techpoetry

Happy New Years Eve!

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Years Eve! Your holidays should include no less than Champagne, Mimosas, and be somewhere in public so that you can grab a member of the opposite sex and kiss in the bliss at the stroke of midnight! And oh yeah please use the services of a cab or designated driver. I'd think we all should know better by now any way right! Please have fun but be safe about it!

Work today is boring. I've caught up with everything. I have been recieving calls but all want to schedule for after the holidays. Can you blame them? After all who really wants to fuss with the computer during the holiday? Well, besides me :)

Tip #6 - Get a Notebook and Keep it by Your Computer (make it a New Years Resolution)

This really is the best thing I have ever done. When you make a change to your settings, install/uninstall software, sign up for a online website, buy something online, download a file, virus scan, defragment, run an update, etc... put all the information in there! Use a notebook and write it. Don't try to make a text file to keep because speaking from experience you will not keep it up. And don't put sensitive information such as passwords in this book. This is should be like a ledger with dates, actions, reasons, and results. Also if you have more than one person on the same computer it should also show the person who performed the action. You may think of this as silly but this will save you many times over! You may want to undo a setting but couldn't remember where you changed it in the first place or maybe it could help you identify a incompatible application or problem causing update. System Administrators at large companies use this same method.

Read some supporting articles about Logbooks:
http://networking.earthweb.com/netsysm/print.php/623431

Xmas is over :-(

Yes that's right Christmas is over! Ok so did everyone get what they wanted for Christmas? I know I did! Here are a few things that my girl gave me.

(1) Hacking the XBOX - An excellent book! The projects are well written and thought out. This should prove to provide me with hours of DIY geekdom. I only have one question for you my girl. Since you gave me this book does this mean you are now letting me Hack our XBOX?

(2) TechTV Leo Laporte's 2004 Technology Almanac, DVD Edition - Now just to show you how cool my girl is for this gift I'll tell you that Megan Morrone co-authored this book with Leo Laporte. What's so special about that? Well last year when I got my 2003 Almanac she took me to a book signing to get it signed by Leo and Megan. Ok so. Ok so Megan was the geek of my dreams - I had a little crush on her for the many years that I watched her on The Screen Savers. My girl also thought she was very cool. My girl made my dream come true and took me to see her in person! Of course I don't need to tell you who I went home with do I? My girl is real! She isn't too uptight and insecure about the little things so many girls I've known have been.

(3) 128MB USB 2.0 Thumb Drive - This is something I've been wanting for a long time but never bought it for my self.

Everyone else not to be neglected all gave me brillant gifts! Although these were not of the tech vareity the definetily deserve a mention such as the awesome shirt from Banna Republic that my sister gave me, the collection of shoes that my mother gave me (yes I am a guy who likes shoes) and a belt, and the sharp Ralf Lauren shirt my brother gave me. Of course Santa and Dad's gifts were kinda mixed up but I do remember recieving much needed money! My girl also gave me some thing outside the tech varitety such as the miricallously founded jalapeno stuffed olives and Ponola hot sauce.

Tip #4 (Note)

If you followed my tip #4 Do it yourself NAS and installed it onto a Windows Server that you already had a webserver running on and especailly Exchange as well such as Small Business Server you may have wandered where did every thing go? Well for some reason, even after uninstallation the software shifts things to port 8099. If your familar with IIS this should be a simple fix.

Now change the WebSite back to "Default Web Site" and change the port back to port 80. This should fix your problem - note I wouldn't run a NAS on a server that any other server is hosted on. It is intended to be "standalone" network attached storage and hosting NAS on a server that provides other resources would defeat the purpose.
Start --> Programs --> Administrative Tools --> Internet Services Manager --> Change the default site name and port back to the name of your choice and port 80 or your custom port originally configured.

Tip #5 - DIY Wireless Access Point

Have you ever wanted to build your own wireless router? Well you can and it won't be cheap either! Just follow the link above and it will take you to the TechTV article that shows you how. You may want to ask me the benefits of this DIY project since it costs so much. Well yes you can go to a store and buy a wireless router on the cheap but do you want to learn about managed routers and switches? Do you want to see what really makes those CISCO routers so expensive and so complicated that there is a whole career out there with certifications and all just for these high end CISCO routers. I can't promise that the experience will be just like or even close to such a router but I can promise that as far as I know its as close as you can get without getting one of the routers for yourself.

Sharp Dressed Man... Wo... Woman

Lastnight it was shiny black leather shoes and a tie for me. My girlfriend's company had their annual Christmas Party. You should have seen the knock out I had by my side! She was gorgeous! She doesn't believe me but it's true. My girl isn't the flashy kinda girl. She doesn't use makeup very often nor does she care about having the latest and greatest outfits and that's part of who she is. She is real! That's is very attractive to me however there are times on dates and special occasions when I just get that high school boy in me and I just want to show her off! You may think thats chauvanistic but I don't. When you have it flaunt it right? Needless to say I was a proud man lastnight. She wore a lacy black dress that I gave her last Valentine's Day, made up with subtle makeup and had her hair done. I really like it when she has her hair done but she says it's too expensive to keep it that way all the time... Maybe some day we will be rich and she could right? LOL

Tip #4: Build your Own NAS Box

This is a great DIY Project. Imagine one machine on your network for data storage and backups that you can administer through a web interface. You will only be limited by the size and number of hard drives you can install in your system. Experience the use of a DIY Network Attached Storage Appliance usually only afforded by larger businesses.

A man isn't a domestic man without his power tools!

First of all I want to give thanks to the kind welcomes I've recieved from Leigh and David! I hope you all enjoy my blogging experience as much as I do.

If you haven't heard of the Hoover Floormate and you have wood floors like I do you must look into it! Lastnight I spent only 5 minutes for assembly without the need of anything more than a phillips screwdriver and 3 screws! I remember the last vacum I put together... gezz... well then I spent about 2 hrs playing with the thing. It is pricey but I found out lastnight that I believe it's worth it. It has wet/dry operation, acts as a sweeper, mop, or wet/dry pickup for spills. I admit you will not be able to forego your broom but hey it does make a dent and then you can use your broom for the bigger pieces and around baseboards and in corners. Basically it's less sweeping time and more like using a vacum to sweep and mop or even polish your wood floors. Next I'd like to recommend the Spicy Sausage and Pepper Pasta at Princeton's in Decatur.

Tip#3: Add something more to the IE Repair CD. (Today's tip came from TechTV - The Screen Savers)

Check out Chicago Web Design - Insert Title Web Designs. They have a link to download a standalone version of Internet Explorer. Now you can download this, extract the files to a folder and add it to your IE Repair CD compilation. You could use this to run the iexplore executable right from the CD if you needed to do problem research during troubleshooting an installation (before actually re-installing IE) or maybe download a driver or patch on a machine with a disfunctional or missing IE.

Note: Just as the website states I wouldn't expect it to be stable. I doubt you'll be able to use the Windows Update feature with this executable as well but you should be able to download the updates individually by using the Windows Update Catalog. Oh and if you use a bootable diagnostic program like Super Utilities 2003 I would add it to the compilation of that as well.

For those of you out there into web development this site is an incredible resource for running multiple versions of IE on one machine or downloading any version of any browser ever!

Morning time... huh...

It's morning time now and I sure do feel it. For those who know me they know its hard for me to get up in the mornings and that I am cranky for a while too. Well let me miss a little sleep and I'd stay out of my way if I where you! LOL Ok I'm not really that bad. At least I don't think so... I was home a total of 10-15 minutes until 1:30 am lastnight. Between catching up on work and hanging out with my girl and then hanging with my friend. I just spent my whole night on the go. Well I'd better make this entry short. I've got work to do you know...

Note on the CD Stomper in Tip#1: If you are having troubles browsing to files and CD Stomper locking up you must run the following patch file to update your software to version 4.8.26 and all will be better.

http://www.cdstomper.com/stsoftware.phtml

Tip #2: Make a IE 6 Repair CD

Have you ever had Internet Explorer crash on you? Did it give you an illegal operation, bsod (blue screen of death), or become unresponsive even in safe mode? Ok now you've discovered it must be a software problem. Every good technician knows that you should troubleshoot hardware before software. Do you need to patch IE for vulnerabilities but can't wait for the customer's slow 56k connection. How do you re-install Internet Explorer? When you go the microsoft website and click download all you get is a small installer file that will do the downloading of the rest of the files itself. What if you can't go to the website in the first place to get the small installer file? What if you are onsite without access to the internet? What do you do? Use your IE 6 Repair CD.

Step 1. Create a folder structure some where on your hardrive as follows. You can create your own folder structure. My examples below are for illustration purposes only.
C:\IE 6 Repair CD\
C:\IE 6 Repair CD\Windows 98
C:\IE 6 Repair CD\Windows NT
C:\IE 6 Repair CD\Windows 2K and XP
C:\IE 6 Repair CD\Windows ME
C:\IE 6 Repair CD\All MS Windows

Step 2. Go to Microsoft and download Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 1 choose "Save" and browse to the save location C:\IE 6 Repair CD\ folder.

Step 3. Open your command line and go to C:\IE 6 Repair CD\ and type the following exactly as it is posted. Copy and Paste if you must but get it exact. Then hit enter.

ie6setup.exe /c:"ie6wzd.exe /d /s:""#E"

Step 4. Now you have a screen just like you are installing IE 6 - Click through the agreements and you'll come to a screen asking where you want to save the files and which OS version you want to download. Browse to your folder created for your choice of OS and check your OS of choice.

Step 5. Repeat Steps 2 though 4 until all versions are downloaded.

Step 6. Now launch Nero and Burn the folder to a CD. Start CD Stomper and make you some labels. Throw that CD in your carrying case and go because your late for the service call.

Notes: Other versions of IE not yet tested. You do not have to download all versions I just prefer to come prepared just in case for some reason the "All MS Windows" folder will not work. But why not you have a whole blank CD and plenty of space left. If you can think of any other things we can add to our Internet 6 Repair CD comment on them. Who knows we just might fill up that CD. LOL...

For more information on today's tip check out Daniel Petri's Site.

This is my blog...

I intend on blogging about tech. I hope that this blog may become a regular site to visit for all the blog reading geeks who appreciate tech.

This weekend was a welcomed break from an overwhelming week. I made good use of this weekend as any lazy IT guy would - drinking a few beers with my friend and watching football. Oh and playing with my new DVD burner. My girlfriend and I went to Staples and CompUSA at 6:00am on the day after Thanksgiving and went crazy. I got the DVD Burner, and she got a digital camera and a photo printer. It was my task this weekend to hook up all this up. However the Xmas shopping that my girlfriend and I had to do did wear me out! Saturday was very fun as usual because we took my baby boy to puppy training and puppy playtime.

I will try to give a quick tip with each post so my first tip is:

Tip#1: Software for CD and DVD Burning.

1. Alcohol 120%. $50 for the full version. This is a great program for managing your image files because you can create up to 31 virtual cd drives and assign any image file type (iso, bin, nrg, etc...) to each one. With this software you can make images of all your most used software to store on your harddrive and then assign these images to a virtual cd drive so that under "My Computer" you will see each as if you had each cd in a different cd drive. Note: You maybe asking about a limitation of Windows allowing no more than 26 drives under "My Computer" so how does one get 31 virtual cd/dvd drives in addition to your floppy, harddrive, real cd drive or external drives not to mention if you have more than one partition or drive? Well you can create shared folders and assign the virtual drives to those shared folders. This is the only way to do this as far as I know. If you know if it is possible to have an AA or A1, BB or B1 drive please comment because I really want to see like 50 or more drives under "My Computer." It's just a power user thing right? LOL...

2. DVD X Copy. $60 to $120 depending on the package you choose you can make backup copies of DVDs. There is the small nuisance of a question before you make to copy asking "Is this a borrowed or rental DVD?" making sure you don't make a copy of a DVD you do not own and the addition of a legal warning to the copy of the DVD before you can play the DVD. But it is a good way to protect your legally owned DVD movies from scratches or wear and tear of use.

3. Nero 6 Ultra Edition. $99 for the package or $70 for download. With this you can make your own DVDs/CDs! As well as image files, DVD/CD Covers and many other features too.

4. CD Stomper. $20. You want to make professional covers and screen printing for your home DVDs and CDs, right?