Subj : What to do with a gia To : Ky Moffet From : Barry Martin Date : Tue Sep 22 2020 08:34:00 Hi Ky! > > KM> Well do I remember the TV Zorro... Xorro is a Xeon. Now if hey KM> d > > KM> named the CPU Zeon instead..... > > People would still mispronounce it! > KM> -on... > Thinking the German 'achtung'! KM> Nah, obviously not paying attention. And that wasn't from the clicking of heels together! > Could be. Half-recalling something about who was there first: if > Windows was there originally one thing happened but if Linux was there > first something else happened. KM> Yeah, in the olden days Windows always had to be installed first, KM> and oldest to newest. Now I'm not sure it makes any difference. Don't recall that but probably did it accidentally: any machine I had a Windows on was going to be one that was refurbished, so probably an older version, maybe updated. Ubuntu would be the latetst LTS version,so automatically older to newer. > The Windows first rule didn't always work, though I am talking of > limited experiences over several years (so various version of Windows > and Ubuntu). Some refurbished computers here came with a Windows and it > got wiped out even though I tried to have it dual boot. KM> I used to frequent a forum where people often griped about KM> Windows suddenly failing to boot. In every case, they'd been KM> dual-booting with linux. I call this "learning from others' KM> misfortunes" and have not had a mixed-species boot since Argo's KM> Red Hat/Win95 setup, installed in 1995 (eventually RH lost its KM> password, which was "password" and wouldn't boot at all, and was KM> made to go away. However Win95 remained solid for all the years KM> until Argo was finally retired, end of 2011.) Yes, I've done a lot of 'learn from others'. ...Someone's probably going to gripe about your password being 'password' but doesn't matter as have to be in range. Someone made the joke here that if I started seeing a bunch of cars parked outside the house I'd better change the WiFi password! > KM> Yeah, especially when three partitions and three boot menu items > KM> have have named themselves "WINDOWS". Took several boots to > KM> untangle which was which. I knew the middle one was Server, but > KM> you couldn't tell by looking! > _Which_ Windows?! Sort of reminds me of when I installed the snap > version of VLC Media player (default one didn't play some file but the > snap version did). Both default and snap had the little orange cone > icon, same label -- which one was which? KM> Oh yeah, have had that sort of thing too.. which of several KM> icons? Which drive was it on again?? BTDT!! I've put a file called "WhatIsThis" is some subdirs so I could find what it did or why it was created. Usually used the extension '.BJM' for a further indicator I created that file. Windows (at least the old ones when I used it) needed to be told .BJM was a text file; Linux just knows. > KM> Exactly. I could see it blowing off the video driver. But it had > KM> zero business going anywhere near GRUB. Mighta been something in > KM> the configuration manager that expected an OK at that point > KM> instead of a CANCEL, and left something open/unwritten... still > KM> had no business... > Possible incomplete/incorrect programming. KM> Bingo. This is the hazard of having unfinished features, which KM> was like as not the root of the problem. I C:/ Yes, have run into a few of those. And have sometimes seen where there's an exchange between a user and the author where the author states he's just not interested enough in that feature/option to do it, or admits it's beyond his capabilities. > KM> Imagine the fun once the next version comes out... they've said > KM> Win10 will be the last version of Windows. Implying that 20 years > KM> after they first broached the idea (it's been around since the > KM> Win2K launch, and I saw this with my own eyes), they'll FINALLY > KM> get Windows to be a cloud service, not a local OS. Meaning > KM> everyone is locked into subscription mode, not only for the OS > KM> but perhaps also for data storage. Same thing Adobe and Autodesk > KM> have already done. > Half-thought: OK, so my computer works fine when I am able to connect to > the web, like normal. So what happens when I'm not able to connect. > like during a power failure, or the WiFi is encoded or the WiFi is > broken? (I have a HP notebook and its internal option is intermittant > at best.) KM> EXACTLY!!! I've got a notebook computer which seems to have that issue. It is set to dual boot between Windows-something (10? - it did that sneaky upgrade people were in an uproar over maybe three years back) and Ubuntu 18.04. Haven't tested with Windows but with Ubuntu it needs to be connected to The Internet to complete booting, otherwise the screne gets to a certain point and the sceen semi-randomly blinks and the HDD LED indicates constant access. Plug in an Ethernet cable - boots fine. The internal WiFi on this unit is intermittent so has a dongle added. Apparently the boot issues occurs before the driver is loaded. KM> And I'm like... no way in hell. KM> At the aforementioned launch were some 1000 IT pros. During the KM> presentation, they all developed identical angry frowns. (I was KM> off to one side near the front and had a fine view of the KM> audience.) It's kind of funny when everyone comes up with the same conclusion! > KM> Anyway, once that's a done deal, there'll be ZERO control over > KM> updates. You'll get the OS the cloud sends you, and like it. > I tend to start bristling at that! Might be just my "New Hampshire 'Live > Free or Die' attitude", but some things you just don't tell me to do > without a darn good explanation I agree to. (I was raised in NH and > move to IA.) KM> Yep. Being of the Westerner stripe, my reaction is, "Oh yeah? Try KM> and make me." There are good and bad things about The Cloud. Might make things a lot easier with 'everyone on the same page': utilities up-to-date and so compatible (assuming the machine can use -- 64-bit utility on a 32-bit machine...). Well, that might be processed 'in the Sky' and just the end result sent out (seeing some problems with that too!). > KM> provide the official ISOs with less trouble. But none of those is > KM> the desired OEM-specific ISO, tho I've found a couple other OEM > KM> images floating around. > OK -- I probably should have checked further -- it's the thought that > counts?! KM> If only thinking could instantly install the OS of our KM> choice, with all the desired features... I know! I'll call it KM> Telepathy. Let's float that idea to the flagpole and see who salutes! > > Winter project: I'll have to go through to see what I have - not just > > RAM but some old daughterboards. ...Probably not that much of interest > > in the RAM Dep't: recalling a bunch of small capacity units. > KM> I dunno, I can't see as far as your parts box. > It's blocking the view of your camera?! ...For some reason reminds me KM> It's that tall??! I have a bad habit of sometimes playing 'Stack'..... > KM> I don't think I can set it manually, but being even a few pixels > KM> off correct aspect ratio would drive my eyes to drink. Weirdly, > KM> the setting it picks is in correct ratio. (16xx by 9xx. But not > KM> an even number.) > I was initially thinking "16:9" so the "16xx:9xx" wasn't making sense. > Your pixel numbers are 16-hundred-something by nine hundred something. > 1600x900 is a 16:9 ratio ("High Definition Plus / HD+") -- > might be a little more (or less) to accomodate for over- or > underscanning. KM> Methinks I'd rather not have it blowing off the driver, because KM> who knows what that might do under the hood. Yes, I've created some problems trying to repair a problem. Some repair projects get a delayed start until I have a backup in place just in case 'poop occurs'. > > Have read where there are problems with Hibernation. > KM> None of mine have any trouble with it. But it's been an issue > KM> with older laptops in particular. Does need proper hardware > KM> support. Shouldn't be a problem with anything from about a > KM> quad-core or later, tho. > My Lenovo laptop is 'only' dual core. KM> Which is basically the same chip, just didn't test as good and KM> got set to two cores. Anything with more than one real core, I KM> should have said. Hyperthreading is not real cores. Anyway it's KM> the chipset that counts (same one supports duo or quad), and it KM> shouldn't have a problem. Possibly why the BIOS for this motherboard has switches to control the various cores. Initially I'm thinking why would someone want to shut off a core (it's an 8-core CPU)? Probably more the other way: allow an overclocker to turn on a core and maybe use a quad-core as a quint-core. KM> One of the Dells has an oversized recovery partition, and I wound KM> up putting all sorts of junk in there as storage... Sneaky hiding place for private data too! I was semi-playing around with 'split' systems. In the past have used two hard drives: one for the boot and the OS, the other for data. This time figure to try the boot/OS drive as one of those solid state critters, potentially some problems so left the data on the 'rust drive' as you call it. Was also thinking along your lines: not necessarily hide stuff but use the 'excess' space for don't-need-too-often storage. Never did (or at least not so far) use the extra space on the SSD but did find I was running a little low on the space I allocated for the OS. Multiple backups to what I already have - just in case! -- and delete one of the 'sneaky' partitions on the SSD and expand the OS partation in to it. Worked without problem (whew!!). > KM> I have the HDs to do it, and now system with SAS support, and a > KM> 4-holer hotswap bay... so all the body parts are present, if > KM> scattered around the room. Whether I'll ever do anything > KM> more complicated than "let Windows do it" remains to be seen. > Yes, I've semi-sorta collected the hardware as sales and interest > strikes me. Also considering using some old/small hard drives -- one > considering is JBOD-ing them together, another is keeping individual but > sort of like partitions on a big capacity drive ==> small backup would > go to a small hard drive. KM> I make images of small drives and store them on a big drive. And then an image of the big drive on an even bigger drive! I don't play around with operating systems like you do so no real need to do the imaging. For you it makes sense. > > ..Hmm: the RPi option is sounding interesting: I have 5v/12v power > > supplies and a hard drive rack....... > KM> Well, there ya go! > Wonder if I'll need that sequential start-up switch with all the hard > drives?! KM> At least with iStarUSA (my preferred brand) the multi-bay KM> external units do it automagically. That's the only reason they KM> have circuitry at all. The single-bay units are just KM> pass-through. I'll keep that bit of information. (Finding it may be another thing! ) The half-baked build-your-own NSA project here is considering use of several old/small hard drives for storage. Some might be clobbered together under JBOD, though if one fails they all effectively fail. Might be better to use as individual drives and/or store non-critical data. As far as the power draw, was a semi-consideration -- inital project was sort of thinking the unit in a computer case, so use a ATX PSU. The use of an RPi put a bit of a twist on the PSU aspect -- woiuld definitely need an external supply, which could be that 5v/12v one I have -- if able to supply the necessary start-up current. > KM> I dunno VNC... but now I know who to ask. > Wikipedia?! KM> Some bloke on a BBS. :) ...So did I provide a usuable introductory explanation in an earlier message? > KM> Dig up from the grave as the case was with this one... was > KM> supposedly dead. Not dead, just slow boot like a server. Happy > KM> birthday to me. > It is rather fun when something that doesn't work can be fixed easily! KM> Such as by turning it on! Some times they just need the rest! ¯ BarryMartin3@ ® ¯ @MyMetronet.NET ® .... Anyone with "cloisterphobia" should not consider becoming a monk. --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .