Kevin's Technical Blog

Hacking Story

2009-11-10T13:13:00.000-08:00

I found this story interesting. Check out this link:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/11/rbs-worldpay/

Chapter 2 Security +

2009-09-16T06:53:00.001-07:00

Here is my presentation.

Outlook PST File too Large

2009-02-24T12:43:00.001-08:00

Symptoms:

My Outlook .pst file was .7 gigs and was taking a while to backup. I felt that Outlook was also running slowly.

Gathering Information:

I used the Tools> Mailbox Cleanup > Mail size. I saw that my deleted folder was almost as large as my inbox.

Hypothesis:

H1. Permanently remove deleted items.

H2. Compress the file.

Results:

H1 was rejected. I right click on my recycle bin and emptied the folder. When I check the .pst file size it was still .7 gigs.

H2 was accepted. I found the steps at this site: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289987. The steps are:

How to Manually Start PST Compaction

On the File menu, click Data File Management.
Click to select your Personal Folder, and then click Settings.
On the General tab, click Compact Now.
Click OK, and then click Close.

Reflection:

The .pst file is a database file. Even when you delete items, the empty space is there making the file large. Most databases I work with, Access to SQL 2005, have a compact feature. This is standard maintenance for a databases and should be for outlook also.

Cannot Connect Remotely to SQL Server

2009-02-24T07:59:00.001-08:00

Symptoms:

No client could connect to the SQL server. I was getting connection fail error. See Figure 1.

Gathering Information:

Clients were able to connect to the database recently. The database is on Windows Server 2008; the server has two network cards (172.16.x.x and 10.x.x.x). The 172 network card is for the class room and 10 network card connects to the network outside of the classroom. I did a port 1433 scan and the server is not listening on 172 network card.

The error message, see Figure 1, indicated it was remote connection setup but the SQL server had worked.

Hypothesis:

H1 SQL Server only listening on 10.x.x.x network card.

H2. The timeout was too low and should be moved higher.

H3. Name pipes is conflicting with TCPIP.

H4. You need all protocols to connect (turn on Via, Named pipes, shared memory)

H5. Server and client are not up to date with newest service packs, and updating both should allow connection.

H6. The gateway on the compute was changed recently (172.16.X.X). This was to allow for web service to work. Adding the gateway back should allow the SQL to connect.

H7. Configuring Route and Remote access on SQL server should allow for the traffic to find both network cards in server and repair error SQL. This should also keep the web server running.

Results:

H1 is rejected because the SQL server could see other SQL Servers on 10.x.x.x.

H2 is rejected. The timeout on queries was updated to 1000 from 600 and connections still failed.

H3 is rejected. Name pipes were turned off and still no connection.

H4 is rejected. All protocols were turned on and still no connection.

H5 is rejected. The server did not have service pack 3 and that was down loaded an installed. The client had this version: Microsoft SQL Native Client Version 09.00.3042. The new client was Microsoft SQL Native Client Version 09.00.4035. I found a down of the client at this location: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=536FD7D5-013F-49BC-9FC7-77DEDE4BB075&displaylang=en

H6 is rejected. This fixed the sql connection error but killed the web server again.

H7 is accepted. The routing install allowed all workstations to access the SQL server. The real reason is not certain but a wire snoop would shed light on the topic.

Reflection:

I need a server change log. This is a very common practice among network admins. The change of gateways brought that SQL server down.

SQL Server 2005

2009-02-19T11:56:00.001-08:00

XEN Bio Error

2009-01-29T12:35:00.001-08:00

XEN error

2009-01-29T08:02:00.001-08:00

Repeating Habits

2009-01-23T10:07:00.001-08:00

I had a student's code not working. He was getting this error: A first chance exception of type 'System.FormatException' occurred in mscorlib.dll. Goggleing the error was no help. My first reaction was to take my working code and compare it to his broken code. See the examples below. Can you see the difference? I did not. The bad habit I had was taking my working code and comparing it line by line after the lines by line. I have fixed many student errors this way. It did not work this time. I also let the student see the code also. I was unable to see the error but the student found the error later.

Working Code:

btnDisplayCost_Click(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles btnDisplayCost.Click

Dim strEnterNumberOfTickets As String

Dim intEnterNumberOfTickets As Integer

Dim decTotalCostOfTickets As Decimal

strEnterNumberOfTickets = Me.txtEnterNumberOfTickets.Text

intEnterNumberOfTickets = Convert.ToInt32(strEnterNumberOfTickets)

decTotalCostOfTickets = intEnterNumberOfTickets * cdecTotalCostOfTickets

Me.lblTotalCostOfTickets.Text = decTotalCostOfTickets.ToString("C")

Bad Code:

frmConcertTickets_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

Dim strEnterNumberOfTickets As String

Dim intEnterNumberOfTickets As Integer

Dim decTotalCostOfTickets As Decimal

strEnterNumberOfTickets = Me.txtEnterNumberOfTickets.Text

intEnterNumberOfTickets = Convert.ToInt32(strEnterNumberOfTickets)

decTotalCostOfTickets = intEnterNumberOfTickets * cdecTotalCostOfTickets

Me.lblTotalCostOfTickets.Text = decTotalCostOfTickets.ToString("C")

Closing Outlook before Backup

2009-01-16T12:57:00.001-08:00

I backup my Outlook file to AVG online backup (this is free). I need Outlook to close automatically so the backup will be successful. I found a utility that makes it work. This command line utility adds a lot of function to scripts for XP: you can clear the recycle bin and clipboard. You can also close applications so the command is:

nircmd.exe killprocess outlook.exe

You can learn more about this utility by going here.

Make sure you copy all the files to your c:\windows\system32 folder or where ever you have you operating system installed.

Finally, I created a task and scheduled it to run right before my backup.

Excel Formula not Working

2008-12-09T05:21:00.001-08:00

Symptoms:

I was working in Excel spreadsheet that was a downloaded csv sheet. I would put in a formula to sum a column and I would get this:

=sum(a1:a3)

The formula would not work. I changed it to average and still you only would get the text. The number

Gathering Information

I looked at the sheet and found that all the cell where formatted as text. This was because the sheet was an imported comma separated download of grades. Number are generally set flush right but the text was flush left.

Hypothesis

H1 Convert the cell format to numbers general. (Failed)

H2 Use error correct to covert text to numbers. (Accepted)

Results

The number stored as texts can be corrected using the excel error correcting utility. The cells have a green triangle in the upper left corner. See the video in previous post. You click on the diamond shaped and you get a dropped menu. Select convert to number.

See the movie in the previous steps to see the hands on instruction.

Reflection

Exporting data is tricky. This is a very simple example but imagine a whole school system's data needing adjustments.

Excel: Numbers as Text Video

2008-12-09T04:58:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Office

2008-12-08T13:10:00.001-08:00

Jetflash won’t Take Large File

2008-12-03T05:38:00.001-08:00

My Jetflash 64 gb flash drive is stating: The disk in the destination drive is full. Insert a new disk to continue.

The disk is only half full and the file I am trying to copy is only 10 gigs.

Gathering Information

I have found out that the issue is the file format for the flash drive. The flash drive is formatted fat32 and that has a limit of 4 gigs for file sizes. See this link.

The error message indicates the disk is full not that file is too large.

Hypothesis

H0. Formatting the drive to be NTFS will fix the issue.

Results

H0 worked. I could not format the drive to NTFS on an XP PC but I could on Server 2008 PC.

Reflection

I found myself deleting all files and restarting the usb drive to try to fix this issue. I assumed that the Windows has just lost track of the size of the disk. I wasted about 20 minutes on this before I did some research. Live search did not return the correct information but Google did. I need to not waste time before doing research.

I found the information on tansendusa.com very hard to find. I don't think this website has been validated. The webmaster seems to a lot of bells and whistles but it is really slow.

Great Big USB Drive

2008-12-02T10:16:00.000-08:00

Wireless and Windows 2008 Server

2008-11-28T16:31:00.000-08:00

You have to install Wireless LAN Feature under Server Manager to get a wireless card to work with Windows Server 2008.

You get to this feature by using Server Manager, Features, Add Features.

Can’t Connect Windows Mobile to Server 2008

2008-11-27T09:26:00.001-08:00

Symptoms

My Samsung ACE phone has stopped synching to my laptop. I am not getting any error messages or anything. I did remove my Bluetooth card but it nevery worked with my phone. My laptop is a Dell 620 with Server 2008, 4 gigs of RAM.

Gathering Information

I found this document on Microsoft's site. I found out from this article that your should have a Microsoft Windows Mobile Remote Adapter in the network adapter in the device manager. I had a whole listing of unknown network adapters. You can download the new version of Microsoft Mobile Device Center 6.1 here.

The Microsoft document also stated that the firewall might be an issue and pointed me toward this document.

Hypothesis

I have the following hypothesis:

H1. Delete all the network adapters and reinstall the Windows Mobile device Center. (Failed)

H2. Turn off the firewall and it will work. (Successful)

Results

I think the issue was related to the firewall and the removal of a Bluetooth card. The firewall was also sent to block all inbound connections. This might have been related to my experiment with ZoneAlarm for a few days.

Reflections

I need to really stop install trail software on my personal PC. I have done this for years and it causes problems.

Free Courses and Courseware

2008-11-21T10:27:00.001-08:00

The success of Linux has spawned free and open courseware movement. I have several links that might be helpful.

Carnegie Mellon University

Open Educational Resources

Open and Free Courses

2008-11-21T10:02:00.002-08:00

The success of Linux has spawned free and open courseware movement. I have several links that might be helpful.

Carnegie Mellon University

Open Educational Resources

Hype Cycle

2008-11-21T09:10:00.000-08:00

This is a very interesting way to look at technology from Gartner. Here is a quick summary:

What are the 5 phases of a Hype Cycle?

1. "Technology Trigger"
The first phase of a Hype Cycle is the "technology trigger" or breakthrough, product launch or other event that generates significant press and interest.

2. "Peak of Inflated Expectations"
In the next phase, a frenzy of publicity typically generates over-enthusiasm and unrealistic expectations. There may be some successful applications of a technology, but there are typically more failures.

3. "Trough of Disillusionment"
Technologies enter the "trough of disillusionment" because they fail to meet expectations and quickly become unfashionable. Consequently, the press usually abandons the topic and the technology.

4. "Slope of Enlightenment"
Although the press may have stopped covering the technology, some businesses continue through the "slope of enlightenment" and experiment to understand the benefits and practical application of the technology.

5. "Plateau of Productivity"
A technology reaches the "plateau of productivity" as the benefits of it become widely demonstrated and accepted. The technology becomes increasingly stable and evolves in second and third generations. The final height of the plateau varies according to whether the technology is broadly applicable or benefits only a niche market.

Click here for more.

Campus Computing Project

2008-11-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

This is interesting:

Begun in 1990, The Campus Computing Project^TM is the largest continuing study of the role of information technology in American higher education. The project's national studies draw on qualitative and quantitative data to help inform faculty, campus administrators, and others interested in the use of information technology in American colleges and universities. The US Campus Computing Project also provides the foundation for affiliated research projects in other nations, including Brazil Canada, China, and Hong Kong.

Each year some 600 two-and four-year public and private colleges and universities in the United States participate in the annual Campus Computing Survey, which focuses on campus planning and policy issues affecting the role of information technology in teaching, learning, and scholarship.

Minding the Gap

2008-11-21T08:56:00.000-08:00

Friday's keynote was presented by Ellen D. Wagner. The presentation was by based on signs in the London Underground. Click here. The analogy was how to move forward and do training for jobs that currently do not exist. It is hard to get past the gap and we need to be aware of this. She sees five gaps: Innovation to implementation, Difference between research and practice, Difference between academic and corporations, differences between products and solutions, traditional elearning to emerge elearning.

Here is the abstract of her presentation:

This session explores the impact of technological innovations on emerging elearning practices. It reflects on the challenges facing learning advocates who strive to find the best balance between new and exciting technological developments with the demands of enabling learning, education, training and performance support solutions that engage and inspire. It also considers the question: What will it take to drive real enterprise learning value while staying true to the needs of learning stakeholders, anytime anywhere?

Fixing Problems

2008-11-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

I heard a Professor review Sources of Power yesterday, and I am planning on reading it. This professors noted that Firefighter tend to make decisions based on patterns in high stress situations. I have read similar statement before and I have to agree. When I am faced with computer problem, I seem to operate based on patterns and move in that area. This pattern recognition comes from years of experience, and I find that over the years I am getting better. This might be in my dissertation.

Patterns of Decision Making

2008-11-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

Room in Vegas

2008-11-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

I sent this picture from my phone. It was just test to see if I could do it. I had to set my blog up to allow for publishing through email.

Easier that upload and then using a computer.

Personal Data Management

2008-11-20T09:59:00.002-08:00

I heard a presentation about personal data management and I realized that I have a real need to manage my data (Barker, 2008). I have been going to school and I have so much data that I am overloaded. I have been using reference management software but that has limitations (Reference Works). The database is only setup to provide citations not searches. This might be an area for the future software development. I am wondering if I can use a blog but how long will it last.

References

Barker, P. (2008). Using wikis and weblogs to enhance human performance. E-Learning World Conference. Las Vegas.

New Learning Theory

2008-11-20T09:45:00.000-08:00

I came across a new learning theory today. It is called connectivism. This is a theory by George Siemens. The theory is really trying to explain how learn in wired world and how they are all connected. I might come back to this later. Here is a link.

VPN not Running on Windows 2008 सर्वर Graphic

2008-10-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

Windows 2008 Server

2008-10-22T08:39:00.001-07:00

Working on Web Desing Skill Part 2

2008-10-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

I worked on this photo using paint. My department is buying Photoshop and I will have that shortly. I took out the shadow by cutting and pasting the concrete over the shadow.

It was important to have similar concrete. The concrete in the top of the picture did not work because it was a different color.

However, the concrete just left of the shadow worked fine. I cut small squares and laid them over the shadow. There where still lines so I then used the eye dropper to pick the color. I then used airbrush can to even it out. It is a start.

Check out this link for more information paint. Click here.

Working on Web Design Skills

2008-10-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

I took this picture of some interesting art at the FrontRunner Train station. Why is this in a technical blog? Well, I am working on my Web Design skills and I wanted to take out the shadow as an exercise. See the next blogs

K-9 Internet Filter

2008-10-06T09:19:00.001-07:00

I feel that having un-filtered internet at your house is like having a load gun lying around. I have used filtering software form Norton and K-9 filtering software and I think K-9 is better. Click here.

Not having a filter opens your computer up to all types of malware. Last week, a fiends of my wife had her work computer at home. Her husband went to an online gambling site, and got all kinds of virus. It has been my experience that adult websites are the worst for malware. I think K-9 would make your computer more secure.

I did some research and found some verification for this. According to The Top 10 Culprits Causing Malware Infections, adult site are a big source of malware.

Zone Alarm

2008-10-06T09:12:00.001-07:00

Blue Screen and Ghosting

2008-10-03T12:17:00.001-07:00

Symptoms

The PC boots and then it blue screens. The PC even blue screens in safe mode. The error message is: Stop 0x000000F4 (0X000000003,0x85f63120, 0x85c8bfc).

Gathering Information

I have not been able to find out a lot about this error. The error seems to be related to memory and page file on the hard drive. The error seems to be related to a critical object being shutdown. Several company advertise that they have a regtool that can fix this error. These tools can't be used because the system will not boot and stay on. This site has useful information on stop codes.

Hypotheses

H1: Memory is bad.

H2: The registry is corrupt and can be fixed using a ghost image from June.

Results

Using MemTest-86 version 3.2, I found no memory errors. H1 is rejected. The memory seems fine. Ghost is a very touch program see the blog on Ghosting issues for details.

H2 fixed the computer. The Ghost image worked fine but Ghost was difficult. I had to simply the computer before it would Ghost. I have to remove a slave hard drive.

Reflection

It took several hours to copy photos off the pc. This was using Ghost Rescue Operating systems but it was very slow. I have found that simplifying a system really helps. When I removed that slave hard drive, the Ghost worked. I have seen this troubleshooting method work with network cards and sound cards.

Ghosting Issues

2008-10-03T12:05:00.001-07:00

Symptoms

Ghost would not allow the restore screen to open. There was not error message but the software would not continue.

Gathering Information

When I examined the computer I found that the hard drives where configured as a slave

Ghost Link

2008-10-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

Website not Forwarding

2008-09-26T07:22:00.001-07:00

Symptoms

I am not able to get a website to forward. (See the steps here.) I get the following error message: Address not found. Firefox can't find a server at www.golftrack.mobi.

The forwarding address is working. http://www.kevinmcreynolds.com/apps/gt/index.aspx.

Gathering Information

I called tech support and they told me to wait because of DNS latency. This could be the reason. I also found this website that lets you test your DNS setup: http://www.checkdns.net. I got a lot of information. See the appendix. These seem to indicate the site is setup.

Hypothesis

In 24 hours, the issue should be fixed. The address golftrack.mobi should show up.

Results

I will have to wait.

Reflection

This website (checkdns.net) can be a hacking tool. You get a lot of information that could be used to attack you website. This is a good example of security being decreased by availability. I could mark the website as private but I would have to pay for the services.

Appendix

CheckDNS.NET is testing golftrack.mobi

CheckDNS.NET is asking root servers about authoritative NS for domain

Got DNS list for 'golftrack.mobi' from TLD2.ULTRADNS.NET or TLD2.ULTRADNS.NET

Found NS record: ns52.domaincontrol.com[208.109.255.26], was resolved to IP address by c.gtld-servers.net

Found NS record: ns51.domaincontrol.com[216.69.185.26], was resolved to IP address by ans01.domaincontrol.com

Domain has 2 DNS server(s)

CheckDNS.NET is verifying if NS are alive

DNS server ns52.domaincontrol.com[208.109.255.26] is alive and authoritative for domain golftrack.mobi

DNS server ns51.domaincontrol.com[216.69.185.26] is alive and authoritative for domain golftrack.mobi

2 server(s) are alive

CheckDNS.NET checks if all NS have the same version

All 2 your servers have the same zone version 2008090300

CheckDNS.NET tests mail-servers

Domain golftrack.mobi has 2 mail-servers.

Checking mail server (PRI=0) smtp.secureserver.net [64.202.166.12]

Mail server smtp.secureserver.net[64.202.166.12] answers on port 25

<<< 220 pre-smtp15-02.prod.mesa1.secureserver.net ESMTP

>>> HELO www.checkdns.net

<<< 250 pre-smtp15-02.prod.mesa1.secureserver.net

>>> MAIL FROM: <dnscheck@uniplace.com>

<<< 250 ok

>>> RCPT TO: <postmaster@golftrack.mobi>

<<< 550 sorry, mail to that recipient is not accepted (#5.7.1)

>>> RCPT TO: <root@golftrack.mobi>

Connection to mail server smtp.secureserver.net [64.202.166.12] timed out waiting for status 250

Checking mail server (PRI=10) mailstore1.secureserver.net [64.202.166.11]

Mail server mailstore1.secureserver.net[64.202.166.11] answers on port 25

<<< 220 pre-smtp33-02.prod.mesa1.secureserver.net ESMTP

>>> HELO www.checkdns.net

<<< 250 pre-smtp33-02.prod.mesa1.secureserver.net

>>> MAIL FROM: <dnscheck@uniplace.com>

<<< 250 ok

>>> RCPT TO: <postmaster@golftrack.mobi>

<<< 550 sorry, mail to that recipient is not accepted (#5.7.1)

>>> RCPT TO: <root@golftrack.mobi>

Attacked on the Train Details

2008-09-24T08:54:00.001-07:00

I was riding home on the training and someone tried to connect to my laptop through Bluetooth. See the graphic in the previous blog. I quickly removed my Bluetooth card.

I went around the train and found a young man and talked to him. He said he did it by accident.

I should not have had my Bluetooth working in discoverable mode.

Attacked on the Train Graphic

2008-09-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

See the next blog for details.

Blocked on my Router

2008-09-23T12:26:00.001-07:00

I decided to log the Ip addresses that are blocked from router. My router has a log function and I posted the blocked Ips in the previous BLOG.

Symptoms

I was not having any issues but I wanted to know how often my router was being attacked.

Gathering Information

I am not sure what port 1028 is used for. It might be for a calendar program. I found this information on a link logger site . The internet storm site shows a lot activity on this port. Click here

I found this website with this webpage that allows you to find names for IP addresses.

Ip Address	Host	Port Involved
69.59.240.75	ntp1a-wil.klax1.s.vonagenetworks.net	123
67.177.60.58	Host c-67-177-60-58.hsd1.ut.comcast.net	1026,1027,1028
24.64.199.10	S0106001c2346b44e.br.shawcable.net	1028
216.115.23.76	ntp1b-lv3mc.klga1.s.vonagenetworks.net	123

Vonage and Comcast are two of my vendors. The only outside IP is Shawcable. I have sent them an abuse email and I will wait to hear from the.

Reflection

I thought it was interesting that several of block ips were legitimate users. I am having time issues with my Vantage phone. I will open those ports and see what happens.

Blocking on Router

2008-09-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

No Google Docs on Frontrunner

2008-09-23T05:58:00.001-07:00

Symptoms

I could not connect to Google Documents. I got the error message that noted that I could not connect to a server at 192.168.10.6 with the port 15871. See the graphic in the previous blog. I have found it easier to blog the graphic through Picasa and then to write about.

Gathering Information

The ip address for docs.google.com is 209.85.172.100. My ip on the train was 10.0.5.149 and the router ip was 10.0.5.129. Tracert timed out on all hops except to the first router. I could not connect to a browser with 192.168.10.6. This was on a 6 am train and I was told that the train was #3. The text below is trace route output:

Tracing route to writely.l.google.com [209.85.173.100]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 10.0.5.129
2 * * * Request timed out.
3 * * * Request timed out.

(Continues the down to 30)

30 * * * Request timed out.

Trace complete.

Here the complete configuration of my laptop:

IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.5.149(Preferred)

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.128

Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, September 23, 2008 6:04:06 AM

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, September 23, 2008 6:34:05 AM

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.5.129

DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.5.129

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.5.129

No Google Docs on Frontrunner Graphic

2008-09-23T05:26:00.000-07:00

SQL Book

2008-09-17T12:06:00.001-07:00

I like this book. It teaches SQL with MS SQL, MySQL, and Access.

Can’t connect remotely to SQL 2005

2008-09-17T12:04:00.001-07:00

Error Message and Symptoms

I could not get to a SQL server. I was getting this error when I tried to connect. See the picture in the next post.

Gathering Information

I Googled the error message and I found that you need to configure your firewall if you have configured for remote connections. Server 2008 default install has a firewall.

Hypothesis

If I open the correct ports, I should be able to connect.

Procedures (This is for Server 2008)

I did the following:

1. Click on Start.
2. Right click and select properties on Network
3. In the network sharing center select the firewall (lower left hand corner).
4. In the Windows firewall window select change settings.
5. Click on the exceptions tab.
6. Click on add port.
7. Named the port SQL, and enter 1433 as the port
8. Click on Okay.

Results

This worked. I was able to connect to SQL server in the building. The server is behind a external firewall so it will not work outside.

Could Not Connect to SQL Server

2008-09-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

Internal DNS Error

2008-09-09T19:30:00.001-07:00

My lab is experience odd DNS errors. The internet address http://bis.ldsbc.edu (172.16.1.11 internal IP) is not resolving correctly. Some computer gets the correct webserver but others get a second server that has an internal ip address of 172.16.1.12.

The records in the internal DNS server seem correct. I am working the issue.

Gathering Information

I need to identify which computer had the issue with DNS. I only remember workstation 43 having an issue. I will ask students to give me feedback.

The error continues to happen. Server1 and Server2 are still being resolved to bis.ldsbc.edu.

Hypothesis

H1. Create an A record for bis 172.16.1.11 and the situations should be fixed.

Results

Still have issues after H1 was completed.

Searching in Vista and Server 2008

2008-09-04T13:14:00.001-07:00

Having just recently moved to Vista and Server 2008, I was not sure how to search for file content.

Searching for file name is fairly clear. You type the file name in the search box. See Figure 1 upper right hand corner.

After reading several helpfiles, I found that you type the content in the box also. The OS will search the content from the same search box.

This is easier but not too easy to figure out. Did Microsoft get it right? They got it have right; the function is great but they need to include some direction that content search is in the same box.

This is also my first attempt at a picture in a blog. The picture does not work. See the empty space below. Well. That will be a blog later.

Figure 1

Skipping the CD-ROM Buring

2008-09-03T09:13:00.001-07:00

I went to Microsoft Developer's Network Academic Alliance and downloaded an ISO of Microsoft's new web publishing software (Expression) because I did not want to burn CD Rom.

I went to sourceforge.net and searched for "Mount ISO " . There is a piece of software called 7-zip that allows you to read an ISO and extract the files.

Why this software package? It had over 25 million downloads and the rating was very high.

It is important, as IT professionals to look at costs and try to go with free software whenever possible along with considering the total cost of ownership.

Training is a cost that is often overlooked. We tend to think that "They can pick it up on their own" and forget that a lot of users have trouble with new software. Training is valuable part for them. For example: My wife's company just went to Office 2007. She had a few rough spots, but managed to get through it. I rate her computer skills higher than the average user. (She is able to easily manage her Sprint card and a complex VPN software on her own.) The lesson? Don't forget the training.

Click here for a link to 7-zip.

SQL Repair

2008-08-28T10:01:00.001-07:00

SQL Repart would Not Run

Error Message

Server: Msg 7919, Level 16, State 2, Line 1

Repair statement not processed. Database needs to be in single user mode.

DBCC execution completed. If DBCC printed error messages, contact your system administrator.

Symptoms

I was get no errors on the database. I was trying to run some prventative mantainance.

Fix

You can convert the database to a single user mode by:

1. Opening Enterprise Manager

2. Right Click on the Database and go to property

3. Go to the options tab.

4. Select Restrict access and select single user.

Also see the Microsoft technical document Q264154 for more information.

NetMail Server Not Getting Email

2008-08-28T10:00:00.001-07:00

Error Message

None

Symptoms

The Netmail Server could send email to Yahoo but I was not Receiving email. Several tests where run. Closing down the firewall had no impact. Following on tests, I noticed the firewall stated that the SMTP traffice was routed to a internal server.

Fix

Internet connection share had bee configured to route mail traffic to an internal server. (See Windows 2000 Server on line help, Internet Connection Sharing for Applications and Services.) I took the following steps:

1. Right clicked on the Network Neighborhood and select properties.

2. Select Sharing tab.

3. On the Sharing tab, I selected the Settings tab.

4. On the settings page, I selected the services tab and deselected all.

I ran a test and the email server was able to receive email.

Netmail not Receiving Email

Access CMOS on Toshiba Laptop

2008-08-28T09:34:00.001-07:00

Tecra Laptop Setup

Error Message

No Error Message. I could not get into CMOS. System did not indicate a key to press to get into cmos

Symptoms

System was booting normal.

Fix

I went on Toshiba's Website and navigated to support area. I did a search on CMOS setup and found this document. Only part of it is here:

Accessing the hardware settings on a Toshiba computer Document Number 98050233

Use of any software made available for download from this system constitutes your acceptance of the Export Control Terms and the terms in the Toshiba end-user license agreement both of which you can view before downloading any such software.

Document number:

1. Hold down the <ESC> key as the computer starts up. The computer should beep and display a message "Check system. Press <F1>"

2. Press the <F1> key and the System Setup information is displayed.

3. Changing the settings: There are instructions about how to change these setting at the bottom of the screen.

Activation Error Server 2008

2008-08-20T11:46:00.001-07:00

Error Message

I got an activation error on Windows Server 2008. The details are as follows:

Log Name: Application
Source: Software Licensing Service
Event ID: 8198
Level: Error Description: License Activation (SLUI.exe) failed with the following error code: 0x80004005

It should be noted that I was never asked for a product key during install.

Research

I found a Microsoft document that recommend phone activation. I called and the Microsoft activation staff referred me to the technical helpdesk. This would have cost. I decided to continue my research and found that if you change your product key you can active Windows.

Hypothesis

Changing the product key would allow me to activate Windows.

Procedures

To change your Vista product key (source):

1. Click on the Start Button and type Command Prompt in the search field.
2. From the list that appears, right click the Command Prompt shortcut and select Run As Administrator.
3. At the administrator command prompt, type in "slmgr.vbs -ipk [insert your product key here]"
4. To activate windows after changing the key, run "slmgr.vbs -ato"

To run the Windows Activation Wizard use these comands:

slui or slui 0x01 Display Windows Activation status
slui 0x02 Prompt for Windows Activation wizard via Internet
slui 0x03 Run Change Product Key wizard
slui 0x04 Launch Windows Activation wizard via Telephone.
slui 0x05 Prompt Windows Activation and show activation way except Internet.
slui 0x06 Launch Windows Activation wizard
slui 0x07 Prompt Windows Activation as Windows running on last day to activate.
slui 0x09 Launch Windows Activation wizard after license expiration.
slui 0x016 Display activation status with license expiration warning
"Your Windows will expire in 234 days and Windows will stop working"
slui 0x018 "Your Windows will expire in 5626 hours and Windows will stop working"

Source: Tom's Tricks.

Results

These steps allowed me to activate my copy of Windows 2008 server. I am not sure why I got the error. I think the error is related to the software being from the Microsoft Developers Network Academic Alliance.

Network Drives Showing Disconnected

2008-08-11T11:00:00.001-07:00

My network drives where showing up as "Disconnected Network Drive", but the drive were working. I was running Windows 2008 Server with an XP client. I was mapping the drive using a startup script in Domain group policy object.

I found a discussion thread on Tech Republic that helped me fix the problem. Click here.

I moved the login script to a user container and the drives connected just fine.

You need to run the gpudate /force command get the change to start correctly.

The problem with this fix is that I will have more than one login script.

Error Connecting to PeopleSoft

2008-08-09T14:34:00.001-07:00

My college uses PeopleSoft for managing student records. I was unable to connect to the server from home. I had time out error.

My first hypothesis was that my firewall was blocking access. I was able to open the correct port (I am not mentioning it here for Security reasons) and I was able to connect.

I have had issues with open ports in the past so this an easy fix. The learning from this is to always consider port issues with Internet applications.

Philosophy of Teaching

2008-02-01T18:57:00.000-08:00

As a teacher in a technical field, I have to provide students a foundation of technical skills, communication skills, troubleshooting, and problem solving skills that will allow them to be successful immediately in their first job. I have found service learning to be a solid foundation for my philosophy of teaching.

My first exposure to service learning at my college was in spring 2000 when all faculty and students participated in a campus wide day of service. My students and I went to the library for blind and sorted and shelved books on tape. This activity, I was told, was service learning but I soon found out that it was not.

At a faculty development workshop on service learning in the summer of 2000, I attended a lecture about service learning. I found out that just providing service, as we had done at the Library for the blind, was not service learning. The service provided needed to be tied to the learning objectives of course otherwise it was just community service. An idea from a student supplied a way to create real service learning for my technical classes in the fall of 2000.

One of my students was working for Albertson headquarters in Salt Lake City, he had an idea that we could take the surplus computers from Albertsons and donate them to needy families. The donations filled up two 23-foot rental trucks. I was not able to find storage space on campus so the majority of the surplus was sold; these funds were used to start the project and the project has had a strong history of providing service and learning. Since 2000 over 100 computers have been placed with the needy families and in 2007 computers were placed in a medical clinic in Africa. Although I view service learning as very important, I believe strongly in the value of soft-skills training for IT professionals.

Without needed soft-skills, IT professionals can have poor people skills and can be labeled as "IT trolls". My philosophy for addressing this issue can be summed as in every class something is written, and something is presented. This practice, writing and presenting, reinforces English and Communications courses, and just as important they practice real IT related writing assignments. The assignments that they write are training documents, analysis reports, memos, and technical information documents. Many of the documents are part of a troubleshooting lessons that I present.

Troubleshooting is a very difficult to skill to teach but I feel that I found a method that improves my students' ability significantly, and it starts from the first day of class until they graduate. My students are responsible for the health of specific computer throughout the term and are required to keep it operational. When their computer breaks I walk them through the process of researching the issue, identifying possible solutions, trying one solution at a time, and documenting the solution. After a few weeks my students understand, that I will respond to questions for help with the phrase "Have you Googled it?" They know that they need to work through the steps before I will help them. This is an important skill but not the final component of my approach to teaching.

Being formulistic in teaching is dangerous, I feel a need to be flexible and adapt in order be an effective teacher. In the past, I have required students not to surf the internet while I lecture. I have adjusted that recently due to a 1 minute assessment I did that showed a trend. Over 50% my students were struggling with the technical jargon and would like access to websites to decode all the jargon.

Finally, with flexibility, a method for teaching troubleshooting, a focus on communications, and active learning through services learning, I feel that I am an effective teacher.

Company without a Country

2007-11-27T14:33:00.000-08:00

In the internet age, it is possible for a company to operate without a country, but they could find themselves longing for a country like the protagonist Philip Nolan in Hale's "The Man Without a Country" (Hale, 1863).

Nolan, a fictitious conspirator with Benedict Arnold, is sentenced to spend the rest of his life at sea and to never hear of the United States again. This suits him at first but later he longs for his country.

The technology exists today for a company to literally be without a country. Business scholar Kobrin (2001) put it this way:

"Virtual firms can race to the jurisdictional bottom at the speed of light; moving the business to a locale with a less onerous regulatory structure may entail no more than a few keystrokes" (p. 691).

This has happened. Online gambling companies have made the small inland country Antigua a hotbed of internet gambling(Can online betting change its luck?). These virtual companies, though, run the risk of being caught in a Cuba of the 1960s or a Grenada of the 1980s; revolutions could make them long for the stability of the United States like Nolan.

But is this virtual flight an ethical use of technology as a strategy? I would argue no because of the ethics of Utilitarianism. The cost in jobs, tax base, and stability out weights the profit for a single company (Velazquez, 2007).

Researchers estimate that the internet could have a "meltdown" by 2010 without significant ($43 billion to $52 billion) investment in backbone technology (Thomson,2007). Moving away from a tax structure that would help fund these improvements is unethical.

The possibility of political unrest, the unethical avoidance of tax responsibilities make a virtual company strategy too risky. It is better to be a company with a country than without.

References

Can online betting change its luck? Retrieved 11/27/2007, 2007, from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_51/b3913097.htm

Hale, E. E. (1863). The man without a country Project Gutenberg

Kobrin, S. J. (2001). Territoriality and the Governance of Cyberspace. Journal of International Business Studies, 32 (4), 687-704.

Thomson, I. Internet facing 'meltdown' by 2010 - computeract!ve. Retrieved 11/27/2007, 2007, from http://www.computeractive.co.uk/vnunet/news/2203809/internet-face-meltdown-2010

Velasquez, M.G. (2006). Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Different Drummer

2007-11-19T18:46:00.000-08:00

"I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one.

It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves. I had not lived there a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the pond-side; and though it is five or six years since I trod it, it is still quite distinct. It is true, I fear, that others may have fallen into it, and so helped to keep it open. The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity!

Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed and in such desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away. (Thoreau, 1854)

Modern management is based around the planning, the controlling, the organizing, and the leading function (Daft, 2007), but innovation and having a first-move strategy often goes against those functions.; management has to make a conscious effort to nurture innovation for those who hear Thoreau's different drum.

Intel created the first CPU, 4004 processor; this chip was created in violation of the planning, controlling, organizing function of management. The engineers at Intel were told to design a multiple chips set but they designed a set with few chips and one was a CPU(Gardiner, ). This violation of the planning function would be Intel's core business for next 35 years as they moved away from making memory chips and focused on CPUs.

I worked at Intel in the 1990s and they fostered innovation through creating a strong culture of innovation. Culture has many components: heroes, and stories are two of them (Daft, 2007). The Intel Hero of 4004 PCU effort was Ted Hoff. Company literature focused on his part in the 4004, even though others were involved. He was given an Intel Fellow position, which translates into a job for life. This Hero story enforced Intel support for going against planning, controlling, organizing when you had a better idea.

Another method a manager to use in creating a strong culture is stories. I worked at the Intel plant in New Mexico, and that plant had epic about innovation. A plumber, who supported the ultra-clean water supply for computer chip manufacturing, devised a plan to recycle factory water. The plan would save Intel over $100,000 and he received 10% of those savings. This story was repeated ever year when the cost saving contest was launched. This story shows Intel's commitment to innovation through a generous payout.

Organizations need to innovate but we also need control. The solution, I think, is be very selective about what part of the business we control and what part we allow innovation on. When I was at Intel, we always knew chips were "production" and which were "engineering experiments." We stuck to the standard process on production chips and we never experimented. If someone heard a different drum beat, they knew they could work with engineering and try to prove that beat.

References

Daft, R. (2007). Management (8th ed.). Boston: Thomson Southwestern.

Gardiner, B. Intel 4004 microprocessor turns 35 - news and analysis by PC magazine. Retrieved 11/19/2007, 2007, from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2059163,00.asp

Thoreau, D. H. (1854). Walden. Retrieved January 28, 2007, from http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext95/waldn10.txt

Fiero vs Miata Product Life Cycle

2007-11-07T13:59:00.000-08:00

The product life cycle is can be a valuable tool for strategist and if managed it can provide more sales and higher profits. The product life cycle of the Pontiac Fiero (1984-1989) compared to Mazda Miata (1989-2006) illustrates the value of managing the product life cycle as a strategic tool.

The stages of product life cycle are Market development (pre-launch), Market growth, Market Maturity, and finally market decline. The key for the strategist-scientist is to predict the length of each stage (Levitt, 1965).

The unit sales of the Fiero and Miata illustrate the growth, maturity, and decline of the cycle (See Figure 1). The Fiero was much more meteoric and catastrophic while the Miata held in maturity phase for a 3x over the Fiero. The Miata matched the sales of the Fiero in seven years sold and doubled the over sales of the Fiero.

The Miata versus Fiero figures show the typical short-term vision of American carmakers in the 1980s. It was well know inside Pontiac that the Fiero had safety fire issues before release (Ingrassia & White, 1994). Pontiac executives should have been able to predict a short product life cycle for a fire-prone vehicle because of the high profile safety related demise of the Chevrolet Corvair in the 1960s.

What seemed to be missing from the Pontiac executives and strategist was a since of the environment. They misinterpreted the value Americans placed on quality and they decided to fight the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration efforts for a recall (Ingrassia & White, 1994).

Finally, Pontiac executives knew the activities they needed to do to make money (new and exciting models) but they lack a focus on sustainability (Porter, 1996). If they had considered the long-term management of the life cycle, they might have fixed the fire problems in the Fiero and results would have been better. One Pontiac executive was quoted as saying, "The Fiero could have been a Miata" (Ingrassia & White, 1994).

Figure 1.

References

Ingrassia P. & White, J. (1994) Fiero Firing Squad. Autoweek September 26, 1994. Retrieved November 2, 2007, from

Levitt, T. (1965) EXPLOIT the Product Life Cycle. Harvard Business Review; Nov/Dec65, Vol. 43 Issue 6, p81-94, 14p

Porter, E. (1996, Nov. - Dec.). What is Strategy? Harvard Buiness Review , 61-78.

Open Systems and Strategy Definition

2007-10-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

Open system theorist, Thompson (2007), pushed for a study of organizations as a whole with a particular emphasis on the uncertainty / certainty dimension that comes from the environment. Thompson argued that a lot of organizational behavior is an attempt to eliminate or manage uncertainty and protection of a technical core from the environment. Adding uncertainty to a definition of strategy would create a fuller and richer definition. Porter (1996) defined strategy as a "unique and valuable position, involving a different set of activities" (Porter, 1996, p. 68). Dovetailing Porter and Thompson I would suggest the following definition of strategy:

Organizations should construct activities and positions that focus on eliminating or managing uncertainty.

A test of a theory or definition is how well does it explain or predictive observed data and think this definition has that trait. Southwest Airline strategy of having short-haul, providing low-cost tickets and use of only 737 airliners have a uncertainty elimination factors. Short-hauls are subject to less delays and lost time can be made up in the air. The market for low cost airline travel was open and they seemed certain to be a leader in the market. Southwest having only one aircraft time reduces a need for cross trained pilots and mechanics.

It can be argued that adding uncertainty management to Porter's definition of strategy and adds clarity. It easy to envision a strategy process that dominated by a desire to eliminate uncertainty.

References

Porter, E. (1996, Nov. - Dec.). What is Strategy? Harvard Buiness Review , 61-78.

Thompson, J. (2007). Organizations in Action. In J. Thompson. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.

Who Am I?

2007-10-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

My involvement with IT began because I was publishing and printing newsletters as a public relations professional in the early 1980s. Graphic artists and typesetters began showing me how they could do their work on Apples. I was hooked. I slowly began moving my paste-up and layout to computers. By 1994, I was more into computers than public relations so I took a position managing the desktop publishing and computer rentals at Kinko's in Utah. I have worked as a Help Desk Manager, Network Engineer, and Networking instructor since then.

My technical expertise is in network engineering and database administration. I hold certifications from Novell and Microsoft. My Cisco certification has expired. My consulting work focused on network engineering and database administration. I have done large directory services designs and small database installations.

I am currently a college instructor in Business Information Systems at a college in Utah. I manage all the textbook, courses, and part time instructors. I also teach a full time load. I focus on hands on labs and service learning and I really try to avoid the sage on the stage approach.

My college is focused on market driven skills programs so we offer Applied Associates degrees in accounting, information systems, interior design, medical assisting, and administrative assistants.

I am currently enrolled in an IT Management PhD program at Capella. My goal is to move to a university and you have to a PhD at that level. I earned a bachelor's in Journal ism and Mass Communications in 1981 and a master's in Training in 1983.

Basic Programming

2007-10-02T10:58:00.000-07:00

I am trying to make a switch in my core technical skill: Networking to Programming. I am very comfortable with servers, routers and database administration but programming is something new.

I have found that the design skills I learned in networking transfer to programming. I really feel you have to design it right before executing.

I am training myself using a program called Alice. This is a movie making program that teaches core programming skills. You learn about objects, methods and messages while creating little stories. I can see students really liking it. They could create games or stories.

I can recommend a book titled Alice in Action (Adams 2007).

This might be away to teach students to visualize networks and learn programming.

References

Adams, J. Alice in Action. Boston: Thomson Course Technology, 2007.

History of IS Management

2007-09-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

I am reading a book on Information systems theory management that presents the proposition that IT/IS history is divided into data processing, and management information systems era (Ward and Peppard) One of the first models presented for was very hierarchical. The model, which developed in 1970s by Gibson and Nolan, went from operational systems, to control systems to planning systems. I was structure how this was influenced by the standard rational model of an organization. I have not read original source so maybe the idea is attributed to rational model. The Nolan of this model is a Harvard professor who completed his training in the early 1960s. Open systems theory started after World War II so I wondered why this early model of IS/IT management is influenced by the Rational Model (Scott & Davis 2007).

How would the model be different? I think there would be a focus on units and relationships?

I will get into this more as my term progress.

References.

Scott, J., & Davis, G. (2007). Organizations and Organizing. Upper Saddle River, New Jersery: Prentice Hall.

Ward, J., and Peppard J. Stragtegic Planning for Information Systems. West Sussex England: John Wiley & Sons, 2004.