Odesk Provider

Online File Sharing

I was needing a way to share a few large files with some different individuals and decided to search for free and easy to use online file sharing.

Microsoft has Windows Live Sky Drive. http://skydrive.live.com/

MediaFire “File Hosting Made Simple”. http://www.mediafire.com/

Currently I think Sky Drive requires all parties to have a Windows Live ID, but MediaFire does not. I was able to create the account and share the folder with multiple people using a customized URL. They were not required to create a MediaFire account just to access the files I had made available.

Speed up Revit FBX Renderings in Max Design

A simple change in the DesignVIZ options can vastly improve mental ray Pre-Processing when rendering scenes imported from Revit FBX files.
In Notepad, open the file "CurrentDefaults.ini in your local User's files (typically at C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Local\Autodesk\3dsMaxDesign\2010 - 32bit\enu\defaults\DesignVIZ.mentalray\CurrentDefaults.ini").
Search for the parameter 'DontRepeatRefMsg' and change it's value from 0 to 1.
Four lines down is the parameter 'InvalidateTMOptimization' and change it's parameter from 0 to 1. You should now have:
DontRepeatRefMsg=1
; comment comment comment...
; comment comment comment...
; comment comment comment...
InvalidateTMOptimization=1
Pre-Processing at the start of mental ray rendering should now happen in a few seconds instead of minutes.
You have to restart Max to accept the change. You should also edit the DesignVIZ.mentalray preset at your program installation folder, usually "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max Design 2010\Defaults\DesignVIZ.mentalray\FactoryDefaults\CurrentDefaults.ini"
Be sure to do the editing for both x32 and x64 if you have both installed. Editing the INI file in the Max installation folder prevents a change if you choose an option from the "Customize>Custom UI and Defaults Switcher".

Source website:
http://newsletters.hagerman.com/newsletters/ebul81-ME.htm

Hotel Booking

If you are in need of a hotel room, click the link below to find the best deals on hotel rooms.

Enable the Administrator Account In Vista Home Premium

1. Go To Start > Accessories > Command Prompt
   Right-click on the icon “Command Prompt” and choose “Run-As Administrator”
2. A DOS box will appear.
3. Type the following
   1. net user administrator /active:yes
      (this will enable the administrator account)
   2. net user administrator /active:no
      (this will disable the administrator account)
   3. net user administrator password
      (this will set the password on the account)
      (in this example “password” is the password)
   4. net user
      (this will list all the user accounts on the system)

Vista Home – Net Account

I stumbled on how to accomplish changing the password expire settings in Vista Home Premium.

To remove the password expire date in Vista Home Premium, you have to use the old command line and use the net command to do this. I looked all over the GUI account dialog box for an option to to this but could not find one.

So to lift the password expire day do this.

 

1. Under Start>Accessories> “Right-Click” on Command Prompt and click on “Run As Administrator”
2. This will open a dos dialog box. At the prompt type in
1. net accounts (this will list out all the settings for the current user)
2. net accounts ? (this will list the syntax for using the command)
3. net accounts /maxpwage:unlimited (this syntax will remove the password expiration date)
4. net accounts /maxpwage:100 (this will set the password to expire in 100 days)

FreeBSD with ZFS filesystem

My notes to remember different zfs commands.

The FreeBSD Handbook is a good starting place.

or

The OpenSolaris.org website.

zpool create zfsstorage /dev/ad0

zfs create zfsstorage/compressed

zfs set compression=on zfsstorage/compressed

zfs set compression=gzip-4 zfsstorage/compressed

zfs list

zfs set sharenfs="-maproot=root -network 10.1.41.0" zfsstorage/compressed

zfs get compressratio zfsstorage/compressed

zs get all

Using Ubuntu as a backup server

1. Install Ubuntu 8.04 LTS with a minimal install
2. Use apt-get update to update the repositories
3. Use apt-get upgrade to make your new server current with security patches
4. Use apt-get install rsnapshot, rsnapshot will be the backup technique we will use
5. Configure your raid volume where your backups will be stored
6. I use a hardware raid card, so all I need to do is make the partition.
7. Use fdisk to create the partition.
   fdisk /dev/sdb
8. I use jfs for my backup storage filesystem
9. Use mkfs.jfs –L raid5 /dev/sdb1
10. Add the new partition to /etc/fstab
    LABEL=raid5     /mnt/raid5      jfs     rw,atime        0    0
    If you want you can use blkid to get the UUID of the new partition and use UUID instead of LABEL in /etc/fstab
11. If you try to mount the partition, you will probably get an error relating to there is not a /dev/ created yet.
12. You now need to run partprobe to create the new /dev
13. Now you can mount the partition
14. mount /mnt/raid5
15. Now we can edit the rsnapshot file located at /etc/rsnapshot.conf
16. Set snapshot_root to be on your newly created partition like below
    snapshot_root   /mnt/raid5/rsnapshot/
17. Skim thru the rest of /etc/rsnapshot.conf and modify as needed.
18. Update here about ssh-keygen –t rsa
19. Update here about sftp id_pub to server 2
20. Update here about server 2 path in /etc/rsnapshot.conf
21. Update here about running rsnapshot daily
22. Update here about adding cron entries
23. Update here about adding a samba share to access the backup from windows.

pfSense vs. Vyatta

I recently installed pfsense at work to replace an aging smoothwall 2.0 firewall/transparent proxy. I like the use of FreeBSD as the underlying engine of pfSense. The add-on packages are relatively easy to install, except snort IDS has a few problems that are supposedly fixed in an upcoming version 1.2.3. You have the ability to enable SSH on the firewall, so you can use a command line to configure the firewall or just use the web interface.

I ran across another firewall/transparent proxy/IDS called Vyatta. I am currently testing out the features. At first glance, its seems to have a few more features than pfSense. You have the ability to use a web interface or a series of command line scripts that interact with the 2.6.x Linux kernel.

I am still do not have a determination of which I like better or which performs better on a given set of hardware restrictions.

Sugar CRM Installation Warning

If you come across the following error during a SugarCRM installation

"Errors have been detected during compatibility check. In order for your SugarCRM Installation to function properly, please take the proper steps to address the issues listed below and either press the recheck button, or try installing again.

Component	Status
Writable Modules Sub-Directories and Files	Warning: Not Writable
Please fix the following module directories and the files under them before proceeding: /modules/ModuleBuilder/tpls" And you know that you have made everything "Writable" then you need to check for to hidden files that may not have been changed to writable. Under the /modules/ModuleBuilder/tpls/ look for the following files: .tmp_studioRelationship.tpl .tmp_studioRelationshipsExt.tpl These files have to be writable also or the installation will never proceed. I have seen posts on the SugarCRM forums that state these must be run as the user the webserver runs as but this is not the case. Just chmod 777 on these two files and all wil be good.

Creating a Service on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003

To create a custom service on Windows:

1. Start>Run>CMD (get to a command prompt or CLI for short)
2. sc is the command to create the service

example service creation format

sc \\server create "MSSQL$ACT7" binPath= "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL$ACT7\Binn\sqlservr.exe -sACT7" DisplayName= "MSSQL$ACT7" depend= "SQLAgent$ACT7"

This will create a custom SQL Server example for an ACT database.

Updating FreeBSD

To update FreeBSD you need to run a few commands to update a running server

1. freebsd-update fetch
2. freebsd-update install

To upgrade FreeBSD to the latest version: (currently 7.1)

1. freebsd-update -r 7.1-RELEASE upgrade
   

To figure out what version of FreeBSD you are using do this

uname -a

FreeBSD freebsd.example.com 7.0-RELEASE FreeBSD 7.0-RELEASE #0: Sun Feb 24 19:59:52 UTC 2008 root@logan.cse.buffalo.edu:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC i386

Shutdown Remote Windows Computer Using CLI

By going to "Start>Run" and enter "cmd" Press OK, you can get a DOS prompt from which you can remotely reboot another computer on your network.

C:\>shutdown /r /f /m \\192.168.0.1 /t 0 /d p:0:0

From the shutdown help menu:

Usage: shutdown [/i | /l | /s | /r | /g | /a | /p | /h | /e] [/f]

    [/m \\computer][/t xxx][/d [p|u:]xx:yy [/c "comment"]]

    No args    Display help. This is the same as typing /?.

    /?         Display help. This is the same as not typing any options.

    /i         Display the graphical user interface (GUI).

               This must be the first option.

    /l         Log off. This cannot be used with /m or /d options.

    /s         Shutdown the computer.

    /r         Shutdown and restart the computer.

    /g         Shutdown and restart the computer. After the system is

               rebooted, restart any registered applications.

    /a         Abort a system shutdown.

               This can only be used during the time-out period.

    /p         Turn off the local computer with no time-out or warning.

               Can be used with /d and /f options.

    /h         Hibernate the local computer.

               Can be used with the /f option.

    /e         Document the reason for an unexpected shutdown of a computer.

    /m \\computer Specify the target computer.

    /t xxx     Set the time-out period before shutdown to xxx seconds.

               The valid range is 0-600, with a default of 30.

               Using /t xxx implies the /f option.

    /c "comment" Comment on the reason for the restart or shutdown.

               Maximum of 512 characters allowed.

    /f         Force running applications to close without forewarning users.

               /f is automatically set when used in conjunction with /t xxx.

    /d [p|u:]xx:yy  Provide the reason for the restart or shutdown.

               p indicates that the restart or shutdown is planned.

               u indicates that the reason is user defined.

                 if neither p nor u is specified the restart or shutdown is unplanned.

               xx is the major reason number (positive integer less than 256).

               yy is the minor reason number (positive integer less than 65536).

Reasons on this computer:

(E = Expected U = Unexpected P = planned, C = customer defined)

Type    Major   Minor   Title

U 0       0       Other (Unplanned)

E 0       0       Other (Unplanned)

E P 0       0       Other (Planned)

U 0       5       Other Failure: System Unresponsive

E       1       1       Hardware: Maintenance (Unplanned)

E P     1       1       Hardware: Maintenance (Planned)

E       1       2       Hardware: Installation (Unplanned)

E P     1       2       Hardware: Installation (Planned)

P     2       3       Operating System: Upgrade (Planned)

E       2       4       Operating System: Reconfiguration (Unplanned)

E P     2       4       Operating System: Reconfiguration (Planned)

P     2       16      Operating System: Service pack (Planned)

       2       17      Operating System: Hot fix (Unplanned)

P     2       17      Operating System: Hot fix (Planned)

         2       18      Operating System: Security fix (Unplanned)

P     2       18      Operating System: Security fix (Planned)

E       4       1       Application: Maintenance (Unplanned)

E P     4       1       Application: Maintenance (Planned)

E P     4       2       Application: Installation (Planned)

E       4       5       Application: Unresponsive

E       4       6       Application: Unstable

U       5       15      System Failure: Stop error

E       5       19      Security issue

U       5       19      Security issue

E P     5       19      Security issue

E       5       20      Loss of network connectivity (Unplanned)

U       6       11      Power Failure: Cord Unplugged

U       6       12      Power Failure: Environment

P     7       0       Legacy API shutdown