From b.j.smith at ieee.org Tue May 2 21:51:12 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:46 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] [OT] Going back to consulting/training around the US ... Message-ID: <1146621072.2848.20.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> I've spent the last 2 months debating about this (since I hit around 6 months with my current employer), but I have now decided (and my wife supports me) to go back to consulting around the US. I made some contacts at LinuxWorld which will allow me to consult part-time (largely training related), and I'm going to get back to writing regularly. As such, I know many people on this list are not merely local to the Orlando area. I'm available to come up for free, initial consultation, discovery and/or proposals if you have the need for my services -- all the way up including architecting and desiging enterprise, cross-platform networks and network services. I also do Linux (among other) training and have my own, sprawling set of courseware for Linux. If you have an interest in my services, please feel free to contact me off-list. Past client references, resume/credentials, etc... are always available upon request. I've worked at clients small and Fortune 100, worked with (and against ;-) Microsoft Gold Partners, among other integration teams. So I know how to dance to get sound solutions in-place, even to the most scrutinizing/anti-whatever decision makers. -- Bryan J. Smith (407) 489-7013 (Mobile) -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Wed May 3 12:57:01 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Another feature kicked out of Windows Vista: SecurID Message-ID: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1D91449@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/security/0,39044215,39356292,00.htm Vista's much praised support for the RSA's SecurID security system, which was in development and active testing for over two years, has been withdrawn from what will be the final release version of Vista. Yet another lauded feature kicked in the groin and thrown in the garbage. -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - Damien.McKenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Wed May 3 16:38:15 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] PCI LVD card for LTO2 drive Message-ID: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1D91472@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> We've got a server that has a 64bit-33MHz PCI slot, and two 64bit-66MHz PCI slots, so to drive an LTO2 drive should I get a 32bit/33MHz card or something beefier? -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - Damien.McKenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From eflester at myway.com Wed May 3 19:53:22 2006 From: eflester at myway.com (eflester@myway.com) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I give up, how do you image Windows 2K? Message-ID: <20060503235322.749207575A@mprdmxin.myway.com> g4u works very well with Windows 2000. I use it nearly every day. I maintain a small network of about 150 Win2K clients with Samba file services. g4u is basically a slam dunk -- Mr. Feyrer is my hero. We used Ghost here, what a pain in the neck. I'll never go back. If you need help let me know. Eric Lester http://www.eflester.com/contact.php _______________________________________________ No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding. Make My Way your home on the Web - http://www.myway.com From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Thu May 4 10:21:33 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I give up, how do you image Windows 2K? Message-ID: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1D9149A@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> > g4u works very well with Windows 2000. G4u looks pretty good, except that I is controlled by the client side, there isn't a server-side management process that can automatically push vast numbers of deployments easily. Too bad, that's really the important part of managing a Ghost-ified network. -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - Damien.McKenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From eflester at myway.com Thu May 4 11:53:36 2006 From: eflester at myway.com (eflester@myway.com) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I give up, how do you image Windows 2K? Message-ID: <20060504155336.637047571D@mprdmxin.myway.com> You are correct. That would be a really neat capability. On our little network g4u is quite acceptable, especially for what it costs, but it would be fantastic to be able to "push" instead of "pull." We do have to touch the client box in order to re-image. The way we handle this is that we keep a few extra PCs with fresh images and swap them out whenever we can. Also, in the interest of accuracy and complete disclosure, the version of Ghost that this org owns is not the appropriate one and does not have the capabilities you describe. So I am no doubt whining about a different thing than you are accustomed to working with. g4u meets our requirements and comes under the standard BSD license, which saves us money and headaches. I would be very interested in a similarly licensed method to handle cloning from the server side, and you have inspired me to do some reading, thinking, and research. Regards, Eric Lester --- On Thu 05/04, Damien McKenna < dmckenna@thelimucompany.com > wrote: From: Damien McKenna [mailto: dmckenna@thelimucompany.com] To: pc_support@matrixlist.com Date: Thu, 4 May 2006 10:21:33 -0400 Subject: RE: [Pc_Support] I give up, how do you image Windows 2K? > g4u works very well with Windows 2000.G4u looks pretty good, except that I is controlled by the client side,there isn't a server-side management process that can automatically pushvast numbers of deployments easily. Too bad, that's really theimportant part of managing a Ghost-ified network.-- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - Damien.McKenna@thelimucompany.comThe Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014#include _______________________________________________Pc_support mailing listPc_support@matrixlist.comhttp://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support _______________________________________________ No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding. Make My Way your home on the Web - http://www.myway.com From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Thu May 4 12:23:13 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I give up, how do you image Windows 2K? Message-ID: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1D914AC@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> > -----Original Message----- > From: pc_support-bounces@matrixlist.com > [mailto:pc_support-bounces@matrixlist.com] On Behalf Of > eflester@myway.com > Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 11:54 AM > To: pc_support@matrixlist.com > Subject: RE: [Pc_Support] I give up, how do you image Windows 2K? > > g4u meets our requirements and comes under the standard BSD > license, which saves us money and headaches. I would be very > interested in a similarly licensed method to handle cloning > from the server side, and you have inspired me to do some > reading, thinking, and research. You know, I just thought of how this could be done. You still have the same setup - FTP login, etc. Once the client logs in it would pull down a file called e.g. "deployment.txt". This file would be a simple list of MACs corresponding to an image, e.g.: 001122334455:/winxp_customersupport/20060501.g4u 001122334466:/winxp_customersupport/20060501.g4u 001122334477:/winxp_customersupport/20060501.g4u Then to make life even easier, you have a database application on the FTP server that a) keeps a running list of the local PCs based on the MAC which would be compiled into groups, b) a list of all images available, c) allows you to link A to B to schedule deployment and save it as a "deployment.txt" file. This management application would be easy to do, enhancing G4U to support automation would be the trickier part. -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - Damien.McKenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support > From jasonb at edseek.com Thu May 4 14:06:42 2006 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I give up, how do you image Windows 2K? In-Reply-To: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1D9149A@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.c om> References: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1D9149A@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> Message-ID: <56870.24.73.78.146.1146766002.squirrel@nebula.internal.foo> Damien McKenna wrote: >> g4u works very well with Windows 2000. > > G4u looks pretty good, except that I is controlled by the client side, > there isn't a server-side management process that can automatically push > vast numbers of deployments easily. Too bad, that's really the > important part of managing a Ghost-ified network. Thankfully for my one box that'll be okay. I just need to do the one. :) I'd VMWare it if I wasn't using it for gaming... From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri May 5 00:33:37 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Whoa! Intel actually re-designed it's CPU for once! Message-ID: <1146803617.3361.22.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> AnandTech has a good review of the Intel Core base design: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2748 It's a good re-fit of the original 1994 Pentium Pro core (which was also used through the Pentium 3, Centrino and Pentium-M), and far better and more efficient than the NetBurst Pentium 4 architecture. Have to give them some credit here -- they _did_ finally redesign the core more than they ever have since the original Pentium Pro. With AMD's 1999 Athlon design aging, I'm sure they are not idle. But it's clear that Intel focused on many weak areas as best as they could -- as well optimized lossy-math SSE so non-precise calculations run even faster. So AMD's got a bit of a challenge on the desktop/workstation again. Although it's still questionable if the server will scale -- at least not without a proprietary implementation like IBM's X3. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com Fri May 5 07:48:42 2006 From: hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com (William Warren) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Whoa! Intel actually re-designed it s CPU for once! In-Reply-To: <1146803617.3361.22.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <1146803617.3361.22.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <445B3B9A.6090403@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> So it's not a true redeisgn jsut another tweak to the old pent 3 series? Yes the initial number look good..but how long can Intel keep the p3 going? Bryan J. Smith wrote: > AnandTech has a good review of the Intel Core base design: > http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2748 > > It's a good re-fit of the original 1994 Pentium Pro core (which was also > used through the Pentium 3, Centrino and Pentium-M), and far better and > more efficient than the NetBurst Pentium 4 architecture. Have to give > them some credit here -- they _did_ finally redesign the core more than > they ever have since the original Pentium Pro. > > With AMD's 1999 Athlon design aging, I'm sure they are not idle. But > it's clear that Intel focused on many weak areas as best as they could > -- as well optimized lossy-math SSE so non-precise calculations run even > faster. So AMD's got a bit of a challenge on the desktop/workstation > again. > > Although it's still questionable if the server will scale -- at least > not without a proprietary implementation like IBM's X3. > > -- My "Foundation" verse: Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. -- carpe ductum -- "Grab the tape" CDTT (Certified Duct Tape Technician) Linux user #322099 Machines: 206822 256638 276825 http://counter.li.org/ From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri May 5 09:05:04 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Whoa! Intel actually re-designed it s CPU for once! In-Reply-To: <445B3B9A.6090403@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> References: <1146803617.3361.22.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <445B3B9A.6090403@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> Message-ID: <1146834304.3361.30.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Fri, 2006-05-05 at 07:48 -0400, William Warren wrote: > So it's not a true redeisgn jsut another tweak to the old pent 3 series? It's actually the first major redesign since the Pentium Pro itself. Understand this isn't merely a Centrino/Pentium-M refit to Pentium 3. Or a simple extension of the pipelines for higher MHz like the Pentium 4 was. The Intel Core includes major design changes in how it handles branch prediction (which Intel _never_ took seriously -- especially not in the IA-64/Itanium), decode (including an approach that might be a little better than AMD's RISC86), out-of-order execution, register renaming (although that hasn't been clarified) and many other things. They also changed the L1+L2 cache handling a bit -- something they haven't since the i486. The Intel Pentium Pro to Intel Core is about the same step forward as the AMD Nx586/686 was to the AMD Athlon/64. > Yes the initial number look good..but how long can Intel keep the p3 > going? I don't believe AMD or Intel will be radically changing their cores in the future. AMD has some optimizations it could make to maintain its lead over Intel, although the Intel Core does make it a challenge once again. Multi-core and multi-threading across cores is the future, using the existing cores. Gone are the MHz games as the Intel Core is a far more efficient processor per MHz than Pentium 4 is. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri May 5 15:59:12 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] RE: "Why IT Certs Don't Add Up" Message-ID: <1146859152.3361.124.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> If you haven't read it, hit Larry Dignan's column this week: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1957242,00.asp Some notables: "I was told by a HR manager that I needed more certs even with 9 years' solid IT work history, so now with an A+, MCSA, MCSE, CCNA, CISSP and CISM, I know the next time I go in for a job they will look at a list of certs and find the one I DONT have to use it to bargain for a reduced wage. Utter bulls**t." God if this isn't the truth. As some of you know, I had a dozen years of engineering and IT experience, with a BS in engineering, and kept running into roadblocks. So I took 20 certification exams with no training rather quickly (over 3 months) to prove some basic credentials. Then I still ended up having to take another 20 certification exams (over another 3 months) to prove more. Finally, in late 2003, I said forget it, I stopped taking them -- especially after consecutively passing 6 Cisco exams, they started saying some didn't count anymore. "What we need in IT is TALENT and SKILLS, not certifications that lock us with a single vendor." Lesson: Don't get pigeonholed by certs." Even today, after those 40 exams translate into 24 certs, it's still not enough! But one thing I did realize is that once I started, I had to go through a lot of vendors to prove I was "vendor-agnostic." I _knew_, before I started, it would be over $5,000 in just exam-related fees (and hundreds upon hundreds of hours in my time) -- because I wasn't stopping until I had professional/expert-level certs from Cisco, LPI, Microsoft, Novell, Red Hat and Sun -- as well the lower ones from CompTIA. "Take this short quiz: Which employee would you hire? A) Jack Programmer, MCSA, MCSE, CCNA, CISSP, CISM B) Jill Linux, MBA" The world is filled with lots of non-technical managers and technical professionals with no management skills. Companies want both. And they not only want both, but they want those same people to manage the other two -- including dealing with the animocity, rhetoric and other non-sense that hurts the business. Many more MBAs with technical experience can do that than people with certs. "The majority of the ones I've dealt with have trouble taking direction, listening carefully, keeping accurate documentation and being able to communicate in non-techno speak for the technically illiterate employers and managers they interact with daily." I use many of my former managers at clients as a reference. Well, in one case, a 27 year-old lead under him accidentally took a phone call when that manager was out and didnt' realize they were calling me for a reference. That lead gave me high marks, but he made one negative comment that I "over-document" and then expanded on the fact that I was the only one that documented, so it was really unnecessary. That was actually an _awesome_, _unintentional_ high mark! Case-in-point: Many leads and immediate managers are failing the grade these days. They don't take documentation and processes seriously, and they are constantly "reacting" and using it as a justification for IT, instead of being "proactive." "Don't whine that you are a Windows guy and you don't do Linux, learn it. Lesson: Don't get stale. Keep learning." I am (among others are) a hot commodity not because I'm smart or capable or certified or what-ever. We're a hot commodity because we go outside our scope. I was on a job where I had nothing to do with Java development. But when a task had fallen behind 9 months that was affecting my role, I got out some Java and found that writing socket interfaces and other translators wasn't that hard. All while planning and scheduling so I didn't miss my primary objectives. "I could not care less about certs. Show me a project you did and how you'll help my company do projects faster and better instead." Lesson: Deliver the goods, not the certs. IT words to live by. This is _crucial_. Employers want to see projects started and finished. Ironically enough, in being a consultant, I got to do far more of this than as an employee -- because I was accountable in my contract. Unfortunately, employers are more hesitant to go with me because of all the contract/consulting work I've done over the last 4-5 years. Sometimes I think everything is a catch-22. I have the degree, certs and experience -- including running projects -- so there should be no excuse. At the same time, if someone is going to find something to dismiss from consideration (especially if your credentials seem "too good"), it doesn't matter what you have or what your past employers/clients say about you. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From jasonb at edseek.com Sat May 6 03:45:38 2006 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I give up, how do you image Windows 2K? In-Reply-To: <20060503235322.749207575A@mprdmxin.myway.com> References: <20060503235322.749207575A@mprdmxin.myway.com> Message-ID: <200605060345.39243.jasonb@edseek.com> On Wednesday 03 May 2006 19:53, eflester@myway.com wrote: > g4u works very well with Windows 2000. I use it nearly every day. I > maintain a small network of about 150 Win2K clients with Samba file > services. g4u is basically a slam dunk -- Mr. Feyrer is my hero. We used > Ghost here, what a pain in the neck. I'll never go back. Looks like a winner. My only concern is having it `dd` or equivalent and compressing it on the fly, which probably takes a while. Zeroing the filesystem to ensure a well compressed image probably takes a while, too. Still, I think PXE booting and having the client simply recover and after some hours have a working W2K install again is probably worth the initial overhead, given I wasted three hours trying to fix and eventually reinstalling Windows last Saturday. (Silly undeleteable registry key for which I couldn't assume ownership, not matter what I tried.) How would you deal with the case where all the machines are not identical, as is prone to happen from some certain vendors, like Dell? If they're sufficiently different, Windows simply won't boot unless you hack (at least XP) with unofficial support for more than one possible ATA chipset at boot... -- Jason Boxman http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From tim at mcdonough.net Sun May 7 10:49:15 2006 From: tim at mcdonough.net (Tim McDonough) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Usage Monitoring Message-ID: <445E08EB.1030607@mcdonough.net> Our Wireless DSL service includes 4.0GB of data transfer (upload+download) per month. After that there is a small additional charge per megabyte. We have three computers on our home network. Is there a utility that can be run that will track the amount of data going to and from the outside world? We currently have a residential 4-port router. -- Tim From whittake at sbaflorida.com Sun May 7 11:01:51 2006 From: whittake at sbaflorida.com (Homer Whiittaker) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Usage Monitoring In-Reply-To: <445E08EB.1030607@mcdonough.net> References: <445E08EB.1030607@mcdonough.net> Message-ID: <445E0BDF.7050608@sbaflorida.com> Tim McDonough wrote: > Our Wireless DSL service includes 4.0GB of data transfer > (upload+download) per month. After that there is a small additional > charge per megabyte. > > We have three computers on our home network. Is there a utility that can > be run that will track the amount of data going to and from the outside > world? We currently have a residential 4-port router. Tim: On topic but off subject! Where are you located to that you are able to get a Wireless DSL Service? Homer Whittaker From tim at mcdonough.net Sun May 7 11:20:09 2006 From: tim at mcdonough.net (Tim McDonough) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Usage Monitoring In-Reply-To: <445E0BDF.7050608@sbaflorida.com> References: <445E08EB.1030607@mcdonough.net> <445E0BDF.7050608@sbaflorida.com> Message-ID: <445E1029.6030405@mcdonough.net> Homer Whiittaker wrote: > Tim: On topic but off subject! Where are you located to that you are > able to get a Wireless DSL Service? > Homer Whittaker Springfield, Illinois. There is a small 1.2 GHz (I think) transceiver on the eve of our house that points towards a 30 story building about 5 miles away. (Our house is in the country.) Connection speed is around 384k. -- Tim From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun May 7 12:01:34 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Usage Monitoring -- IPCop? In-Reply-To: <445E08EB.1030607@mcdonough.net> References: <445E08EB.1030607@mcdonough.net> Message-ID: <1147017694.2770.22.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sun, 2006-05-07 at 09:49 -0500, Tim McDonough wrote: > Our Wireless DSL service includes 4.0GB of data transfer > (upload+download) per month. After that there is a small additional > charge per megabyte. > We have three computers on our home network. Is there a utility that > can be run that will track the amount of data going to and from the > outside world? We currently have a residential 4-port router. IPCop is an excellent all-in-one (AIO) security appliance that has not only traffic graphing: http://www.ipcop.org/1.4.0/en/admin/html/Info-AW.html#info-system-graphs But traffic shaping as well: http://www.ipcop.org/1.4.0/en/admin/html/services.html#services_shaping It has the Snort Intrusion Detection System (IDS) and they just released a good set of Spyware signatures so _when_ (not a matter of "if") your Windows system is compromised, you'll know it: http://www.ipcop.org/1.4.0/en/admin/html/services.html#services_ids It's extremely easy to setup and use (e.g., checking your IDS logs every day or so -- otherwise it kinda defeats the purpose of having an IDS). It's up to you how much you want to enable and customize away from the defaults. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From eflester at myway.com Mon May 8 12:14:07 2006 From: eflester at myway.com (eflester@myway.com) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I give up, how do you image Windows 2K? Message-ID: <20060508161407.E3CCD75779@mprdmxin.myway.com> As far as speed goes, a lot depends on the processing power of the PC and the quality of the network connection. You can run g4u from one IDE hard drive to another within the same machine, or even to another partition on the same disk, although that's not how I routinely use it. In my environment, the upload of a typical 20GB hard drive image that has been zeroed will take around 30 - 60 minutes. The downloads are faster, usually taking around 10 minutes. One trick I use a lot is to set up my image on a small (10GB) hard drive. This will create a 10GB partition on the target drive when restoring and things go a little faster. This is probably of limited help to you in your situation, though. The issue of different hardware can be a problem. One thing that will not work, in my experience, is trying to move an image onto a hard drive smaller than the one on which it was created. Other hardware issues sort of "depend," and I'm no expert on that stuff. The way I handle it here is that I have about 6 types of PC and I keep 6 different images on my ftp server. Periodically I update my images on the PCs and clone to the server, discarding the old image to save space. Your particular problem (I imagine) is that you may want to move an image from one PC to another of a different type. That could definitely be a problem. I have some around here that are similar enough that I can get away with it -- the chipsets are often the key. But if, as you say, you're working with a proprietary monstrosity like a Dell, I don't know what's going to happen. I hope this was helpful. I have my own procedural documents for cloning and re-imaging, which I'd be glad to send you. They're pdf format. They are of course specific to my operation but may contain some useful information. Eric Lester --- On Sat 05/06, Jason Boxman < jasonb@edseek.com > wrote: From: Jason Boxman [mailto: jasonb@edseek.com] To: pc_support@matrixlist.com Date: Sat, 6 May 2006 03:45:38 -0400 Subject: Re: [Pc_Support] I give up, how do you image Windows 2K? On Wednesday 03 May 2006 19:53, eflester@myway.com wrote:> g4u works very well with Windows 2000. I use it nearly every day. I> maintain a small network of about 150 Win2K clients with Samba file> services. g4u is basically a slam dunk -- Mr. Feyrer is my hero. We used> Ghost here, what a pain in the neck. I'll never go back.Looks like a winner. My only concern is having it `dd` or equivalent and compressing it on the fly, which probably takes a while. Zeroing the filesystem to ensure a well compressed image probably takes a while, too.Still, I think PXE booting and having the client simply recover and after some hours have a working W2K install again is probably worth the initial overhead, given I wasted three hours trying to fix and eventually reinstalling Windows last Saturday. (Silly undeleteable registry key for which I couldn't assume ownership, not matter what I tried.)How would you deal with the case where all the machines are not identical, as is prone to happen from some certain vendors, like Dell? If they're sufficiently different, Windows simply won't boot unless you hack (at least XP) with unofficial support for more than one possible ATA chipset at boot...-- Jason Boxmanhttp://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff_______________________________________________Pc_support mailing listPc_support@matrixlist.comhttp://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support _______________________________________________ No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding. Make My Way your home on the Web - http://www.myway.com From jasonb at edseek.com Mon May 8 14:24:18 2006 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I give up, how do you image Windows 2K? In-Reply-To: <20060508161407.E3CCD75779@mprdmxin.myway.com> References: <20060508161407.E3CCD75779@mprdmxin.myway.com> Message-ID: <200605081424.19043.jasonb@edseek.com> On Monday 08 May 2006 12:14, eflester@myway.com wrote: > The way I handle it here is that I have about 6 types of PC and I keep 6 > different images on my ftp server. Periodically I update my images on the > PCs and clone to the server, discarding the old image to save space. Your > particular problem (I imagine) is that you may want to move an image from > one PC to another of a different type. That could definitely be a problem. > I have some around here that are similar enough that I can get away with > it -- the chipsets are often the key. But if, as you say, you're working > with a proprietary monstrosity like a Dell, I don't know what's going to > happen. Thankfully, in my case, I just want to image a system which may someday need to be reimaged to prevent the hassle of a reinstall. I don't anticipate the hardware will change, but if it does I'll just do the usual reinstall. > I hope this was helpful. I have my own procedural documents for cloning > and re-imaging, which I'd be glad to send you. They're pdf format. They > are of course specific to my operation but may contain some useful > information. Thanks, but I think I'll be able to muddle through. -- Jason Boxman http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon May 8 21:47:43 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: [LeapList] Seeking recommendations for new box In-Reply-To: <200605082023.40707.philb@philb.us> References: <200605081908.46387.weyland@varangiankindred.org> <200605082023.40707.philb@philb.us> Message-ID: <1147139263.3475.119.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> [ I really need to blog something related to this ] Preamble: AMD Socket-AM2 (940) desktop hits on May 23rd and Socket-F (LGA-1207) workstation/server hits in the fall. I posted some Socket-F (LGA-1207) mainboard photos I took at LinuxWorld Boston last month here: http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2006/04/server-hardware-at-linuxworld.html Understand Socket-AM2/940 and F/LGA-1207 bring DDR2-800 SDRAM to AMD with*OUT*ANY* "premium" mark-up. AMD is going to be virtually _killing_off_ Socket-939/940 (940 as in Opteron 2xx/8xx 940) rather quickly after they come out -- i.e., by 2007. Just like Socket-A/462 has been virtually _killed_off_ except for AMD Geode NX (embedded) now. Of the existing, _only_ the Socket-754 will remain in quantity after 2006. There is even going to be a Socket-AM2/940 "Sempron" 64 off-the-bat. You will _not_ "save money" by buying old Socket-939/940 CPUs, just like _no_one_ did by buying old Socket-A/462 CPUs either. AMD will and is pricing the new platform at _equivalent_ points. Given that Socket-AM2/940 is only 5-15% faster with well-timed (3-3-3-10) DDR2-800 (aka PC6400), and about the same with typical-timed (4-4-4-12) DDR2-800 or DDR2-667, as Socket-939 with well-timed DDR400 (e.g., 2.5-3-3-6), it's up to you which you choose. On Mon, 2006-05-08 at 20:23 -0400, Phil Barnett wrote: > On NewEgg, you can get: > Gigabyte GA-K8U-939 Socket 939 ULi M1689 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $54.99 I can't recommend the ULi at this time, as I've heard various support issues under Linux. These could have improved however. ATI and ViA have the same issues with support. I've been sticking with nVidia nForce4 chipsets and nForce410/430 (GeForce 6100/6150). nVidia puts the absolute most people on GPL driver support, and their chipsets reflect that level of support in the _stock_ Linux kernel. About the only issues I ever run into are the endless MAC+PHY Ethernet combinations that the Tawainese mainboard vendors** come up with -- but nVidia works on the GPL forcedeth NIC driver and they always make it into the next kernel rev. [ **NOTE: This is an issue that plagues everyone short of Intel, who is a 800lbs. Gorilla that can force Tawainese vendors to use only their PHY chips. Long story short, the chipset vendors provide the MAC logic, but the Tawainese mainboard vendors are free to choose their own PHY interface chip -- and there are way too many out there. ] The ATA and SATA driver has been flawless. Not as featured as Intel, but still flawless for me -- which makes it really the only viable option for AMD. > Gigaram 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual > Channel Kit System Memory Model GR1DD8TD-K1GB4002.5 - Retail $75.89 I recommend 2GiB for VMWare. The difference between 2.5/3-4-4-8 timed DDR400 and 2-3-3-6 timed DDR400 performance can be as much as 15-20%. I have put in this matched G.Skill 1GiB pair (2GiB total) not only in over a dozen different mainboards of no less than four (4) different Socket-939 models, but even older Socket-462 models. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231047 It is a bargain for what you get at $150. The 2.5-3-3-6 timing is most excellent and easily 15-20% faster than "Value" memory that costs even more! But make sure you get _that_exact_ model. If you want to save money and go for 1GiB, then get a matched 512MiB pair (1GiB total) -- but be sure to _check_the_timings_ (lower is better -- especially the latter numbers!): http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147+1052107965+1052308476+105241455&Subcategory=147 The Patriot 2-3-2-5 for $68.50 after rebate looks good (it's near the bottom of the first page). Also note that timings _change_ for rated synchronous timing. E.g., a 2-3-3-5 timed DDR333 is _slower_ than a 2-3-3-5 timed DDR400 because the timings are based on the clock. But a 2-3-3-5 timed DDR333 will typically be _faster_ than a 3-4-4-8 timed DDR400. > AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor > Model ADA3800BVBOX - Retail $297.00 Now I definitely agree with that model! Our build times were cut in _more_ than half with that dual-core! Definitely agree on dual-core for VMWare for $297 (2x2.0GHz, 2x128KiB L1, 2x512KiB L2, 2xDDR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562 If you want to save money, then here's a solid Socket-754 "entry" for $73 (1.6GHz, 128KiB L1, 256KiB L2, 1xDDR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819104245 Or a single-core Socket-939 "entry" for $114 (1.8GHz, 128KiB L1, 512KiB L2, 2xDDR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103537 I'd really push you to buy a Socket-939 for +$41 CPU, +$10 mainboard, over a Socket-754 -- even though the platform dies in 2007. It's really a much better CPU and platform for $50 more. > Of course, there are some pretty severe tradeoffs here, like keeping AGP > and not SLI, ??? Don't confuse _basic_ PCI-Express (PCIe) with _multiple_ PCIe slot SLI (nVidia) or CrossFire (ATI) options. Single slot PCIe is _as_cheap_ as AGP. nForce4 series PCIe mainboard cost _no_more_ than older nForce3 AGP mainboards. In fact, you're looking at $50 for Socket-754, $60 (+$10 more) for Socket-939 -- _regardless_ of what nVidia chipset you pick. And the nForce410/430 PCIe chipsets for that price give you _integrated_ GeForce 6100/6150 (NV44). The integrated GeForce 6100/6150 (NV44) GPU is _faster_ than a GeForce FX5200/5500 (NV34) AGP card that costs $25-50 in the stores. AGP is _dead_. It _costs_more_ to get _good_ AGP performance under $100 than single-slot PCIe. I comment on this _extensively_ in my Blog here: http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2006/02/geforce-6-and-7-series-variants-nuts.html I know of _no_one_ offering a _complete_breakdown_ of all GeForce 6/7 series products and variants that compare _all_ your nVidia options at integrated video, $100, $100-200 and $200+. > a relatively featureless motherboard and only 1 G of ram. The difference between Socket-754 and Socket-939 is only $10 now. For $50 or $60, you get a _very_feature-full_ nForce410 (with integrated GeForce 6100). Socket-939 means dual-core, although the platform is essentially dying at year's end. But then again, upgrading to a new Socket-AM2/940 mainboard won't cost you but $60 come 2007 anyway. Here are Socket-939 nForce410/430 (with integrated GeForce 6100/6150) mainboards that start under $60: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2010200022+1075707619+1070907495+107191007&Subcategory=22 If you want a high-quality, high-feature nForce430 (with integrated GeForce 6150) that has DVI as well as VGA out, the $78 Asus A8N-VM CSM is what I've been going with: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131570 I've been typically throwing it in this MicroATX case with a _full_ 400W ATX _2.0_ power supply (24+4, SATA connectors, etc...) for $40: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811190072 If you want 3 more slots with an ATX, there are some nForce410/430 options. Or you can opt for a nForce4 with non-integrated PCIe video and add a $50/60 GeForce 7300LE/GS or maybe a $130 GeForce 7600GS if you want more performance. Again, see my blog on your options: http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2006/02/geforce-6-and-7-series-variants-nuts.html > Also, it requires you to salvage EVERYTHING else from another system. > Personally, I'd want a new power supply on a new motherboard. > Thermaltake TR2 W0070 ATX 430W Power Supply - Retail $39.99 (29 after rebate) Be sure to get an ATX _2.0_ power supply with 24+4 connectors. You _need_ it for Socket-939, _especially_ for dual-core. Again, if you're going with a MicroATX nForce410/430 mainboard, I like these cases with a 400W ATX _2.0_ power supply for $40: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811190072 But if you want to save on shipping, Cheapguys (on East Colonial) has been carrying more and more options -- especially for ATX (not so much MicroATX). Although they even carry the "Chenming 118" series MicroATX cube now. Unfortunately, they ship a _crappy_ 420W ATX _1.0_ power supply with it like the Aspire Q-XPacks do. That PS is so _over-rated_. But it's still an option, if you already have a PS. Then again, you're 3+ hours away from us, so it's not local for you. ;-> > So, with shipping you are up around $500, but it's a kick butt machine > compared to what you've been using and there's no reason to think that you > would not be satisfied with it for many years, even if you don't run it 64 > bit right now. It'll still romp as a 32 bit machine. Yes. Unless you know what you are doing, do _not_ run the x86-64 version of Fedora Core, SuSE Linux or others. And definitely _never_ run the x86-64 version of Windows (at least not until Vista). > Good luck and have fun! There's nothing like a dual core machine that you've > ever experienced. They just run soooo good. They instantly give you the response time of dual-processor. It's not Intel HyperMarketing--er, HyperThreading non-sense -- _true_ dual-processor. Now it's not the same performance of dual Socket-940 for _servers_, but for desktops, basically the same. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From b.j.smith at ieee.org Tue May 9 08:11:19 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: Seeking recommendations for new box -- updated my blog ... In-Reply-To: <1147170224.3475.171.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <200605081908.46387.weyland@varangiankindred.org> <200605082023.40707.philb@philb.us> <1147139263.3475.119.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <200605090003.11044.philb@philb.us> <1147169356.3475.155.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <1147170224.3475.171.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <1147176679.3475.193.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Tue, 2006-05-09 at 06:23 -0400, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Oh, and the other point is that a $50-60 nForce410 (with integrated > GeForce 6100) would be _faster_ than recycling a GeForce > FX5200/5500/5700LE AGP or lower -- yes, that includes the GeForce4 Ti > series. So unless you have a GeForce 6 series AGP, there is virtually > _no_reason_ to stick with AGP. > That is also covered in my GeForce 6/7 blog entry: > http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2006/02/geforce-6-and-7-series-variants-nuts.html I just updated it to include actual "performance ratios" between the GeForce 6200 (non-TurboCache), GeForce 6200 TurboCache ("100%" reference), chipset-integrated GeForce 6100/6150, and various GeForce FX and GeForce4 Ti cards. In a nutshell, if you have a GeForce FX 5200/5500/5700LE, you're looking at sub-40fps for old titles in "ugly" image quality mode, under 20fps for older titles in "image quality" mode and virtually _always_ under 10fps on newer DX9/OpenGL titles -- at 1024x768. The GeForce4 Ti series largely matches the FX 5200/5500/5700, except at old titles in "ugly" image quality mode (where it's 50+% faster). Sorry, there's _no_ reason re-use your AGP -- unless it's a GeForce 6 series or a "high-end" (and cost you a pretty penny) GeForce FX 5800+. The integrated GeForce 6100/6150 is going to give you a lot better performance (with a PCIe upgrade path) -- let alone a GeForce 6200 TurboCache or full 6200 (which is available for AGP) card which run under $50 these days. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From b.j.smith at ieee.org Wed May 10 19:56:25 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:47 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] The $130 Intel Pentium D 805 (dual-core) at 4.1GHz!!! -- Fwd: overclocking Message-ID: <1147305386.2779.9.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> C/o Brian Ashe, Tom's Hardware has done the unthinkable! Hmmm, I might want to buy some DDR2 memory a little early (prior to my future AMD Socket-AM2/940 purchase) and experiment with this Intel solution! -------- Forwarded Message -------- From: Brian Ashe Subject: overclocking Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 16:28:34 -0700 (PDT) the biggest news in overclocking since the Celeron 300A and the AMD pencil trick: http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/05/10/dual_41_ghz_cores/ -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Fri May 12 14:49:04 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] ASUS announces AM2 mobo details Message-ID: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1D91657@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2292 and http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/1415_large_asus_am2_roadmap.png The graph shows that the new motherboards will only have one regular IDE port, definitely a sign that the industry is finally moving away from it and keeping around just one port for ATAPI devices. -- Damien McKenna - Web Developer - Damien.McKenna@thelimucompany.com The Limu Company - http://www.thelimucompany.com/ - 407-804-1014 #include From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri May 12 19:51:44 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] ASUS announces AM2 mobo details In-Reply-To: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1D91657@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> References: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1D91657@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> Message-ID: <1147477904.9969.22.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Fri, 2006-05-12 at 14:49 -0400, Damien McKenna wrote: > http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2292 > and > http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/1415_large_asus_am2_roadmap.png > The graph shows that the new motherboards will only have one regular IDE > port, definitely a sign that the industry is finally moving away from it > and keeping around just one port for ATAPI devices. Since I like MicroATX, I've still been sticking with the nForce 4x0 series. It has (2) ATA and (4) SATA channels -- more than enough in a cube or mini-tower. I only need the PCIe x16 and then one additional PCIe x1. I have SB Audigy2 for audio, so I could care less about the on-board audio. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sat May 13 12:53:48 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] [OT] The problem with Windows (as only 0.1% of us understand) -- WAS: dual core and smp kernel??? In-Reply-To: <446603DE.4060605@sunstatemartialarts.com> References: <4464F2AE.7060305@sunstatemartialarts.com> <1147477307.9969.8.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <200605121955.17074.philb@philb.us> <3B2C0AF6-A9C3-4776-866D-2A300EA135C5@packetmaster.com> <446556A2.7000209@sunstatemartialarts.com> <1147503415.9969.70.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <4465DE32.4040503@sunstatemartialarts.com> <1147530578.9969.140.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <4465F4AC.3040204@sunstatemartialarts.com> <1147533797.9969.175.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <446603DE.4060605@sunstatemartialarts.com> Message-ID: <1147539228.9969.192.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> [ This belongs on PC_Support ] On Sat, 2006-05-13 at 12:05 -0400, Ray Brunkow wrote: > yes security without a doubt is a major PITA with windows, but at least > win2k was a step in the right direction. False! 99.9% of people think Windows 2000 "was a step in the right direction" because they came from Windows 98. And Those 0.1% of IT Professionals who had deployed Windows NT since 3.5 (or even 3.1) knew that 3.51, 4.0 and 2000 (5.0) were steps in the _wrong_ direction. > normal users can no longer install drivers. False! Compared to Windows 98 it might seem, but NT 5.0 (2000) and, even worse, NT 5.1 (XP -- especially pre-SP2) "broke" the NT security model for such. There is a reason for the existence of the "Power User" security group. And it's a major security issue. > must be an administrator to do that, but sadly most windows users run > as admins instead of normal user. > that is more the fault of programmers then MS IMHO since win2k. False! It's Microsoft's damn fault, _absolutely_. Microsoft's OS architects (largely from Digital) designed a decent, single-user, but multi-privileged API in Win32. And then Microsoft's _own_ application and tool division _ignored_ it. Their own compilers and suites _totally_ignored_ it. There was no more proof of this than the fact that Digital's own compilers, suites and applications for NT were _far_better_ than Microsoft's. It also showed you who designed Win32 and NT (let alone Win64 originally on Alpha, long story). It was so bad that Gates finally gave the thumbs up to "Chicago," and a new NT fork, 3.51 "Daytona," was born in late 1993 / early 1994. NT as an OS was _completely_undermined_ as a result. Today, Microsoft created a good multi-user API in .NET. And yet again, their _own_ application division is _ignorning_ it, and the Visual Studio suite itself is _not_ "pure" .NET, but Win32-aligned. Hell, WinForms.NET isn't .NET, but Win32. Ironically enough, it's deIcaza and the GNOME guys that have a _better_ framework in GTK# that is "pure" .NET. Not surprising because GNOME developers actually have to think multi-user and multi-privilege in UNIX _by_default_, whereas Windows developers _rarely_ think that way. NT 6.0 "Longhorn" is an _exact_repeat_ of NT 4.0 "Cairo." "Cairo" was the vaporware that was supposed to be "consumer NT." NT 4.0 CarioFS was supposed to solve the issues of NTFS, just like NT 6.0 WinFS was. The new NT 4.0 GDI subsystem was supposed to deal with user interface inefficiencies, but made things worse -- just like NT 6.0 Avalon/WGF is doing the same. Gates said they would become "Cario technologies" and be released later. Result: Vapor Gates now says "Longhorn technologies" would be released later as WinFX technologies. Result: Vapor so far The only thing .NET in NT 6.0 "Longhorn" has is Indigo, which is a sandbox for _select_ Internet services. What does that sound like? Yeah, that's right, Java sandboxed Internet services. What is .NET 100% based on? The Java 1.1 codebase. > heck you can not even use a lot of software in windows unless you are > an admin or know how to hack the registry and how many users even know > what the registry is? Again, it's because 99.9% of you were using Windows 95/98 that Windows 2000 has all those problems. If you don't believe me, ask me how many times I've merely applied the "Cario 1993-1997 playbook" and predicted "Longhorn 2003-2007" on PC_Support over the last 3+ years! I'm sorry 99.9% of you didn't get to see "Cario" become "Chicago's bitch" much like "Longhorn .NET" has become "[polluted] Win32's bitch." To me, it's just history repeating itself. And why Windows will _never_ be as secure as UNIX. -- Bryan P.S. Oh, no way, some Linux! ;-> > i do not have the time or cash flow to PAY someone to muddle with my > hardware when i can learn. i would much rather learn how so i do not > HAVE to pay. That's why we have LEAP. Ask, don't assume. ;-> > i have extremely limited experience with SuSe, but what little i have > has been good. they have some very nice cross platform network GUI > tools that i have not seen in other distros. it is very bloated and > does require more RAM and vid power then other distros i have used, but > if i can learn enough about yast then someday ill learn enough to do a > base install and yast install everything from there. well so i hope. "Bloated" is an over-applied and _incorrect_ term used by Debian and Gentoo users in description of Fedora-based and SuSE-based distros. I can run a pretty lightweight Fedora-based system with XFCE that performs _better_ than Gentoo, and on-par with Debian. Not sure about SuSE. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sat May 13 17:04:41 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Re: The problem with Windows (as only 0.1% of us understand) -- YUM/YaST, _not_ RPM In-Reply-To: <44663E29.5050809@sunstatemartialarts.com> References: <4464F2AE.7060305@sunstatemartialarts.com> <1147477307.9969.8.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <200605121955.17074.philb@philb.us> <3B2C0AF6-A9C3-4776-866D-2A300EA135C5@packetmaster.com> <446556A2.7000209@sunstatemartialarts.com> <1147503415.9969.70.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <4465DE32.4040503@sunstatemartialarts.com> <1147530578.9969.140.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <4465F4AC.3040204@sunstatemartialarts.com> <1147533797.9969.175.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <446603DE.4060605@sunstatemartialarts.com> <1147539228.9969.192.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <44663E29.5050809@sunstatemartialarts.com> Message-ID: <1147554281.9969.221.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sat, 2006-05-13 at 16:14 -0400, Ray Brunkow wrote: > Well by step in the right direction i was referring to a closer to RFCs, > at least an attempt even if in reality they fell short. The problem with Microsoft has always been embrace, extend, extinguish. As usually, the 10% of Microsoft that doesn't want that is drowned out. Microsoft even supported OpenGL from virtually day 1 in NT, and only went to DOS Direct Memory Map aka WinG aka DirectMM aka Direct2D aka DirectX after OpenGL support in "Chicago" absolutely tanked. > Also IF you use the "user levels" and other settings available for > security steps and it is far better then the win9x line of OSs from > MS. yes i came from the win95/98 line into win2k. But because 100% of Microsoft's own, signature software _failed_ it's own "Designed for Windows NT" logo certification program, privilege levels became _useless_ in Windows NT -- at least for desktops/workstations, as well as most server services. >From that point on, it didn't matter what Windows NT did, it was Chicago's bitch and had to conform. Hence why privilege, RBAC/MAC and other things were rather useless. Kinda said, because NT was _superior_ to UNIX in design in the early '90s when it came to RBAC/MAC (even if it wasn't true multi-user like UNIX). Despite all the bitching, moaning and complaining on _true_ RBAC/MAC, Red Hat is forcing it on the community with SELinux. And they are conforming. SELinux is not broken at all (boy I've had that argument too many times), it's just that the legacy UNIX community only knows DAC, not RBAC/MAC. Red Hat is always a PITA for most people, but they are pushing Linux forward -- and everyone benefits from that. > yes, that is setting up the users properly for a semblance of security. No, it's a joke. Still is today, even under "locked down" XP Pro SP2. What you have is basically UNIX-like sudo functionality, and _not_ true MAC/RBAC. Not because Microsoft didn't design Win32 correctly. Not because ISVs didn't write to the Win32 API. But because _both_ Microsoft's own tool developers didn't write to Win32, and _all_ Microsoft applications were written for "Chicago." > it is not as secure as Linux or Unix, but it is better then win9x. Anything is better than MS-DOS with 386Enhanced mode, and that is _exactly_ how Win32 works under "Chicago" (Windows 95/98) -- MS-DOS 7.x and Windows 4.x in 386Enhanced mode. It's why Microsoft had to pay off Caldera in a ~$250M settlement over illegal product bundling. > i never really worked with NT before 2k so i can not comment on NT4 > or older vs. NT 4.0 "Cairo" was a joke and proof that NT was now Chicago's bitch. And even then, MS-DOS 7.x compatible Int20-3F functions didn't make it into NT 4.0. They didn't come around until NT 5.0 (2000) a few years later. NT 3.51 "Daytona" was a bad idea. It basically hacked it so "Chicago" applications could run. And even then, you still didn't have MS-DOS 7.x compatible Int20-3F functions, so you often got 8.3 only file support. NT 3.5 (3.50) was flawless. Of course, *0* of Microsoft's own "Chicago" (Windows 95) applications would run on it. Microsoft's "Designed for Windows NT" Visual Studio 4.x series produced code that would _not_ run on 3.50. It was the worst fiasco I've ever seen. 100% of _all_ Microsoft "Chicago" applications _failed_ on NT 3.5. Microsoft's own "Designed for Windows NT" logo program _never_ passed _any_ of its own software -- only a few 3rd party software from Digital, Bentley Systems/Intergraph, etc... Hence NT 3.51 "Daytona" -- so MS Office 95 and other applications would run on NT. Because they were written for "Chicago" not NT -- even back in 1994 (a year before Windows 95 was released). > yup, that is why we have LEAP and i am glad to be able to learn from you > guys. The key is to not assume. Far too many people do this in the Linux world, as well as Windows. They comment on what they don't know. It's hard to curb that, I know. Even I had to learn to do that, and I was bad until about 2001 or so. It's best to let others comment on what they know when you don't. > again, this goes to my limited skills with those distros. That's why I reserve comment when I don't have first-hand experience in a _production_ environment. I haven't run Debian in a production environment since 3.0/Woody. I haven't run Mandrake in any environment since 8.1. I follow developments, but I really _avoid_ commenting on them as I'm just going to be ignorant. In the same regard, about 98% of what you hear about Red Hat and Fedora is based on information and assumption that is pre-21st Century. > the default install of SuSe and FC/RH line is very full of stuff that > is not needed vs Debian. Not true on Fedora Core! You don't have to install Fedora Core from the Anaconda installer, just like you can do an initial image install of Debian. Most people just _choose_ the _legacy_ Anaconda GUI installer when it comes to Fedora Core. Fedora Core is _not_ Red Hat Linux or Red Hat Enterprise Linux. > Now that I know enough about debian i can install with the first CD > and just do a base install and apt-get everything else after manually > editing my sources.list. And so you can with Fedora! Not only can you do that "so-called bloated" the Anaconda installer with _only_ CD #1 with _any_ Fedora Core release, Fedora Core 2+ actually lets you do a 90MB "minimal" install and YUM everything! You can do this _completely_outside_ the Anaconda installer. I've even plunked down the 6MB EEPROM key image into a system and done it from that! Then I'm a Kudzu here and a YUM there ... Done.| > I am sure if i knew the RPM model as well as i know the debian, _Not_ "RPM model"! "RPM model" _died_ in the 20th Century. Debian is "APT model," using DPKG as the back-end. Fedora-based has always been "YUM model," with RPM as back-end, even if there was a heavy amount of use of APT in the early 21st century. YUM is the only one officially supported, and APT-RPM is all but dead now. SuSE-based has always been "YaST model," with RPM as back-end. There are APT and YUM options too -- but YaST is the only one officially supported. A big problem with current production APT is the multi-architecture. YUM and YaST solve the multi-architecture issue and allow full POSIX lib64 and lib inter-mixing. YUM also has the same 3-tier and group-based approaches as APT. APT and YUM are so similar now that the Connectiva (the guys that first created APT-RPM), now Mandriva, have created the uber-"SmartPM" (Smart Package Manager) that handles DPKG, RPM, TAR.GZ (including Slackware) back-end and APT, YUM, URPMI and other front-ends. It even has a standard GUI front-end built-in, among 3 other interfaces. > and that is not near as well as i know windows, Windows is simple. They have InstallShield -- be it executable or install (.inst) package -- which does _minimal_ dependency checking and *NO* conflict resolution. Microsoft uses digital signatures to public X.509 certificates, but there is _no_ enforcement. I.e., someone can _blindly_ fire off an executable and you'll get _no_ warning if the signature is bad. DPKG and YUM use USTAR format archives, OpenPGP signatures and other, automated features. APT and YUM then _enforce_ them -- anally. > i could also build a much cleaner running RPM distro. Again, I'd start using the term "YUM" or "YaST" and _not_ "RPM." Just like people don't say Debian is "DPKG," but "APT." This is the 21st century, despite 98% of non-Fedora/SuSE users still thinking they are 20th century. > It seems i will be learning enough soon how to do that. > good for me *grins* The only time you use "RPM" itself is the same when you use "DPKG" in Debian. If you run Fedora-based or SuSE-based distros, you use "YUM" and "YaST" -- _not_ RPM. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com Sat May 13 20:23:44 2006 From: hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com (William Warren) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] The $130 Intel Pentium D 805 (dual-core) at 4.1GHz!!! -- Fwd: overclocking In-Reply-To: <1147305386.2779.9.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <1147305386.2779.9.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <44667890.1020607@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> i'm buying one of those cpus pronto..:) Bryan J. Smith wrote: > C/o Brian Ashe, Tom's Hardware has done the unthinkable! > > Hmmm, I might want to buy some DDR2 memory a little early (prior to my > future AMD Socket-AM2/940 purchase) and experiment with this Intel > solution! > > -------- Forwarded Message -------- > From: Brian Ashe > Subject: overclocking > Date: Wed, 10 May 2006 16:28:34 -0700 (PDT) > > the biggest news in overclocking since the Celeron 300A and the AMD > pencil trick: > http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/05/10/dual_41_ghz_cores/ > > -- My "Foundation" verse: Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. -- carpe ductum -- "Grab the tape" CDTT (Certified Duct Tape Technician) Linux user #322099 Machines: 206822 256638 276825 http://counter.li.org/ From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sat May 13 23:56:42 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] The $130 Intel Pentium D 805 (dual-core) at 4.1GHz!!! -- Fwd: overclocking In-Reply-To: <44667890.1020607@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> References: <1147305386.2779.9.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <44667890.1020607@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> Message-ID: <1147579003.2787.5.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sat, 2006-05-13 at 20:23 -0400, William Warren wrote: > i'm buying one of those cpus pronto..:) Well, I started comparing benchmarks, and I think I'll just stick with an Athlon 64 x2 (Socket-AM2/940) purchase in a few weeks. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From dave at dgnal.net Sun May 14 00:59:32 2006 From: dave at dgnal.net (David Simmons) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] The $130 Intel Pentium D 805 (dual-core) at 4.1GHz!!! -- Fwd: overclocking In-Reply-To: <1147579003.2787.5.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <1147305386.2779.9.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <44667890.1020607@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> <1147579003.2787.5.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <4645.71.252.176.10.1147582772.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> > On Sat, 2006-05-13 at 20:23 -0400, William Warren wrote: >> i'm buying one of those cpus pronto..:) > > Well, I started comparing benchmarks, and I think I'll just stick with > an Athlon 64 x2 (Socket-AM2/940) purchase in a few weeks. How so...as I remember your comment/post that AMD is going to be introducing the new technology - at the same cost as current - I'm sure it's not a low cost as this? If you forgo the cost of the water cooling system and stick with the mega-fan unit, Zalman model CNPS9500 (approx $60)...you've got "the CPU ran at a clock rate of 3.33 GHz without any problems at standard voltage levels of 1.3375 V, even when both cores were fully loaded". .....so it comes down to - for the 'most bang for the buck' - will a new system with an Athlon 64 x2 outdo the 3.33GHz wonder? dave From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun May 14 02:31:29 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] The $130 Intel Pentium D 805 (dual-core) at 4.1GHz!!! -- Fwd: overclocking In-Reply-To: <4645.71.252.176.10.1147582772.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> References: <1147305386.2779.9.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <44667890.1020607@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> <1147579003.2787.5.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <4645.71.252.176.10.1147582772.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> Message-ID: <1147588289.2787.10.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sat, 2006-05-13 at 23:59 -0500, David Simmons wrote: > How so...as I remember your comment/post that AMD is going to be > introducing the new technology - at the same cost as current - I'm sure > it's not a low cost as this? First off, the cost of the Intel mainboards required to drive this CPU is a major reason. Save $150 on the CPU, but pay $100 more for the mainboard? Secondly, at 4.1GHz, you've got to have some serious cooling and over-volt! You're going to turn the CPU's lifetime into less than a year. Not good, it can still _lose_ to an Athlon x2 3800+ in many benchmarks. > you've got "the CPU ran at a clock rate of 3.33 GHz without any > problems at standard voltage levels of 1.3375 V, even when both cores > were fully loaded". And it will still get its butt kicked by an Athlon x2 3800+. That's the problem. > .....so it comes down to - for the 'most bang for the buck' - will a new > system with an Athlon 64 x2 outdo the 3.33GHz wonder? Oh hell yes! Did you see the benchmarks? You're _only_ going to best it in _some_ benchmarks at 3.8-4.1GHz. And that's with a far more expensive mainboard. So, again, after re-visiting the option -- I don't think it's worth it. I'll spend $50-100 more and have a much longer lasting and more stable solution. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com Sun May 14 08:59:52 2006 From: hescominsoon at emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com (William Warren) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] The $130 Intel Pentium D 805 (dual-core) at 4.1GHz!!! -- Fwd: overclocking In-Reply-To: <1147588289.2787.10.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <1147305386.2779.9.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <44667890.1020607@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> <1147579003.2787.5.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <4645.71.252.176.10.1147582772.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> <1147588289.2787.10.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <446729C8.5020503@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> I noticed the overvolt..you can still put it @ 3.6 ghz w/o overvolting. At 4.1 ghz the x2 3800 doesn't approach it in performance. Bryan J. Smith wrote: > On Sat, 2006-05-13 at 23:59 -0500, David Simmons wrote: >> How so...as I remember your comment/post that AMD is going to be >> introducing the new technology - at the same cost as current - I'm sure >> it's not a low cost as this? > > First off, the cost of the Intel mainboards required to drive this CPU > is a major reason. Save $150 on the CPU, but pay $100 more for the > mainboard? > > Secondly, at 4.1GHz, you've got to have some serious cooling and > over-volt! You're going to turn the CPU's lifetime into less than a > year. > > Not good, it can still _lose_ to an Athlon x2 3800+ in many benchmarks. > >> you've got "the CPU ran at a clock rate of 3.33 GHz without any >> problems at standard voltage levels of 1.3375 V, even when both cores >> were fully loaded". > > And it will still get its butt kicked by an Athlon x2 3800+. > That's the problem. > >> .....so it comes down to - for the 'most bang for the buck' - will a new >> system with an Athlon 64 x2 outdo the 3.33GHz wonder? > > Oh hell yes! Did you see the benchmarks? > You're _only_ going to best it in _some_ benchmarks at 3.8-4.1GHz. > And that's with a far more expensive mainboard. > > So, again, after re-visiting the option -- I don't think it's worth it. > I'll spend $50-100 more and have a much longer lasting and more stable > solution. > > -- My "Foundation" verse: Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. -- carpe ductum -- "Grab the tape" CDTT (Certified Duct Tape Technician) Linux user #322099 Machines: 206822 256638 276825 http://counter.li.org/ From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun May 14 09:15:36 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] The $130 Intel Pentium D 805 (dual-core) at 4.1GHz!!! -- Fwd: overclocking In-Reply-To: <446729C8.5020503@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> References: <1147305386.2779.9.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <44667890.1020607@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> <1147579003.2787.5.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <4645.71.252.176.10.1147582772.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> <1147588289.2787.10.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <446729C8.5020503@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> Message-ID: <1147612536.2771.19.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sun, 2006-05-14 at 08:59 -0400, William Warren wrote: > I noticed the overvolt..you can still put it @ 3.6 ghz w/o overvolting. > At 4.1 ghz the x2 3800 doesn't approach it in performance. First off, I mentioned the Athlon x2 3800+ because I was largely comparing sub-4GHz performance. At 3.3-3.6GHz, it's nothing special. Secondly, the Athlon x2 4200+/4400+ are less than $100 more than the 3800+, and _do_ compete quite well in _many_ "real world" benchmarks. I'm personally going to go 4200+ or 4400+ in my purchase in 1-2 months. Lastly, I've fried Intel CPUs in 6-12 months with overclocking. In _both_ cases they _permanently_ damaged the mainboard too. Not worth it IMHO. This isn't the old Celeron PPGA. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From b.j.smith at ieee.org Sun May 14 09:20:22 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] The $130 Intel Pentium D 805 (dual-core) at 4.1GHz!!! -- Fwd: overclocking In-Reply-To: <1147612536.2771.19.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <1147305386.2779.9.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <44667890.1020607@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> <1147579003.2787.5.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <4645.71.252.176.10.1147582772.squirrel@qtmail.dgnal.net> <1147588289.2787.10.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <446729C8.5020503@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com> <1147612536.2771.19.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <1147612822.2771.24.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sun, 2006-05-14 at 09:15 -0400, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > First off, I mentioned the Athlon x2 3800+ because I was largely > comparing sub-4GHz performance. At 3.3-3.6GHz, it's nothing special. > Secondly, the Athlon x2 4200+/4400+ are less than $100 more than the > 3800+, and _do_ compete quite well in _many_ "real world" benchmarks. > I'm personally going to go 4200+ or 4400+ in my purchase in 1-2 months. Actually, let me re-phrase that, I'm only seeing a 10-15% _maximum_ performance difference between the 3800+ and "common baby light (my case) on fire" 4.1GHz, and the 4200+/4400+ often _bests_ it in "real world" benchmarks. Again, this looked "cool" at first -- GHz is what makes people giddy. But then I started pricing the recommended mainboards by AnandTech for over-volt and decided I'd rather spend the extra $50-100 for a _real_ 3800+, or the extra $100-200 for a _real_ 4200/4400+. Especially since the 4400+ still outclasses it in virtually every "real" benchmark. The rating is appropriate. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From jasonb at edseek.com Sun May 14 15:16:15 2006 From: jasonb at edseek.com (Jason Boxman) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] I give up, how do you image Windows 2K? In-Reply-To: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1D914AC@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> References: <5C9DC445A45FEC4185D272DAF6AF37D1D914AC@tlc001.tlcusa.thelimucompany.com> Message-ID: <200605141516.15971.jasonb@edseek.com> On Thursday 04 May 2006 12:23, Damien McKenna wrote: > You know, I just thought of how this could be done. You still have the > same setup - FTP login, etc. Once the client logs in it would pull down > a file called e.g. "deployment.txt". This file would be a simple list > of MACs corresponding to an image, e.g.: > > 001122334455:/winxp_customersupport/20060501.g4u > 001122334466:/winxp_customersupport/20060501.g4u > 001122334477:/winxp_customersupport/20060501.g4u > > Then to make life even easier, you have a database application on the > FTP server that a) keeps a running list of the local PCs based on the > MAC which would be compiled into groups, b) a list of all images > available, c) allows you to link A to B to schedule deployment and save > it as a "deployment.txt" file. This management application would be > easy to do, enhancing G4U to support automation would be the trickier > part. No kidding. Just getting PXE booting working makes my brain hurt. I think I'm going to die. So far, I've had to (re)configure DHCP, including a nasty and unavoidable stanza that identifies the target machine by MAC address, forcing manual editing, the tftpd-hpa tftp server, NFS v3, and eventually an FTPd, probably vsftpd. Sigh. I also had to wade through about two dozen threads and pages from searching Google to even determine how exactly you PXE boot NetBSD, as the docs for g4u send you off to NetBSD land to find pxeboot_ia32.bin yourself. It's actually hidden on a NetBSD mirror, somewhere, though probably obvious if you are a NetBSD admin. You have to extract it from a tarball of what appears to be the base system. So I'm now running DHCP, TFTPd, FTPd, and NFS. Fortunately I was already running and have configured everything except TFTPd, but still... Wow. I wish there was someway for NetBSD's PXE bootloader to retain IP information so I didn't have to hardcode a section for each system with an IP and MAC address so 'root-path' and 'next-server' are picked up when the bootloader re-DHCPs. (You end up with two DHCP requests, one from the PXE PROM and one from the PXE bootloader itself, which bootstraps over NFS once it gets what it needs...) omg yes! I think configuring SASL, Exim4, and TLS was more fun... -- Jason Boxman http://edseek.com/ - Linux and FOSS stuff From tim at mcdonough.net Sun May 14 23:50:58 2006 From: tim at mcdonough.net (Tim McDonough) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Cigwin rsync and passwords Message-ID: <4467FAA2.2000900@mcdonough.net> I'm using Cigwin and rsync to backup certain directories from a WinXP machine to a Linux server. The method I use incorporates ssh. From a command line everything works fine except that ssh always requests a password. Could anyone familiar with this tool tell me how I could pass ssh the password on the command line so I could run rsync from a batch file and the scheduler? Thanks, Tim From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon May 15 00:17:50 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Cigwin rsync and passwords In-Reply-To: <4467FAA2.2000900@mcdonough.net> References: <4467FAA2.2000900@mcdonough.net> Message-ID: <1147666670.3069.66.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sun, 2006-05-14 at 22:50 -0500, Tim McDonough wrote: > I'm using Cigwin and rsync to backup certain directories from a WinXP > machine to a Linux server. The method I use incorporates ssh. From a > command line everything works fine except that ssh always requests a > password. Could anyone familiar with this tool tell me how I could > pass ssh the password on the command line so I could run rsync from a > batch file and the scheduler? Check your logs. It's likely that you're getting a password prompt because of security issues. I.e., SSH doesn't like it when ~/.ssh/* files are world readable and/or writable. If you setup SSH on Windows, be sure to: A. Make sure your home directory (and ~/.ssh) is on NTFS, and B. Lock it down, security wise -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon May 15 00:21:44 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Cigwin rsync and passwords -- Oops! In-Reply-To: <1147666670.3069.66.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <4467FAA2.2000900@mcdonough.net> <1147666670.3069.66.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <1147666904.3069.71.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Mon, 2006-05-15 at 00:17 -0400, Bryan J. Smith wrote: > Check your logs. It's likely that you're getting a password prompt > because of security issues. I.e., SSH doesn't like it when ~/.ssh/* > files are world readable and/or writable. > If you setup SSH on Windows, be sure to: > A. Make sure your home directory (and ~/.ssh) is on NTFS, and > B. Lock it down, security wise Ooops! I read your post too quickly. I ass-u-me'd you had already setup "Public Key Authentication" and were having issues. But I now re-read ... "Could anyone familiar with this tool tell me how I could pass ssh the password on the command line so I could run rsync from a batch file and the scheduler?" _Never_ do this (actually, I don't think you can). Use "Public Key Authentication" instead. In a nutshell, you: 1. Generate a public / private keypair with no passphrase E.g., id_dsa or id_rsa (private key) and id_dsa.pub or id_rsa.pub (public key) 2. Put the public key on the _server_ E.g., typically append the key to the file authorized_keys 3. Put the private key on the _client_ There are many HOWTOs on this, including Cygwin-specific ones. Again, if you run into issues, it might be a permission issue. SSH doesn't like to use Public Key Authentication when the files are world readable and/or writable. So lock down your ~/.ssh directory. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From dmckenna at thelimucompany.com Sat May 20 22:35:19 2006 From: dmckenna at thelimucompany.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] WTB: two rack-mount 100mbit switches Message-ID: <3874F6AC-D85C-4A01-8FD4-55C99683747D@thelimucompany.com> We're after two rack-mount 100mbit switches, preferably 3Com and have 24 ports. Anyone have anything? Damien From tim at mcdonough.net Fri May 26 08:23:10 2006 From: tim at mcdonough.net (Tim McDonough) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Network Connections in Windows XP Message-ID: <4476F32E.7010605@mcdonough.net> In my home office I have wireless DSL service. During bad weather (heavy rain, etc.) it occasionally drops out for a second or so. When this happens XP tries to fire off my VPN connection to the office. This won't work because of course that happens over the WDSL. The problem is it's really annoying when the connection box pops up for the password and I'm in the middle of writing a document, etc. Is there a way to tell the Windows VPN connection to ONLY try to open when I want it and not have it randomly open trying to find the machine a connection to the outside world? I did not see any obvious settings like an automatic/manual setting, etc. Thanks in advance. Tim From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri May 26 08:42:39 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Network Connections in Windows XP In-Reply-To: <4476F32E.7010605@mcdonough.net> References: <4476F32E.7010605@mcdonough.net> Message-ID: <1148647359.2994.45.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Fri, 2006-05-26 at 07:23 -0500, Tim McDonough wrote: > In my home office I have wireless DSL service. During bad weather > (heavy rain, etc.) it occasionally drops out for a second or so. When > this happens XP tries to fire off my VPN connection to the office. > This won't work because of course that happens over the WDSL. > The problem is it's really annoying when the connection box pops up > for the password and I'm in the middle of writing a document, etc. Is > there a way to tell the Windows VPN connection to ONLY try to open > when I want it and not have it randomly open trying to find the > machine a connection to the outside world? I did not see any obvious > settings like an automatic/manual setting, etc. There are a couple of setting. In fact, I think the "LAN Settings" are common to and used by IE, dial-up, VPN and other details (if you're using the Microsoft IPSec client). You just need to disable the automatic connection setting. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From b.j.smith at ieee.org Fri May 26 08:44:22 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] WTB: two rack-mount 100mbit switches In-Reply-To: <3874F6AC-D85C-4A01-8FD4-55C99683747D@thelimucompany.com> References: <3874F6AC-D85C-4A01-8FD4-55C99683747D@thelimucompany.com> Message-ID: <1148647462.2994.48.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Sat, 2006-05-20 at 22:35 -0400, Damien McKenna wrote: > We're after two rack-mount 100mbit switches, preferably 3Com and have > 24 ports. Anyone have anything? I don't, but I can help you track some down. Q's: - Used or new? - Layer-2 "dumb", "managed" or Layer-3? - GbE uplink(s)? - Stackable? -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Americans don't get upset because citizens in some foreign nations can burn the American flag -- Americans get upset because citizens in those same nations can't burn their own From ae4ko at amsat.org Fri May 26 08:37:22 2006 From: ae4ko at amsat.org (Aaron Morrison) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Network Connections in Windows XP In-Reply-To: <4476F32E.7010605@mcdonough.net> Message-ID: <4476BE42.5597.14ACC8D9@ae4ko.amsat.org> Try looking at the settings in: control panel -> Internet Options -> Connections There are options in there that I think will help your situation. --am On 26 May 2006 at 7:23, Tim McDonough wrote: > In my home office I have wireless DSL service. During bad weather > (heavy rain, etc.) it occasionally drops out for a second or so. When > this happens XP tries to fire off my VPN connection to the office. > This won't work because of course that happens over the WDSL. > > The problem is it's really annoying when the connection box pops up > for the password and I'm in the middle of writing a document, etc. Is > there a way to tell the Windows VPN connection to ONLY try to open > when I want it and not have it randomly open trying to find the > machine a connection to the outside world? I did not see any obvious > settings like an automatic/manual setting, etc. > > Thanks in advance. > > Tim > _______________________________________________ > Pc_support mailing list > Pc_support@matrixlist.com > http://lists.matrixlist.com/mailman/listinfo/pc_support From tim at mcdonough.net Fri May 26 10:19:01 2006 From: tim at mcdonough.net (Tim McDonough) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Network Connections in Windows XP In-Reply-To: <4476BE42.5597.14ACC8D9@ae4ko.amsat.org> References: <4476BE42.5597.14ACC8D9@ae4ko.amsat.org> Message-ID: <44770E55.1010006@mcdonough.net> Thanks Aaron and Bryan. I had not checked there. I kept looking under properties of the VPN connection itself, etc. Tim Aaron Morrison wrote: > Try looking at the settings in: > > control panel -> Internet Options -> Connections > > There are options in there that I think will help your situation. > > --am > > > On 26 May 2006 at 7:23, Tim McDonough wrote: > > >>In my home office I have wireless DSL service. During bad weather >>(heavy rain, etc.) it occasionally drops out for a second or so. When >>this happens XP tries to fire off my VPN connection to the office. >>This won't work because of course that happens over the WDSL. >> >>The problem is it's really annoying when the connection box pops up >>for the password and I'm in the middle of writing a document, etc. Is >>there a way to tell the Windows VPN connection to ONLY try to open >>when I want it and not have it randomly open trying to find the >>machine a connection to the outside world? I did not see any obvious >>settings like an automatic/manual setting, etc. >> >>Thanks in advance. >> >>Tim From damien at mc-kenna.com Fri May 26 10:31:05 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] WTB: two rack-mount 100mbit switches In-Reply-To: <1148647462.2994.48.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <3874F6AC-D85C-4A01-8FD4-55C99683747D@thelimucompany.com> <1148647462.2994.48.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <37EAE284-7309-4ABF-83C3-272308BB4F38@mc-kenna.com> On May 26, 2006, at 8:44 AM, Bryan J. Smith wrote: >> We're after two rack-mount 100mbit switches, preferably 3Com and have >> 24 ports. Anyone have anything? > > I don't, but I can help you track some down. I should have replied sooner. My boss picked up two 24 port Linksys ones as he didn't want to wait. They're running fine so far. Thanks for the offer of help. -- Damien McKenna, husband, father, geek. damien@mc-kenna.com - http://www.mc-kenna.com/ From b.j.smith at ieee.org Mon May 29 21:22:57 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: [Pc_Support] Socket-AM2 may be the best investment now ... Message-ID: <1148952178.2724.430.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Unless you are going to recycle old DDR SDRAM -- which Socket-754 and 939 do most excellently -- going directly to Socket-AM2 (new 940) might be the best move. Why? 1. _No_ premium on processors over Socket-754 or 939 2. "Entry-level" Sempron 64 avenue, at better performance than S754 3. Full, future upgrade path Again, if you're planning to recycle old DDR SDRAM -- then stick with Socket-754 or 939 for now. But if you're buying new memory, got with the DDR2 SDRAM Socket-AM2 (940) for future upgrades that won't start increasing in cost -- much like Socket-A (462) did quickly as 940, 754 and 939 took off. As I've mentioned before, if you're running with a GeForce FX 5200, 5500 or 5700"LE", then you'd be better off going with integrated GeForce 61x0 graphics. I just hit NewEgg and the first batch of processors are _cheap_ for Socket-AM2 -- virtually _no_ premium over Socket-754/939. In fact, if you're "going cheap" with a Sempron 64 now, it's a _better_ option than Socket-754 because it's the _full_ Socket-AM2 (940) socket for higher performing processors. >From a $68 Sempron 64 2800+ to much higher performing single-core CPUs starting with the exact same priced $109 Athlon 64 3000+ as its Socket-939 brother. The dual-core units should be here shortly as well. The mainboard selection is limited, but not expensive. Maybe a $10-15 over Socket-939 with the GeForce 6100 Socket-AM2 starting at around $75 instead of $60 for Socket-939. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ------------------------------------------------------- Illegal Immigration = "Representation Without Taxation" From damien at mc-kenna.com Mon May 29 21:54:42 2006 From: damien at mc-kenna.com (Damien McKenna) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: AM2 SPF? (was "Re: [Pc_Support] Socket-AM2 may be the best investment now ...") In-Reply-To: <1148952178.2724.430.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> References: <1148952178.2724.430.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> Message-ID: <20060529215442.bqrc1r1h2s8c08k8@www.mc-kenna.com> Looks good. We're contiplating upgrading ~20 workstations at work, what do you recommend? Most of the machines we're hoping to replace are HP e-PC's, custom SPF thingies, and they really like that form factor. I had been looking at some SPF barebones units, so is there anything out / on the way (within a month or so) for AM2 that you know of? Thanks. -- Damien McKenna, Husband, Father, Geek http://www.mc-kenna.com/ - damien@mc-kenna.com From b.j.smith at ieee.org Tue May 30 07:12:14 2006 From: b.j.smith at ieee.org (Bryan J. Smith) Date: Tue Oct 31 13:17:48 2006 Subject: AM2 SPF? (was "Re: [Pc_Support] Socket-AM2 may be the best investment now ...") In-Reply-To: <20060529215442.bqrc1r1h2s8c08k8@www.mc-kenna.com> References: <1148952178.2724.430.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> <20060529215442.bqrc1r1h2s8c08k8@www.mc-kenna.com> Message-ID: <1148987534.2724.448.camel@bert64.oviedo.smithconcepts.com> On Mon, 2006-05-29 at 21:54 -0400, Damien McKenna wrote: > Looks good. We're contiplating upgrading ~20 workstations at work, > what do you recommend? Most of the machines we're hoping to replace > are HP e-PC's, custom SPF thingies, SPF? Did you mean SFF (small form-factor), or is SPF something else? The two "standard" SFF sizes I've been going with are: - $40 -- 7" x 14" x 15" (MicroATX Mid-Tower, full ATX PS, 92mm exhaust) - $70 -- 9" x 11" x 14" (MicroATX Cube, full ATX PS, 120mm exhaust) Now I've done smaller -- e.g., - $40 -- 5.5" x 12" x 12" (Slim MicroATX, MicroATX PS) But the cooling and power supply is always an issue, at least for pairing with a high-end graphics card. > and they really like that form factor. I had been looking at some > SPF barebones units, so is there anything out / on the way (within a > month or so) for AM2 that you know of? Thanks. I personally try to stay away from a proprietary PS and/or mainboard. But that's just me. -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, technical annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@ieee.org http://thebs413.blogspot.com ------------------------------------------------------- Illegal Immigration = "Representation Without Taxation"