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Change location of Kodi's data directory (workaround)
edited by on May 5th 2015, at 13:05
By default, Kodi (formerly known as XBMC), stores its data directory in the user's home folder (Mac/Linux) or roaming profile (Windows). Sometimes, this may not be desirable, especially when you have only a limited amount of space available on that particular drive (such as having a Windows installation on an small SSD). In that case, you may want to move the entire data directory (including the profiles, thumbnail caches and database files) to another drive.

There are various ways to achieve this, but I found out the most easiest (and also complete way) is to simply move the entire folder to another partition or disk, then symlink that folder to its original location. That way, you won't h  ...
 
Internet Explorer tries to "save" any and all websites and HTM/HTML files
edited by on May 5th 2015, at 12:47
In rare cases, Internet Explorer (any version) tries to always "save" any and all website pages, and locally opened HTM/HTML files. Additionally, you cannot open the About Internet Explorer dialog box (it is either grayed out or nothing happens). There isn't a single cause for this so I tried listing some things you can try to resolve the matter.

Avast is known to cause this because of its SandBox module. Try disabling it, or (temporarily) uninstall Avast entirely.

Security bulletin MS14-021 provides an update, KB2964358, which can cause this if not all previous security updates for IE have been installed. Uninstall the patch, then install all security updates (accept this one),   ...
 
Windows Update error 0x80072EFD
edited by on May 5th 2015, at 09:37

If Windows Update (or Microsoft Update) produces error code 0x80072EFD, you are most likely blocked by a firewall or a proxy.

  • Check any firewall that may be blocking access to the update sites. This includes any software-based firewall on the server, as well as network firewalls and content filters.
  • If you have configured a proxy, check whether the proxy is reachable and does not block access. If you don't have a proxy server (anymore), it may still be configured. See this article on how to check and resolve.
 
Adding ESX host to vCenter: Cannot install the vCenter agent service
edited by on April 29th 2015, at 16:49
When attempting to add an ESX host to vCenter, you may get one of the following errors:

Error #1
Cannot install the vCenter agent service: Cannot upload agent.

Or:

Error #2
Cannot install the vCenter agent service: unknown installer error

Below is a list of most common errors:

Check whether the host is accessible through port 902/tcp. Check the firewall settings and/or routing between the ESX hosts and the vCenter server.

Check whether there is sufficient space on the ESX disk. If there's not enough space, this often gets logged in /var/log/syslog.log during the installation of a VIB.
Usually the problem occurs with the tmp partition (i.e. scratch disk) being full or almost full. You n  ...
 
List of most common VMware ESXi SSH/CLI commands
edited by on April 29th 2015, at 16:39
Below is a list of most common CLI commands for VMWare ESXi. Type these in directly in an ESXi or SSH shell.

vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvmsList all VMs running on the host. Also provides vmid, required for commands below.vim-cmd vmsvc/power.off vmidPower off specified VM.vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on vmidPower off specified VM.vim-cmd vmsvc/power.reboot vmidReboot specified VM.vim-cmd solo/registervm /vmfs/volume/datastore/subdir/vm-file.vmxRegister the VM stored at location on the ESX host inventory.vim-cmd vmsvc/unregister vmidUnregister VM from the host. Does not remove the VM's files from the datastore.vim-cmd vmsvc/destroy vmidDelete the specified VM. The VMDK and VMX files will be deleted from stor  ...
 
Completely restarting VMWare ESX (management) agents
edited by on April 29th 2015, at 14:00
Sometimes it may be required to do a full restart of agents and services on a VMWare ESX host. You could do a full reboot, but this requires all VMs to be shut down or moved to another host. Fortunately, it is also possible to do a complete restart of services on a host without affecting the VMs running on it.

There are two ways of doing this, depending on whether you have direct access to the host, through console or through a remote management system like HP's iLO or Dell's iDRAC, or have to do it remotely.

Note that using the Restart management agents function from the console is not the same as a full restart of all services.

Use this method if you have access to the host directly thr  ...
 
Enable SSH server on a VMWare ESX host
edited by on April 29th 2015, at 13:18
There are two ways to enable the SSH server on a VMWare ESX host, through the vSphere client or through direct access through the console.

Use this method if you have access to the host directly through console, or when you can use a remote management system such as HP's Integrated Lights-Out or Dell's iDRAC.

If you can't log on using the vSphere client, this is the only way to enable the SSH server.

Log on to the console using the root account.

In the menu, go to Troubleshooting, then enable the SSH server.

Log on to the ESX host through the vSphere client. You can also log on your vCenter server to enable the service.

Click on the host (in vCenter or when logged in directly on the ES  ...
 
Installing or upgrading VMWare vCenter components gives error "insert the disk: 1"
edited by on April 29th 2015, at 10:00

When attempting to install or upgrade VMWare vServer server or its components, you may get the following prompt:

Please insert the Disk: 1

If you click OK, the message reappears. Clicking Cancel results in the installation to roll back.

Resolution

Copy the entire installation files to a location on the local hard drive and run the install/upgrade from there.

When running the installation from the local hard drive, and you get the error Provided password is wrong or empty, reboot and re-run the install from the local hard drive.

 
Configuring port forwarding on Dell Sonicwall
edited by on April 28th 2015, at 15:24
This article is a quick reminder (for myself) on how to properly configure port forwarding on a Dell Sonicwall firewall.

First, create the address and services objects you need for the port forwarding. In case of multiple addresses or services, create a group and add all objects in that group.

Address object for a local server



Service group with multiple services



Predefined objects, such as the WAN IP are already present and do not have to be created again. Also, the advantage of using these predefined objects is that they are dynamic: e.g. if the WAN IP changes, the policies and rules that use this object will not have to be changed.

Once the objects are in place, they can be refer  ...
 
Adding shared contacts folders to the Outlook Address Book
edited by on April 28th 2015, at 13:53
When attempting to add another user's (shared) contacts to your own Outlook, you'll notice that you won't be able to access these contacts from the Outlook address book. Additionally, when right-clicking the shared contacts folder, you'll notice you can't choose to display the contacts in the Outlook address book.



The reason for this is that Outlook simply does not allow it. Quoted from an Exchange engineer:

Engineer from exchange server
By the current outlook design, it’s not possible to implement the shared contacts folder in the Outlook Address Book. The Outlook Address Book tab feature is ‘by design’ unavailable for shared contacts folders and this is hard-coded in the Outlook   ...
 
Certain smartcard readers not detected after upgrade to OS X Mavericks
edited by on April 27th 2015, at 10:59
Smartcard readers that use the OpenSC PCSC daemon in order to work may no longer work after upgrading your Mac OSX to Mavericks (10.9). This is because of a problem that occurs with the PCSCD after the upgrade. Affected card readers are all that use this daemon for its communication. Examples are most ACR38U-based card readers, certain Vasco DIGIPASS readers, and some others.

The solution is to re-install the PCSCD package, which will fix corruption and make sure the daemon is started properly, enabling the card reader again.

Download the PCSCD-autostart package from the Vasco website.

Install this package. Note that you may have to circumvent the built-in application security, as  ...
 
VMWare SRM install error: Failed to Clear Inventory Service Registration
edited by on April 23rd 2015, at 11:05
When upgrading or reinstalling VMWare Site Recovery Manager (SRM), you may run into the following error:

Error message
Failed to Clear Inventory Service Registration

This error can occur when you attempt to upgrade/reinstall SRM, and have decided to clear out the SRM database, or when you have done a reinstall of vCenter, the inventory service, or have cleared out the Inventory Service database.

There are two ways around this.

Keep the old SRM database instead of overwriting it, but after the installation, you will manually have to clean up the existing database, since you wanted to clear out the old data in the first place.

Alternatively, and more easily done, is to remove the database  ...
 
Difference between AutoComplete and Suggested Contacts in Outlook
edited by on April 22nd 2015, at 14:01

From KB 2682333:

Outlook also adds a folder to Contacts labeled Suggested Contacts. Addresses get added to this folder as you send or reply to messages addressed to people who don’t exist in your Contacts folder. Outlook doesn't look in Suggested Contacts for names during the AutoComplete process. It only stores addresses that you might want to add to your Contacts. You can double-click an entry in Suggested Contacts and a Contact Form opens that allows you to save it to your Contacts Folder.
 
Trend Micro Unauthorized Change Prevention Service may cause a desktop not to load during logon
edited by on April 22nd 2015, at 12:58
The Trend Micro OfficeScan AEGIS engine may cause a desktop not to load during logon, resulting in a black screen with only the mouse cursor visible. The process explorer.exe is not loaded, nor can it be loaded through Task Manager.

The problem usually occurs on provisioned desktops, either through VDI (VMWare View) or some other 3rd party management solution (Dell Kace, etc). Various components of these solutions hook into key Windows components (Winlogon, Explorer extensions, etc), and are then being blocked by the Trend Micro Behavioral Analysis service (the AEGIS-engine).

A workaround is to either whitelist all the components, but this is often not a straight-forward solution. Another   ...
 
Limitations for OneDrive for Business
edited by on April 22nd 2015, at 12:25
There are limitations to using OneDrive for Business to synchronize items.

Maximum items* for OneDrive for Business20 000Maximum items* per Sharepoint document library5 000*** Files and folders.
** You can synchronize more than one library.

Maximum size per item2 GBMaximum name length for files and foldersSharepoint Server 2013: max. 128 chars
Sharepoint Online: max. 256 chars
Folder names: max. 250 chars
Maximum combined names (files and folders, aka "path": max. 250 charsInvalid characters:\ / : * ? " < > | &hash;
spaces are not supported
files starting with a ~Invalid chars (Sharepoint Server 2013):All of the above +
{ } % ~
names starting with a .Unsupported folder  ...
 
Bioshock Infinite's improbable ending...
edited by on April 22nd 2015, at 12:12

An interesting take on why the ending of Bioshock Infinite would be improbable:

https://youtu.be/_c2LM-xIvSg (SPOILER ALERT!)

 
Phobias...
edited by on April 21st 2015, at 08:20
There are plenty of phobias, some more common than others. Here are a few...

More of these at http://phobialist.com/.

AndrophobiaFear of menAchluophobiaFear of darknessAcrophobiaFear of heightsArachnophobiaFear of spidersAnemophobiaFear of wind and stormsBarophobiaFear of gravityBathmophobiaFear of slopes and stairsBrontophobiaFear of thunderstorms or lightningChionophobiaFear of snowCatoptrophobiaFear of mirrors or of their own reflectionCoulrophobiaFear of clownsDendrophobiaFear of trees or of forests (lots of trees)DentophobiaFear of the dentistEcophobiaFear of homesEntomophobiaFear of all insectsFelinophobiaFear of catsGamophobiaFear of marriageHydrophobiaFear of waterLatrophobiaFear o  ...
 
VMWare Tools on Windows 2000 install fails (runtime DLLs cannot be installed)
edited by on April 21st 2015, at 08:16

When attempting to install VMWare Tools on a Windows 2000 VM, you may get the following error:

Error message
Microsoft Runtime DLLs cannot be installed on this Operating System. Please see Microsoft KB835732

To resolve, you need to install Security Update for Windows 2000 (KB835732) (requires SP4 as well).

 
Uninstall vSphere Replication
edited by on April 20th 2015, at 15:42
There are two methods of uninstalling vSphere Replication from your vcenter, depending on whether or not the replication appliance is still present and accessible.

Unregister the appliance from vCenter, then turn off and delete the appliance.

If not turned on, turn on the replication appliance.

Stop all replications in both directions.

Disconnect any open connections to other replication sites.

Connect to the VAMI of the appliance through web: https://vr-appliance-address:5480

From the Configuration tab, click Unregister from vCenter server.

In the vSphere Web client, power off and delete the replication appliance. The plug-in will be uninstalled automatically.

I  ...
 
Disable the page prompt ("more") on Dell Networking/Force10 switches
edited by on April 20th 2015, at 15:41

You can disable the page prompt "--More or (q)uit--" by entering the following command at the console:

terminal length 0

This disables the prompt, and allows you to do config dumps, or run show tech-support.

If you get an error about unrecognized command, your firmware is too old.

 
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