Create a Windows 7 System Repair Disk ISO under Virtualbox

1. Install Oracle Virtualbox, having host: Windows | linux | Mac OS X
2. Install Windows 7 OS in your virtual machine (32-bit or 64-bit, as needed).
3. Install IMGburn as a burning utility.
4. Install TotalMounter and Follow pfurrie's detailed suggestions: open the program >> use "Mount" menu >> choose "Virtual CD/DVD-RW".
5. Open "Backup and Restore" and create a System Repair Disc ISO.

After all is done, use your 32-bit/64-bit ISO to do what need or burn it to a CD and use it to repair Windows 7 install . :)


Tips:
32-bit System Repair Disc can only be created on a 32-bit Windows 7.
64-bit System Repair Disc can only be created on a 64-bit Windows 7.

32-bit System Repair Disc can only be used to repair a 32-bit Windows 7.
64-bit System Repair Disc can only be used to repair a 64-bit Windows 7.

uTorrent - Move torrents from one PC to another (or from one profile to a new profile)

(http://www.freeimages.com/photo/settings-1241475)

1. Stop all torrents in the torrent list in µTorrent.

2. Exit µTorrent

3. Move the torrent folder
c:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\uTorrent\
... to the new location (in your new PC or profile), similar path

4. Move the start shortcut
c:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\uTorrent\
... to the new location (in your new PC or profile), similar path

5. Done


Inspired by, and adapted from, this post:
http://help.utorrent.com/customer/portal/articles/1826054

Note: You may want to know how to disable Ads in uTorrent.

Disable Ads in uTorrent

Quick note about µTorrent, if you use it and hate ads. It works for me in version 3.4.1.

To turn off ads and offers, open Options > Preferences > Advanced. Here you'll find a large list of flags for the app and a filter box. Search for and disable the following flags:

• offers.left_rail_offer_enabled / left_rail_offer 
• gui.show_plus_upsell
• offers.sponsored_torrent_offer_enabled / sponsored_torrent_offer_enabled
• bt.enable_pulse
• gui.show_notorrents_node
• offers.content_offer_autoexec

Note1: These flags may be named slightly differently depending on which version of the app you're using. Be careful when editing things if you're not entirely sure what they do.

Note2: If the top bar ad still doesn't go away, just restart the application.

Note3: You may prefer to use an older version and no ads out-of-the-box. Version 2.0.4 and 2.2.1 are safe to try. These can be found either on oldversion.com or filehippo.com.

Note4: Add search providers
http://www.ghacks.net/2012/07/28/how-to-add-search-providers-to-utorrents-torrent-search/
PirateBay|https://thepiratebay.se/search/
KickAssTorrents|https://kat.cr/usearch/
Mininova|http://www.mininova.org/?cat=0&search=
Torrentz.eu|https://www.torrentz.eu/search?q=
isoHunt|https://isohunt.to/torrents/?ihq=
TorrentReactor|https://torrentreactor.com/torrents-search/windows+aio
Torrent-finder|http://torrent-finder.info/show.php?q=
SceneFZ|https://scenefz.net/browse.php?param_val=0&complex_search=0&incldead=a0&orderby=added&sort=desc&param=--&param_op=1&search=

Credit:
http://lifehacker.com/disable-ads-in-utorrent-via-settings-826283231

uTorrent v2.x/3.x - Best Practice Tips
https://forum.utorrent.com/topic/60691-utorrent-v2x3x-best-practice-tips/


Note: you may want to know how to quickly move torrents from one PC/profile to another.

How to view complete message source (email source, email header) in Outlook 2010

Shortly, not easy way. Especially when using Outlook 2010 (probably, 2007 and 2013 as well). And especially when you must configure your account as Microsoft Exchange. Why is Microsoft invent tools that nobody use them? Their Outlook 2013 became such a bloatware that I could hardly find what I need. Most of the time I just want a simple email client, nothing more.

So, this is what I am talking about (as explained in this question):
http://superuser.com/questions/476940/outlook-2013-view-source-of-an-email

As the answers tell (verified by myself as well), it does not simply work on an Outlook 2010. Here is what you can do about it:

Solution 1
Install Mozilla Thunderbird and configure your account as IMAP (or POP3). It will work >> select a message or open it in new tab/window, then press Ctrl+U to see the source. You will see the header + source. Great staff!

Solution 2
Install eM-client, then configure your account as IMAP (or POP3). It will work >> right-click on the message and you have 2 options: View Mail Header and View Mail Source. As simple as that. :)


Update: I finally found out where it's hidden this options (dooh!... Microsoft):
Open Message > Message Tab > Tags > Arrow at bottom right

And here is how you make a shortcut to it:

1. In the main window (Outlook), go to File -> Options
2. Select the Quick Access Toolbar on the left.
3. Set the "Choose commands from" dropdown list to; Commands Not in the Ribbon
4. From the command list select; Message Options…
5. Press the "Add >>" button.
6. Press OK.

The option is now added to the Quick Access Toolbar at the top of your Outlook window and view the Internet headers of a message without needing to open it first.

Expired HP cartridge - OfficeJet K5400

Trying to print few more pages on HP OfficeJet K5400, but not able to print everything at once. It would print 3 pages, then stuck after printing about 70% of the 4th one and LEDs blinking: the Power light and the Resume light blink, and all Print Cartridge lights are on, as described on HP Support document for K5400 series HP printers and HP's Ink Expiration page (another link).

I searched on the internet and I found solutions that worked for others but not for me.

The solution that worked for me is described on hardwarefetish.com using HP Ink Cartridge Expiration Patch (got this link via comment on http://constitutionalcode.blogspot.com/2005/02/cartridge-expiration-date-workarounds.html). Great staff, thank you!

FTP on Windows 2008 Server R2

FTP on Windows Firewall and non-secure FTP traffic

To easily set up an FTP server, Filezilla can be used (test locally, make sure it works). Additionally, a quick step is necessary: add a rule in Windows Firewall to allow necessary ports.

Windows firewall can be configured from command line using netsh command. 2 simple steps are required to setup Windows Firewall to allow non-secure FTP traffic:

1) Open port 21 on the firewall
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="FTP (no SSL)" action=allow protocol=TCP dir=in localport=21

2) Activate firewall application filter for FTP (aka Stateful FTP) that will dynamically open ports for data connections
netsh advfirewall set global StatefulFtp enable

Taken from http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winserver2008appcompatabilityandcertification/thread/72ea0c7d-1071-4637-a38f-e77195e8a738/

Some more info
Configuring FTP Firewall Settings in IIS 7
http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/309/configuring-ftp-firewall-settings-in-iis-7/

FTP7 for Windows Server 2008 RTM is released!
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/robert_mcmurray/archive/2008/02/27/ftp7-for-windows-server-2008-rtm-is-released.aspx

Installing FTP 7.5 on Windows Server 2008
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd722761(WS.10).aspx

Configure Total Commander as a client to use SSL/TSL feature

1. Get the OpenSSL package from
- official page - http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/openssl.htm
- the LibCurl library - http://curl.haxx.se/download.html *
* Please scroll down to the section named "Win32 - Generic" and download the following package (or a newer one): Win32 2000/XP 7.19.0 libcurl SSL enabled Günter Knauf 1.54 MB

2. Copy the two dlls libssl32.dll and libeay32.dll from the "bin" subdir of the archive to the Total Commander directory.

3. Now you can make connections with prefix ftps:// and https://

Note: There will appear a red open locker for connections because the root certificates are missing. To get the root certificates of Verisign, Thawte etc, do the following:
1. Start Internet Explorer and open its configuration dialog
2. Go to the page "Content"
3. Click on "Certificates"
4. Go to the last page "Trusted root certificate authorities"
5. Select all certificates
6. Click on"Export"
7. As name, enter: rootcerts
8. Confirm with Next/OK. This creates a file rootcerts.p7b
9.a. Copy rootcerts.p7b to the installation folder of OpenSSL C:\Program Files\OpenSSL\bin\
9.b. Issue the following two commands to convert to openssl format:
openssl pkcs7 -inform DER -in rootcerts.p7b -print_certs -out unfiltered.pem
openssl x509 -in unfiltered.pem -out rootcert.pem

10. Put the file rootcert.pem in the Total Commander directory

HP LaserJet M2727nf crap

The setup:
- 2 identical multi-functional printers, both connected to network and available via IP (static IP)
- PRINTING: everyone can print to both machines
- SCANNING: only one user at a time can use one machine to scan, using the button "scan-to" available on machine; the resulting file is saved on a sharing folder; because of this, one user is created on the Windows 2003 Server; the person using the scanner is authenticated first on the server with that user, then press the "scan-to" button

INSTALLATION
HP LaserJet M2727nf won't install easily on Windows 2003 Server R2. Step by step, here is what you have to do:
1. HP advise: disable any Antivirus and firewall you may have (NOD32 won't allow the installer to run, so disable)
2. While opening the setup program from CD (or the updated driver folder), only 2 options are available to install:
- Express Setup USB
- Express Setup Network
Each one will install basic driver software (everything needed to print, scan and fax configuration), but no functionality to configure the "scan-to" button or HP application software to scan.

For advanced setup (and complete installation) we need the "Recommended install" option, which will be shown only if we run the Setup in Compatibility Mode Windows XP (right-click on "setup.exe" >> Compatibility >> Run this program in Compatibility Mode >> Windows XP).

3. After we choose "Recommended install", we get to:
a) Easy Install (Recommended)
b) Advanced Install
We choose (b), then HP asks to check for updates automatically. The answer is NO.

Note: Pressing Ctrl + Alt, the installation log file is shown. Here is what this machine come up with:

[...]
20110711135523:00073AE55:0400(0000-0000)(hpzchk01.exe)!! BlockProductTypeList failed to pass on this machine.
20110711135523:00073F34A:0400(0000-0000)(hpzchk01.exe)!! Product Type Check FAILED.
[...]
20110711135524:000781451:0010(0001-0000)(hpzchk01.exe)= The current user has administrator privileges.
20110711135524:000781918:0010(0001-0000)(hpzchk01.exe)= Not using RunAs
20110711135524:000783B7A:0001(0001-0000)(hpzchk01.exe)Displaying dialog - 1035 - System Requirements Results
20110711135524:0007889AD:0001(0001-0000)(hpzchk01.exe)_pSite was NULL
20110711135556:000028569:0001(0033-0032)(hpzchk01.exe)Exiting dialog - 1035 - System Requirements Results

4. If errors appear during installation (ie: "This product type does not match the list of supported product types"), press Cancel while keeping pressed Ctrl + Shift, (advised by Kris Haynes), to avoid that.

5. We get to this dialog:
a) Recommended
b) Custom (for Advanced users)
Obvious, we choose (b) and go next.

6. Errors again as explained in step 4. We get over it using Ctrl + Shift trick and we finally see the "End Used Agreement".

7. On the "Identify printer dialog", we have:
a) Select from a list of detected printers (Recommeded)
b) Specify a printer by IP address
If we choose (a), the printer will be installed using it's name instead of it's IP address and more issues in the future. To avoid it, we choose (b) and type the IP manually. As a result, the printer will be installed as a virtual printer port with the name of the printer's IP. Every time, the printer will be found by the IP.

8. We are warned that the HP LJ M2727nf Scan has not passed Windows Logo testing to verify its compatibility with this version of Windows (Windows 2003 Server R2 Standard Edition SP2) >> Continue anyway.




After digging with the installation, it's now time to use the crap.

First off, the test printing during installation won't print anything. Scanning has the same result.
UPDATE: It looks like a bad cable/socked caused errors, so I replaced the cable and the LAN socket. Now this problem is isolated.

From time to time, the printer disappear from HP Toolbox (more precisely, the printer is shown as disconnected and none of it's settings are available).
UPDATE: It looks like a bad cable/socked caused errors, so I replaced the cable and the LAN socket. Now this problem is isolated.


Ok, it looks like the HP Toolbox wants to run with the Administrator account privileges, so I do (right-click on it >> run as... >> Administrator).


PROBLEM
If I try to scan directly from the printer, the error says: "Not set up for PC".
To solve this, I have to login on the server and configure the button "Scan-to".

When I try to create a custom entry for the button Scan-To, I got this error message:
"Failed to update the destination list on the all-in-one"

???

Error 732 - Symantec Norton Partition Magic 8.05

From within Windows XP Pro, I tried to split a hard drive having only one partition (active, running WinXP Pro from it). Symantec was of no help, although they provide some info about this error. Other users on forum suggest to use other version of the program, which I did. I uninstalled 8.05 by Symatec and I got version 8.0 (from a friend :-) ) by PowerQuest. I had no problem doing my work (split the system drive into more partitions - primary, as well as logical).

Cool!

Some thoughts about Intel SS4000-E Storage NAS (INNS04-4200)

Anyone interested to hack this unit with a (better) opensource alternative (debian or whatever), please contact me or write a comment. I'd love to have this working like a real storage array it claims to be.

Got this piece of hardware with high expectations and start reading on the internet about it. Most of its users shows it rather a crap. I tend to feel the same.

Details about SS4000-E unit
- CPU Intel Xscale IOP 80219 at 400 MHz
- chipset Fintek f75111 (according to Arnaud)
- the OS volume is a 256 DOM (Disk On Memory) module installed in the motherboard IDE port, mounted as /dev/hda1 as ext2 partition
- the data for storage is on a lvm2 volume in md raid, mounted as /dev/evms/md0vol1 and formatted ext3 >> 4 bays for SATA-1 HDD, greater than 500 GB with the total storage capacity greater than 2 TB (according to Intel)
- the OS is a proprietary Linux wolf 2.6.10-iop1-9 by FalconStor (check # uname -r via SSH)
- the operating system used by the user determines which option should be choose while setting it up:

• Windows/Mac OS X user (CIFS)
• Linux/Other Mac user (NFS)

- Newisys NA-1400 is a similary device, but not identical; however, its documentation might be helpful

Short story
I expect SS4000 to be a storage backup for my data. I'm not interested on any advanced feature like RAID or so. I'm not interested in speed, though the device has 2 built-in GB lan adapters and 4 SATA slots for hard drives. Generally, I want a device attached to my home network, low on electricity bill, capacity of minimum 2 TB (4 x 500 GB) and just work without hassle.

Setup
This unit runs proprietary software made by FalconStor. The unit I have was upgraded to the maximum RAM supported (512 MB DDR-266, but only 256 MB recognized) and latest firmware (version 1.4). I want as more available capacity as possible. At some point, I added 4 drives of 1TB (WD10EACS) but not satisfied >> read Test Lab bellow.

Tasks I want to accomplish
- Linear configuration, as explained by Javed Lodhi. This is what I intended in the first place upon acquisition, but I didn't know how to do it. I'll test that in the future.
- Automatic scheduling, as nkamp asked on Intel Comunity (no answer as of this writing)
- SSH access - explained on Paul Cobbaut's blog

CLI commands that can be used for different purposes
# dmesg =
# cat /var/log/kern.log = kernel logs
# uname -m = architecture (smth. like armv5tel)
# uname -r = kernel (smth. like 2.6.10-iop1)
# ls /proc =
# cat /proc/cpuinfo =
# cat /proc/devices =
# cat /proc/filesystems =
# cat /proc/interrupts =
# cat /proc/ mdstat =
# cat /proc/meminfo =
# cat /proc/pci =

Test Lab
2010-08-01: Four 1TB drives attached as RAID-5. After 1 day, the 4th drive started rebuilding RAID. It takes about 3 days (and nights) !?! I feel like I give up on RAID-5...
The web interface is very limited during rebuilding. The only page available is https://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/raid_disks_changedF.cgi (it asks first for credential first). No other page I can access, including default http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/ (Chrome browser gives this error:

"This webpage has a redirect loop. The webpage at http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/index.cgi has resulted in too many redirects. Clearing your cookies for this site or allowing third-party cookies may fix the problem. If not, it is possibly a server configuration issue and not a problem with your computer.). Clearing cookies won't change anything.

2010-08-20: Linear configuration doesn't work quite I was expecting. I would need to see each disk independent as one share each drive/disk, but linear configuration on SS4000-E gives me a wizard which force me to choose a homes share (min. 200 MB, but not more than 2 TB; in this particular case 2TB) and a public share (min. 200 MB, but no more than 2 TB; in this particular case 745GB). Homes share is the place where each added user would have it's own share name, while public share should be available to any user without credential (not working this way here). I created a user backup for all my needs, and I use public share when homes share would not be enough (security is not a concern, I have a private area network, secured from outside intruders).

2010-08-21: To activate SSH, visit this page: https://XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX/ssh_controlF.cgi (where https://XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX is the IP of the unit). It takes a few seconds until it shows a switch button to select Turn On / Turn off SSH, and about 1 minute to activate.

Some commands:

# uname -r
2.6.10-iop1-9

# uname -m
armv5tel

# cat /proc/cpuinfo
Processor : XScale-IOP8032x Family rev 0 (v5l)
BogoMIPS : 395.67
cpu MHz : 395.673
Features : swp half thumb fastmult edsp
CPU implementer : 0x69
CPU architecture: 5TE
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part : 0x2e2
CPU revision : 0
Cache type : undefined 5
Cache clean : undefined 5
Cache lockdown : undefined 5
Cache format : Harvard
I size : 32768
I assoc : 32
I line length : 32
I sets : 32
D size : 32768
D assoc : 32
D line length : 32
D sets : 32

Hardware : Intel IQ31244
Revision : 0000
Serial : 0000000000000000


# cat /proc/devices
Character devices:
1 mem
2 pty
3 ttyp
4 /dev/vc/0
4 tty
4 ttyS
5 /dev/tty
5 /dev/console
5 /dev/ptmx
7 vcs
10 misc
13 input
21 sg
89 i2c
90 mtd
128 ptm
136 pts
180 usb
211 gpiodrv
212 eepromdrv
252 kipstor
253 bkscctl
254 kfsnbase

Block devices:
1 ramdisk
8 sd
9 md
31 mtdblock
65 sd
66 sd
67 sd
68 sd
69 sd
70 sd
71 sd
128 sd
129 sd
130 sd
131 sd
132 sd
133 sd
134 sd
135 sd
252 kvbdi
253 kvbdi
254 mdp

# cat /proc/filesystems
nodev sysfs
nodev rootfs
nodev bdev
nodev proc
nodev sockfs
nodev pipefs
nodev futexfs
nodev tmpfs
nodev eventpollfs
nodev devpts
ext3
ext2
nodev ramfs
nodev jffs2
xfs
nodev rpc_pipefs
nodev nfsd
nodev usbfs
vfat


# cat /proc/interrupts
CPU0
0: 0 IOP321 DMA 0 EOT
1: 0 IOP321 DMA 0 E0C
2: 0 IOP321 DMA 1 EOT
3: 0 IOP321 DMA 1 E0C
9: 318860 IOP321 Timer Tick
11: 6343 IOP3xx-I2C
12: 1 IOP3xx-I2C
20: 0 IOP321 DMA 0 ERR
21: 0 IOP321 DMA 1 ERR
27: 25610 eth0, ehci_hcd
28: 30002 serial
29: 248644 GD31244, ohci_hcd
30: 1581 eth1, ohci_hcd
Err: 0


# cat /proc/meminfo
MemTotal: 256916 kB
MemFree: 151528 kB
Buffers: 2920 kB
Cached: 20980 kB
SwapCached: 0 kB
Active: 27188 kB
Inactive: 9848 kB
HighTotal: 0 kB
HighFree: 0 kB
LowTotal: 256916 kB
LowFree: 151528 kB
SwapTotal: 526144 kB
SwapFree: 526144 kB
Dirty: 44 kB
Writeback: 0 kB
Mapped: 21520 kB
Slab: 9636 kB
CommitLimit: 654600 kB
Committed_AS: 208228 kB
PageTables: 764 kB
VmallocTotal: 745472 kB
VmallocUsed: 73856 kB
VmallocChunk: 3907584 kB


# cat /proc/pci
PCI devices found:
Bus 0, device 1, function 0:
Ethernet controller: Intel Corp. 82541GI/PI Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 5).
IRQ 27.
Master Capable. No bursts. Min Gnt=255.
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0x80000000 [0x8001ffff].
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0x80020000 [0x8003ffff].
I/O at 0xfe000000 [0xfe00003f].
Bus 0, device 2, function 0:
Ethernet controller: Intel Corp. 82541GI/PI Gigabit Ethernet Controller (#2) (rev 5).
IRQ 30.
Master Capable. No bursts. Min Gnt=255.
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0x80060000 [0x8007ffff].
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0x80080000 [0x8009ffff].
I/O at 0xfe000040 [0xfe00007f].
Bus 0, device 3, function 0:
Class 0106: Intel Corp. GD31244 PCI-X SATA HBA (rev 0).
IRQ 29.
Master Capable. No bursts. Min Gnt=16.Max Lat=1.
Non-prefetchable 64 bit memory at 0x800c0000 [0x800c0fff].
Bus 0, device 5, function 0:
USB Controller: NEC Corporation USB (rev 67).
IRQ 30.
Master Capable. Latency=8. Min Gnt=1.Max Lat=42.
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0x800c1000 [0x800c1fff].
Bus 0, device 5, function 1:
USB Controller: NEC Corporation USB (#2) (rev 67).
IRQ 29.
Master Capable. Latency=8. Min Gnt=1.Max Lat=42.
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0x800c2000 [0x800c2fff].
Bus 0, device 5, function 2:
USB Controller: NEC Corporation USB 2.0 (rev 4).
IRQ 27.
Master Capable. Latency=68. Min Gnt=16.Max Lat=34.
Non-prefetchable 32 bit memory at 0x800c3000 [0x800c30ff].

# echo $PATH
/usr/local/ipstor/bin:/usr/local/ipstor/lbin:/usr/local/ipstor/util:/usr/local/ipstor/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin

Side notes
- I miss a shutdown power switch. I have to take the power plug out when I feel the unit is stuck (it happened few times), which is not practical, if you ask me
- whenever I do a forced shutdown as described above, the startup time tend to be much longer (20-30 min.); it looks like the unit is doing a check disk on some drives or all; I have no knowledge if or how I can check the disks when I want, not when it wants (at startup)
- the machine only understands FAT-32, ext2, ext3 and xfs file systems (more on this)

Reference
I'm definitely trying to get all the info I can get about this unit, and make it work the way I want. This is what I found so far:
- Intel® Entry Storage System SS4000 Family - general info:
Product Information | Overview and Product Features | Technical product specification | Tested Hardware and Operating System List [PDF] | Release_Notes [PDF] | Quick Start User's Guide [PDF]: Front and Back | User guide [PDF] | Product discontinuance announcement [PDF] (effective June 24, 2008)

- Intel® Entry Storage System SS4000 Family - technical staff:
System partition, volume and file system information | File system requirements for attached USB devices | How much storage space can the system provide?

- Intel® Entry Storage System SS4000 Family - troubleshooting:
Comprehensive troubleshooting guide | TA 809: Recovery CD issue | TA 847: Loss of system access issue | System (password) Reset Procedure

- Intel® Entry Storage System SS4000 Family - Support for SS4000-E on Intel website & comunity:
RAID Initialization may take an Extended Period of Time to Complete | Power Loss Will Terminate Any Backup, Restore or Copy Actions in Progress | Powering Down | Drive unavailable, I/O errors, extreme time to format or system stops (hang) | Should I initialize my RAID array if this is the only option available? | Why can't I copy large files to an attached USB device? | Can't I see an external USB disk drive attached | Web User Interface disk hotplug indicators (LEDs)

Other links
- Intel SS4000-E enthousiast site - FreeBSD on SS4000-E (and lot of info) by Tom Judge- ss4200.pbworks.com
- support forum at us.generation-nt.com
- Intel IOP
- Booting Debian on SS4000-E< - debian-arm mailing list
- Installing Armel Debian on SS4000E
- Intel SS4000-E NAS Install Debian [PDF]
- Help with the SS4000-e install process
- search 'ss4000' on nabble.com forum
- Installing Debian Linux on the NAS SS4000E [YouTube video]
- Serial cable for SS4000-E
- Install FreeBSD on SS4000-E
- Thermaltake Muse NAS-RAID - similar device (forum with debug info)
- Device Profile: Intel SS4000-E storage server (a very detailed presentation from linuxfordevices.com)
- [RFC] Draft of announcement and errata, last chance of change by Otavio Salvador
- Intel SS4000-E expanded (Germain)
- Intel's SS4000-E - so you're having issues with one too, eh ...

Update 2011-02-18 - this unit still makes some noise on the internet (Debian Forum):
- Debian on SS400-E: positive feedback for Debian (forum) by Hans | HowTo by Chris Wilkinson | another HowTo by JFS (jfstraeten@scarlet.be) || search query on debian lists

- Intel NAS SS4000-E installation woes (forum)
- Intel NAS SS4000E - Disk size limitation revisited (forum)
- SS4000E - Disk size limitation? (forum)
- How to save the original zImage and ramdisk.gz of an Intel NAS SS4000-E (forum)
- Adding support for the Intel SS4000-E NAS aka the EM-7210 (Tom Judge)
- Adding support for the Intel SS4000-E NAS aka the EM-7210 (same as above, keep this link as a backup)

Update 2013-02-28 - I don't use this unit for about 2 years, and I'm still looking for a way to make value of it. New links I found:
- installing Debian with success
- so you're having issues with one too, eh...
- reducing disk I/O by mounting partitions with noatime

Other IOP80219-based NAS (clones)
- Thecus N2100 (600 MHz), and rebadged versions: Allnet ALL6500, ARP Datacon NAS-2100, Evesham SilverSTOR M-Box; links: Adding a serial port | OpenBSD port (OpenBSD/armish)
- IO-Data GLAN Tank (400 MHz)
- Newisys NA-1400; links: NA-1400 info

- Lanner NS04-4100 and NS04-4110; links: 2005 News Release: Arrow Electronics to Deliver Affordable Network Storage Appliance for the SMB Market (NS04-4100)

- Thermaltake Muse NAS-RAID (N0001LNU); links: Slow Muse NAS-RAID N0001LN | Missing support for 512 MB Ram for the MUSE-NAS Raid | price @newegg.com (very good reviewes) | price @mwave.com.au | price Elsaco (RO)


NAS distro and freeware software alternatives (for using with a PC)
- FreeNAS - light, booting from USB drive / Live CD / hard drive
- OpenFilter - feature-rich, DAAP support
- unRAID (free for up to 3 hard drives)
- VortexBox - feature-rich, DAAP


Other links related to NAS
- NAS-Central - The Epicenter of Buffalo NAS Hacking (Buffalo unofficial support)


Modding NAS
- ReadyNAS X6 PSU and Fan upgrade


Other links related to embedded systems
- Redboot - download and execute embedded applications via serial or ethernet
- Debian ARM mailing list

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Updated / Actualizat: 2013-02-28.

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Cool mini devices for computer/laptop

Cool mini devices:

Wireless Network Adapter
Asus USB-N10

Wireless router
Asus WL-530gV2


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Updated / Actualizat: 2010-01-08.
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nVidia Quadro vs. Geforce & ATI FireGL vs. Radeon

"Quadros are essentially Geforces, and FireGL's are essentially Radeons. Same GPUs."

I was reading it all over the internet and I could not believe it. Many forums and discussions have this subject on their topics. To make a long story short, it looks like GeForce and Radeon VGA cards are given to the public (home users) for a lower price and drivers are optimized mostly for games, while Quadro and FireGL are given to the public (professional market) for a much higher price and drivers are optimized for 3D applications (3dsMAX, Maya, SolidWorks, Catia etc.) and/or 2D applications (Photoshop). Hackers successfully converted GeForce/Radeon cards into Quadro/FireGL cards, operation not 100% completed at the end (due to differences in hardware), but close to it. I am ready to take this challenge and I'll post updates as soon as I'll start this project. Until then, from time to time I'll post here links related to the subject, to have them at hand.

Some thoughts taken from discussions:
Cleeve - Hardware editor, Tom's Hardware Guide [11-29-2007]
"The pro (Quadro, FireGL) drivers allow for more control over certain settings in CAD apps, and are geared to accelerate OpenGL pro apps instead of games. The last time I read a review with a gaming card vs. it's pro counterpart playing a game, the pro drivers tended to accelerate games slower than the consumer drivers, and the pro drivers tended to accelerate CAD apps much faster than consumer drivers."


Links:
Quadro vs. GeForce [PDF file]

ATI Radeon To ATI FireGL Mod Guide Rev. 5.1 [article]
NVIDIA GeForce To Quadro Soft-Mod Guide Rev. 4.1 [article]
NVIDIA GeForce To Quadro Soft-Mod Guide [article]

Gaming vs. Professional Graphics Cards [thread, Tom's Hardware Forum]
GeForce -to-> Quadro Soldering Mod [thread, overclockers.com Forum]
Possible? If so, how? FX5900->Quadro / 6800->Quadro [thread, guru3d.com Forum]
It's true. 8800GTS is a perfect Quadro now (3DSMAX9 ONLY!!!) [thread, guru3d.com Forum]
7800/7900/7600/7300 can't be "unlocked" or "Quadro-fied", here is why [thread, guru3d.com Forum]

RivaTuner [software for modding and unlock pro features in GeForce/Radeon cards]


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Updated / Actualizat: 2009-12-31.
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Windows XP on Asus K70AB

This model comes with Red Flag linux pre-installed (console only, no graphics). After installing Windows XP, several components won't have drivers installed: LAN, wireless, sound, video etc. Asus published only Vista and Windows 7 drivers for this model. I found on Asus forums a nice post describing how Windows XP drivers can be installed on Asus K70AB. For the inpatient (and backup purposes), here it is:

01. ATI Graphics Driver V8.610.0.0
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=VGA

02. Audio driver (not necessary to install UAA bus driver if you have XP sp3)
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=N50Vn

03. Atheros AR8121 LAN Driver V1.0.0.33
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=LAN

04. Wireless Console Utility
05. WLAN Driver and Application
06. ATK0100 ACPI Driver
07. ATK_MEDIA Utility
08. ATK_Hotkey Utility
09. ASUS ATKOSD2 Utility
10. ATK Generic Function Utility
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=N50Vn

11. Alcor AU6371 Card Reader driver
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=Card%20reader

12. Elantech Touchpad driver
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=Touchpad

13. Life Frame Utility
14. POWER4 GEAR Utility
15. SPLENDID Utility
16. KB_filter Driver (in others)
17. Camera Driver (Refer to the download site instructions and get PID code first)
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=N50Vn


I did not install all the drivers from above, some of them weren't for my hardware, some I didn't need. Some notes 'thou:

- SM Bus Unknown >> short story: extracted from the Southbridge kit found on ATI website; long story: searched a lot on the internet without luck, downloaded CPU-Z >> found the motherboard on this computer (chipset AMD 780G, southbridge SB700) >> went to AMD support >> choose ATI Catalyst™ Display Driver for Windows Vista/Windows 7 Unified 32-bit - Motherboard/IGP Drivers >> downloaded South Bridge Driver >> extracted SMBus folder somewhere >> open Device Manager >> right-click on SM Bus >> update driver from SMBus folder.

- Unknown device >> ATK0100 ACPI driver from above (step 6)


Some people might be interested to read:

• http://en.electroda.com/topic1329949.html
• http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx?board_id=3&model=K70AB&SLanguage=en-us

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Updated / Actualizat: 2009-12-23.
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Windows XP on Toshiba Satellite A200-130 (PSAE0E-00Y00YAR)

[update] Toshiba support page for this model.

This model comes with Windows Vista pre-installed. After installing Windows XP, several components won't have drivers installed: LAN, wireless, sound, video etc. I found a page of great help a Google cached page (has everything you need on one page). Since the original page cached by Google is not available online as of this writing, I'll copy-paste (and clean it up) here for other visitors to see:

TOSHIBA SATELLITE A200-130.
MODEL NAME:- PSAE0E-00Y00YAR
------------------------------------
ramadan_net
16-05-2009, 02:42 PM
modle name : satellite a 200-130
modle no : psaeoe-ooyooyar
------------------------------------
http://gulf.computers.toshiba-europe.com/innovation/download_drivers_bios.jsp?LNG=13&service=AE
------------------------------------
Chip Set Utility
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/csutil-20070808104651.zip
-------
Accessibility
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/tacc-20070808111236.zip
-------
Acoustic Silencer
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/acsil-en-20070808124847.zip
---------
Assist
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/assist-en-20070808125355.zip
----------
Config Free
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/confree-en-20070808151844.zip
----------------
Controls Driver
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/ctrlsdrv-20070808104928.zip
Controls
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/ctrls-en-20070808125807.zip
---------
Display Driver
Intel
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/display-20070809122620.zip
-----------
Hardware Setup
Toshiba Windows XP 0.49.2.1C
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/thws-20070808111621.zip
--------------------
Hotkey Utility
Toshiba Windows XP 0.49.2.1C
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/thku-20070808111426.zip
---------------------------
LAN Driver
Realtek Semiconductor Corporation Windows XP 5.664.205.2007
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/lan-20070808110034.zip
---------------------------------
Sound Driver
Realtek Semiconductor Corporation Windows XP 5.10.0.5464
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/sound-20070821163751.zip
------------------------------------------
Modem Driver
Toshiba Windows XP 2.1.77
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/mdm-SA-20080723131823.zip
--------------------------------------------------
SD Utilities
Toshiba Windows XP 1.8.1.1
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/sdutils-en-20070808131926.zip
----------------------------------------------------------
Touch Pad Driver
Alps Electric Windows XP 6.0.305.6
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/tpdrv-20070808102159.zip
Touch Pad Driver
Synaptics Windows XP 10.0.3.2
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/tpdrv-20070808102248.zip
Touch Pad On/Off Utility
Toshiba Windows XP 0.49.2.1C
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/toupad-20070808101332.zip
------------------------
Webcam driver
Chicony Windows XP 1.7.147.0628
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/webcam-20070809133519.zip
----------------
Wireless Lan Client Manager
Atheros Windows XP 5.2.0.125
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/wlesscmgr-20070808104155.zip
-----
Wireless Lan Client Manager
Intel Windows XP 11.1.0.04
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/wlesscmgr-20070808105844.zip
---------
Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945/4965/5100/5300 XP 32 12.0.0.73.0
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tools/updates/intel-wlan/wlan-intel-3495-4965-v1200730-xp.zip
--------
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200/2915 XP 32 / 2000 9.0.4.37
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tools/updates/intel-wlan/wlan-intel-2200-2915-v90437-xp-2k.zip
-----

http://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/wlan/?page=downloads

http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tools/bluetooth/BT-stack.zip
Bluetooth Monitor
Toshiba Windows XP 3.01
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/blt-mon-20070808104338.zip
------------------------------------
Flash Media Driver
Texas Instruments Windows XP 2.0.0.7
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/fmd-20070808105554.zip
----------
Storage Manager
Intel Windows XP 7.5.0.1017
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/stormng-20070827133046.zip

Power Saver
Toshiba Windows XP 7.03.07.C
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/pwrsav-en-20070808131410.zip
Power Saver
Toshiba Windows XP 2.49.2.1C
http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/pwrsav-20070808110404.zip
------------------------------------

ramadan_net
mosa070
17-05-2009
bdr130.net


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Updated / Actualizat: 2009-12-04.
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Mac address changed by itself (Debian linux)

Upon a hardware upgrade (new motherboard), the dual LAN card (Intel PRO100 S) installed on the system changed mac address by itself for one of its two adapters. The old harware mac 00:19:d1:25:d4:0b changed to 00:19:d1:55:7c:7c. Only the serial number changed and not the Vendor. I'm still looking for an explanation...

Here is the story (Debian Lenny)

The problem:
DHCP won't start (dhcpd will give IPs to only eth0). ifconfig shows eth0_rename, but no eth0 (like I used to have). Also, internal lan with a static IP address on eth0 won't work. It just won't start. This is how my /etc/network/interfaces looks like:

# Local - static IP
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.0.1
netmask 255.255.255.0
network 192.168.0.0
broadcast 192.168.0.255

The solution:
As I understand, udev saw the new mac and changed the name from eth0 to eth0_rename. Why it did so, and not renamed it with eth1 or eth2 etc.... like it would suppose to do, I don't know - but that's another story. My best friend Google sent me to some pages about bugs related to udev (which probably is the culprit in this case). I found out that I should try to remove the file /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules (as I understand, it is generated by udev upon installation/first reboot, then updated as new LAN hardware is added). Then reboot. My effort was rewarded with a brand new /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules file and all the problems fixed. Of course, the new mac is there and the old one is gone...



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Updated / Actualizat: 2009-08-19.
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Two ethernet cables over one physical cable

If, by any chance, in need to use 2 network cables (4-pins each) over a physical one (8-pins), I found a great post about it. In short, here's how:

Wires to connect for your first cable (at each end):

(Pin one is always the left-most pin if the flat side of the connector is facing you and the copper pins are facing away from you.)

Pin Color

1 white and orange

2 orange

3 white and green

4 UNUSED

5 UNUSED

6 green

7 UNUSED

8 UNUSED

Wires to connect for your "second" cable (at each end):

1 white and blue

2 blue

3 white and brown

4 UNUSED

5 UNUSED

6 brown

7 UNUSED

8 UNUSED

I successfully did it over a CAT5 cable (2 m long).

Helpful links:

- Common Outlet Configurations

- CAT 5 Cable / RJ 45 Connector


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Updated / Actualizat: 2009-08-12.
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Linux on VPC 2007 (SP1)

Installation

Installing linux on Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 gives kernel panic. To avoid this error, give to the installer the following kernel parameters:

noapic nolapic noreplace-paravirt

I found this info here.

What is my IP?

It looks like the website http://whatismyip.com has limited query of IP in their front page, for computers behind NAT, scripts or CLI browsers, such as links, links2, lynx...

The correct link for this purpose is http://whatismyip.com/automation/n09230945.asp.

I found other solutions:

# wget -q -O - checkip.dyndns.org|sed -e 's/.*Current IP Address: //' -e 's/<.*$//'

# curl -s checkip.dyndns.org|sed -e 's/.*Current IP Address: //' -e 's/<.*$//'

# curl -s http://whatismyip.org

# lynx -dump checkip.dyndns.org

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Updated / Actualizat: 2009-08-05.
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Replacing the hard drive for HP Compaq nc6320 (F11 recovery procedure)

http://forum.notebookreview.com/archive/index.php/t-132849.html
2008-08-18


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Updated / Actualizat: 2009-08-18.
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