Ask an IT Pro

Forum for posts that are not hockey-related.
dodint
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Ask an IT Pro

Post by dodint »

I don't claim to be much of an expert on anything in the IT field, though I do make a living of it. I know there are a handful of us that work as IT professionals by day and post here by night so maybe a central repository for IT discussion could be interesting. I don't envision it as something for the small sect of us to sit and talk, but rather as a forum for everyone to use to try to elevate their understanding of the devices they use throughout their day. Granted, almost everything is in TFM or on the Google machine but working through these things conversational can be fun and foster learning in both directions. Myself, I dual hat as a desktop support specialist as well as an information security specialist but have interest in a myriad of other things from virtualization, Linux, and getting the most out of an iRacing setup.

The stuff I hope we get to talk about are things like the discussion we had in JTOR today where mikey wants to buy a machine but is so busy watching all the hockey in North America he can't tell the different between an Intel i7 processor and an AMD A8-7600.
mikey287 wrote:
dodint wrote:
mikey287 wrote:

So, come Stanley Cup Playoffs time...could I have one game streamed through my television and another stream through a single computer monitor? Is it possible to have a dual-monitor setup with one being a standard monitor and the other being a TV...besides the fact that your head would explode trying to use a computer normally under that setup, for strictly multimedia purposes, is that possible?
Sure, it's very easy. I do it with my laptop pretty often. Just get a card that has HDMI out, it'll even carry sound to the TV for you. When I moved to WI I would watch/listen to Pens feeds on the TV while doing GDTs on the primary monitor.
Nice, thanks again for all the help. I'm going to draw up a game plan over the coming weeks and see what kind of money we're talking about...
Do come back when you're ready to spec out that system.

In the meantime I'll probably post here when I find something new or compelling as I work that I think at least one person here might find interesting. Plus it will keep the JTOR Thread Police at bay.

I originally planned to open this thread with a discussion about Windows 10. Before we start, why Windows 10 and not 9? Because the code if(version,startswith("windows 9") would be our version of the Y2K bug, so thanks to Windows95/98 MS has to politely step over Windows9.

Windows 10 is a free upgrade later this year for anyone that has a valid copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8. I finally moved to Win8.1P just last month so moving to Win10 won't be a trainwreck for me. In fact, as someone that really enjoys Windows 7 the upgrade will be a welcome one. The more traditional partial screen Start menu returns and the interface is supposed to be more like Windows7 than Windows8. This is the first Windows release I've been excited for since...Win98SE.

The catch? You have one year to upgrade to Win10 for free, and when you do your license is only good for that device. Microsoft as a company is transitioning to a Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) pricing model where you'll be subscribing rather than purchasing. This is already out there with some of the Office 365 pricing models, I actually had to hunt around to find where to purchase a straight Office 2013 key. I'm not a fan of subscribing to an OS, and with Linux being so user friendly these days and Apple always there, I may have to reconsider my future with Microsoft products if they really do go to the SaaS subscription model across the board.

I think Microsoft saw the writing on the wall that Win8 will never be a great Enterprise solution thanks to its poor launch and it looks like Windows10 will be much friendlier in that regard. Oddly, I personally like administrating Windows Server 2012R2 which is basically a stripped version of Windows 8, but if I recall correctly some sysadmins like shmenguin abhor the blocky interface on a server platform. I'm curious to see what Server "2016" will look like.

Also, Office 2016 is due out this Fall. I can't imagine it will be much of an interface change after how subtly the shift from 2010 to 2013 went. Maybe they'll find some even cooler things to do with OneDrive.

Anyway, if you have any IT stuff you don't quite understand or have something to share, fire away. For instance, I'd love to know the correct upper limit of RAM to install on my next machine.
Sam's Drunk Dog
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by Sam's Drunk Dog »

Can you program my VCR? I want to record Matlock.
dodint
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by dodint »

Is it endlessly blinking 12:00?
columbia
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by columbia »

dodint wrote:
Is it endlessly blinking 12:00?
4:09
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by PensFanInDC »

columbia wrote:
dodint wrote:
Is it endlessly blinking 12:00?
4:09
Wait 11 minutes then you won't care anymore.
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by SolidSnake »

Sam's Drunk Dog wrote:
Can you program my VCR? I want to record Matlock.
Jake and the Fatman > Matlock
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by FreeCandy44 »

The ring came off my pudding can....
Sam's Drunk Dog
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by Sam's Drunk Dog »

PensFanInDC wrote:
columbia wrote:
dodint wrote:
Is it endlessly blinking 12:00?
4:09
Wait 11 minutes then you won't care anymore.
Sounds like a good idea, although it seems someone might a have a problem moving on.
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by Pavel Bure »

Alright, laptop will do this weird thing sometimes where it won't read or pick up wifi signals and will have a red X over the icon. Why does this happen?
dodint
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by dodint »

Did you turn it off and back on again?
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by Pavel Bure »

dodint wrote:
Did you turn it off and back on again?
Yes, it's an ongoing issue. Sometimes that fixes it sometimes not.
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by dodint »

Sorry, I was kidding.

Without knowing anything else I'd check out this thread and work through the stuff there, specifically the command prompt items: http://www.sevenforums.com/network-shar ... s-7-a.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset all
netsh int ipv4 reset all
netsh int ipv6 reset all

I initially thought maybe you had some radio interference, like a 2.4GHz (or even 5.8Ghz if your router and WLAN Adapter supports it) cordless phone or baby monitor but I feel like that wouldn't disconnect you completely. The other stuff I'd try is ensuring the drivers are the most up to date, and deleting your wifi networks and readding them as you need them. I'm much better at fixing stuff when I can see it. ;)

Also, this is pretty brilliant:
Go in the Device Manager, Network Adapters, right click on the adapter and select properties, Power Management, uncheck the box that says, 'Allow the Computer to turn off this device to save power'.
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by Pavel Bure »

Thanks Jimmy Fallon. :thumb:
dodint
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by dodint »

At least you didn't say Conan.
ulf
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by ulf »

dodint wrote:
Did you turn it off and back on again?
Oh my God I came in here just to say I'm gonna be really perturbed if one of you guys says to turn it off and back on again :lol:
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by dodint »

Yeah, I hear it at least once every 2 hours at work and think of this every time:

Image

Then I laugh, sometimes out loud. :lol:
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by shafnutz05 »

Delete your cookies also works.
Kaizer
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by Kaizer »

I dont know enough about IT to even ask a relevant question about it
JS©
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by JS© »

dodint wrote:
Also, this is pretty brilliant:
Go in the Device Manager, Network Adapters, right click on the adapter and select properties, Power Management, uncheck the box that says, 'Allow the Computer to turn off this device to save power'.
I probably get about 4 or 5 calls for this a month for network adapters and/or badge readers.
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by dodint »

I couldn't even tell you why that would be checked on a desktop. What percentage of your energy bill do you think your wifi adapter is? ;)

Also, if this thread turns into complaints about users I'm okay with that. ;)
Last edited by dodint on Sun Feb 08, 2015 12:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by MalkinIsMyHomeboy »

Why does modern art suck?
dodint
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by dodint »

MalkinIsMyHomeboy wrote:
Why does modern art suck?
Photoshop.
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by columbia »

dodint wrote:
I couldn't even tell you why that would be checked on a desktop. What percentage of your energy bill do you think your wifi adapter is? ;)

Also, if this thread turns into complaints about users I'm okay with that. ;)
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redwill
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by redwill »

This has happened to me about ten times in the last few years:

My wifi goes out. No connection to Internet. I unplug modem and router and restart 'em. I restart laptop. I do the Network Connection and config stuff. No dice.

Only when I'm about to call my provider do I remember that the age-old ethernet cable connecting my modem to my router is missing that little clippy thingy that secures it into the socket. Push it back in firmly and boom! Problem solved. Every. Time.

Seriously, this happens again and again and again. Stupid. The funny thing is that I probably have about twenty good ethernet cables stuffed here and there around the house but I never change out the bad one. It just seems like that would be giving in to my encroaching senility or something.
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Re: Ask an IT Pro

Post by PensFanInDC »

Hire a Syrian refugee to change it for you. Do your part. :slug:

Seriously though I save every cable I ever possess. There are boxes of cables in my garage. I never use them. I just add to them.