DISCLAIMER: I am not a SQL administrator and I have not done this migration.  I have installed Rightfax on servers that had multiple SQL services on it, so this should work.  I am going to perform this procedure in the upcoming weeks so if it blows up, I’ll update the post. 

1. Install SQL 2005

2. Use SQL manager (not sure of exact name. Your DB people should know) to backup rightfax database. Stop the Rightfax services before backing up the database.

3. Use SQL manager to restore rightfax database to SQL 2005

4. Reconfigure the ODBC connection to point to the new location.

1. Go to Enterprise Fax manager.

2. Double Click Rightfax Database Module

3. Click on the three dots under SQL Connection

4. Click the three dots in ODBC Data Source

5. Go to the System DSN tab

6. Configure Rightfax (or whatever naming convention was used)

7. Under SQL server you want to connect to, select the SQL 2005 server\Rightfax. You can find the path by using the SQL manager. It will prompt which server service to connect to.

8. Start the services.

Today I learned something new today.  I found a really easy place to find the service tag and other useful information for dell laptops.  If you go into the bios, it has the service tag information listed.  This worked out well for me as I had 20 laptops that I needed to inventory for a client.  It was a boring job, but made much easier after finding out this tidbit of information.  Well, thats about all I did today, what about you?

First of all, these computers are heavy as hell!  I needed to find the serial number for the devices and didn’t care to turn them on.  There is a method to find the number when they are on, and off.

For most people, the on method would work.

Go to the Open Apple next to the Finder and Select About this Mac

Click on the Version build twice, and the serial will show.

The Off method is a lot easier if you have multiple G5 towers that are off.  I had 12 that I needed to inventory, so the on method just would not of worked out.

On the back of the computer, open the case lock.  Then tilt the side panel of the case open.  It tilts forward  and the serial number is going to be on the bottom of the frame.  Good luck and wear a back brace!

Well, I took another bout with Antivirus 2008.  This time, it also removed the desktop tab from the display window.  How annoying!  I removed the program by killing the process, going to program files\process name and removing the directory.  Then going to the registry and removing the process name from there as well.  After I rebooted, desktop tab was still missing from the display windows!

For giggles, I ran smitfraudfix.  After disabling AV (so annoying that AV flagges that) and ran it again, it worked.  It restored the registry to proper settings again.  God bless you smitfraudfix and may you continue to resolve spyware issues!

Well, today just sucked.  I was sent to a client out in Montclair NJ at 9:15 AM.  His PBX went down and I am the second most skilled tech for his system.  It made sense to send me, so I didn’t complain.  I get on the train at 9:37 AM and wait for the train to leave.  The train gets delayed for 20 minutes.  Finally, the train moves again and I get off my stop.  I meet the client and he takes me to the PBX.

The PBX system is about 4 years old and was pretty cheap server for those days.  The chassis has 2 hot swappable SCSI drives, which is pretty cool.  Well, the reason why the server died is because the RAID controller failed.  We were slated to fix this on Friday, as we knew this was going to happen.  Unfortunately, it died Wednesday instead.  I go out and replace it when I notice that the new RAID controller is a full PCI slot as opposed to a 1/2 PCI slot. 

SHIT

Well, I then try to rip out a RAID controller from another server.  The RAID controller, however, does not have any drivers and is ancient.  The client did not want to use this so he started calling around local shops.  He found one place that has a SCSI controller that he can sell.  It needs an adapter to go from 50 PIN to 68 PIN but he was ok with this.  We install the card and setup the drive.  I go to install windows and half way through, the install bombs.  It starts saying that files were corrupted and rebooted randomly in the middle.  I scratch my head, try another drive, and the same thing happens.  It seems that the bay chassis must of died.  I tried replacing the cables, so it is the only thing left…

SHIT

The client then says he has a IDE harddrive laying around.  He gives it to me and we find out that it is 120 GB.  Perfect!  I install it on the same cable as the CD-ROM drive and the thing fails to detect.

SHIT

I didn’t want to get involved in jumpers, so I install it on its own ribbon.  It works and I install windows.  I then install the PBX software and recover from a backup I did a few months ago.  Apparently, the PBX files were not being backed up by his server.  Who knew?  He told me they were.  Its a good thing I backed up the configs when we first found out about this problem.  Well, I get the PBX running and then the client says that he has a great idea!  Hes going to buy another IDE drive and we are going to remove the SCSI cage from the chassis and mount the IDE drives in there.  By this time it is 3 PM and I really wanted to jet out of there.  I mean, I am already 40 minutes south of NYC.  I need to make up this time…I reluctantly agree.

SHIT

He runs out and gets the drive and I start taking apart the chassis.  I get the bays out and we mount the IDE drives.  I go into BIOS to detect the drives and it fails.

SHIT

I play around with the jumper configuration but cannot find the jumper setup for the CD ROM Drive.  Eventually, I said, lets get the harddrives setup and mirrored, and we will revisit the CD ROM issue.  Booted into windows without a problem and setup the mirror.  NOTE: I need to research how to make the boot.ini boot from both drives.  I have forgotten how to do this.  The client then looks at me and says, now about that cd rom drive….

SHIT

We take the CD ROM out and start playing with the jumpers.  I figured eventually, I would find the correct combination.  I needed to make the CD ROM the master and the primary harddrive the slave.  The HD was already set to slave, so how hard could it be?  After 3 jumper configurations, I finally got it to work!  The computer boots up and the mirror is building.  I think I’m done, but alas, its never that easy.  Its 4 PM and now he wants me to look at the backup jobs to make sure they are running. 

SHIT

I tried to add the altigen files to backup but the share fails to authenticate me.  I remember another time I had a mirror break and I was resyncing it that it turns off the shares.  I inform him of this and so we call it day.  He drives me to the train station and I barely miss the 4:45 train.  I looked up the schedule and say there was a 5:23 PM.  No big deal…

5:35 rolls around and I look at the schedule again.  Apparently, I cannot tell the difference from AM and PM as 5:23 was AM.  The next train will arrive at 6:17 PM.

SHIT SHIT SHIT!

I wait until 6:17 and board the train.  The train arrives in Penn station and I figured I would treat myself after an eventful day.  I took one of those bike taxis to grand central.  I get into grand central and just barely make the train.  That is where I stand today!  All in all, a very eventful day!

I really question how stupid people are these days.  My company has a remote utility that connects to your computer and I can remotely access your screen.  Its pretty cool and only requires the user to go to a website.  I provide the website name COMPANY.COM/SUPPORT and the user types it in.  They then proceed to tell me that the site does not work and that my equipment is crap.  I ask what comes up?  They said, a google webpage with COMPANY.COM’s search results.

YIKES PEOPLE ARE DUMB!

If this happened once or twice, I wouldn’t care.  It happens a lot.  I use this utility at least 20 times a day.  I let them screw up and then ask, did you type it in the google search field or in the URL?  OHHH.  Its like a light bulb turns on in their head.  Finally, they go to the correct website and we are connected.

Yes, I know.  Why don’t you make the website simpler.  Most people don’t even know what a forward slash is…  You need to speak to my company’s management for that.  I cannot help you there…

I tip my hat for Antivirus 2009. It is going to become the next wave in spyware. Every version becomes more and more crazy it is not even funny! I read these support sites about people paying for this garbage. Well, let me tell you how to get rid of this sucker! There are a lot of bogus sites out there looking to have you download their shit in order to remove it. Well, I have found a program that does this and you do not have to pay for it. It is a demo version, but that just means that you cannot schedule scans. It still works and it works well!

http://www.download.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.htm

Run this program and do a full scan. It will find Antivirus 2009 and remove it. For good measure, I also manually remved it. You need to kill the task (usually it has something with 2009 in it running.) and then go to Program Files and delete the directory Antivirus 2009.

The end, your done! Good luck!

About a month ago, I had written a little piece on DisplayLink external videocard adapters. Feel free to read it here.

Well since then, I have decided to take this product to the next level. Not only did I replace the first adapter, I decided to buy another one and see how two units work in one system. I must say I am pleasantly pleased.

First, installation is a breeze! No removing your computer case or need to pay for a computer guy to come along. All you need to do is insert the cd and hit next! Once the software is installed, plug in the USB cable into your computer and the other side into the external adapter.

*NOTE: for blackberry users, it happens to be the same plug to charge your BB.

At this point, windows see the device like any other videocard and off you go. I like to push the button a little bit and wanted to see if there was any performance degrade by having two units on my system. With both units running, the software only takes 40k worth of memory! In comparison, outlook is taking 73k and firefox is taking 83k. I had just updated firefox, so that number is pretty low. Aim also takes up more resources hanging at 57k. In a nutshell, you wouldn’t even notice a performance issue.

The next thing I tried was to use a wide screen monitor and a standard box monitor. Both screens are 17 inches (along with my traditional monitor that uses a built in videocard) Since I still like to see my text, I have the monitors set at 1280×1024. The widescreen monitor is set for 1440 by 900. I have a lot of experience with multiple displays, and I can honestly say I do not notice a functionality difference between having the videocards internal or external.

The next joy I discovered, is the portability of these units. When I leave at night, I unplug both cards and this also does not affect the functionality of the computer. It barely even takes a hit at all. When the card is unplugged, any windows shift to the internal display. Once the card is plugged back in, I can move the windows back. Windows takes it like a champ and doesn’t complain at all!

The downside? The colors are slightly washed out when I view them on the external card as opposed to the internal one. Your average user will never even notice a difference. I also would avoid playing games on these units because the refresh rate on them is not as good as a powerful graphics card. It does well on playing videos and other “normal” internet stuff so do not be discouraged.

Also, the units get really HOT! I unplug them when I leave the office to make sure that they do not break. I believe this is why the first unit failed. I always left the unit plugged in and I am only use my office computer 3 out of 4 days in a week! That is a lot of wasted time for units that get so hot!

Would I recommend this to clients? YES! I have already pitched this product to a few clients in the hedge fund industry and hopefully they will bite! They wanted to upgrade all of their computers to accommodate dual display and I countered with DisplayLink! These units would work great in the financial district! If you are a huge gamer, stick with your traditional videocards that beef up in internal memory and has huge heat sinks on it to make sure it doesn’t overheat. If you are just looking to increase productivity, and do not want to replace your existing videocard, DisplayLink is for you! For 99 dollars, I say it is a well worth investment!

I have a mac user that is attempting to use citrix and he keeps getting the following error.

“The archives required to make an SSL connection are not available. Please contact your Citrix Administrator”

The bizzare thing is that he has citrix client installed and everything should work. Well, I did a little bit of searching on the web, and I found the following resolved the issue.

For Web Interface 4.x:

In the Access Suite Console, go to Web Interface > Manage Client Deployment and select the SSL/TLS check box on the Client for Java page.

I also had to enable the Java client as well. This was done in Select Launch Clients area of the install.

See full article here…

A client called in and said that he was getting the following error:

Connection Failed. Try auto configure or change settings manually.

I just noticed that I am receiving the same error on my aol im client as well. We are both running the same version 6.5.1.12.1.

I believe that AOL’s networks are down but I will investigate further.

UPDATE: It seems that they were down because I just tried again and AOL connected without a problem…