http://k.jeffharbert.com Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:33:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I was working at home one weekend recently, performing some scheduled server maintenance. We have mostly HP servers where I work, and they have this nice feature built into them called Remote Insight. It's a card that's plugged into the motherboard of the server. This card has ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2008/11/29/a-vbscript-wake-on-lan-project/ If you use a Windows XP CD to perform a repair of XP, you'll find that Windows Update won't work correctly afterwards. There are some DLLs that come with the latest version of WU that don't register with the system, and this prevents WU from running correctly. There ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/09/27/stealth-windows-update-prevents-xp-repair/ Every once in a while the TCP/IP stack in Windows XP will break. The most obvious way to tell is to open a command prompt and run ipconfig. If it comes back with "Windows IP Configuration" and nothing else, TCP/IP is broken. If it was working, you'd ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/07/21/repairing-tcpip-in-windows-xp/ You can kill processes on a remote computer by using the taskkill command. Run 'taskkill /?' on a command line to see all the options. We use SpySweeper on all our workstations at work. It occasionally hangs during a scan, severely slowing down that particular PC. Here's the ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/06/27/taskkill/ Change XP to the Classic theme: Right-click on the desktop and select Properties. On the Theme tab, select 'Windows Classic' from the drop-down menu. Click Apply, then OK. On systems that use shared system memory instead of dedicated video memory, turn off the wallpaper and reduce the color ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/05/26/more-on-making-windows-xp-work-better-with-older-hardware/ There are several things you can do with XP to make it run better on older hardware. Change the display settings to use the standard Windows theme instead of the default XP theme. Under System Properties, Performance Options, Visual Effects, choose 'Adjust for best performance'. Use 16-bit color ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/04/29/tweak-xp-to-work-better-with-older-hardware/ One thing I've encountered at every tech support job I've had are users that are afraid of their computers. I liken this to driving to a location you've never been before in the dark without a map. You're either going to drive slowly so you don't miss your ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/04/06/on-user-education/ If you're sending an email to more than one person, it's not always a good idea to put everyone's email address in the TO field. Every address you put in the TO field will be visible to everyone who receives the email. People often like to keep their ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/04/06/when-to-use-bcc-when-sending-email/ David Allen is, as many of you know, the man behind Getting Things Done. I've been meaning to become more familiar with GTD methods and have been reading a lot about the subject. The websites 43Folders.com and LifeHacker.com in particular are great resources. It was through the 43Folders Wiki ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/04/06/i-have-a-beef-with-david-allen/ It can be quite confusing and time consuming to read a long trouble ticket log to determine what the problem is and what steps have been taken to resolve the problem. This can be avoided by using templates. Let me give you some examples. ATTEMPT: RESULT: CAUSE: TROUBLESHOOTING: FIX: Copy and paste this into ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/04/05/trouble-ticket-templates-2/ Process improvement is one of my strengths and one of my on the job joys. I thoroughly enjoy figuring out how to do things better. http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/03/24/process-improvement/ Buy a travel-sized wireless router to use in hotels that offer only wired broadband connections. This could get you in trouble with the hotel, so turn off the router's SSID broadcast so no one else can see your router. This will let you move about your room or ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/03/01/travel-tips-2/ Tips and Tricks *On PCs with less than 512mb RAM, set Windows XP to the Classic theme. This will save about 30Mb RAM and help avoid hitting the swap file, which will speed things up nicely. *If a login script instead of a Group Policy is used to map network drives, ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/02/28/tips-tricks/ I have an ancient Samba file server at home. It's a Pentium Pro 180 with 256mb RAM, a custom BIOS that allows it to recognize large hard drives, and an 80Gb drive. I run Red Hat 7.1 on it and it works just fine. Running X on ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/02/27/i-dont-do-obsolete/ It can be quite confusing and time consuming to read a long trouble ticket log to determine what the problem is and what steps have been taken to resolve the problem. This can be avoided by using templates. Let me give you some examples. ATTEMPT: RESULT: CAUSE: TROUBLESHOOTING: FIX: Copy and paste this into ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/02/26/trouble-ticket-templates/ Google Maps is your best friend when it comes to travel planning. Use it to locate your hotel, your worksite such as a convention center or customer location, nearby restaurants, any other places you want to visit, and for driving directions between these places and the airport. Print out as ... http://k.jeffharbert.com/index.php/2007/02/25/travel-tips/