Tag: windows
Browse the blog by topic.
67 posts · All tags
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NTP vs UCS
Univention UCS would be a sweet "Domain-Controller in a box" solution if there weren't that many pitfalls like setting the NTP server correctly. That stuff is done via "ucr", some univention tool on commandline or hid...
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x2go client complains about some sshd
Since I am fed up with licensing costs for some TeamViewer solution or any awkward or even complicated VPN stuff I did dig into x2go, a neat solution for sharing some beloved apps on various machines. After all the wh...
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A short Hands-on: Microsoft Surface 3 Pro
I have to admit, I'm a proud owner of the MS Surface 3 Pro running an i7 under its hood. It's my first Windows Tablet, so I do not have references to any of the previous devices. So I'm just giving my personal opinion...
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Network too intelligent
Lately, working with Windows 7 I noticed a cruel transmission rate of 200 B/s while fetching a file from a local server over a highspeed connection. No, I didn't have a typing error in there, it's 200 Bytes per second...
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Scanning Cash
While doing a routine install of a scanner I discovered something interesting - an error message while processing a test image: The scanner software recognizes money and refuses to process it, to make it harder for th...
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Goodbye Windows 8
I'm fed up with Windows 8 on my Lenovo W530 and the troubles I am facing. To name a few: No support for the color calibration sensor by pantone, VMware vSphere only works with a few hacks (and doesn't show consoles),....
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Tracking down problems with Win8 and Linux
Since quite some time I'm running Windows 8 on my Laptop. During this time I did see and track down quite a few bluescreens caused by malware scanners, drivers and last but not least caused by my Linux install. I am p...
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PCs do need care!
It shouldn't be something new for you that you should care for your computer. No matter if it's a Desktop PC or a Laptop. If you don't care, your machine might end up with a bunch of problems. On the other hand, are c...
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The SSD for daily use
My last post was about some technical facts regarding the Crest 6 Master by Angelbird where I promised to publish some results of my daily-use test with using my Lenovo W500 . First of all, keep in mind that the disk...
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Two years at the W500 - and now?
My W500 isn't really an old PC, but I have to admit that I do hit some performance limits by now. So what now? A new notebook? Geez... Looking back at the upgrades already done: The internal Harddisk drive was already...
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MSSQL Emergency Mode
There are a few undocumented things about the MSSQL Server 2000 missing in the knowledgebase of Microsoft. That's a way to get a database marked as suspect into emergency mode: use[master] go execute sp_configure 'all...
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MS-SQL Recovery
There are two kinds of customers: The ones who do backups and those who didn't have data loss yet, ignoring all good advice and best practices. However, in the end it's always us, the IT crowd being yelled for to look...
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Hat Microsoft dazugelernt?
Wie ich schon vor einer Weile berichtet habe, werden Abstürze unter OSX mehr oder minder als Aufforderung zum Neustart abgetan, was dem Benutzer eben nicht direkt sagt, dass etwas schief gegangen ist. Bei der neuen Wi...
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Bad RAM
I guess there are many ways to drive a sysadmin crazy - I even experienced a few by now; But the most effective one of all seems to be bad memory. Let me tell you: Nowadays most systems that I get to look at are Windo...
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OpenVPN vs Win7 - Strike II
I guess you could sense that I wasn't satisfied with my previous solution regarding OpenVPN GUI and user privileges. So I invested some more time to be able to cut down permissions again. I discovered a way that works...
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OpenVPN vs Win7
OpenVPN is a cool tool for doing quick and easy VPN connections that work. At least it is easy as long as you don't drop administrative privileges for the common user. To get the VPN working, it is needed to set up ro...
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Miracles with older PCs
Today I had my lesson with older hardware - especially with those 'new' 64 bit machines which can be a real pain in the ass. But let's start at the beginning of my story. My plan was to install Windows 7 on a PC which...
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Live and let live
Looking at the IT world, there are many systems to work with and many arguments against them. It's amazing, but it's common that users flame each other. Linux guys pick on Windows users, Windows users hit apple. In th...
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Another reason to use Linux?
There are many reasons for me to use Linux - one of them is the WGA checking which currently has the nerve to brandmark my Windows 7 as a "non genuine copy" since I've applied the latest updates. To improve the situat...
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The second glance at Windows 7
I am running Windows 7 since a little while now and I guess it was my talent of finding all of the problems left on my machine at once. But hey, that's life regarding early adoption of such stuff as I couldn't wait to...
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The darned 7
I admit that I am not a fan of Microsoft at all - especially after struggling with Windows Vista. Honestly, I was quite close to threw out all of their software moving to Linux. But then I got a Beta of Windows 7 whic...
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Spam or Virus?
Today I had one of those typical spam malware in my mailbox, showing that Microsoft Outlook is one of the most widely used mail programs, being attacked all the time: Microsoft Outlook Notification for the xxxx@xxxx.x...
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Online Backup - Review
As I am using Online Backup as a virtual data safe since some time now, it is time to look back and see what it did: The amount of data I am keeping safe is something around 2 GB. Sure, this doesn't seem to be much bu...
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Online-Backup
Backup is always one of those beloved topics of system administration as nobody cares, but cries on data loss. This posting shouldn't rate a method of backup - it should just introduce online backup as a way of doing...
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A question of nerves
User support, the daily fight with Users suffering from ESD (as in extreme stupidity disorder) - all that are leaving traces on the admins face. Especially if you think that you got things under control, such users ki...
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Saving power
Saving power gets more and more important in our times, not just because of saving the environment, also the marketing people found a way to sell it. But if we are talking about power saving, we are also talking about...
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64 Bit?
My (new) Laptop got a 64 bit CPU doing the number crunching in it - and of course enough RAM to do it all. So it isn't a miracle, that the OS they delivered with it, was Windows Vista 64. So I looked over the whole in...
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Fast User Switching - Windows XP vs domain
I had to do some changes to our local it infrastructure by migrating anything into an active directory structure to improve things here. The good thing about such changes is, that the administrative stuff gets easier...
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Alternatives to Nagios
Knowledge about the things happening on hosts and network is essential to a system administrator. That's why they usually install a bunch of software tools to get the required informations from their systems. Nagios i...
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Internet Explorer and Network shares
Last post I have ranted about apple doing crap, but to be honest, it isn't really better on windows - it's just different problems like being unable to execute a binary file from a network drive. As the error message...
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Windfall
Today I have really started thinking about apple computers again due to the latest incident. This time we're talking about windows shares in a cooperated network, called smb or samba shares in combination with an acti...
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Windows and its trash
Windows can be a real dirty system regarding wasted disk space as you might have noticed. A current case showed amazing numbers. The common TEMP-Directories, found at C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\TEMP and some stuff in the use...
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My favorite ISP again...
Every now and then it happens to me, that I have to have a look at the computer problems of my relatives, just like the current weekend. Topic of the session: "Internet access", the classical error report: "nothing wo...
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Windows Live Writer
Nachdem Microsoft uns die Live-Tools via Windows Update untergeschoben hat, versuche ich einmal mit dem Windows Live Writer zu bloggen. Zugegeben, das ist nicht ganz das was ich gewohnt bin, aber immerhin eine Möglich...
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Lenovo W500 - Part 1
As my old notebook got to slow for my taste, I went out for getting me a new one. But that wasn't a easy as suspected. After some time of comparing and reading reviews I have decided to go with a Lenovo W500, which is...
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Windows 7 Beta
I guess I was part of the crowd who took the Microsoft server down by downloading the new beta version of Windows 7. Surely I am not the biggest Windows fan on earth - and never will be as I cannot use an operating sy...
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But apple can do
I recently got the chance to check out an apple server box and work with it for a little while, as the admin there was absent and some stuff had to be done - especially the updates which I had to do. Fine thing for su...
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Microsoft Key-Changer
No, this is not a mistake: Microsoft offers a small tool for changing the product key of windows xp or vista. Ok, they call it 'updating the product key', but that's just a different word for it. In general, I like th...
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The OQO odyssey - Part 1
Everything started with a package from japan. I bought an OQO Model 01+ on ebay, a small UMPC - The disc was wiped, but the recovery cd was available. Hey, that's the perfect geek toy! As I opened the box, I discovere...
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Nostalgia
I've never thought of having to install MS-DOS 6.22 again in my life. But today I had to - I even needed Windows 3.11 for Workgroups for getting some ancient box to work. The install started with three floppy disks, a...
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Finally it arrived!
After one week delay, the third service pack for Microsoft Windows XP arrived. You won't believe it: It's even available via automatic update. But what's inside? First of all, it's a huge file being 313 MB which means...
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Update: Finally it arrived!
After the big download, I kick-started the installer and I couldn't believe my eyes: That service pack wants to have 1475 MB free space while installation - true, that number sounds scary, but it wasn't better with th...
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Microsoft Delays Windows XP Service Pack 3
Since Heise announced that Microsoft will release the Windows XP Service Pack 3 on the 29th, I didn't sleep too well, as I really want to grab it as soon as possible. Sure, I use Linux, but this doesn't mean that I am...
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Registry Disabled By Administrator
The message stated in the topic is the one I hate most - especially if it appears with the user I am supposed to work with. But how to deal with that problem? I started searching the knowledgebase and looked around on...
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Force resetting the printer queue
Sometimes Windows dislikes you and printer jobs get stuck in the queue and you are unable to delete them. Such days are usually unforgotten by every user - but it is not hard to get things working again. The first thi...
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Windows XP made easy
Windows often includes moving the mouse for hours, which I personally dislike. So here is a collection of shortcuts used from CLI (cmd.exe) or Startmenu -> Execute: Add / Remove Programs appwiz.cpl Administrative Tool...
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A hint for you windows users out there
I was fixing another windows box those days and I was forced to check the fragmentation, which was the biggest blocker on that system, disregarding the user and the fact that the system got more than one windows parti...
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Graphical Overkill
I do not want to beat around the bushes; instead I just kickstart the topic: Graphical Userinterfaces. Today you just get eyecandy. OpenGL on the desktop, transparency, everything is shiny and blinks. But why? Do we r...
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Vista - What now?
Curse or cure? New or recycled? Who really knows... Anyways - I have checked the actual pricing for Vista. For my taste it is too expensive and I do not see any use for it by now - or is there a good reason for an upg...
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Troubleshooting Firefox
If you got problems with Firefox - no matter if it's Windows, Linux or anything else - it is always a good idea to kill its configs. How come? The problem started after updating Firefox in my Windows-VM. What now? Alr...
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Taming the beast
The Microsoft Internet Explorer wants to be nice to webservers and refuses to download more than two files at once, which can be quite annoying. If an alternative browser is not an acceptable alternative, you have to...
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Anti-Sandbox code with norman
Norman is not a person. Norman is our good old friend at norman.no - the sandbox, doing binary analysis. In other words, since the Nepenthes module submit_norman it became one of the botnet kiddies greatest enemies as...
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Killing Windows made easy
No, this is not a guide how to wreck someones computer nor a call to kill Windows... But for having troubles with Windows you might want to try that... at your own risk. Disk /dev/sda: 250.0 GB, 250059350016 bytes 255...
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Zeitdiebstahl?
EDV Techniker wie mir wird oftmals das Privatleben von verschiedensten Leuten einfach beschnitten, mit der Frage 'Kannst du mir nicht kurz bei einem Problem am Computer helfen?'... Diese Frage an sich ist ja nicht unb...
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Zeitdiebstahl?
EDV Techniker wie mir wird oftmals das Privatleben von verschiedensten Leuten einfach beschnitten, mit der Frage 'Kannst du mir nicht kurz bei einem Problem am Computer helfen?'... Diese Frage an sich ist ja nicht unb...
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Das Setup meines HP Pavilion - Die Windows Seite
Vorinstallierte Systeme sind ein Graus... Ich klappe meinen Laptop auf und boote - und da grinst es mir schon entgegen, das Windows XP Home Edition, welches gut den gesamten Platz auf dem Laptop belegen will. Doch geb...
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Das Setup meines HP Pavilion - Die Windows Seite
Vorinstallierte Systeme sind ein Graus... Ich klappe meinen Laptop auf und boote - und da grinst es mir schon entgegen, das Windows XP Home Edition, welches gut den gesamten Platz auf dem Laptop belegen will. Doch geb...
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Weltwunder++
Es ist für manche Leute ein unerklärliches Wunder, dass deren PC über die Wochen die sie ihn besitzen so langsam geworden ist, wie er es im Moment ist. Ich stehe desöfteren vor solchen Wunderkisten und wundere mich me...
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Microsoft Windows Vista - Ein kurzer Probeflug
"Ja, ich wollte es wissen und bin selbst schuld" - mit diesen Worten beginnt meist das Eingeständnis eines Menschen, welcher sich einen Fehler eingesteht bzw. mein Bericht wenn ich etwas Neues ausprobiere und dabei (w...
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Microsoft Windows Vista - Ein kurzer Probeflug
"Ja, ich wollte es wissen und bin selbst schuld" - mit diesen Worten beginnt meist das Eingeständnis eines Menschen, welcher sich einen Fehler eingesteht bzw. mein Bericht wenn ich etwas Neues ausprobiere und dabei (w...
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Blocking advertisements, die einfache Art
Wer kennt sie nicht, die nervenden Werbeanzeigen mit welchen die Webseiten zugemüllt sind. Diverse Blocker greifen softwaregesteuert ins System ein um diese zu eliminieren, doch es geht noch einfacher. Werbungen sind...
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Der Freeware-PC - ist es möglich oder nicht?
Mit dieser Frage habe ich mich in den letzten Monaten schon öfters herumgeschlagen. Unter \ nix Betriebssystemen (Unix, Linux, BSD,...) ist dies ja kein Thema, da man so gut wie 99% der Software gratis erhält. Doch wi...
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Der Freeware-PC - ist es möglich oder nicht?
Mit dieser Frage habe ich mich in den letzten Monaten schon öfters herumgeschlagen. Unter *nix Betriebssystemen (Unix, Linux, BSD,...) ist dies ja kein Thema, da man so gut wie 99% der Software gratis erhält. Doch wie...
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BufferZone - Security through Virtualization
BufferZone von Trustware ist eine neue Art von Sicherheit für den PC. Sein Schutz baut darauf auf, eine Art Sandkasten für verschiedene Programme zu bilden und sie dort einzusperren. Mit anderen Worten ist es Schadens...
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BufferZone - Security through Virtualization
BufferZone von Trustware ist eine neue Art von Sicherheit für den PC. Sein Schutz baut darauf auf, eine Art Sandkasten für verschiedene Programme zu bilden und sie dort einzusperren. Mit anderen Worten ist es Schadens...
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Windows Genuine Advantage Notification
Jetzt verstehe ich die Welt nicht mehr... Dass Microsoft schon immer seltsame Aktionen gerissen hat, ist ja bekannt nur was soll das Teil nun in meiner Update-Liste? Sehen wir uns einmal das Tool an, was es laut Besch...
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Windows Genuine Advantage Notification
Jetzt verstehe ich die Welt nicht mehr... Dass Microsoft schon immer seltsame Aktionen gerissen hat, ist ja bekannt nur was soll das Teil nun in meiner Update-Liste? Sehen wir uns einmal das Tool an, was es laut Besch...