Messages

5851

General Software Discussion / Re: fully free software utilities for biz use

« on: June 19, 2009, 01:35 PM »

Hm... Seems a rather narrow misuse of the term (.ini fan?). I was speaking more to its ability to run on any MS OS without any bloated runtime requirement nonsense...along the lines of the original PE format specification (don't need stuff, just run). Storing window size/position info (neatly in a single key) in HKCU is hardly catastrophic.

5852

General Software Discussion / Re: fully free software utilities for biz use

« on: June 19, 2009, 11:38 AM »

For a small footprint & completely portable file search check out X-Find from Xteq.

-Stoic Joker (June 19, 2009, 06:09 AM)

Writes settings to the registry at:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Xteq Systems\X-Find\1.0
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Xteq Systems\X-Find

-PhilB66 (June 19, 2009, 06:45 AM)

Which makes your point what exactly?

5853

General Software Discussion / Re: Let's Fork The Thread! Linux Notetaking Thread!

« on: June 19, 2009, 06:17 AM »

I use "Pen & Paper" for various reasons: it works when the computer is turned off, you can add notes offline as well as online, it has 100% accurate handwriting recognition and can easily be used by multiple users. It even supports a limited history feature: you can still read old but x-ed out notes.

Oh yeah, and pen & paper lets you add freeform graphics, but no moving or audible media. The storage format is open and well-known (for I dont know how many centuries). The backend is compatible with any input device, there cannot be a driver conflict.

On the other hand, Pen & Paper is not free.

-housetier (June 18, 2009, 01:39 PM)

I'd like to 2nd this vote, as it's something I also do. ...and given that my handwriting is atrocious, I also consider my notes to be "encrypted" ... because when I write in a hurry nobody (else) can read them.

5854

General Software Discussion / Re: fully free software utilities for biz use

« on: June 19, 2009, 06:09 AM »

For a small footprint & completely portable file search check out X-Find from Xteq. I use it for (all sorts of thing but mainly) searching server logs (that can be upwards of 1GB) for a specific entry or event and finding which .inc & .lib files have API X in them (They're not always documented that well).

It's ideal for field work where installing a typical desktop search app on a clients server is ill advised.

5855

General Software Discussion / Re: How to find MAC address of 'invisible' hardware?

« on: June 16, 2009, 10:53 PM »

lol ... good point.

Try assigning the machine an address of 192.168.1.99 (assuming its available) just to see if it will conflict with itself (on that address too). if it does then we know it's a freaky LM thing. if it doesn't then do an arp -a and see if "we" can catch another device sporting that address also.

Running nbtstat -A 192.168.1.100 may get it (the rodent) to reveal a bit more about itself also.

5856

General Software Discussion / Re: How to find MAC address of 'invisible' hardware?

« on: June 16, 2009, 03:22 PM »

Excellent! Now we have an enemy with a face! So... what else can we accuse the phone of...

(But seriously) Win7 very well may not have an erroneous record, it may just be more apt to whine about the issue (not entirely a bad thing). Many DHCP enabled devices will have a fall-back configuration that they will use if the DHCP server doesn't answer fast enough. It could be an APIPA (169.254.x.x) address, manufacturer selected, or user configurable. HP's Jet direct print servers are one example, they used to all default to 192.0.0.192 (...'cause some engineer thought that that would be handy).

If the phone is having trouble getting (through security) an IP from the routers DHCP, it may be assigning itself a fall-back address of 192.168.1.100.

5857

General Software Discussion / Re: How to find MAC address of 'invisible' hardware?

« on: June 16, 2009, 06:09 AM »

I don't recall seeing anything about the expanded environment...but can "we" rule out the neighbors equipment?

Also have you tried changing the Win7 machine's 192.168.1.100 to (say...) 192.168.1.99 to confirm or disprove that the Win7 machine is indeed conflicting with itself. I'm working on the assumption that if it truly is a LM issue then any IP assigned to it should automatically conflict when it creates its "shadow".

5858

General Software Discussion / Re: How to find MAC address of 'invisible' hardware?

« on: June 15, 2009, 06:16 AM »

Not to be a pest but this is troubling me:
High Tech Computer Corp makes Smart Phone/PDA/mobile computer devices.
Win7 is more agressive (then any prior version of Windows) about connecting to ^^that ^^ type of device.
That type of device is not going to play well with typical network scanners that test for protocols it doesn't use.
Some folks setup their widgets (badly) to romp about & connect to anything it can find.

To me, the above seems to fit your issue.

5859

General Software Discussion / Re: When does it just become too much trouble

« on: June 14, 2009, 10:29 AM »

If it's mainly VMs why not just create one base template vhd that always remains untouched, and then just copy it to a new VM each time you want to do some testing? That's what I do.

5860

General Software Discussion / Re: How to find MAC address of 'invisible' hardware?

« on: June 14, 2009, 10:23 AM »

Not all DHCP servers (like the ones included in most routers) are that discriminating about skiping statically assigned IP addresses (conflict detection). Another way to work this is to run arp -a to see what Win7 is seeing, and then use one of the many MAC address lookup sites to see who made the problem device (First 3 octets of MAC address is a vendor ID) which will narrow the search faster.

On large or busy networks this would be easier then randomly unplugging stuff (which tends to form a crowd of spastic end users).

You may have a device with 2 IPs from an old/test config that is playing peek-a-boo ... I've done that too myself once or twice.

5861

Living Room / Re: Battery Backup - Get One

« on: June 07, 2009, 07:53 PM »

Enough is enough, Judging by your joined on date & first post you joined this board for the sole purpose of launching a rather highhanded & condescending attack on me. For the “crime” of sharing the events of my day with fellow members. Your imperialistic attempts at making me look stupid have only succeeded in impressing me with your arrogance.

Feel free to enjoy your “win”, as I will not be returning to this thread.

5862

Living Room / Re: Battery Backup - Get One

« on: June 07, 2009, 05:39 PM »

  A nearby utility pole strike is discharged through all routes to ground (e.g. houses on the block). Being spread out lessens its impact on any one individual dwelling. … If however the strike hits (a tree towards the back of the house (opposite the service entry point) the system is effectively back fed which puts a rather different spin on the proverbial ball.

-Stoic Joker (June 07, 2009, 01:50 PM)

  Exactly.  Slowly we are working towards reality.  Apparently you don’t realize the ground rod must be the single point earth ground.   Again, you are too quick to challenge rather than learn the significance of what you have just posted.    Failure to install the single point earthing means a struck tree is also a direct connection to household appliances if the building earthing is performed incorrectly.

  So why would you have damage?  Follow the current from cloud to earth.  Down to the tree, through earth, up the ground rod, into the building through appliances, out the other side of the building via improper earthing, then miles to those distant charges.  That is why homes are routinely built or upgraded with Ufer grounds or equivalent.

-westom (June 07, 2009, 03:29 PM)

You can’t have it both ways… You are saying the a strike (which in your world is a single focused point) hit a (soaking wet) pine tree (which has a 30-40 foot tap root), but decided to completely ignore its already being deep underground and decided to come back up through a ground rod which is on the (lengthwise) opposite end of the house (next to the supply line) … and exists for the sole purpose of directing surges downward?

You insist on assuming I’m sitting on a sandy “bad ground” but given the prevalence of lime rock mines in the area that’s not actually so much the case. Not to mention that being a fan of Power-Line networking, which is dependent on a good system ground I’ve taken the time to go over (e.g. reseat & tighten) all of the grounds in the panel for the purpose of creating a good performance baseline when testing equipment (which is part of my job). And no (before you go off on a tangent) I was not using any of that type of equipment at the time.

  Moving on, you are confusing big with effective.   All that AC mains conditioning equipment has little involvement with surges.  It mostly addresses other problems including harmonics, brownouts, blackouts, and noise.

Hm… Strangely, that’s not what the engineer giving the tour said … but hay it’s your story.

You I gather work with antennas & communications equipment (given the nature of most of your links). In that environment any hit is always direct because you’re dealing with a 100’ tall metal stick poking out of the ground which makes for a single point of contention. Residential areas aren’t quite that neat. It’s generally more of a ground swell that culminates in two cones (one point up, one point down) meeting in the sky. Who gets how much of what becomes rather random at that point.

Once again I’ll refer to my airbag analogy in simply stating that a UPS can help.

5863

Living Room / Re: Battery Backup - Get One

« on: June 07, 2009, 03:30 PM »

Both are needed and the good ones I've worked with have a grasp on both ends of the rope.

Shouldn't have said this... my apologies!

-bob99 (June 07, 2009, 03:25 PM)

It's all good man...

5864

Living Room / Re: Battery Backup - Get One

« on: June 07, 2009, 01:50 PM »

I started the thread by stating (rather clearly) that it was damn near (but hence not) a direct hit. But never the less close enough to have a rather noticeable impact.

-Stoic Joker (June 07, 2009, 12:40 AM)

   You are assuming it was only a nearby hit.  However once we trace the surge path, nearby hits are discovered to be direct hits.  For example, a nearby strike to utility wires down the street is a direct lightning strike to your household appliances.

-westom (June 07, 2009, 11:00 AM)

(Um…) Not even close.  A nearby utility pole strike is discharged through all routes to ground (e.g. houses on the block). Being spread out lessens its impact on any one individual dwelling. Not to mention that that path routes most (but not all) of the surge current through the main system ground (which you are so fond of) … Which indeed does lessen its impact on internal devices. If however the strike hits (a tree towards the back of the house (opposite the service entry point) the system is effectively back fed which puts a rather different spin on the proverbial “ball”. The appliances now become the closer alternate routes to ground on its way to the half inch rod pounded into the soil next to the meter box.

So… just for the “record”, you are stating unequivocally that any type of surge suppression, power conditioning, battery backup is pointless, foolish and dangerous. Because all you really need is a properly grounded system, Correct?

Being that I’ve actually had occasion to tour the local Telco, and seen their array of power conditioning equipment, I find it odd that they would waste all that money and space on something that could have simply been handled by a ground wire. Not to mention all of the fabric switching and redundant systems that prevents outages from being major.

Frankly you are assuming far too much about my background.  While my work experience has always been technical in nature I hate engineers. Their inability to discern theory from practice constantly causes them to sit there pontificating on what should have happened (under laboratory conditions) instead of taking into account what really did happen.

I’ve lived in Florida for 42 years, and in said time period have a great deal of firsthand experience regarding lightning and its effects of one’s surroundings. Unlike most tourists, I do not leave a streak of shit in mid air on the way to the ceiling every time there is a thunder clap.

Why you keep vacillating between your favorite pet theory and a numbers game is frankly beyond me. The only numbers that are relevant (in the very fine print) are the ones that state that any of the $X,000 protection “warranties” don’t apply in the state of Florida (Including mine which was an APC Back-UPS XS1500). This is simply because the odds of it hitting you directly are far too high for the suites to swallow (This is what “They” refer to as “Just Business”). Unlike (let’s say) Michigan which typically gets four strikes a year for the whole state. I lived there once for 6 months during their “rainy season” …cripes what a boring bunch of storms. I had to come back to Florida for sanity sake as I actually missed the lightning.

My only point is simply this; a good quality UPS is just as effective as airbags in a car are.
If you hit a tree at 10mph they are a pointless nuisance & expensive to repack (I’m giving you that one…)
If you hit the same tree at 60mph … Well now there is a damn good chance that they will save your life (the point I’ve been driving at…)
If you hit the tree at 100mph … The undertaker’s job may be a tad easier…but you is still dead. (Which is the outside extreme that you seem to keep driving at?)



@bob99 – I’m with ya man, I just hadn’t expected to be dragged into a theoretical pissing contest while trying to share the events of my day with the crew.

5865

Living Room / Re: Battery Backup - Get One

« on: June 07, 2009, 10:04 AM »

@bob99 - We're on the same page man, just different paragraphs... You're talking about a proper surge device that actually has power conditioning circuitry. I'm talking about one of those Cheap-O power strips (that most end users seem to end up with) that only has a breaker in it. Like this:

http://www.newegg.co...Item=N82E16812120802

...Those don't do squat, unless you're trying to "protect" something with all the electrical sensitivity of a space heater.

You're talking about something more like this:

http://www.newegg.co...Item=N82E16812107131

Correct?

5866

Living Room / Re: Weird Window When Computer Boots Up

« on: June 07, 2009, 09:47 AM »

I'll 2nd that (wr975), No machine ever leaves our shop without activation and all security updates installed. Make Them Fix It.


It takes all of 3 sec to verify activation, that should not have left the shop.

-Stoic Joker (June 06, 2009, 11:35 AM)

Both of you are most likely correct, however I am a fatalist and pretty much expect such sloppy service! I always prefer to know how to do it myself. 

Jim

-J-Mac (June 06, 2009, 11:47 AM)

Me too, that's how I got to where I'm at now. But the guy's story sounded (and later proves to be) a incorrect media licensing issue. Which the "Tech" should have known better and never created. So foisting an angry consumer on them to further their (Um...) education seemed the more "profitable" route (did I mention I have a mean streak?) in the long run.

5867

Living Room / Re: Battery Backup - Get One

« on: June 07, 2009, 12:40 AM »

Okay guys that's enough punishment
@MilesAhead - While that is true, it only applies to daisy chaining two UPSs (Uninterruptible Power Supplies). I was using only one UPS and a cheap-O Surge-Strip which can't conflict with anything. The strip is used only due to cord length issues...I know they don't actually work.

@bob99 - While I agree with the power transients/fluctuations being damaging to sensitive electronics, I'll have to call BS on their effect on a Surge-Strip. The breaker in a SS uses a bimetal bar that flexes and breaks the circuit when heated by a sufficient rise in the current flow. This incidentally is also their inherent weakness. Their function assumes that there will be a sufficiently sized rapid "spike", which is frequently not the case. a low or slow building rise in current is typically not enough to trip the silly things ... but never the less very bad for the device it's "protecting".

How many times can the bimetal strip handle being heated? Thousands. (I'm guessing you want an example, okay...) The turn signal flasher in an automobile has used the same bimetal heat/flex technology to operate for roughly 100 years. The click click noise the turn signals make is the bimetal "breaker" doing a pop/reset over & over & over. Sure they do go bad after 4, 5, 7 years...but that's after flashing how many times?

The problem isn't that the strip won't last; it's that it didn't really work in the first place.

@weston – Good god man, what the hell are you on about.  When the TV goes blank and the lights go out for a three block radius as energy builds up before the discharge, you notice. When there is a blinding flash in the front yard just outside the window one is sitting next to, you notice. When the lights in every room of a building go dim (or out) just before they get really bright, you notice. A surge that isn’t noticed isn’t a surge, it’s a voltage fluctuation.

Lightning (actually) strikes from the ground up, the brilliant flash of light seen coming from the sky is just an arc tracing the (approximate) path of where it happened (note the past tense). If lightning hits a building “directly” the building is already grounded, by virtue of being on the ground. Sure, having the wiring properly ground helps, but it’s not a cure-all for a damn thing. The part of the strike that goes through the electrical system is inductively transferred ambient discharge. How “direct” the path is only makes a difference on whether you have a fried appliance, or a burnt wall.

Electricity seeks the path of least resistance, the trick is to not to be the path. I don’t care if the machine is unplugged and sitting in the middle of the room, a truly direct hit will still render it dead because of the ambient discharge that passes through it. ESD 101 30,000v for visible arc (when "Zapping" your sister...), 3v to toast a circuit board.

I started the thread by stating (rather clearly) that it was damn near (but hence not) a direct hit. But never the less close enough to have a rather noticeable impact. That impact can be mitigated by a UPS, I’ve seen them make a difference too many times to doubt. I’ve seen it hit an office building one suite had a UPS on their server, and one did not. …Only one of them had to replace their server. Our office (a steal building) was hit a few years back, the T1 equipment (which someone plugged it incorrectly) got fried, the servers (all on UPSs) are all still with us. Etc..

Oh, and FL Telco's run most of their wiring underground.

5868

Living Room / Re: Battery Backup - Get One

« on: June 06, 2009, 01:44 PM »

The battery backup took the brunt of the hit and still survived.

I would still be cautious about trusting this one too much.  There is a good chance that while it didn't fry, the protection and filtering circuit that took the hit has been weakened.

-bob99 (June 06, 2009, 01:23 PM)

True, I'll be keeping an eye on it for a while but it seems to checkout ok for now. The toasted one on the server however has adopted much the same behavior you described (battery went to Zero & it beeps occasionally). Sure it'll power up...but it's a gonner. (Crack-the-whip effect: Last device on the circuit takes the biggest "hit")


Interesting side note: The server's battery backup is plugged into one of those cheap-O "Surge Strips" ... The breaker in the strip never tripped.

5869

Living Room / Battery Backup - Get One

« on: June 06, 2009, 12:06 PM »

Florida where I live is called (but is actually 3rd) the lightning capitol of the world. That being said we took a damn near direct hit about an hour ago ... My wife's treadmill is fried. I had to reconfigure the BIOS on my $2,000 main comp to redefine the RAID array to get it to boot. However it did boot. The battery backup took the brunt of the hit and still survived.

My $4,000 Server is also still running just fine ... Its battery backup however is fried. I can afford (sort of) a new battery backup ... but there is no way in hell I could replace the server right now.

Mind you it is not my intention to brag about the cost/value of my equipment, I'm sure a lot of folks here understand the need to invest in ones career ... and have even better stuff. I'm simply trying to show "the numbers" payoff for an investment I made years ago in making sure that surge protection was taken seriously.

If you've ever thought of buying a battery backup some day, make it today. It is worth it.

5870

Living Room / Re: Weird Window When Computer Boots Up

« on: June 06, 2009, 11:35 AM »

I'll 2nd that (wr975), No machine ever leaves our shop without activation and all security updates installed. Make Them Fix It.


It takes all of 3 sec to verify activation, that should not have left the shop.

5871

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 7 evaluation

« on: June 06, 2009, 11:14 AM »

Yes Dell still includes them (not to mention they're easy to copy if you barrow a friends...) ...and legal enough if you use your own COA key. Which OEM you get/install it from/on doesn't matter as they are all the same. I've used the Dell OEM media on everything from WhiteBox OEMs to eMachines.

I've got a self compiled set of OEM CDs for XP and I'm getting a Vista set built now which I've never had an issue with on (clean) install/activation. I have had to call MS for activation roughly 1 out of 50 times I use the disk set ... Which isn't bad odds considering its never failed.

In a pinch you can use the file list from the old Corp Files hack to build your own OEM CDs ... and no I will not go into detail on how. (It was 3 years ago when I compiled the set, and all the info was Google-able)

5872

General Software Discussion / Re: Is it time to start a new AntiVirus/Internet Security Suite review thread?

« on: June 04, 2009, 10:12 PM »

Spybot Search & Destroy's best proactive feature are inoculation & the SD helper (TeaTimer is a freaking nuisance) unfortunately it laggs the crap out of IE8 ... So I'm looking for alternatives.

What has Avast interfered with? Its always seemed rather well behaved to me.

5873

Living Room / Re: Where did your DC user I.D come from?

« on: June 04, 2009, 12:32 PM »

Ok..., but first I have to check it with the same agency that is responsible for our supermandibularambital's furtive existance.  I have no desire to exert undue pressure upon subjacent digits, especially when possessed by souls of a lupine bent!!

If I get the thumbs-up rather than the thumb-screws, I will cadillac back with the dope.

-CodeTRUCKER (June 04, 2009, 12:44 AM)

What The Did He Just Say...?

5874

Post New Requests Here / Re: "Backdrop" for Windows

« on: June 03, 2009, 03:11 PM »

Crazy applications. Nothing I'd ever use, but I'm glad you were able to find an exact clone of the app you were looking for.

Hmmm...it just struck me that this app isn't for me because I'm a rabid multi-tasker. I'm always doing at least 3 projects on my PC at once.

-Innuendo (June 02, 2009, 12:26 PM)

Me to and with Virtual PC + Remote Desktop it usually on multiple machines.

For those more "uni-task" inclined I'm sure something like this is a godsend.

...I thought that was what the maximize window button was for... *Shrug*

...Hay did anybody else think the "Mac users being distracted by shiny" things part of the application description was funny?

5875

Living Room / Re: Where did your DC user I.D come from?

« on: June 03, 2009, 01:27 PM »

While I tend to be expressionless I do have a rather dry (and sometimes dark) sense of humor. A long time friend (who died a few years back) used to like needling me about my Stoic Behavior. ...and the name was born. The moniker has been with me for almost 20 years.

There is a rather vulgar (johnny-Come-Lately) child running around the web also using the name in connection with branded parties in California ...(No Connection to Me)... That I once suffered the mindless driveling rants of via Email (Seems he wanted my domain name). But I'm assuming he'll grow-up and go away eventually.