  UEFI is a lot better than the old BIOS.

If you're installing Windows, it does all the partition stuff for you.  If you 
want to do something creative or manual, I suggest getting a program called 
Gparted and putting it on a bootable USB or disc.

If you are upgrading to a new drive, you need to use some cloning software to 
avoid the problems with changing the drive mapping.  I just upgraded to a 
bigger Samsung SSD and it came with cloning software.


Brian

Sent from my iPhone

On May 18, 2013, at 10:12, DSinc dsinc...@epbfi.com wrote:

 Steve,
 Thanks for the view of your conversion/installation. You have demonstrated my 
 biggest fear of
 moving forward until I create a roadmap of How to... with what to use, why 
 use it, what to expect.
 It has been 4 years since I have built a PC from scratch.  I recall in the 
 good-ole-days, we all used
 a program post Format to set a Primary, Active partition. All other 
 partitions were set to Extended NTFS.
 Sadly, I have forgotten the name of this program and don't even know if I 
 still have it archived.
 Now I just use the Windows install media to create (I believe?) the 'new' 
 initial Primary and Active
 partition and then use the Disk Manager in the Administrative tools post 
 install to add/shape the remaining
 partitions.
 It does seem to me that you could possibly edit your boot.ini file to point 
 Windows back to whichever drive you choose to
 boot from. I have done this in the dim past with some success.
 From your decription, Your old EM drive is/was your %SystemRoot%; and, it 
 contained partitions c:\ and d:\. And,
 I read that your new SSD is now e:\. Am I correct?
 Otherwise, I am very confused!
 Duncan
 
 
 On 05/18/2013 07:03, Steve Tomporowski wrote:
 Understood that a fresh install will align everything for the fastest 
 performance.  However, Windows here just made sure that it loaded everything 
 from the old drive. For some reason, it never bothered trying to load 
 Windows from the SSD.
 
 On 5/17/2013 9:06 PM, Dave Gibney wrote:
 My laptop drive was giving me signs of eminent failure. I has a local guy
 install a SAMSUG SSD and clone to it. It worked, but I wasn't happy with all
 the results.
 The next weekend, I did a fresh install Win-7 Ultimate, Office 2010, etc.
 Cycling through all the updates and getting the drivers up to date took a
 while, but no real problems.
 
 It is much faster on boot and the quiet is scary :)
 
 -Original Message-
 From: hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
 [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Steve
 Tomporowski
 Sent: Friday, May 17, 2013 5:48 PM
 To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
 Subject: [H] The SSD and how Windows can make your life miserable
 
 Last weekend I cloned my main drive over to an SSD and then booted. Some
 things looked faster, but I wasn't blown away by the speed.  I have found
 out why.  It began on Patch Tuesday.  4 of 6 patches failed.
 Windows update threw some errors, but as I had a design review coming up at
 work, I was too buys obsessing about that to work on it.  Today, a day off!
 I decided to look into the errors. Ran update again, same problems.
 Searching on the errors, it seemed to indicate that Update has a problem
 when you move stuff from C: somewhere else, like when you install an SSD.
 The only thing I really fudged with there is that I moved the Temp and Tmp
 folders. I moved them back, same problem.  I wondered if I didn't do
 something else and forgot about it.  Back to System and Advanced Settings.
 This time I looked a the lower half of the window.  Half of my windows
 variables were pointing to my old boot drive which is now E: ! When I
 booted to the SSD the first time, I kept the old boot drive in the system,
 just changed the boot order in the BIOS. Wrong!  Windows apparently got
 confused and I ended up with a mishmash.  My %systemroot% was now E instead
 of C!
 
 Just a word of caution.  Going to clone the drive again (it wouldn't boot
 properly on it's own) and this time remove the old drive. Well, that's how
 ya learn
 
 Steve
 

Re: [H] SSDs and My Documents

[Brian Weeden]

Changing it now will likely require a reinstall of Windows, at least it did
for me the last time I tried it a few years ago.  That's because windows
uses different drivers to read from an AHCI disk and those are establishing
during setup.





-
Brian



On Sun, May 5, 2013 at 12:47 PM, Steve Tomporowski didym...@gmail.comwrote:

 Has anyone seen this SSD guide?

 http://thessdreview.com/ssd-**guides/optimization-guides/**
 the-ssd-optimization-guide-2/http://thessdreview.com/ssd-guides/optimization-guides/the-ssd-optimization-guide-2/

 It's interesting that just about everything he suggests is qualified by
 'it may or may not be necessary'.

 While on that subject, is AHCI necessary?  I never noticed my main system
 (P55 chipset) was not in AHCI mode.  And I'm not sure how dangerous/safe it
 is to change it now.

 Steve


 On 5/5/2013 9:02 AM, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:

 Dependsif it is going in a laptopmost folks just put everything
 on the SSD.  I have a 256 GB SSD in my thinkpad, so everything goes on the
 SSD.

 On my desktop, I used to have a 160GB SSD...so only Windows and programs
 went on the SSD...all documents and stuff went on the d drive, which is a
 hard drive.  I now have a 500 GB SSD, but I still put non-programs on the
 hard drive.

 As you know, many laptops come with SSDs onlyno need to worry about
 writes...unless you are doing something wyyy outside of normal.

 I got my first SSD in Jan 2011...that drive is still working great!

 On 5/4/2013 9:25 PM, Steve Tomporowski wrote:

 I've just bought my first SSD.  Should I be moving folders like
 Documents and Libraries to another drive?  Whats the current status on
 that?  I read it both ways over the last couple of years.

 Thanks...Steve

Re: [H] SSDs and My Documents

[Brian Weeden]

Under normal use, an SSD should last at least 3-5 years.  It think the only
thing you might want to avoid putting on an SSD is a swapfile, and there's
even debate over whether that's really a bad thing or not.





-
Brian



On Sun, May 5, 2013 at 6:41 AM, Steve Tomporowski didym...@gmail.comwrote:

 Oh, I seem to remember that there was a lot of running around in circles
 and screaming about the limited write lifetime of solid state drive and how
 you should 'NEVER EVER' use them for data drives.  I take it that the
 screaming has died down?

 Steve ;-)


 On 5/5/2013 2:14 AM, FORC5 wrote:

 Why ?
 They run fine.
 fp

 At 06:25 PM 5/4/2013, Steve Tomporowski Poked the stick with:

 I've just bought my first SSD.  Should I be moving folders like
 Documents and Libraries to another drive?  Whats the current status on
 that?  I read it both ways over the last couple of years.

 Thanks...Steve


 Date:  Saturday, May 4th, 2013

***Caution, Tagline Below ***
 **Tallyho**
 
 Lotus executives do not wear Look 
   Feel T shirts.
 

Re: [H] List info / Jim Edwards

[Brian Weeden]

I'm good for chipping in too.

---
Brian Weeden
Secure World Foundation
+1 202 683-8534

On Mar 18, 2013, at 19:04, Robert Martin Jr. lopaka_...@yahoo.com wrote:

 Same here. Mostly lurking but still read the list mail ;)
 
 
 lopaka
 
 
 
 From: DSinc dsinc...@epbfi.com
 To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
 Sent: Mon, March 18, 2013 4:01:18 PM
 Subject: Re: [H] List info / Jim Edwards
 
 Hey Jeff,
 A bunch of us 'oldsters' are still alive and bitchin' on this
 HardwareGroup list. I could be blocked by many, but,
 I continue to sharewith those that respond.
 Thanks for your service!
 Duncan
 
 On 03/18/2013 18:50, Jeff Lane wrote:
 I haven't either, but would be willing to. This is the best bunch of folks
 that I have on all my tech lists and sure wouldn't want to break it up. As
 an aside, though, I certainly hope Jim is ok. Being a Korean vet I am all
 too familiar with silence in a
 groupJeff
 
 
 I have not donated anything in the past, but will be more than happy to
 contribute now.
 
 Mike
 
 
 
 At 06:16 PM 3/18/2013, DSinc wrote:
 Yes, Me too! According to my schedule from waay back, I am now
 awhole lot in the 'non-payment' list!  Still willing to fund this
 List/enterprise.
 Duncan
 
 On 03/18/2013 18:02, FORC5 wrote:
 In the past I have made donations to the list but has been a long time.
 Willing to donate.
 fp
 
 At 01:46 PM 3/18/2013, Bryan Seiz Poked the stick with:
 Collective,
 
 
   Has anyone seen or heard from Jim lately ?  Does anyone know who
 pays for and runs the list ?  The domain is set to expire at the end
 of this year, any info would be appreciated.
 __
 Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary
 Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. (Benjamin Franklin, 1755)
 
 

Re: [H] List info / Jim Edwards

[Brian Weeden]

Face it, computing has changed a lot since those days.  We've gone from 
scouring Computer Shopper for the best deals on hardware and sharing tips on 
overclocking so we can squeeze out the maximum performance to computers being a 
commodity where speed and power is effectively far outstripping the 
applications.  

The days where you could effectively double your horsepower by overclocking a 
Celeron are way past.  

---
Brian Weeden

On Mar 18, 2013, at 20:35, Steve Tomporowski didym...@gmail.com wrote:

 I know I missed the really early days, but I thought I had joined about '95.  
 I don't have any emails going back that far.  I remember being on the list 
 when the first MMX processors were released.  As luck would have it, the 
 P166MMX (I think!) was the first chip that Intel multiplier-locked and I was 
 one of the first to get a locked version, dang!
 
 On 3/18/2013 7:29 PM, Greg Sevart wrote:
 Looks like I joined in June of 1998 myself...
 
 -Original Message-
 From: hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
 [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Christopher
 Fisk
 Sent: Monday, March 18, 2013 6:10 PM
 To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
 Subject: Re: [H] List info / Jim Edwards
 
 You know a list is old when you joined in '98 and the majority of people on
 the list consider you a new member =)
 On Mar 18, 2013 7:08 PM, Jeff Lane jeff.l...@comcast.net wrote:
 
 That pretty well sums it up, Duncan. Being that this list is not moderated
 it is the most civil one I have ever been on, which, certainly, is a
 credit
 to our members. I hope we can keep it together. Even though I am primarily
 just a lurker, I do read everything the comes through the
 group..Jeff
 
 
 Hey Jeff,
 A bunch of us 'oldsters' are still alive and bitchin' on this
 HardwareGroup list. I could be blocked by many, but, I continue to
 sharewith those that respond.
 Thanks for your service!
 Duncan
 
 On 03/18/2013 18:50, Jeff Lane wrote:
 I haven't either, but would be willing to. This is the best bunch of
 folks that I have on all my tech lists and sure wouldn't want to break
 it up. As an aside, though, I certainly hope Jim is ok. Being a Korean
 vet I am all too familiar with silence in a
 groupJeff
 
 
 I have not donated anything in the past, but will be more than happy
 to contribute now.
 
 Mike
 
 
 
 At 06:16 PM 3/18/2013, DSinc wrote:
 Yes, Me too! According to my schedule from waay back, I am now
 awhole lot in the 'non-payment' list!  Still willing to fund this
 List/enterprise.
 Duncan
 
 On 03/18/2013 18:02, FORC5 wrote:
 In the past I have made donations to the list but has been a long
 time.
 Willing to donate.
 fp
 
 At 01:46 PM 3/18/2013, Bryan Seiz Poked the stick with:
 Collective,
 
 
Has anyone seen or heard from Jim lately ?  Does anyone know who
 pays for and runs the list ?  The domain is set to expire at the
 end of this year, any info would be appreciated.
 __
 Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
 temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. (Benjamin
 Franklin, 1755)
 

Re: [H] List info / Jim Edwards

[Brian Weeden]

The best gaming experience I've had in the last few years was when I discovered 
Minecraft a few days ago, which is far from demanding as far as hardware is 
concerned.

Work and sleep is another matter entirely :)

---
Brian Weeden

On Mar 18, 2013, at 21:17, Steve Tomporowski didym...@gmail.com wrote:

 I definitely agree.  I used to upgrade every year, now my newest rig is 2 
 generations behind.  I don't game as much, but it seems to me that the top 
 games these days are hard work.  Games like Doom  Quake used to be fun.
 
 On 3/18/2013 8:54 PM, Brian Weeden wrote:
 Face it, computing has changed a lot since those days.  We've gone from 
 scouring Computer Shopper for the best deals on hardware and sharing tips on 
 overclocking so we can squeeze out the maximum performance to computers 
 being a commodity where speed and power is effectively far outstripping the 
 applications.
 
 The days where you could effectively double your horsepower by overclocking 
 a Celeron are way past.
 
 ---
 Brian Weeden
 
 On Mar 18, 2013, at 20:35, Steve Tomporowski didym...@gmail.com wrote:
 
 I know I missed the really early days, but I thought I had joined about 
 '95.  I don't have any emails going back that far.  I remember being on the 
 list when the first MMX processors were released.  As luck would have it, 
 the P166MMX (I think!) was the first chip that Intel multiplier-locked and 
 I was one of the first to get a locked version, dang!
 
 On 3/18/2013 7:29 PM, Greg Sevart wrote:
 Looks like I joined in June of 1998 myself...
 
 -Original Message-
 From: hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
 [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Christopher
 Fisk
 Sent: Monday, March 18, 2013 6:10 PM
 To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
 Subject: Re: [H] List info / Jim Edwards
 
 You know a list is old when you joined in '98 and the majority of people on
 the list consider you a new member =)
 On Mar 18, 2013 7:08 PM, Jeff Lane jeff.l...@comcast.net wrote:
 
 That pretty well sums it up, Duncan. Being that this list is not moderated
 it is the most civil one I have ever been on, which, certainly, is a
 credit
 to our members. I hope we can keep it together. Even though I am primarily
 just a lurker, I do read everything the comes through the
 group..Jeff
 
 
 Hey Jeff,
 A bunch of us 'oldsters' are still alive and bitchin' on this
 HardwareGroup list. I could be blocked by many, but, I continue to
 sharewith those that respond.
 Thanks for your service!
 Duncan
 
 On 03/18/2013 18:50, Jeff Lane wrote:
 I haven't either, but would be willing to. This is the best bunch of
 folks that I have on all my tech lists and sure wouldn't want to break
 it up. As an aside, though, I certainly hope Jim is ok. Being a Korean
 vet I am all too familiar with silence in a
 groupJeff
 
 
 I have not donated anything in the past, but will be more than happy
 to contribute now.
 
 Mike
 
 
 
 At 06:16 PM 3/18/2013, DSinc wrote:
 Yes, Me too! According to my schedule from waay back, I am now
 awhole lot in the 'non-payment' list!  Still willing to fund this
 List/enterprise.
 Duncan
 
 On 03/18/2013 18:02, FORC5 wrote:
 In the past I have made donations to the list but has been a long
 time.
 Willing to donate.
 fp
 
 At 01:46 PM 3/18/2013, Bryan Seiz Poked the stick with:
 Collective,
 
 
Has anyone seen or heard from Jim lately ?  Does anyone know who
 pays for and runs the list ?  The domain is set to expire at the
 end of this year, any info would be appreciated.
 __
 Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
 temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. (Benjamin
 Franklin, 1755)
 

Re: [H] Fwd: OT: Top 100 things not to do as an Evil Overlord

[Brian Weeden]

Wow, that's a blast from the past :)

---
Brian Weeden
Secure World Foundation
+1 202 683-8534

On Mar 12, 2013, at 18:06, Steve Tomporowski didym...@gmail.com wrote:

 I found this in my jokes email today.  It's still up and still good.
 
 Thanks, Brian ;-).
 
 Steve
 
  Original Message 
 Subject:[H] OT: Top 100 things not to do as an Evil Overlord
 Date:Tue, 19 Oct 2004 04:13:09 -0600
 From:Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com
 Reply-To:Brian Weeden brian.wee...@gmail.com, The Hardware List 
 hardware@hardwaregroup.com
 To:Robertson James B Capt HQ AFMC/DOX james.robert...@wpafb.af.mil, 
 Jeremy Nutz spacen...@hotmail.com, Tim Gasmire timgasm...@hotmail.com
 
 
 
 In keeping with the theme of Evil Genius (pretty good new builder/Sim
 style game) check out the following list of 100 things to avoid when
 you take over the world:
 
 http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html
 
 Insert Evil Laugh here.
 
 -- 
 Brian
 
 
 

Re: [H] Killing the new Firefox PDF viewer

[Brian Weeden]

It's probably a plugin that you can disable.  That's how they do it in Chrome.

---
Brian Weeden
Secure World Foundation
+1 202 683-8534

On Mar 5, 2013, at 17:11, Christopher Fisk christopher.f...@thefisks.org 
wrote:

 Security issues in adobe and frankly the annoyance of having to use another
 program for PDF's is why it was added.
 
 http://dottech.org/97910/firefox-how-to-turn-off-change-built-in-pdf-reader-viewer-in-firefox-19-and-higher/
 
 
 On Tue, Mar 5, 2013 at 3:07 PM, Thane Sherrington 
 th...@computerconnectionltd.com wrote:
 
 Does anyone know how to turn off Firefox's new PDF viewer?  I use Sumatra
 PDF, and I don't want Firefox to open PDFs in it's own viewer (I'm not sure
 how this was a required feature).  I've gone into options and applications,
 and set it to ask, but that doesn't change it.  Any ideas?
 
 T
 
 
 

[H] Need advice on Windows server OS flavor for NFS

[Brian Weeden]

Need some advice on OS for my media server.  I've been using Win7 for a
while, but need to move to something that supports NFS.  From what I've
read, Win7 doesn't and won't.

While I'm aware of the *nix world out there that might be an option, nearly
all of my experience is with Windows and given that I really don't have
time to learn a new OS I will need to stick with Windows.

With the demise of Windows Home Server, I think my options are Windows
Server 2008 or the new Server 2012 Essentials.  What are the pros/cons of
each?

My media server does triple duty: it hosts the 20 TB of files for network
clients (using FlexRAID), it acts as a HTPC frontend for the downstairs
theater (using XBMC), and it serves as a ripping/converting machine
(through RDP access to a second client session).

I guess another option would be to separate out the fileserver from the
frontend/ripping duties, but that would involve some major system reconfig
and additional hardware that I would really not prefer to do.

-
Brian

Re: [H] Loss of power, followed by overheated smell

[Brian Weeden]

Got the new power supply in and just as I'd feared it still doesn't work.
 I get the 1 long beep, 3 short beep error (memory) and the onboard
diagnostic gives a 8.7. error (check CPU core voltage). It could be the
motherboard but at this point I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and
build a new machine.

Yay! Time to spec and build a new machine!



-
Brian



On Mon, Feb 25, 2013 at 2:37 PM, Winterlight winterli...@winterlight.orgwrote:

 I have had similar episodes that turned out to be the video fan
 happened to me twice... and the CPU fan ... happened to me once. The fans
 don't die they just slow down and stop pushing enough air. The MB over
 heats and shuts down the computer and every thing feels and smells hot.
 Good luck.

 w



 At 07:42 AM 2/25/2013, you wrote:

 Was working on a paper this morning and suddenly my desktop computer
 powered off by itself.  This is a Q6600 machine that I built a few years
 ago and has been in nearly constant use since then with little to no
 trouble.  It's been rock-sold and aside from upgrading the video card a
 year ago I haven't had to touch it.

 I waited a few seconds, then hit the power button.  It came back on
 briefly
 and then shut off again, followed by the smell of overheated electronics.

 Disconnected the power and opened it up.  Nothing was visibly smoking.
  Took everything apart.  Inspected the CPU and it appeared ok.  Replaced
 the thermal compound and re-seated the heatsink.  Smell appeared to be
 coming from the power supply but I can't be positive.

 Put the bare essentials backtogether (CPU, RAM, video card) and powered it
 back on.  Getting a variety of beep and error codes from the on-board
 diagnostic unit.  At first there was a 1 long, 3 short beep code for the
 RAM . Reseated and it's gone.  POST sequence was hanging on 8.7. (Check
 CPU
 Voltage) and now it's hanging on 8.2. (Check Power Supply).

 I get the sense that perhaps the power supply went bad.  However, I really
 can't afford to be down on this system very long, so if I'm going to order
 parts I want to do it as soon as possible and not go through a long
 trouble-shooting process.

 Thoughts from the collective?  Is it likely that if the power supply is
 indeed the culprit that the damage was contained there?  Or should I be
 worried about the CPU, RAM, mobo, etc?


 -
 Brian

[H] Loss of power, followed by overheated smell

[Brian Weeden]

Was working on a paper this morning and suddenly my desktop computer
powered off by itself.  This is a Q6600 machine that I built a few years
ago and has been in nearly constant use since then with little to no
trouble.  It's been rock-sold and aside from upgrading the video card a
year ago I haven't had to touch it.

I waited a few seconds, then hit the power button.  It came back on briefly
and then shut off again, followed by the smell of overheated electronics.

Disconnected the power and opened it up.  Nothing was visibly smoking.
 Took everything apart.  Inspected the CPU and it appeared ok.  Replaced
the thermal compound and re-seated the heatsink.  Smell appeared to be
coming from the power supply but I can't be positive.

Put the bare essentials backtogether (CPU, RAM, video card) and powered it
back on.  Getting a variety of beep and error codes from the on-board
diagnostic unit.  At first there was a 1 long, 3 short beep code for the
RAM . Reseated and it's gone.  POST sequence was hanging on 8.7. (Check CPU
Voltage) and now it's hanging on 8.2. (Check Power Supply).

I get the sense that perhaps the power supply went bad.  However, I really
can't afford to be down on this system very long, so if I'm going to order
parts I want to do it as soon as possible and not go through a long
trouble-shooting process.

Thoughts from the collective?  Is it likely that if the power supply is
indeed the culprit that the damage was contained there?  Or should I be
worried about the CPU, RAM, mobo, etc?


-
Brian

Re: [H] Loss of power, followed by overheated smell

[Brian Weeden]

I had a 650W OCZ in there.  Only 1 SSD, 1 HDD, and a single video card so my 
power requirements aren't that steep.

---
Brian Weeden
Secure World Foundation
+1 202 683-8534

On Feb 25, 2013, at 12:28, DSinc dsinc...@epbfi.com wrote:

 Brian,
 My suggestion is you need a new PSU. I've never read about a PSU
 failing with excessively 'high' voltages. I suppose this can happen, but
 I am not aware of this; yet,..:)
 From your share, it seems that your cpu, m/b, RAM, are now trying
 very hard to deal with 'bad' voltages as best they can.
 Get a new (bigger) PSU.
 I would suggest a 650W + unit to start. If you have several (many)
 mechanical HD's, I may go 750W.
 Ireally like Seasonic now (thanks Greg!)
 JMHO.
 Duncan
 
 On 02/25/2013 10:42, Brian Weeden wrote:
 Was working on a paper this morning and suddenly my desktop computer
 powered off by itself.  This is a Q6600 machine that I built a few years
 ago and has been in nearly constant use since then with little to no
 trouble.  It's been rock-sold and aside from upgrading the video card a
 year ago I haven't had to touch it.
 
 I waited a few seconds, then hit the power button.  It came back on briefly
 and then shut off again, followed by the smell of overheated electronics.
 
 Disconnected the power and opened it up.  Nothing was visibly smoking.
  Took everything apart.  Inspected the CPU and it appeared ok.  Replaced
 the thermal compound and re-seated the heatsink.  Smell appeared to be
 coming from the power supply but I can't be positive.
 
 Put the bare essentials backtogether (CPU, RAM, video card) and powered it
 back on.  Getting a variety of beep and error codes from the on-board
 diagnostic unit.  At first there was a 1 long, 3 short beep code for the
 RAM . Reseated and it's gone.  POST sequence was hanging on 8.7. (Check CPU
 Voltage) and now it's hanging on 8.2. (Check Power Supply).
 
 I get the sense that perhaps the power supply went bad.  However, I really
 can't afford to be down on this system very long, so if I'm going to order
 parts I want to do it as soon as possible and not go through a long
 trouble-shooting process.
 
 Thoughts from the collective?  Is it likely that if the power supply is
 indeed the culprit that the damage was contained there?  Or should I be
 worried about the CPU, RAM, mobo, etc?
 
 
 -
 Brian
 

Re: [H] Powerline questions

[Brian Weeden]

Single.

---
Brian Weeden
Secure World Foundation
+1 202 683-8534

On Feb 21, 2013, at 4:27, Thane Sherrington th...@computerconnectionltd.com 
wrote:

 At 05:46 PM 19/02/2013, Brian Weeden wrote:
 Three.  One at my router (which is also where the media server  downstairs 
 HTPC are), one at the upstairs HTPC, and one where my desktop is.
 
 Excellent.  I need one at my router, one in my wife's office, and one in the 
 basement.  Are you using the single port boxes, or the multi-port ones?
 
 T 
 

Re: [H] Powerline questions

[Brian Weeden]

Yep, those are ok for me. 

However, they may not be ok for everyone.  My 3 Powerline drops all get 
different speeds depending on where they are in the house and the quality of 
the particular electrical circuit.

But for me it works, and was a much better solution than trying to do it over 
WiFi or having cables everywhere on the floor (we rent so running a LAN in the 
walls was not an option).

---
Brian Weeden
Secure World Foundation
+1 202 683-8534

On Feb 19, 2013, at 21:15, Anthony Q. Martin amar...@charter.net wrote:

 I did some reading of reviews on the Netgear 500 on Amazon today.  I found a 
 reviewer who agrees with Brian
 
 So, Thane, I think it is worth giving this a go. I might get one myself so I 
 can put a Tivo or WD Live in my workout room and not have to depend on Wifi.
 
 Brian -- I assumed you checked yours with some of the tougher 
 blu-raysAvatar, The Dark Knight are two that give problems. Lots don't.
 
 On 2/18/2013 7:56 PM, Brian Weeden wrote:
 I use the Netgear 500 Poweline stuff specifically to connect my HTPC front 
 ends to the server and can stream 1080p BluRay rips no problem.
 
 
 Brian
 
 Sent from my iPhone
 
 On Feb 19, 2013, at 6:38, Thane Sherrington 
 th...@computerconnectionltd.com wrote:
 
 At 04:19 PM 18/02/2013, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
 They are all overrated in terms of those numbers. There is some site on 
 the web that has measured throughput of the various powerline 
 devices...you might google for it.  No where near 500 Mbps end-to-end.
 I think those numbers mean rates at the same time...as in between 
 different endpoints, for a total bandwidth rather than end-to-end.
 
 IMO, none of these are fast enough to ensure reliable streaming of 
 blu-raybut not all BDs are created equal. Some will work fine and 
 others will choke [Avatar, The Dark Knight].   So, you have to define what 
 you mean by HD streamingif you are compressing blu-ray, then these 
 will work fine, IME.  Ripped files generally work well on these.
 That's why I went to the trouble to run ethernet cable from upstairs at 
 one end of the house to downstairs at the other end of the house...and 
 that meant getting under my deck...and getting under the crawl space..on 
 my belly in the dirt and grassYuck!  reliable streaming is worth it 
 to me.  Gigabit has enough bandwidth to stream several BDs at a time...I 
 find you need 10MB/s for reliable streaming.
 
 IIRC, the best of these max out around 80 Mbps (megabits, not bytes).
 So, in theory, the best should work.  That report should have the numbers.
 Ok, thanks.  I don't feel like running ethernet cable, so I'll live with 
 power line for now.
 
 T
 

Re: [H] Powerline questions

[Brian Weeden]

Three.  One at my router (which is also where the media server  downstairs 
HTPC are), one at the upstairs HTPC, and one where my desktop is.


Brian

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 20, 2013, at 0:06, Thane Sherrington th...@computerconnectionltd.com 
wrote:

 At 08:56 PM 18/02/2013, Brian Weeden wrote:
 I use the Netgear 500 Poweline stuff specifically to connect my HTPC front 
 ends to the server and can stream 1080p BluRay rips no problem.
 
 How many of the Netgear boxes do you use?  Just point to point, or point to 
 multipoint?
 
 T 
 

Re: [H] Powerline questions

[Brian Weeden]

I use the Netgear 500 Poweline stuff specifically to connect my HTPC front ends 
to the server and can stream 1080p BluRay rips no problem.


Brian

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 19, 2013, at 6:38, Thane Sherrington th...@computerconnectionltd.com 
wrote:

 At 04:19 PM 18/02/2013, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
 They are all overrated in terms of those numbers. There is some site on the 
 web that has measured throughput of the various powerline devices...you 
 might google for it.  No where near 500 Mbps end-to-end.
 I think those numbers mean rates at the same time...as in between different 
 endpoints, for a total bandwidth rather than end-to-end.
 
 IMO, none of these are fast enough to ensure reliable streaming of 
 blu-raybut not all BDs are created equal. Some will work fine and others 
 will choke [Avatar, The Dark Knight].   So, you have to define what you mean 
 by HD streamingif you are compressing blu-ray, then these will work 
 fine, IME.  Ripped files generally work well on these.
 That's why I went to the trouble to run ethernet cable from upstairs at one 
 end of the house to downstairs at the other end of the house...and that 
 meant getting under my deck...and getting under the crawl space..on my belly 
 in the dirt and grassYuck!  reliable streaming is worth it to me.  
 Gigabit has enough bandwidth to stream several BDs at a time...I find you 
 need 10MB/s for reliable streaming.
 
 IIRC, the best of these max out around 80 Mbps (megabits, not bytes).
 So, in theory, the best should work.  That report should have the numbers.
 
 Ok, thanks.  I don't feel like running ethernet cable, so I'll live with 
 power line for now.
 
 T 
 

Re: [H] IMAP and iPad

[Brian Weeden]

If  you're using one of the more popular email services (Gmail, Yahoo, etc)
or an Exchange account, the iPad setup pretty much takes care of that:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4810

Otherwise, you can follow this guide to manually setup either a POP or IMAP
account:
https://support.exabytes.com/KB/a2819/how-to-setup-pop3-email-account-in-ipad.aspx

Like with any email system, if you don't delete emails they have to reside
somewhere.




-
Brian



On Fri, Feb 15, 2013 at 1:00 PM, DSinc dsinc...@epbfi.com wrote:

 Thank you Thane!  I've been wondering this also.. :)
 Duncan


 On 02/15/2013 12:43, Thane Sherrington wrote:

 If I want to share email between a computer an iPad, can I use IMAP
 rather than POP?   If I use IMAP, am I right in thinking that the mail will
 take up space on my provider and ultimately fill the mailbox there?

 T

Re: [H] Gmail question

[Brian Weeden]

I think there's an option in the POP3 or IMAP settings to automatically archive 
an item when you pull it in or send it to the inbox.  Maybe that is checked.

---
Brian Weeden
Secure World Foundation
+1 202 683-8534

On Feb 11, 2013, at 17:47, Thane Sherrington th...@computerconnectionltd.com 
wrote:

 I'm using Gmail to pop my messages from another account, and that works 
 perfectly, but here's the odd thing.
 
 When I send an email to myself - for example th...@computerconnectionltd.com 
 that email doesn't show up in my GMail Inbox.  If I click on All Messages in 
 GMail, then it shows up.  I looked at filters, but I don't have any created.  
 Any ideas what I've done?
 
 Thanks,
 
 T
 
 

Re: [H] Powerline

[Brian Weeden]

We're renting our house, so instead of running a wired LAN I use Powerline for 
routing video within my house, saving the wifi for everything else.  You need a 
Powerline adapter for each device you want on the network.  In my case, I 
started with the downstairs TV which is where my main HTPC and the Fios router 
are.  I put one adapter the and plugged it into a LAN port on my router.  I 
then plugged another adapter into the outlet near the upstairs TV (and HTPC) 
and a third near my desktop computer.  Everything is now on the same network, 
since the Fios router handles the wifi and is the DHCP server.

Speeds depend on the distance, the quality of the electrical wiring, and how 
many devices are on the same circuit.  I'm using the Netgear 500 stuff and I 
get fast enough speeds to steam 1080p BluRay, which makes me happy.

---
Brian Weeden
Secure World Foundation
+1 202 683-8534

On Feb 1, 2013, at 23:15, Winterlight winterli...@winterlight.org wrote:

 When using a powerline network do need two powerlines for each IP address ?
 Do you plug Powerline one into the router and Powerline two into end user 
 device.. is that how it works? They sell them at 200Mbps and 500Mbps... do 
 you really get those kind of speeds.
 thanks
 

Re: [H] Bitlocker

[Brian Weeden]

I use Truecrypt, but BitLocker is also popular.  Some comparisons:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/bitlocker-truecrypt-encryption,2587.html
http://www.overclock.net/t/1253811/truecrypt-vs-bitlocker-question

The main advantage of BitLocker is the ability to use the TPM module on
laptops that have them.  This serves as a second factor of authentication
(password + TPM) and prevents someone from making a copy of your encrypted
HD to take elsewhere and pound on in their spare time.

However, if you don't have a TPM then you'll need to use a USB thumbdrive
to store your private key and combine with your password.


-
Brian




On Wed, Oct 10, 2012 at 6:58 PM, Winterlight winterli...@winterlight.orgwrote:

 I want to encrypt my IBM Thinkpad T60 laptop drive which is running
 Windows 7 Ultimate. Is BitLocker a good choice? thanks