BlissPC.com

I avoided Windows 2012 due to the same crap moves as Windows 8, but I’ll be damned as there are some 2012 servers in house now.

Seriously.  Using a server without a start menu and needing to do the top right corner thing for tiles, is a complete pain in the (counter-intuitive) ass.  On top of the basic failures there, Exchange 2013 is pretty much a hot piece of shit.

Exchange 2013 is like ‘Admin interface?  Oh you mean login to a webpage for a sudo-office 365 experience’.  Needless to say, I’m not a fan.  I support change when it makes sense, but when you are making shit harder to navigate for the sake of a new release, fuck you.

That’s my love letter to Microsoft on the 2012 – 2013 releases.  Stop smoking meth and making shittier programs.  It’s not cool.

I wanted to share my encounters with Java 7 update 17, aka version 1.17.  It may have been a previous version, but the 17 update looks to silently remove any JRE6 folder paths from your machine.  Run some web-based queries or sites and you’ll find the details of what’s missing hiding in the broken functionality.

Sharing for anyone who sees previously working java applications die out.  Square one is to check for what Java version is installed and when it was so.  I updated to 7v17 on Friday, so I had a few hours of tracing out my mistake.

Remove latest version and reinstall a compliant 6.xx build and you are back in business.  I would still Disable Java in the Web browser when and wherever possible.  You can do this via Control Panel | Java | Security Tab, on your windows based machines.

Working my way through an issue with a laptop that started BSOD rebooting after install of Windows Update KB2670838.  Apparently hybrid video solutions (Intel on CPU video and ATI/Nvidia GPU) on laptops are a common on some laptops release in the last few years.

If you can stay booted long enough, try removing the update in Programs and Features under Installed Updates.  This should work in Safe Mode too, but if you have to remove Intel HD or ATI drivers, you will not be able to in safe mode, due to their installer methods.

Fair warning if any laptops start acting up, especially in droves.  Time frame is roughly the end of February 2013 when this update started being pushed out by updates.

EDIT: I think a another person I know is experiencing this.  Having them just try the update removal, because I think the other person’s PC is also reacting to a USB DisplayPort docking station.

Allow me to try and save you some time.  I’ve had an issue where Task Scheduler on Windows machines will run a scheduled task fine if you manually Run it, but any Next Run Time scheduled items will be skipped and unlogged by Windows.  The Task History would also log nothing for the skipped ‘Last Run Time’ process.

Trying to find info on this issue was largely unhelpful.  What I had were jobs that failed to execute as defined by schedule and/or triggers, but a right-click Run for said tasks was fine.  It turns out my issue was related to a Task with a Pending Status.  I tracked said process down in the following tree:

• Task Scheduler Library
• Windows Live
• SOXE

Task name:
Extractor Definitions Update Task

I ended up having to disable this task, as trying to end it, left it in a Pending state.  Upon disabling this I got ~21 ‘Application1’ named windows erroring out, that looked like my cmd tasks scheduled into oblivion.  Closing these error tasks, I jumped back to my main Task list.

To my delight, the custom and desired tasks returned to running on their correct, automatic schedules.
Hopefully this helps you in any instance where Scheduled Tasks do not run, on a Windows box.

TLDR; Check entire TaskScheduler for any Status = Pending tasks.  Try to end them, if that doesn’t work, disable said task.  Mystery fail jobs should return to auto-executing.

It’s been a bit since I ordered any DVI cables and in my haste, I got the wrong one for my LCD.  The NEC LCD I have only accepts DVI-D inputs, while the Video card accepts either one.  Since an RMA on a $10 cable would be nearly the cost, I took to seeing my self-fix options.

Looking at the pin-outs, it turns out the 4 pins and the vertical large one aren’t needed for a digital signal.  If you want to make those DVI-I cables still useful for an LCD, grab your Dremel and get to hacking off those 5 pins.

I just applied said fix and it took about 5 minutes.  Hooked my cable up and confirmed it to be a winner mod.  Extra fun fact.  The vertical pin is larger for DVI-I than DVI-D.  I tried to lo-tech bend the other 4 pins, then noticed the vertical one was larger.

Instead of a sudo-review thread, I’ll cut to the cause for return on a Creative Labs Recon3D PCI-e.  Everything was pretty good, except when my front channels got blasted across the wrong speaker placement.

Windows 7 x64 is my OS.

To ‘fix’ the glitch,  I had to use the CP from Creative, to go headphone or from another mode back to 5.1 ch.  If I did a Test run in the CP when it was trippin out, I’d get my mapped channels scattered from their actual placement.  Toggle the output mode and the test was back to right physical outputs.

Luckily local shop didn’t hassle when I returned for faulty surround sound.  I also saw other folks have the same issue (at least since feb ’12) with unsupported promises from Creative for ‘fix in next version’.  Since there aren’t any other viable local card options, to the ordermobile I shall be going.

Looking for an Optical In capable card that will also play it on Stereo mix.  I really would have been set, if this card would properly do 5.1, but alas and goodbye Creative I’ll get the cheaper same spec card and fix it myself.  I hear a few other cards develop an occasional static feedback…  I’d be forced to smash that thing into a rage of rubble.

Edit to retort on stalking them if still an issue with alt, as everything else was pretty enjoyable.  Other options weren’t really sizing up and back on PCI is like my antib0x.

I ran into an issue a few years back where a production server was kicking BSOD messages after an OS upgrade.  I had my suspicions but no evidence of what driver was borked, so I grabbed the Windows Debugging Tools.

The cut of that jib is that you’ll be able to run a BSOD dump file and it will process the .dll or similar cause of your BSOD.  I thought I had a topic about this from before but my searches came up dry.

Like most Microsoft tools, their documentation is really shitty.  Peep this MJ post for the overview on how to get rolling for your BSOD debugging.

Today’s cause is 2 like machines with only 1 crashing every 24-36 hours.  One appears to be fixed by video update, while the other remains to be a pain.  Not to be a troll, but these are also Mini ITX machines with AMD CPU and GPU action.  Point there being the temperatures are pretty shitty, but not outside of moderate operational acceptance.

Check this virtualized network security grid out.  While it’s all sorts of flashy, I really appreciate the relevant information presented in the details of flagged objects.

1995 like a Mofo on that virtualization, except it looks to provide viable functionality instead of massive manual port and log scanning.