Computers - What have you tweaked today?

afasoas said:
Got a mate with an SDS drill and the appropriate bits to help me drill a couple of holes - which means I can finally run ethernet back and forth between the living room and garage.
That means firewall, switch and the home-built server can be relocated to the garage - making the spare room look like a bedroom again.

A dell server has arrived today which should make a fairly heavy duty virtualisation platform. I've also acquired a managed gigabit switch so I can v-lan it off from the rest of the network. Should be great for running some labs and testing migration from Windows Server 2008 to Windows Server 2012. I'm just looking for a second hand server rack to mount some of this gear in.
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I've got a full height Comms rack potentially available although I assume you want 21U 1100mm depth of thereabouts?
 
neil_g said:
speaking of VLANs, remember to label which ports are separated off.

it saves hours of head scratching, driver updating, cable checking, config changing pain.

:p
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Or spend 30 seconds looking at the config ;)
 
That's where rack schematics come in useful, we've got the procurve 5400 series modules in a 12-bay chassis, and its not exactly a quick-glance to see what VLAN's are configured per port, per module or per group. All documented though so all good :)
 
yeah, like i say this is literally the only switch in the building with any VLAN config, the rest of the ciscos are all fairly standard config which is why i didnt even think of it first off. transpires that some of the ports were separated for a development LAN but nobody thought to label them :rolleyes:
 
Not tweaking as such, but I'm making some Cat5E cables to network my room a bit. Then will be running cable through the walls/under floors to connect to the phone line.
Hopefully this will be a bit tidier than running the cable over the top of the door and up the stairs!
 
arad85 said:
No one ever got fired for buying IBM.

I could never figure out why.....
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Because, the proper IBM stuff seldom breaks. The intel based x series stuff, well, they're a different story. Not known a series of servers to need to have the power completely removed to 'reset' them so much as the x series.

Oh, when the old IBM SP Frame stuff does go pop then they really do go in a big way. I can up Neil's 20 min boot for a AS400 to 50 min plus when some of the memory is dodgy on a SP box, gets tedious when testing :)
 
Spent a couple of days messing about with our network and broadband. Copper cable gives us about 1.5MB download and about 250k upload speed so decided to upgrade to Mobile WiFi with EE. We get 4G signal in the house so can get between 7 and 20GB download depending on conditions etc. Unfortunately the mobile wifi box doesn't have great wifi signal so wanted to use our existing EE broadband router and use the mobile wifi box as the broadband link. Eventually got it going reliably using a TP-Link box as WISP Connector connected into our old Router through a wired connection. After much messing about with DHCP etc have now got stable connectivity in time for Xmas...

A
 
PaulF said:
Because, the proper IBM stuff seldom breaks.
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When that catchphrase was king, I was on a committee to specify the next generation computing solution for a major UK corporation's research centre. The choice was between DEC with Sparc stations, Sun and an IBM mainframe.

IBM were the only ones to fly us to Montpellier in S France to see the mainframes being manufactured....

...On a corporate jet flown over from the USA for the purpose of flying 6 of us over there (I kid you not!).

Ahh.. I just figured out why no one got fired. They knew which side up their bread was buttered ;)

(we chose Sun workstations in the end - a fraction the cost and many x as powerful).
 
I guess it was the good old AXP (Alpha) machines, replaced our VAX at the time. And a fair bit of the AS400 as well. Oh the fun old days. :)
 
pwhysall said:
Nerd Note: DEC didn't make SPARCstations, Sun did :)
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Quite right too. I think it was in the late 80's I guess so my memory is fading ;) The Sun's were series 3 from memory, so based on the Moto 68k processor, I think DEC were pushing MicroVAXes at the time (Alphas hadn't hit the streets by then from what I recall). DEC were very quickly discounted and it was a two horse race between an IBM mainframe (may well have been an AS400 - that rings a bell) and Suns. The CFD department wanted the mainframe, everyone else wanted Suns. We ended up with Sun workstations...

It's a long time ago now :(
 
AlistairD said:
Spent a couple of days messing about with our network and broadband. Copper cable gives us about 1.5MB download and about 250k upload speed so decided to upgrade to Mobile WiFi with EE. We get 4G signal in the house so can get between 7 and 20GB download depending on conditions etc. Unfortunately the mobile wifi box doesn't have great wifi signal so wanted to use our existing EE broadband router and use the mobile wifi box as the broadband link. Eventually got it going reliably using a TP-Link box as WISP Connector connected into our old Router through a wired connection. After much messing about with DHCP etc have now got stable connectivity in time for Xmas...

A
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I might wanna talk to you later....right now I've got more pressing problems with a new laptop on win 8, does flinging the thing through the nearest window constitute a "tweak"
 
joxby said:
I might wanna talk to you later....right now I've got more pressing problems with a new laptop on win 8, does flinging the thing through the nearest window constitute a "tweak"
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Is it Win 8 or Win 8.1??

There is a difference!!
 
@stryvya
I know, about 1.3 gigs worth, its not the best initial user experience to find out you need an update of that magnitude on a 1mb line, straight off the bat.
I can't work the thing, and it needs a 3 hour update, its only been out the box an hour......not great
I know I can use it without the update, but, tbf, the sooner that metro app crap clears off the better.
 
joxby said:
@stryvya
I know, about 1.3 gigs worth, its not the best initial user experience to find out you need an update of that magnitude on a 1mb line, straight off the bat.
I can't work the thing, and it needs a 3 hour update, its only been out the box an hour......not great
I know I can use it without the update, but, tbf, the sooner that metro app crap clears off the better.
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When your update has finished install something listed here:-

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2054422/five-tools-to-bring-the-start-menu-back-to-windows-8-1.html

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/2015-way-microsoft-get-windows-8-1-start-menu-now/

http://betanews.com/2014/10/20/the-best-free-start-menus-for-windows-8-1/

http://blog.laptopmag.com/5-windows-8-1-start-menu-apps

To get rid of Metro, or at leasttop not have to use it.

Personally I would like to have Win8 back, Win8.1 is just horrible.
 
joxby said:
@stryvya and it needs a 3 hour update, its only been out the box an hour......not great
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even a fresh build of 7 requires the best part of 200 updates and several reboots.

say thanks to MS for deciding not to spend any more time building service packs for that. cant comment on yours as i dont know how many updates 8 needs out of the box, i imagine it wasnts to update 8 to 8.1 or something.
 
Neilc28 said:
Wouldn't say it was tweaking, but troubleshooting a Vigor 2860, quite possibly the worst Draytek I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with :(
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I've wasted hours with one of these... :( Anybody got a recommendation for something that does what the 2860 promises to do?

Having a nightmare trying to allocate multiple external BT IP addresses. Having said that, BT don't make it straightforward.
 
neil_g said:
even a fresh build of 7 requires the best part of 200 updates and several reboots.
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Yeah, I've been through that a few times recently. It got to the point I considered trying to cache the Windows updates somewhere on the local network (then decided it was too much work).
 
onomatopoeia said:
Yeah, I've been through that a few times recently. It got to the point I considered trying to cache the Windows updates somewhere on the local network (then decided it was too much work).
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we've got WSUS at work, it still takes forever over Gbit.

e: this is where system imaging is handy if you have one or a limited amount of systems. install OS, update, image. unfortunately for us we have such a variety of models and revisions it's not feasible.
 
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stryvya said:
When your update has finished install something listed here:-

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2054422/five-tools-to-bring-the-start-menu-back-to-windows-8-1.html

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/2015-way-microsoft-get-windows-8-1-start-menu-now/

http://betanews.com/2014/10/20/the-best-free-start-menus-for-windows-8-1/

http://blog.laptopmag.com/5-windows-8-1-start-menu-apps

To get rid of Metro, or at leasttop not have to use it.

Personally I would like to have Win8 back, Win8.1 is just horrible.
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Thanks for that Lennard..

Well I'm just about to make a start on it, I doubt I'll tell the difference between 8 and 8.1 because I didn't know 8, only had an hour on it before I got pi$$ed off .
I dunno what's going on with the apps thing, I want shortcuts to software not apps, I want bookmarks in a browser not big multicoloured fisher price buttons, but I don't want to dump it all if it causes problems, I mean, what do we need apps for I can see the reasoning for mobile phone use but a PC ??
 
S'pose that'll be an 11tybillion gig file too :/

Anyway, I'm off to the EE shop, see if I can't get in a position where I can tell BT to shove their expensive abysmal internet, though judging by recent news events, I might still end up stuck with BT.....ffsake.
 
remember mobile internet has monthly download limits. i wouldn't rely on it solely for home internet either, 4G coverage isn't amazing yet and is subject to interference from various factors.

lots of people have been caught out by doing that just recently when 3 revoked their unlimited tethering data on contract renewals.

e: the tech preview of 10 (64 bit enterprise edition) was a 3.8gb download. full release may be more.
 
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chuckles said:
I've wasted hours with one of these... :( Anybody got a recommendation for something that does what the 2860 promises to do?

Having a nightmare trying to allocate multiple external BT IP addresses. Having said that, BT don't make it straightforward.
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External modem plus an old PC (or new Atom based PC) with two Ethernet cards running pfSense. Then hand off to a decent switch and buy a Asus RT-N66U (or AC66U) as a wireless access point. I gave up on integrated modem/routers about 3 years ago - too many compromises for my liking.

Configuring ANYTHING complex networking wise is only easy when you know how network devices work (i.e. when you understand the low level details of how each packet is handled).
 
arad85 said:
External modem plus an old PC (or new Atom based PC) with two Ethernet cards running pfSense. Then hand off to a decent switch and buy a Asus RT-N66U (or AC66U) as a wireless access point. I gave up on integrated modem/routers about 3 years ago - too many compromises for my liking.

Configuring ANYTHING complex networking wise is only easy when you know how network devices work (i.e. when you understand the low level details of how each packet is handled).
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I quite agree - but in this day and age you should need to resort to boxes all over the place... all I needed was for the 2860 to do what it says 'on the tin' - it came from BT's recommendation too (after I trashed their own offering). I just haven't the space (or the pocket for a massive Electrickery bill)

Someone has suggested a Billion 7800DXL modem/router but I'm apprehensive.
 
joxby said:
S'pose that'll be an 11tybillion gig file too :/

Anyway, I'm off to the EE shop, see if I can't get in a position where I can tell BT to shove their expensive abysmal internet, though judging by recent news events, I might still end up stuck with BT.....ffsake.
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Other ISPs are available on a BT telephone line.
 
neil_g said:
at least 8.1 let you boot straight to the desktop by default.
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On Win8 when Metro displayed on Boot just hit the Windows Button (bottom left of Keyboard and Win 8 shows normal desktop, hit again type a Prog. your looking for and a list is displayed, easy. Not like the MishMash of Win8.1
 
chuckles said:
I quite agree - but in this day and age you should need to resort to boxes all over the place...
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Having multiple external IP addresses routed through a router is not really consumer territory. You're at the enterprise level - so expect enterprise level suggestions ;)

The Billion looks like it does what you want (one-to-one NAT) but I have no experience of what it's like - especially if you want to get more complex with what's allowed in and out. Otherwise look for a gateway - ZyXel do some: http://www.zyxel.com/uk/en/products_services/smb-gateways.shtml?t=c - I have no idea what model does what feature though.
 
stryvya said:
On Win8 when Metro displayed on Boot just hit the Windows Button (bottom left of Keyboard and Win 8 shows normal desktop
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No start button....
 
stryvya said:
On Win8 when Metro displayed on Boot just hit the Windows Button (bottom left of Keyboard and Win 8 shows normal desktop, hit again type a Prog. your looking for and a list is displayed, easy. Not like the MishMash of Win8.1
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off the top of my head, default (or at least there is an option) for the 8.1 start button was the "Apps" list which had a search option?

i dont have a machine around to check that however.
 
neil_g said:
remember mobile internet has monthly download limits. i wouldn't rely on it solely for home internet either, 4G coverage isn't amazing yet and is subject to interference from various factors.

lots of people have been caught out by doing that just recently when 3 revoked their unlimited tethering data on contract renewals.

e: the tech preview of 10 (64 bit enterprise edition) was a 3.8gb download. full release may be more.
Click to expand...

I'll be running them both till I'm sure the EE thing is worth the effort, nobody knows what I'm gonna get from EE so for £40 for the MiFi device and no contract.....I'm gonna find out.
I just want what most people take for granted, to watch YouTube without bufferface, to load a page from TPF in less than 20 seconds, to be able to use more than one pc at the same time, its not the moon on a stick, its a very basic requirement that neither BT nor anybody else can manage, they'd rather spend money on sport and TV content which incidentally I can't get for free because their internet connection is so poor.

Mebbe 10 will be available on a disk :)

ere, what happened to 9
 
what are you syncing at now on your internet?

one of a few rumours on why no windows 9 is the version checking for 95/98 would cause problems. although why software these days would still be checking for those old versions i dont know.
 
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Slower than 92% of GB...lol

That's actually not bad....for me, might not be very busy yet though
 
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well, it ain't pullin up any trees but still, its half the price :)
 
joxby said:
I might wanna talk to you later....right now I've got more pressing problems with a new laptop on win 8, does flinging the thing through the nearest window constitute a "tweak"
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Still doing minot tweaks but it is settling down. Happy to help just PM me if you've got any questions.

KR

A
 
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