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Migrating from WordPress to Blosxom #
Yes, you read that correctly. In this degenerate age, when even Rael Dornfest powers his blog with WordPress, there are still those who appreciate Blosxom's simplicity and security. For those who were lost but now have been found, Antonio Zamora explains how to migrate from WordPress to Blosxom.
/blosxom | Aug 31, 2009
Gandhi meets the A-Team #I briefly thought of going to watch The Cove yesterday, and had just about given up on the idea when Mali's review moved me to check it out. I now agree wholeheartedly with her assessment: "Everyone, EVERYONE needs to see The Cove." UPDATE: All of the media attention around The Cove has had a huge impact!
/misc | Aug 30, 2009
RAID not supported by EASEUS Partition Master Server Edition Boot CD #There are a number of Partition Magic clones which offer bootable CDs. I needed one that would support a SCSI RAID 1 array, and thought I had found the solution in EASEUS Partition Master Server Edition: "EASEUS Partition Master allows you to resize partition during the copy process with hardware RAID supported. And it can boot from both CD/DVD and Windows System."1.
UPDATE: EASUS has kindly updated their webpage to reflect the fact that RAID is not supported by the boot CD. I am very impressed with their quick response, and after using the installed version, am equally impressed with their product.
After purchasing the software (the boot disc cannot be created from the trial download), I burned and booted from the CD. Imagine my surprise when greeted by this message:
Not only does it not support RAID, it doesn't support Vista, Windows 2008, or creating/deleting partitions which occur before virtually any Windows partition. This was not mentioned in their documentation anywhere (though I later found a single forum post which mentioned the lack of RAID support). I emailed back and forth with their tech department who were very kind, but could not offer a solution. I once again set out to find a bootable partition manager that would support RAID. Here are a few possibilities:
- Resize NTFS partitions using the GParted live CD - Himuraken successfully repartitioned a Dell PowerEdge 2800 PERC 4 RAID 5 array using the free and open source GParted. Several other reports indicated possible trouble with GParted and NTFS-formatted RAID, so backing up is critical (as it always is before repartitioning).
- Paragon's Partition Manager 10 Server seems to fit the bill. Peter Banz has a glowing review, but I cannot be sure that the boot CD actually includes the necessary RAID drivers. Since it is Windows PE-based, they could be manually added via floppy during boot, but that adds another layer of hassle.
- Acronis Disk Director Server 10.0's documentation mentions a "Rescue Media Builder", but does not explicitly state whether or not it supports RAID. UPDATE: Darren kindly informs us that Disk Director Server's boot disc supports a number of RAID controllers. He sent along a list of all files included on the CD, and points us to /lib/modules as well as /etc/driverspack (for those that run in compatibility mode) to review said drivers.
/windows | Aug 24, 2009
"There is only one success ... #to be able to spend your life in your own way, and not to give others absurd maddening claims upon it."
-- Christopher Morley in Where the Blue Begins
/misc | Aug 20, 2009
The firmware on this system is not configured to allow the Cardbus controller to be run in Cardbus mode. #This process resulted in happiness on a Compaq Presario 700 (701CL) laptop:
- Install Windows XP Home with Service Pack 2 OEM
- Successfully install Linksys WPC54G ver. 3.1 CardBus wireless adapter
- Update Windows XP SP2 to SP3
- Wireless continues to work
- Install Windows XP Home with Service Pack 2 OEM
- Update Windows XP SP2 to SP3
- Insert Linksys WPC54G ver. 3.1 CardBus wireless adapter
- Receive following message: The device "Texas Instruments PCI-1410 Cardbus Controller" has detected a Cardbus card in its slot, but the firmware on this system is not configured to allow the Cardbus controller to be run in Cardbus mode. The operating system will currently accept only...
- Spend hours tracking down antiquated answers, hacking away at the registry, uninstalling SP3, etc before formatting hard drive and using the first process.
/windows | Aug 17, 2009
Formatting partitions over 32GB as FAT32 in Windows XP #Searching for a quick way to format a partition over 32GB as FAT32 in Windows XP, I tried this solution recommended in a number of places:
C:\>format drive_letter /fs:fat32Here's what I got:
The type of the file system is RAW. The new file system is FAT32. WARNING, ALL DATA ON NON-REMOVABLE DISK DRIVE D: WILL BE LOST! Proceed with Format (Y/N)? y Verifying 40960MEons pass, stars are born and burn out, entire universes spring into existence, spiral outward, and return to the formless void... and then, finally:
The volume is too big for FAT32.Older and wiser, I decided to give the tiny, open source fat32format a go:
C:\>fat32format d: Warning ALL data on drive 'd' will be lost irretrievably, are you sure (y/n) :yApproximately one second later, the format was complete. Incredulous, I chkdsk'd the drive - it was formatted perfectly. fat32format's documentation seems to bear this out ("It should take about 4 seconds per Terabyte to format the disk." - wow!). May this lesson save humanity from many wasted hours.
/windows | Aug 17, 2009
Windows Firewall settings grayed out #If malware has turned off Windows Firewall and disabled making changes to same, deleting the EnableFirewall values indicated below may restore access:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\DomainProfile] "EnableFirewall"=dword:00000000 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsFirewall\StandardProfile] "EnableFirewall"=dword:00000000
/windows | Aug 16, 2009
Best lightweight antivirus #DefenseWall is actually a HIPS (Host Intrusion Prevention System), not antivirus. In my testing, it is much more effective at preventing malware infections than definition-based antivirus applications. Remove-Malware.com also offers a strong recommendation (albeit with annoying affiliate downloads instead of a link to the homepage). The developer of DefenseWall, Ilya Rabinovich, responded to inquiries rapidly, and generously offered a discount for a family in need. The app particularly shines on older hardware which traditional antivirus products (and even the "light" Panda Cloud Antivirus) slow to a crawl. After hours perfecting the ideal install for a worthy cause, it's nice to know that DefenseWall (along with user education) will keep it safe and clean.
Postscript: Two similar freeware applications, DriveSentry 3.3 and GeSWall 2.9 did not work out; the former due to its bloated size (over 50MB download compared to around 3MB for DefenseWall) and the latter since it does not work on FAT32-formatted drives.
/windows | Aug 16, 2009
Malware causes "Access is denied" error #A malware infection disabled explorer.exe and all antimalware apps as soon as they were launched (in both Normal and Safe modes) by changing permissions on the EXEs. After clearing the infection with DaRT/Standalone System Cleaner, permissions had to be fixed on the apps. As Windows XP Home does not include the Security tab in Normal Mode by default (Claus breaks down a number of workarounds), the CACLS command came in handy. Files which would not launch had been modified as in this example:
C:\Program Files\Prevx>cacls prevx.exe C:\Program Files\Prevx\prevx.exe Everyone:(NP)(special access:) DELETE READ_CONTROL WRITE_DAC WRITE_OWNER STANDARD_RIGHTS_REQUIRED FILE_READ_DATA FILE_WRITE_DATA FILE_APPEND_DATA FILE_READ_EA FILE_WRITE_EA FILE_EXECUTE FILE_DELETE_CHILD FILE_READ_ATTRIBUTES FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTESThese permissions are easily replaced:
C:\Program Files\Prevx>cacls prevx.exe /g administrator:f Are you sure (Y/N)?y processed file: C:\Program Files\Prevx\prevx.exeNow Administrator has full access:
C:\Program Files\Prevx>cacls prevx.exe C:\Program Files\Prevx\prevx.exe ComputerName\Administrator:Fand the program runs normally. Compare and match permissions from a clean system for best results.
UPDATE: Recently ran into a similar issue after removing a Security Tool infection, which had altered permissions on the C:\%WinDir%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file after inserting rogue entries. Having completely forgotten about cacls, I rebooted into Safe Mode and reset permissions via the Security tab. Interestingly, attempting to delete or rename hosts from a Knoppix 6 Live CD also failed; I later learned that NTFS-3G can be set to honor or ignore ownership and permissions.
/windows | Aug 16, 2009
Ubuntu 9.04 and Dell Inspiron B130 wireless #To enable the Inspiron B130's wireless adapter, make sure it is turned on in the BIOS, and then head to System > Administration > Hardware Drivers > Broadcom B43 wireless driver > Activate.
/nix | Aug 16, 2009
Remove Documents, Help and Support, and Log Off from Windows XP Classic Start Menu #Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer and create DWORD entries named NoRecentDocsMenu and StartMenuLogoff. Set their values to 1. Next, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced and create a DWORD entry named NoStartMenuHelp with a value of 1. You may have to log off or restart for the new settings to be applied.
/windows | Aug 16, 2009
Computer hardware chart #Sonic840 has put together a massive, 24MB poster of computer hardware. It includes RAM modules, power connectors, CPU sockets, and the like. Available for free download (under a CC license) or purchase as a print.
/misc | Aug 10, 2009
Windows 7 includes a system recovery disc creator #Microsoft has provided a Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) boot disc creator in Windows 7. The tool made a brief appearance in Vista SP1 beta, though it was pulled from the final release (workaround).
To create the recovery disc, go to: Control Panel > Backup and Restore > Create a system recovery disc, or launch directly from %windir%\system32\recdisk.exe. (The Windows 7 installation disc also includes the system recovery tools. Just boot from the disc and choose "Repair your computer" to access them.)
Tools include: automatic startup repair, System Restore, complete PC restore from backup image, memory diagnostic tool, and command prompt, as seen below:
Tags: Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT), Winternals Administrator's Pak, ERD Commander
/windows | Aug 01, 2009
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