Cadent Config

Area51: Win7 crashes

2011-06-22T15:27:00.004-04:00

Windows 7 on Area51 keeps crashing when my son punishes the box with excessive CPU loads. Culprits include:

Gary's Mod
Saints Row
GTA 4

You get the idea. Background tasks include Firefox running Youtube, Facebook, Yahoo, etc. Time to run the Basic Windows Troubleshooter!

Basic Windows Troubleshooter

Assess

First, can I find any information about what led to the crash?

Reboot and log in as admin
Review any crash data. See a sample report.
Administrative Tools > Event Viewer. Review Custom Views > Administrative Events, sorted by Date and Time.

Update

One of the easiest ways to stop crashes is to make sure everything is up to date, especially the OS and critical software.

Run Windows Update. Reboot as required to install all important updates.

Area51 Win7 Updates for 2011-06-22

2011-06-22T15:27:00.002-04:00

Lots of updates today!

Windows Update
Flash
Java
MSIE 9

Windows Update fails: Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) installation error: 0x800F0A12

Resolution:

Click the Start button Picture of the Start button, and in the search box, type command prompt.

In the list of results, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.

Type bcdedit, and then press Enter.

Error reads "The boot configuration data store could not be opened. The system cannot find the file specified."

This error can occur if the system partition isn't being mounted, or made accessible to Windows during startup. To re-enable automatic mounting of all partitions and volumes, do the following:

type mountvol /E and press Enter.

Restart your computer, and try reinstalling SP1.

Let's see what happens.

Win7 Crash Data 2011-06-22

2011-06-22T15:15:00.000-04:00

From July 22, 2011, on reboot:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name:    BlueScreen
OS Version:    6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.1
Locale ID:    1033

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode:    116
BCP1:    FFFFFA80072374E0
BCP2:    FFFFF8800FFD7CF8
BCP3:    0000000000000000
BCP4:    0000000000000002
OS Version:    6_1_7600
Service Pack:    0_0
Product:    256_1

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Windows\Minidump\062211-22152-01.dmp
C:\Users\Neil\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-292673-0.sysdata.xml

Read our privacy statement online:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=104288&clcid=0x0409

If the online privacy statement is not available, please read our privacy statement offline:
C:\Windows\system32\en-US\erofflps.txt

Click [Check for solution]: that process seems to have disappeared! No results, I guess. Let's look ourselves...

C:\Windows\Minidump\062211-22152-01.dmp

Looks like four (4) ".dmp" files were created in the last 4 days. The largest & oldest is 512 KB. Permission settings make it difficult to open, so I copied the file to the desktop. I open it in Notepad, and see

PAGEDU64 .... PAGEPAGEPAGEPAGEPAGE

and some non-ASCII characters. Nothing to see there.

The next file looks promising.

C:\Users\Neil\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-292673-0.sysdata.xml

The next file looks promising, but is not visible. Hidden? Nope, "Show hidden" is on. It's gone? I can't find it with either the MS or Google Desktop search. Gone, I guess.

Windows 7 Ultimate Custom Install on Area 51

2010-08-15T16:38:00.003-04:00

Finally, it's time to erase the preview edition of Windows 7 and install the real deal onto Area 51, the Quad Core box with two SLI nVidia cards, Windows 7 Ultimate has been sitting in the box for months now. The preview edition expired long ago, but booted up for 2 or more hours at a time. But, we are having some boot up problems, and I've been working to elimainate potential issues for some time.

The boot issue is this: often, the BIOS phase of the bootup is very slow, and it may take several minutes to reach the GRUB menu, if it appears at all. The workaround has been to boot off of an old Knoppix 5 CD, but I suspect my 7-year old cracked it and we can't use that disk anymore. We've had mixed results with an Ubuntu CD and Spinrite.

I ran Spinrite and did an exhaustive (level 4) check on the 200 GB C: drive partition (IDE HD) and it was fine. I was not able to finish the testing on the internal SATA drive, as it is 2 TB and the test would take forever.

I suspect the problem is either a bad SATA cable, a loose connection, or some problem with the SATA drive. Whatever the issue, I've disconnected the SATA cable from the drive, and the boot problems have vanished.

So, I just installed Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit) after formatting the C: drive (an NTFS volume). The new install recognizes all 8 GB, which means the 64 bits are all working away at managing my RAM.

Performing the initial installation from the DVD was fast and easy, about 10 minutes, but then it's time to wait while all of the other updates install. The end results: Windows 7 Ultimate, basic installation, requires 25.6 GB of hard disk space and uses about 1.37 GB of RAM. Wow.

3D Visors

2008-07-26T12:37:00.004-04:00

I've been predicting 3D immersion glasses for a while now. Here they are, on the market, the eMagin Z800 3DVisor from 3DVision.com, for a mere $1,20o ($1,500 MSR) -- that's not a mass market price point, though. Actutally, 3DVision looks like a reseller. The 3DVisor comes from eMagin.

Post a comment if you've used these. Are they convincing? Comfortable?

Here's a review of the Z800 from MaximumPC, and a review from FPS Labs that quotes a price of $550 in July 27, 2006. So, they've doubled the price since release 2 years ago? When it came out, they were also promoting it in games like Ubisoft's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter with a $75 rebate, and that drops the price to $475! Now the price is almost triple, which seems to disprove Moore's Law right there ... actually, they are probably not moving the volume they expected.

Disk Usage by OS

2008-04-05T13:46:00.001-04:00

Here's my disk usage by operating system:

neil@area-51u:~$ df -h
Filesystem Size Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/hdb1 14G 4.4G 8.5G 34% /
varrun 1.4G 196K 1.4G 1% /var/run
varlock 1.4G 0 1.4G 0% /var/lock
udev 1.4G 96K 1.4G 1% /dev
devshm 1.4G 0 1.4G 0% /dev/shm
lrm 1.4G 38M 1.4G 3% /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/volatile
/dev/hda6 58G 13G 45G 23% /media/DRV1_VOL3
/dev/hda5 39G 9.6G 29G 25% /media/DRV1_VOL2
/dev/hda7 119G 46G 74G 39% /media/DRV1_VOL4

XP or Vista?

2007-12-17T13:48:00.001-05:00

In case there's still any doubt about Windows XP vs. Vista, this surprising upgrade report settles the question of whether to upgrade or not.

(Thanks, Eric, for that URL)

Soundblaster X-Fi errors

2007-10-16T21:39:00.000-04:00

I installed my new Soundblaster X-Fi in Area51. I tried to install the drivers on both XP and Vista; problems with both.

Creative suggest I might have a BIOS problem, so I find the support page for my mobo, here: ASRock Motherboard - Product - 939Dual-SATA2 - Overview. I downloaded and installed the latest BIOS update (939Dual-SATA2 - Download).

Although this was a Good Thing To Do, it did not fix my problem. As it turns out, moving the card to a new PCI slot fixed the problem.

Windows XP & Vista can't recognize all my RAM!

2007-09-25T22:55:00.000-04:00

It looks like I need to go to Vista 64 to get this to work, according to this article in the MS Knowledge Base:

The system memory that is reported in the System Information dialog box in Windows Vista is less than you expect if 4 GB of RAM is installed

I've installled 3 GB of Ram, but Vista only recognizes 2 GB:

Total Physical Memory 2,798.69 MB
Available Physical Memory 2.04 GB

Note that the Total Physical Memory should be 3072, so I'm missing out on 273 MB of RAM I have installed.

Playtool

2007-09-13T13:03:00.000-04:00

Great information about selecting a video card, plus extensive information on power supply issues, which are very important for current video cards.

More information on power supplies at Tech Hounds: Power Supply.

Basic Computer Setup Checklist

2007-09-10T00:28:00.000-04:00

Before you set up your computer, review this checklist:

Find a surge protector or Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for your computer. I like to be able to turn off all peripherals (monitor, speakers, printers) with a single switch. One of my favorite options is to plug the computer into the UPS battery backup, and then plug a power supply into UPS so you can switch off the peripherals with "one click."
Find a good spot for your rig. Make sure there is adequate ventilation for the computer -- don't pack it in too tight. Also, check the lighting: sometimes glare can make a monitor unusable, especially the flat screens. Ideally, you can get to the back of the computer as easily as the front, since this is where most of the connections are, anyway.

Now, assemble the items you'll need to set up:

Power cable
Keyboard
Mouse
Network cable (usually Cat 5)
Speaker system with power supplies
External hard disk with the correct data cable and power supply (plug this into the UPS, too)
Printer and data cable
Others: scanner, tablet, joystick, etc.

Set Up Process

Plug the UPS into the power outlet or power supply. Tuck the cord away as much as possible, since it will only get in the way later.
Plug in the keyboard (and mouse, if required).
Plug in the network cable.
Plug in any other connections, such as speakers or external hard drives.
Attach the monitor cable. If possible, tighten the finger screws, but only finger-tight. Check the power cable to the monitor and confirm the monitor power indicator (usually an LED) lights up when you turn it on.
Plug in the power cord.
Boot up.

Windows Questions

2007-09-09T23:38:00.000-04:00

Here are some things I'd like to know:

I'd like to capture resource usages on different flavors of Windows. Can I capture the following info from the command line?

RAM usage
CPU
Current Processes
Disk usage

I know I can do this stuff on the Mac and Linux boxen. Please post a comment if you have any suggestions for good Windows command line tools. I'll update this post as I find the best options.

NetworkClue.com lists many useful Windows XP/2000 Commands & Tools.

Windows Vista activation woes

2007-09-09T23:15:00.000-04:00

When I was away on vacation, my newly installed copy of Windows Vista Ultimate de-activated. Yet, because Vista is having so much trouble correctly identifying my simple/stupid DHCP configuration, I can't activate on-line.

I refuse to use the touch-tone call in system.

Today, I moved the Vista box in question, Area 51, to the third floor office where we have a connection via RCN. I've noticed a new option (I don't think it was there before -- I'm sure I would have noticed it) that shows up on the first Windows Activation dialog that appears just after I log in:

Access your computer with reduced functionality
This will also allow you to buy a product key on line

This isn't really what I want to do, but it opens a full screen window for MSIE. From here, the address bar slides out from the top of the screen when I mouse up there.

Now, all I need to do is press Alt-Tab to go back to the original Windows Activation dialog that popped up originally, and now select the "activate online" option.

This is the most opaque, confusing process I've had to hop through in some time -- and it's critical to get the computer to run correctly!

Amazingly, I'm all set. Now that I've activated, Vista auto-magically displays the task bar &c. Since I'm connected to a new router & ISP, it's time to do the network shuffle.

Vista asks:

Select a location for the 'Network 2' network.

I pick "Home" and I'm all set. Now, Start > All Programs > Windows Update, [Check for Updates].

Quote of the day appears:

To check for updates, you must first install an update for Windows Update. Your automatic updating settings will not change.

From the sounds of it, I should be relieved. Did I mention I was updating? Yes, and 13 are available. Off I go...

USB Legacy Support Enabled on Area51

2007-08-31T19:54:00.001-04:00

I was unable to use my old HP USB keyboard on the Windows Vista boot menu, although I could use it to access the BIOS menu (F2) -- good thing, too, because then I was able to set USB Legacy Support to "Auto," from "Disabled." This did the trick.

ShuttleX Dies: Massive RAM failure

2007-08-30T15:19:00.001-04:00

I just picked up Battlefeild 2142 and imaging how pleased I was when I found it would (possibly) run on my old breadbox, ShuttleX -- a Pentium 4. Well, since I haven't really booted it up in almost a month, maybe more, I had no idea that I had a major RAM failure and now I can't boot into Ubuntu, Windows (installed on the HD) or even from Knoppix. Only the Knoppix 5.01 CD gave me the full report on the kernel panic error, which suggested bad RAM chip(s). I ran memtest off the Knoppix CD and confirmed that it was the RAM.

Use Knoppix to format large FAT32 volume?

2007-07-18T14:39:00.000-04:00

Keith suggests booting Area51 into Knoppix and using the Knoppix tools to format my large (113 GB) volume as a FAT32 disk.

XP = Best Choice

2007-07-17T01:24:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, July 17, 2007 1:24 AM

Today, it looks like the best Windows for me is XP (Pro). It’s patched, all drivers installed, and it uses less RAM than 2000, with a similar configuration. Both use around 200 MB, but right now XP is formatting my F: drive (again) and using only 179 MB. That’s all pimped up, too, including MSIE 7, all updates, .NET, etc. etc.

Plus, I can use VNC!

Vista loses control of network card

2007-07-17T01:22:00.000-04:00

Tuesday, July 17, 2007 1:23 AM

Now the network card that Vista used to recognize (and use) is now unable to connect to the router and get an IP address. When I boot into 2000 or XP, no problems. It’s clearly software, probably a result of one of the updates I installed.

Vista & 2000 fight it out over NFTS Permissions

2007-07-16T12:39:00.000-04:00

I'm having nothing but problems with my large NTFS formatted data volume on Area 51. Vista erased all the data on it during the installation (nothing much); then reported errors and fixed them on reboot. Windows 2000 reported errors, and also had at it. Then, when I booted back into Vista, more errors, more fixes, more data loss.

Now, I'm reformatting the whole volume in Vista. I put a test file on the newly formatted volume, and boot into Windows 2000. No luck -- check disk runs again. It’s time to reformat as FAT32, but of course Vista only formats NTFS. Sheesh.

Monday, July 16, 2007 6:34 PM

Win2K isn’t complaining about the F: disk this time. More updates, and hardware lacking drivers.

Triple Your Fun: 3 Flavors of Windows

2007-07-15T10:51:00.000-04:00

The plan is now to install three versions of Windows on Area51: 2000, XP, and Vista.

Sunday, July 15, 2007 10:52 AM

I formatted the hard drive with 3 boot partitions. I’ll devote the remainder to data. See my earlier post, New Partitioning Strategy, for details. Windows 2000 Slipstream is my first installation. All goes well, after I clean the CD. Here are my volumes:

C: 20 GB FAT 32 - 2000 SP3 (DRV1_VOL1)
D: 40 GB NTFS - XP (DRV1_VOL2)
E: 60 GB NTFS - Vista (DRV1_VOL3)
F: 120 GB NTFS - Data (DRV1_VOL4)

Total = 250 GB (of course, it doesn’t add up to 250).

Sunday, July 15, 2007 9:13 PM

Installing XP on D: (DRV1_VOL2).

For both this install & 2000, I need the drivers for the:

NIC
ATI Video Card x800
Sound Card

I complete this installation without a hitch, although the computer is off the network and not updated. On to Vista.
Vista fares much better with the drivers, especially the network driver.

Sunday, July 15, 2007 11:15 PM

Vista is loading my desktop for the first time. Let’s capture stats...

Wow, second time’s the charm for Vista. It recognized the network, and got the updates. That’s what took the first boot so long, I suspect: while Vista declared it was checking my performance, right after the installation completed, it was also downloading updates. Well done. Everything seems to be working, in the computer, but the monitor was not recognized.

On the significantly nasty side, the big data drive, F:, seems to have been formatted or fixed by Vista. Well, certainly not fixed in the normal sense, because all of my files (not many, really) were vaporized.

Reboot, tested a quick boot back into 2000. Still there, and looking absurdly ... flat. Back into Vista. Check it! For real -- Vista runs a consistency check on F:, and it all looks good. I really must check all the volumes, in the different OSes ... but right now, let me check it out in Vista.

Sunday, July 15, 2007 11:33 PM

More strangeness: after installing the correct drivers (or ones that worked, at least) and connecting automatically and downloading updates, now Vista can’t connect to the network. WTF?? The last time, I did a manual intervention, but this time I am going to poke around a little bit more.

Sunday, July 15, 2007 11:40 PM

I tried to discover the network with the Windows Firewall disabled, but that didn’t work. I’ll do my disk checks and reboot.

Also, note that the current driver for the ATI is working quite well.

I’d like to check out that rollback feature. Where is it? It’s called System Restore. Not yet ...

Sunday, July 15, 2007 11:52 PM

What’s this? Network Access? That’s crazy. How did I do that? Back on line. Is it because I enabled Network Discovery for a Private network? I can’t be sure, because Vista “couldn’t find solution” for my lack of network connectivity. And yet, it did.

Monday, July 16, 2007 12:42 AM

Anyway, I finished scanning the two non-boot NTFS partitions, and rebooted. Now, check the boot volume and the FAT32 volume. It looks like it started the scan on the boot volume, E:.

Monday, July 16, 2007 12:50 AM

Time to call it a night. Time to install 3 versions of Windows: 14 hours (not complete, but not continuous, either. Most of my work was really

New Partitioning Strategy for Area51

2007-07-12T11:30:00.000-04:00

Here’s how I think I’ll partition the new 250 GB HD I just installed in Area51.

Partitioning Goal:

Boot multiple Windows versions to support the widest range of current game titles.

All partitions are NTFS unless noted

20 GB - Windows 2000 (FAT32)
40 GB - Windows XP
60 GB - Windows Vista
--
120 GB (3 separate Windows installations)
+
120 GB - Data and game installations (remaining space)
====
~240 GB

I can get this off on the right foot by doing a Slipstream install for Windows 2000.

Limited Game Support for Vista? Not true, it seems.

2007-07-12T11:28:00.000-04:00

The guy at GameSpot told me that most Windows games for XP don’t run on Vista without a patch. Except, of course, Halo 2. As a result, I need to rethink my partitioning strategy.

AVG Free

2007-07-10T00:13:00.000-04:00

AVG Free Advisor - Free antivirus and anti-spyware downloads - currently version 7.5

VNC + Knoppix

2007-07-09T23:08:00.000-04:00

Non-trivial in Knoppix 5.x, too: Problems with VNC in Knoppix - Knoppix.net ... are there firewall issues? I gave up, but problems further upstream (bad NIC drivers) were to blame.

VNC + Vista

2007-07-09T23:03:00.000-04:00

Some problems & solutions here: VNC + Vista = black screen? - Windows Vista. Also, another solution to another problem: Workaround to Run VNC Server in Windows Vista » My Digital Life

Installing Vista

2007-07-09T17:35:00.001-04:00

Summary

My Vista upgrade (clean install) seems to work well, so far today. Total install time, including patching: right about 2 hours.

Vista Areo isn't worth it unless your video card pushes out 32-bit color ("true" color) at your preferred resolution. I had to back my resolution down from the optimal 1440x900 that my Viewsonic supports. Yikes! That seems strange, and needs some research.

My play-by-play log follows:

Monday, July 9, 2007 5:35 PM

Boot from the Vista DVD (hold down any key right after the BIOS screen loads). Then, wait after the spiffy desktop background loads. Watch the mouse pointer.

Finally, run Wizard, select language & keyboard, Install Now.

Please wait... and wait...

Monday, July 9, 2007 5:42 PM

Finally: enter the product key. Here are some complaints:

The product key number is printed in a much smaller font than previous versions of MS products, making it even harder to distinguish between “8” and “B,” etc.
The product key sticker is tacked onto the inside of this fancy plastic box that pivots open. Already, after opening it twice, the sticker is peeling off. I will have to make a backup label. Ridiculous.

For now, I opt to skip automatic activation. Anyway, it’s all for naught -- I have to start the install from my existing installation. Time to reboot...

Monday, July 9, 2007 5:47 PM

Reboot into the existing installation of XP. Click the Install Now button after loading Autorun from the DVD.

Please wait... again, but not nearly as long!

I enter the product key (the on-screen font is a little easier to read) and select my big NTFS partition. The installer announces that my old installation will be transferred to Windows.old. OK, let’s do it!

Monday, July 9, 2007 6:17 PM

Windows Vista has happily rebooted from the hard disk. I select keyboard and language, and then create an account. Then, select options for upgrading, set time zone, and finally, the nifty network zone setting. I choose Home (versus Work or Public).

Windows Vista scans my computer to “check performance,” whatever that means. In one sense, it means “read a whole bunch of ads about how great Vista is.”

Some question:

Did Vista recognize all my hardware, especially:
• Network Interface Card (NIC)
• Sound Card
• Souped up ATI video card.

And others...

First log in.

Monday, July 9, 2007 6:54 PM

I couldn’t configure my NIC with DHCP (Network Discovery, in Windows parlance) so I used manual configuration, which worked just fine. I install updates, and request the driver for my RealTek 97 Audio Driver. Reboot ...

Monday, July 9, 2007 7:36 PM

I installed all of the optional updates, as well, except for the language packs.

It turns out that rebooting and launching the installer from my existing install made the whole thing go a little faster, it seems.

Examining Area 51 with Knoppix

2007-07-09T17:12:00.000-04:00

Before I install Vista Ultimate on my newly upgraded gaming rig, Area51, I want to run Knoppix to see what kind of hardware I have. I tried booting with Knoppix 5.0 and 5.1 (DVD), and right now it’s just not worth it. The 5.1 DVD loads intermittently, and the 5.0 CD doesn’t I’m going to install Vista by booting from the DVD.

In the meantime, I’ll just download the 5.1 CD via BitTorrent to see if I can get that to work with any consistency.

Monday, July 9, 2007 11:31 PM

I burned the Knoppix 5.1 CD on gforce and it boots up Area51 more reliably than the Knoppix 5.1 DVD. I can boot into 1440x900 (not sure about 32-bit color, though) but it doesn’t matter because the NIC drivers don’t seem to load, since the hub doesn’t light up for Area51’s connection.

Boot to Vista -- Knoppix is officially a bust. I’ve had the worst luck trying to get Linux to run on this box.

Vista Ultimate? 64 bit?

2007-07-08T18:02:00.001-04:00

Should I upgrade Area 51 to Windows Vista Ultimate? 64 Bit or 32 Bit? It looks like Vista Ultimate Upgrade is about $238. I wonder if it has all the motherboard drivers I need, too? According to Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Windows Vista Feature Focus: 64-Bit (x64) Support:

Windows Vista Ultimate comes with both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) versions in the box, on separate DVDs

Looks like that's the move: Vista Ultimate.

Monday, July 9, 2007 5:09 PM

Update: I picked up the Vista Ultimate Upgrade, this morning, retail at Staples, for $260.

250 GB Hard Drive Upgrade for the Gaming Box, Area 51

2007-07-08T16:51:00.000-04:00

I'm working with Blake on upgrading the gaming computer, Area 51, by adding a 250 GB hard drive, a Western Digital Caviar SE (7200 RPM) Model WD2500JBRTL with 30-day installation support and 1 year warranty, starting today, I hope.

We plucked the 15 MB boot drive, and left the 80 GB data drive installed as the slave. The hardware installation went smoothly and the BIOS recognized the unformatted drive as the new master on the next boot.

No operating system, of course, so it's time to install Windows XP. Here's the rub: pre-service pack, for both 2000 and XP, Windows can't recognize a volume larger than 137 GB. So, we boot from the handy Western Digital Installer CD, which allows me to format the entire volume. Tech note: the CD boots to DR-DOS and runs some nifty batch files which install the required drivers. Then, you use the keyboard to run a virtual GUI environment to format the drive with FAT 16, FAT 32, or NTFS partitions.

Here's what I did:

Created a 4.2 GB FAT 16 partition for Windows 2000 (32 K allocation blocks, I believe).
Devoted the remaining 245 or so GB to an NTFS partition (4 K blocks).

This way, after I install Win2K on the small (4.2 GB) boot partition, I can install

I set up Windows 2000 with a trivial password (admin/admin) and set up my personal account.

Windows XP Pro, New Installation advanced setup: Advanced Options, Choose partition and drive letter; Don't upgrade partition to NTFS (it already is)

Install ATI DVD Drivers

2004-01-09T21:32:00.000-05:00

For the Radeon All-in-Wonder 9000

Start at the ATI
Drivers
and Downloads page.

Read ATI
Software Download and Installation Instructions

Download href="http://ati.com/support/drivers/winxp/radeonwdm-xp.html?type=xp&prodType=graphic&prod=productsXPdriver&submit.x=13&submit.y=5&submit=GO%21">CATALYST
Windows XP 3.10 - Driver Download

Download new software for the href="http://ati.com/support/drivers/winxp/radeonopt-xp.html?type=xp&prodType=mm&prod=aiwWINXPdriver&submit.x=14&submit.y=6">Radeon
All-In-Wonder 9000 on Windows XP .

Optional

Install for Windows XP:

href="http://ati.com/support/products/pc/remotecontrol/remotewonderdriver.html?type=xp&prodType=remote&prod=remotedriver&submit.x=19&submit.y=9&submit=GO%21">REMOTE
WONDER Software & Drivers

href="http://ati.com/companyinfo/glossary/hydravision/index.html?type=xp&prodType=hydra&prod=hydravisionXPdriver&submit.x=13&submit.y=8&submit=GO%21">HYDRAVISION

NFS on Casper

2004-01-09T12:51:00.000-05:00

Ran redhat-config-nfs from ssh command line.

For reference, check out the Linux
NFS-HOWTO on The
Linux Documentation Project website.

On Casper, the file server, we added to /etc/exports the following
line:

/home/net/               192.168.1.1/255.255.255.0(rw,sync)

Note: we used redhat-config-nfs to do this.

Then, on the Linux client, we added the following line to /etc/fstab:

192.168.1.23:/home/net /home/casper nfs rsize=8192,wsize=8192,nosuid,soft 0 0

But, I can't write files with my "neilj" login. I created a new
login and made sure the user ID matched on both machines.

Mozilla Plug-ins for Linux

2004-01-07T22:54:00.000-05:00

Mozilla Plug-ins for Linux

Use Help > About Plug-ins
to open about:plugins

Click on http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/
or go to Linux directly.

Where is your plugin directory? First, start Mozilla. Then, in a
terminal, enter:

$ ps aux | grep moz
$ cd </path/to/mozilla-bin>
$ ls plugins

Important: if you don't see
a plugins directory, you have two choices:

Install the plugins in ~/.mozilla/plugins

Root creates a new plugins directory in the same directory as
mozilla-bin, and installs plugins there.

Configuring Windows Domains on Samba

2003-12-12T15:29:00.000-05:00

The latest version of O'Reilly's Using Samba, 2nd Edition includes an updated Chapter 4 Windows NT Domains that covers our current versions of both the Samba software and Windows clients. I still need to make the changes specified to the smb.conf file described in that chapter, but at this point, we have basic file sharing going on with the Windows XP Home clients. Note that is as good as it's going to get for Win XP Home: "You have our condolences if you are trying to use the Home edition of Windows XP in a domain environment! Microsoft has omitted support for Windows NT domains from Windows XP Home, resulting in a product that is ill-suited for use in a domain-based network."

Configure Samba on Casper

2003-12-12T15:23:00.000-05:00

The goal is to set up Casper as the PDC for our network. We were able to set up file sharing, but we did as much luck with the PDC configuration. The Samba book I have covers version 2.0, and Windows OSes through NT 4.0. We are using version 2.2.7a (with RH9), and the clients include Win2K and Win XP Home. Finally, on the Samba site, I found Using Samba, 2nd ed., which covers version 2.2 and all WIndows OSes out now.

Configure NICs on Casper

2003-12-12T15:18:00.000-05:00

I worked with Haikel today to configure Casper to run network services, specifically Samba. First, we needed to configure the network cards, or NICs. I had de-activated the cards and since there were two, we needed to pick which one to use. Using the old-fashioned trial-and-error method, we selected the 100-mbs card, which is configured as eth1 with the IP address of 192.168.1.23. The other card, eth0 at 192.168.1.22, only supports a transfer rate of 10 Mbs, so I pulled the cable and deactivated it. I used rehat-config-network to set up the cards.

Install RH9 on Casper

2003-11-21T15:33:00.000-05:00

Casper is a Compaq Presario 5724 with a Pentium 500Mhz CPU, an Intel i810 chipset for video (1 MB shared RAM) and 256MB of RAM total installed.

2003-11-15T01:12:00.000-05:00

Buy Samsung 256MB 800Mhz Rambus RIMM 184PIN for ~$89 each. for the Pavilion 9870.

Could test the new RAM w/ the C-RIMM circuit chip, but where is it?

Also try RAMBUS 256MB, PC600 WITH ECC from Upgrade Solution.

Memory Upgrades for HP Pavilion

2003-11-05T05:43:00.000-05:00

The HP Pavilion 9870 Desktop PC uses 256MB PC600 RDRAM RAMBUS RIMM; NON-ECC is required. Samsung is currently installed. Read the memory installation FAQ.

The
HP Pavilion 505n Desktop PC uses 184 pin, DDR SDRAM, up to 2 x 512MB (1 x 256MB installed)

Google Directory Price Comparisons
Best prices from Price Watch
256 MB RAMBUS PC600 NON-ECC MAJOR BRAND @ $45, purchased, order # K111591.
Compare:

Upgrade Nation: Samsung @ $95

Free Software - Reviewed

2003-10-08T16:10:00.000-04:00

pricelessware.org

Top Ten Free Windows Apps

2003-10-08T16:04:00.000-04:00

Top ten Windows
apps to install. (Score:5, Informative)

by EggMan2000 (308859)
* on
Wednesday October 08, @12:34PM ( href="http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=81470&cid=7164154">#7164154)

(http://www.teepo.org/
| Last Journal: Wednesday
April 23, @03:48PM) Here is my top ten list (in no
particular order) for Windows. I'll let everyone argue about the Linux
tools.

CygWin
[cygwin.com] the Linux-like environment for Windows.

Mozilla
[mozilla.org] naturally.... Use this for mail, news, and browsing if
you like.

WS FTP Light
[ipswitch.com] a FREE, FTP client that works great.

title="greenend.org.uk"> PuTTY [greenend.org.uk] a free SSH client
for Windows.

VNC
[realvnc.com] remote controll software, NOTE: the location is no longer
on the ATT Labs UK site.

title="gnu.org">GNU-EMacs [gnu.org] for Windows. I usually install
it, but use Vi more.

Dev-C++
[bloodshed.net] a free C++ compiler. I use VC++ 6.0, but this is free,
and I think it's pretty good.

NetHack
[nethack.org] You MUST have NetHack installed on everything...

Free-AV
[free-av.com] free Anti-Virus software for Windows.

Boingo
[boingo.com] to see where the closest hotspot is. (free) you don't need
the service.

2003-09-29T16:13:00.000-04:00

From - Thu Sep 25 09:15:18 2003
From: "Keith W. Salustro"
To: "Neil Johnson"
Subject: Byrd__2003-09-23__patched ssh for buffer overrun vuln.
Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2003 18:00:16 -0400

- downloaded latest openSSH for linux (RHL 7.3)
- upgraded packages
- found that ssh was a different version (commercial?) installed and running
on port 56.
- when I upgraded ssh, it did not affect the one on port 56, so I disabled
that one so it wouldn't start, and left openssh running on port 22.
- I have to investigate further.

--
------------------------
Keith W. Salustro, CISSP
Security Best Practices, Inc.
Direct: 617-875-7672 Fax: 530-660-8713

2002-12-06T01:00:00.000-05:00

Updated Virus Defs, after resetting the Symantec Update Server: How to reset LiveUpdate to use the default Symantec LiveUpdate server. Ran a full system scan.

2002-12-06T00:43:00.000-05:00

Set Security Settingsx > Local Policies > Audit Policy as follows
Audit account logon events (Success, Failure)
Audit account management (Success, Failure)
Audit directory service access (Failure)
Audit logon events (Success, Failure)
Audit object access (Failure)
Audit policy change (Success, Failure)
Audit system events (Success, Failure)

2002-12-06T00:27:00.000-05:00

BUILTIN\Administrators in Sysadmin Role

Issue

Local administrators should not also be database administrators. These roles are very different
and are typically performed by different people.

Solution

Remove BUILTIN\Administrators from the sysadmin role.

Note: There are special circumstances that require Administrators to belong to the
Sysadmin role. These circumstances are outlined in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base
articles:

SQL
Server Agent Does Not Start and Displays Error 18456 (Q237604)

How to
Prevent Windows NT Administrators from Administering a Clustered SQL Server (Q263712)

IsAlive Check Does Not Run Under the Context of the BUILTIN\Administrators
Account (Q291255)

Microsoft Search Service May Cause 100% CPU Usage if BUILTIN\Administrators
Login is Removed (Q295034)

Instructions

Click Start,
point to Programs, point to Microsoft SQL Server, and then click Enterprise Manager.

In SQL Server Enterprise Manager, double-click SQL Server Group, and then double-click the SQL Server that you want
to secure.

Click the Security folder, click Server Roles, and then double-click System
Administrators in the right pane.

In the Server Role Properties dialog box, click BUILTIN\Administrators, and then click
Remove.

Additional Information

SQL Server 7.0 Security

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Security

2002-12-06T00:24:00.000-05:00

Service Accounts on SQL Server

Issue

All services log on under an account, with some services running as LocalSystem.
This can be a potential security vulnerability because a bug in the service code
could be exploited by a malicious user to gain system-level access, which is possible because the
service runs in the context of the local computer. It is recommended that you run
services that do not require full system access under a lesser-privileged account,
and that this account is not a member of the Local Administrators group.

Solution

Ensure that the SQL service accounts are not running as LocalSystem and are not
running under accounts that are a member of the Local or Domain Administrators group.
It is recommended that you run these service accounts under a domain user account.
Windows XP introduces two new service accounts: LocalService and
NetworkService. Services running under the LocalService account have minimum
privileges on the local computer, and they present anonymous credentials on the
network. Services running under the NetworkService account have minimum
privileges on the local computer, and they act as the computer on the network. For
more information, see Additional Resources.

Instructions

To ensure that services are not running as Local System Accounts in Windows 2000

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.

Under the Services and Applications node,

click Services.

Double-click the service that was flagged in the security report.

In the dialog box that appears, click the Log On tab.

Under
Log On As, select the This account radio button and specify a
local account under which the service should run.

To ensure that services are not running as Local System Accounts in Windows NT 4.0

Click Start, point to Settings, and
then click Control Panel.

Click Services.

Double-click the service that was flagged in the security report.

Under Log On As in
the dialog box that appears, select the This account radio button and
specify a local account under which the service should run.

Additional Resources

SQL Server 7.0 Security

href="http://www.microsoft.com/SQL/techinfo/administration/2000/securityWP.asp">
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Security

LocalService Account

NetworkService Account

2002-12-06T00:21:00.000-05:00

MS Security Baseline Analyzer Results:

Windows Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Windows Hotfixes 5 hotfixes are missing or could not be confirmed.
Windows Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Password Expiration Some user accounts (19 of 31) have non-expiring passwords.
Windows Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) File System All hard drives (6) are using the NTFS file system.
Windows Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Local Account Password Test Some user accounts (1 of 31) have blank or simple passwords, or could not be analyzed.
Windows Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Guest Account The Guest account is disabled on this computer.
Windows Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Autologon Autologon is not configured on this computer.
Windows Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Restrict Anonymous Computer is running with RestrictAnonymous = 2. This level prevents access to any resources that do not have explicit permissions set for the Anonymous account.
Windows Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Administrators No more than 2 Administrators were found on this computer.
Windows Scan Results Additional System Information Check failed (critical) Auditing Logon Failure auditing is enabled, however Logon Success auditing should also be enabled.
Windows Scan Results Additional System Information Additional information Shares 8 share(s) are present on your computer.
Windows Scan Results Additional System Information Check failed (critical) Services Some potentially unnecessary services are installed.
Windows Scan Results Additional System Information Additional information Windows Version Computer is running Windows 2000 or greater.
Internet Information Services (IIS) Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Parent Paths Parent paths are enabled in some web sites and/or virtual directories.
Internet Information Services (IIS) Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Sample Applications IIS sample applications are not installed.
Internet Information Services (IIS) Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) IIS Admin Virtual Directory IISADMPWD virtual directory is not present.
Internet Information Services (IIS) Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Msadc and Scripts Virtual Directories The MSADC and Scripts virtual directories are not present under the default web site.
Internet Information Services (IIS) Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) IIS Lockdown Tool The IIS Lockdown tool has been run on the machine.
Internet Information Services (IIS) Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) IIS Hotfixes No missing hotfixes were found.
Internet Information Services (IIS) Scan Results Additional System Information Best practice IIS Logging Enabled Some web or FTP sites are not using the recommended logging options.
Internet Information Services (IIS) Scan Results Additional System Information Best practice Domain Controller Test IIS is not running on a domain controller.
SQL Server Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Exposed sa Password The 'sa' password may be exposed in clear text.
SQL Server Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) SQL Account Password Test Some SQL user accounts (1 of 5) have blank or simple passwords.
SQL Server Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) SQL Server Security Mode SQL Server authentication mode is set to SQL Server and Windows (Mixed Mode).
SQL Server Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) SQL Server Hotfixes 3 hotfixes could not be confirmed.
SQL Server Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Sysadmin role members BUILTIN\Administrators group is part of sysadmin role.
SQL Server Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Sysadmins More than 2 members of sysadmin role are present.
SQL Server Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Service Accounts SQL Server and/or SQL Server Agent Services accounts are members of the local Administrators group or run as LocalSystem.
SQL Server Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Domain Controller Test SQL Server is not running on a domain controller.
SQL Server Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) CmdExec role CmdExec is restricted to sysadmin only.
SQL Server Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Registry Permissions The Everyone group does not have more than Read access to the SQL Server registry keys.
SQL Server Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Folder Permissions Permissions on the SQL Server installation folders are set properly.
SQL Server Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Guest Account The Guest account is not enabled in any of the databases.
Desktop Application Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) IE Zones Internet Explorer zones do not have secure settings for some users.
Desktop Application Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Outlook Zones No Microsoft Office products are installed
Desktop Application Scan Results Vulnerabilities Check failed (critical) Macro Security No Microsoft Office products are installed

2002-12-06T00:18:00.000-05:00

I ran Windows Update on Zorak, which required a restart. I successfully installed the critical updates, but did not elect to install the driver update. Then, on to MS Security Baseline Analyzer. I still have to open all the ports to run these two programs.

2002-08-15T12:01:00.000-04:00

I'm at a public terminal at the Kennybunk Library. Problems with the familyaware.org domain. Here's what I sent:


I successfully completed a request with Register.com

to set Hosting.com as the SOA for familyaware.org.    

I then sent dns@familyaware.org the following DNSrequest:

-----Original Message-----From: Neil Johnson [mailto:neilj@cadent.com]

Sent: Monday, August 12, 2002 12:26 PMTo: dns@hosting.comSubject: DNS Changes

Hi. We are a colo customer who has recently moved fromVerio. We've switched

SOA to your name servers with our registrars for thefollowing domains:

*	familyaware.org*	cadent.com*	cadent.net*	theconstant.com

Please make the following updates to the DNS recordsfor each domain (Note:

I'm sure you could have figured out the SOA and NSrecords, but I just

wanted to confirm that your servers are theauthoritative ones). Please set

up these changes to take effect any time after 5:00 PMtoday. If you have

any questions, please contact me via email.Thanks,NeilChanges:FamilyAware.org

familyaware.org.               SOA   auth01.ns.harvard.netauth02.ns.harvard.net

familyaware.org.               NS    auth01.ns.harvard.net

familyaware.org.               NS    auth02.ns.harvard.net

familyaware.org.               A      64.55.106.132

familyaware.org.               MX     20  media3.familyaware.org

familyaware.org.               MX     10  mail.familyaware.org

mail                           A      64.55.106.132

www                            A      64.55.106.132

media3                         A      206.67.52.172

familyaware.org.               SOA   auth01.ns.harvard.netauth02.ns.harvard.net

Cadent.comcadent.com.                    SOA   auth01.ns.harvard.net

auth02.ns.harvard.netcadent.com.                    NS    auth01.ns.harvard.net

cadent.com.                    NS    auth02.ns.harvard.net

cadent.com.                    A      64.55.106.131

cadent.com.                    MX     10  mail.cadent.com

cadent.com.                    MX     20  mail2.cadent.com

mail                           A      64.55.106.131

mail2                          A      206.67.52.103

www                            A      64.55.106.131

cadent.com.                    SOA   auth01.ns.harvard.netauth02.ns.harvard.net

Cadent.net[remainder of DNS changes cut, 2 of 4]Thanks again!Neil Johnson

Cadent Technologies Corp.(617) 924-9173www.cadent.com 

-----End of Original Message-----ISSUE :::::::::::::::::::::::

The FamilyAware.org domain does not resolve correctly.

Since the Cadent.com changes do all seem to work, I

conclude that there is a problem with the

FamilyAware.org DNS record on your servers.

For details, see the results of a ping command at thebottom of this message.

RESOLUTION :::::::::::::::::Please FIX THE PROBLEMS WITH THE FAMILYAWARE.ORG DNS

RECORD as follows:familyaware.org.               A      64.55.106.132

See the original request above for the complete set of

DNS changes you'll need to implement.

Then, contact me via email to describe the steps you

took to fix the problem. Let me know how you tested

your configuration. You can reply to all of the

recipients of this email if you like.Thanks,Neil

-----------sample ping commands--------------C:\>ping media3.familyaware.org

Bad IP address media3.familyaware.org.C:\>ping www.familyaware.org

Bad IP address www.familyaware.org.C:\>ping mail.cadent.com

Pinging mail.cadent.com [64.55.106.131] with 32 bytesof data:

Reply from 64.55.106.131: bytes=32 time=70ms TTL=108

-----------end sample ping commands--------------

Let's hope they can fix it!

2002-08-09T02:19:00.000-04:00

Zorak Update

11:46 PM 8/8/2002

Patch OS, SQL Server

Via pcAnywhere:

Connect to 64...130

Open TCP/IP Ports

1. Start > Run... > secpol.msc [Run]

2. Select: Security Settings > IP Security Policies on Local Machine
> Secure TCP Server

3. R-click: Un-assign

4. Minimize

Note: could I do this by just opening port 443?

Check Configuration Against MS List

1. Run MS Baseline Security Analyzer

2. Scan a Computer : Start Scan

Scan Time: ~5 min

The latest service pack for this product is not installed. 

         MS02-029 Unchecked Buffer in Remote Access Service Phonebook Could Lead          to Code Execution (Q318138) 

         MS01-022 WebDAV Service Provider Can Allow Scripts to Levy Requests as          User 

         MS02-027 Unchecked Buffer in Gopher Protocol Handler Can Run Code of Attacker's          Choice (Q323889)

Run Windows Update

1. http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp

2. Install SP3 Exclusively - removed other two fixes.

SP3 Install

1. Archive Files

2. Restart

3. Restart OK

Repeat Check Configuration Against MS List

X - Can't run MS Baseline Security Analyzer - Not Responding.

Restart.

After second restart, can't run it again. Can't run MSIE.

Could it be the second NIC again? I can't open Network Ctrl Panel. But
the device mgr says that the Intel 82559 #2 is disabled. All ports still
open.

Test services

port scan - show host responses

ping ip

ping www.cadent.com

http://cadent.com/

email Send & receive - generate new email from external account.

Results

pcAnywhere - flashing cursor on console

port scan - sees ports (all ports are open!)

ping ip - ok

ping www.cadent.com

http://cadent.com/

email Send & receive - generate new email from external account. -
pcAnywhere crashed and won't reconnect. Mail goes in and out