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John BarshingerThere's no need to fear, Underdog is here! |
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June 06 Forgot to enable AHCI on your Windows 7 RC (or Vista) for your SSD?I was doing some reading tonight an found info implying that unless your SATA controller is set to AHCI or RAID mode (BIOS setting), performance improving things like NCQ and Trim do not work even if your SSD or hard drive (that was so 2008!) has those features available.
So, of course, changing this BIOS setting and expecting everything to work is just asking a bit too much (what do you think we're talking about, a Mac?). After making this BIOS change, you will soon see a beautiful blue screen of death otherwise known as BSOD. When this occurs, you will likely be googling around for some solution to the problem (after you change that BIOS setting back and reboot) or maybe you'll try the new Microsoft Bing (I didn't). In any event, hopefully you will find this blog entry or the link I will provide that should solve your problem.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976 will show you how to make a registry entry change that will likely solve the problem for you. At least it did for me...
Here is the relevant info from the link above:
To resolve this issue, enable the AHCI driver in the registry before you change the SATA mode of the boot drive. To do this, follow these steps:
After doing this, reboot, get into the BIOS, change back to AHCI mode and eventually you will be able to login to Windows (i.e. no BSOD). At this time, Windows will figure out that is needs to install drivers for your fancy new AHCI controller that replaced your old legacy controller (which of course forces you to reboot one more time) and then you are all set. At least this is how it went down for me with Windows 7 RC (BTW: Windows users can be happy and proud again with Windows 7, Mac ain't got nuthing on you no more...at least until Snow Leopard comes out, then we'll just have to see...)
May 26 iPhone on Verizon?I am using an iPhone on T-Mobile but am very hesitant to switch to the new iPhone coming out this summer on ATT even though I really want to. Why? It costs more per month and has only slightly better coverage than T-Mobile. Also, some of the restrictions on ATT just really rub me the wrong way. For example, SlingPlayer can only operate with WIFI? HUH? How can they charge me for “unlimited” 3G internet access and deny me the ability to use my SlingPlayer unless I am connected to WIFI? I used SlingPlayer years ago on T-Mobile with my window mobile phone and it worked just fine (no extra charge BTW)! There is a rumor that Verizon may soon have an iPhone. Now that, my friend, is a differentiator! I could (and I may) still switch from T-Mobile to ATT in order to get the new iPhone this summer even though I will be paying more for less monthly. But I would JUMP at the chance to switch to Verizon if I could have the new iPhone on their network. I would even pay MORE per month than ATT charges. Why? Ubiquitous signal coverage (OK, maybe not ubiquitous but heck Verizon has coverage even in the western PA mountains that I visit every few years). Better signal strength indoors (isn’t this where most of us use our phones anyway?). 80 million customers...make that 80 million and 1, I hope. Why does this matter? FREE MOBILE TO MOBILE. And besides that, when they acquired AllTel, the created a “My Faves” like plan that T-Mobile has. With this plan, you can pretty much have UNLIMITED calling minutes while paying for the least minutes plan under certain conditions (ask me for details if interested, you'll need Google Voice previously known as GrandCentral). OK, I am done ranting for today. I feel better now. C’mon Verizon, step up to the plate (QUICK)! April 23 asp Checkbox css style on the input elementwhen ASP.NET renders an <asp:Checkbox... /> it renders HTML similar to this:
<span><input type="checkbox" ... /></span>
When you want to specify the height of the checkbox for example. You would think something like this would do the trick:
checkBox.Height = Unit.Pixel(12); // this is needed for IE8This actually does the trick for IE8 but not for IE6. Now this is rendered:
<span style="display:inline-block;height:12px;"><input type="checkbox" ... /></span>
For IE6, the following code must be used:
button.InputAttributes[ "style"] = "height: 12px"; // this is needed for IE6button.InputAttributes["height"] = "12px"; // this is needed for IE6 button.Height = Unit.Pixel(12); // this is needed for IE8 This actually does the trick for both IE8 and IE6. Finally this is rendered: <span style="display:inline-block;height:12px;"><input type="checkbox" height="12px" ... /></span> This was a PIA for me to figure out, I hope this helps you if you run into a similar formatting issue with ASP.NET Checkbox controls.
January 06 WinMerge integration with TortoiseSVNsometimes, the magic command used to integrate WinMerge as the Diff Viewer for TortoiseSVN gets lost. I aways forget what that command is so I am documenting it here (so I don't have to look it up again):
TortoiseSVN -> Settings -> External Programs -> Diff Viewer
Click "External" and enter the following (adjusted with your path to WinMerge, if necessary):
C:\Program Files (x86)\WinMerge\WinMergeU.exe -e -x -ub -dl %bname -dr %yname %base %mine
If you want this automatically setup for you. Install WinMerge AFTER you install TortoiseSVN and check the box that says integrate with TortoiseSVN.
I feel better already...
November 10 Windows Update fails to install updates
Today I ran into a computer where windows update would download updates from Windows Update and would start the installation process before finally failing to install any of the updates. No reason was given for the failure. Looking at the update history, where one would expect to find the error, did not even have the update attempt listed. First, where to find more information about the errors related to Windows Update: c:\windows\WindowsUpdate.txt. You might find some clues regarding the problems there. I Google'd on a couple of errors listed there and found the following solution for the problem I was experiencing. Solution (re-register these dlls): regsvr32.exe c:\windows\system32\wuweb.dll Next, restart the Automatic Updates server (you might have to reboot to get Windows Update working in IE). This problem was on an XP system for me but I have heard this also affects other Windows OS's. October 29 Adaptec 3805 RAID Controller and ASUS P5Q-E MotherboardHere is what works:
now make sure you have these versions of the firmware (especially the Adaptec firmware/driver). This caused me many nights of troubleshooting to get the Adaptec RAID controller to work. The symptom was the following messages printed on the screen after the controller completed loading:
The final symptom/problem is that even though I was typing CTRL-A to get into the configuration manager for the controller. The configuration manager would never load. At various times with various motherboards, I had one or more of the above error messages from the Adaptec controller. In each case, soon after these error messages, the computer would continuously beep. After many night of trying many different BIOS settings, moving the card to different slots, buying another 3805 thinking that the first one was bad...the problem was the firmware for the 3805 that came with it from the factory would not work on my new motherboard P5Q-E (it wouldn't work on my previous motherboard either P5K-E). This was very confusing to me since my old computer with the same P5K-E motherboard had a 3805 in it and is working just fine -- no BIOS setting changes required. Finally, I noticed that my old computer's 3805 had an old version of the Adaptec firmware on it and the new ones had a more recent but not latest firmware version on it. I doubted this could be the problem, aren't all new firmware versions better than older versions? Perhaps the software developer in me was forcing this assumption on me... Now the problem was actually upgrading the firmware on the controller. I had to install a floppy drive in this system. The firmware is too big to fit on one floppy. Nicely, Adaptec had broken it into two firmware files and afu.exe. I put afu.exe and the first smaller file on the first floppy and then the second BIG firmware file on the second (it barely fit). Finally, I booted an old windows 98 floppy, put in the floppy containing afu and ran it. Eventually it ask me for the second file. Finally, it upgraded the firmware on the adaptec RAID controller. Holding my breath, I anxiously rebooted the computer, waited for the Adaptec messages to show on my screen, and hit CTRL-A to enter the array configuration manager. VOILA! Life is good! Thank you Jesus! You MUST use the corresponding Adaptec driver version instead of the drivers that will be installed automatically by Windows 2008 (or 2003) in order for everything to work properly. The only way to do this is to install the driver manually: Device Manager/SCSI and RAID Controllers/Adaptec RAID 3805/Update driver Take-aways:
if this helps you, paypal me $1 cause I have an extra 3805 now that I have to pay for and they ain't cheap! August 22 Mac Remote Desktop Connection Display Resolution LimitationsWhen you are editing preferences for your Mac Remote Desktop Connection, there are limited display resolutions you can choose for the remote desktop size. You can also choose “Fit to Window” but this scales the window instead of changing the screen resolution which sux. However, there is a way to define your own preferred resolution (assuming the windows box you are connecting to can support it). Use TextEdit to change the saved rdp file for the connection you want to change. See below for an example where I set the resolution to 3820x1150 (this works good with my Dual Head2Go on my MacBook).
On another note, Visual Studio development via VMWare or Parallels is just not fast enough for me on my MacBook Pro. Even though it probably does not significantly reduce productivity, it is frustrating to have to wait for windows to pop-up and builds to complete. I’m just not used to having to wait for anything in my dev environment. I’m thinking this is due to running on a laptop not due to running in a VM on Mac since running a VM on my Win server is actually acceptable. The good news, I suppose, is that this means there is no reason for me to get a high-performance MacBook/MBP when I give this one to my wife the end of this year. Maybe even a MacBook Air will do... |
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