Subject to Change

I thought a couple of shots might be interesting to some of my readers.

The first is one I snapped while reloading Windows and all the software on the Thinkpad. I call it “Multitasking”.

The next is called “The Sizzle and the Stake” it could also be called “Turkey” (GRIN!).

My new UPS awaiting batteries, the box next to it is my little server, and the HP is the system I use for testing stuff. My computer desk is on the other side of that wall so it is a convenient place for them.

That is not where the the computers were before today but it seemed like a good place to put everything. Later I think I may put up shelf to get them off the floor.

Ah well, I solved the hibernation problem on the Thinkpad. Turned out to be an older application that did not live well with Thinkpad Power Manager and SP3. I have no idea what I am going to replace the application with, I do not think it has been updated in several years.

I ordered a new battery for the Thinkpad from eBay. It is on a slow boat from China, no telling when it will get here.

I also ordered a UPS from eBay. It is a used APC SmartUPS 1500 without batteries. It should be here in a few days. I will have to order new batteries for it. I am having a hard time figuring out what the difference is between a $60 set and a $200 set. Well I do know that some of them are preassembled battery packs, and some are just a couple of batteries, but is there a real quality difference between the cheap ones and the expensive ones? Also one has to watch the shipping charges on something like that as they quote between $17 and $50 for UPS Ground. Strangely it is not the closest places that are the cheapest. I guess something in the middle range ($100 shipped) is probably the best bet.

So much for the lunch money George sent.

Or only part time.

I have continued to have to tinker with both the workstation and the laptop. That is not all bad. First I upgraded the X24 Thinkpad with an 60gb 7200rpm drive. I also ordered a higher speed version of the wireless pc-card I have in it, but it arrived DOA. I will have to wait on the refund before I can try and find another. It needs a new battery as well. Then I upgraded the workstation with a pair of Opteron 870 processors. All from ebay, the boonies dwellers friend. So much for that stimulous payment check.

I have had some more problems with the hibernation on the X24, as of now I am pretty sure it is either AVG 8.0 or Spybot Search & Destroy causing it. One of them seems to be shutting it off so they laptop can not shut down on them and not turning it back on when it is done scanning. Do I really need them? I used to upgrade and run them once a week, and felt I was well protected from malware. Somehow they have taken over all my computers; and the workstation is the only one that is not brought to its knees by them. I guess it is back to manual scans.

Today I found a pair of Baby Advent II speakers at the local Goodwill Store. Eight bucks and they work fine. Baby Advents are nice bookshelf speakers from the 70-80’s. Definately decent sounding. I had a pair back in those days so there is a large element of nostalgia involved in finding them.

I have also moved up in the digital photography world. The local Staples Office Supply Store had a sale on PNY 2gb compact flash cards so I bought one. I do not really need all the extra space but the 266x speed is nice.

Golly, I sure have spent a lot of money this month…

On a non-monetary front I have been playing with nLite a freeware program for customizing your Windows Installation CD. It makes it easy to slipstream in the latest Service Pack. It also lets you set up an unattended boot and walk away install. Most of us do have better things to do with our time than sitting in front of our computers answering Microsoft’s questions. It also allows you to customize things a bit, saving most of that time you spend after installing Windows setting it up to work the way you like it to work. Definitely worthwhile for the power user in us. Highly recommended.

Well, this wipe and restore has me putting in a bit of effort to make the next time easier.

First, I moved My Documents to the Archive Drive D: on the server, and E: on this workstation. Then I set them up with SyncBack to synchronize their files so I have exactly the same data on both computers and if I change it on one it will change on the other within 24 hours (I have SyncBack scheduled to run once a day). Then I moved the Outlook folder to My Documents, so that will stay synchronized too. All this means that if I have one of the systems go down again, I can do my stuff on the other until I get the crashed machine working and then they will resync with each other.

Moving My Documents is easy. You just click on START, the green box in the corner of your screen, then right click on My Documents in that menu. At the bottom of the menu that brings up is a Properties line. Click on Properties and you get a pop-up that tells you where My Documents currently is and has three radio buttons. The center one is Move. Click on that and you get a pop-up asking for a destination folder. Once you select that, you click Apply and then you get a pop-up asking if you want to move the contents to the new location. Select yes and all your folders are copied to the new location. While it does not say so, I suggest you then reboot so the change will be permanent.

Moving the Outlook folder is not so easy. First, the info you get from Help is wrong so don’t bother looking. Just move the Outlook.pst file from the default location (Documents&Settings\your user name\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\) to the new location. When you start Outlook it will say the data file is not there and ask where to look. Tell it. Shut down Outlook. Reopen Outlook and make sure it took (my experience is that sometimes it does not), if it did then shut down Outlook again and reboot the system (That is the way of Microsoft, reboot, reboot, reboot…).

SyncBack SE is freeware so just Google it, and download from their website. The only thing I can tell you about it is to run it in Simulation Mode over and over until everything works the way you want it to. If you just let it run and it is not set right then you are going to lose data. You have been warned.

At this point, I have the workstation back up and running with all the critical software installed. I have both the XP-32 installation on C: and the XP-64 installation on D: working with the same My Documents folder on E: so they are accessing the same data, and any work I do in either installation is available in the other. Then as detailed above I have this machine sync’d with the old Athlon box that I am using primarily as a backup server. Everything on the Archive Drive (E other than the Documents Folder is simply backed up to the Athlon box daily. The Documents folder is synchronized daily.

I have not yet decided what to do about keeping the Thinkpad sync’d with other boxes. It is a cinch that I cannot keep 32gb of documents on its 28gb drive (GRIN!). I guess I can set it up to sync just specific files or folders.

I would like to put the Program Files folders on the E: drive as well so I would not have to reinstall the software. While I primarily only use about a dozen programs there are maybe 50 that I use occasionally and it is a lot of work reloading them all. However some poorly designed programs still install their DLL’s in the Windows folder, so I am not sure this would work well. I guess the thing to do is get everything exactly the way I want and do and image of the installation, and redo that anytime I make a change.

I have been playing around with N-lite and it seems to work OK with XP-32. I have made several trials and still have not gotten exactly what I want in the way of an install disk. However, it looks like an auto install of XP-32, with software, and drives is possible. However, I have been unable to get it to would with XP-64. Run on XP-64 it says it has to be run with a 64bit OS to slipstream SP2 but it will not run at all under XP-64. SIGH! The good old Catch 22.

Better late than never. I wrote this back at the beginning of the month but apparently hit “Save” rather than “Publish”.

Well the Thinkpad is working right again. Only took 30-40 hours for me to fix it. If I figure my time is only worth $10/hr I have put $300-400 into a computer you can get off eBay for $200.

Seems hardly worth it, does it? But wait, a lot of that time was spent learning new stuff, and a lot of it was actually fun. And since I ran PC Check on it I know the hardware has a clean bill of health. So it is probably worth getting it a new battery, a larger hard drive, and maybe a faster wireless card. Also it now has XP Pro SP3 installed.

What was the problem? Well it turns out that the APCI is not in the BIOS, but is only a driver in software. It became corrupted somehow. For some reason it would not reinstall and I wound up wiping the drive and doing a new install.

That brings me to another pet peeve. Every time I do a new install I have to spend a couple of weeks getting things setup back to the way I like them. So part of this time has been playing with nlite trying to set up a CD to install windows already configured the way I want it to be. So far, 4 tries, it is not there yet. I have been running the trial CD’s on the C: drive. That is an old 40gb WD that has the 32 bit XP on it. The 64 bit system, my main one, is on a 40gb partition on a 320gb drive, the rest of which is the archive partition.

Once I get a set up that I can live with, I will look into fixing it so I can put My Documents and Programs on a separate drive, so an OS upgrade/reinstall will not affect them at all. Just think what it would be like to be able to do a clean install without having to reinstall a single program. A hackers concept of heaven, I am sure.

Well, as you can tell there have been no posts in May. Why? Who knows?

I have been broke, but that does not keep me from writing. I had that auto repair in April and had to borrow against the rent to fix that, so I had to pay double rent in May. Then I had to go down to Charlotte to the dentist, and that doubled my gasoline expense for the month. As everyone knows groceries are out of site and I do have to eat. So Broke!

Then I have been having computer problems. I did finally get the mother board back from Supermicro, but have not gotten things back exactly as I wanted them. Then I started have problems with the old Thinkpad, it will not go into hibernation. So I have been jumping back and forth between the computers trying to get all that sorted out, and along comes a worm to infest this workstation (BIG SIGH).

I have also been wondering when and if I will ever get that stimulus Payment from the IRS. Checked their website yesterday and they say I will get it towards the end of the month.

Anyway, it seems that if you have a problem it will attract other problems and you end up with a bunch of them all at once.

And, why is it that people who don’t know anything think they have all the answers???

Well, another suit photo. This is the tan one. What do I need with two suits?

I don’t know. Some how dressing up makes me feel better. I do know that I have already spent more on clothes this spring than I had spent the previous several years. It had been my practice to buy nearly the cheapest stuff I could. My basics have been khakis and polo shirts, although I had several nicer shirts that were bought on extreme mark downs.

Now I have a couple of cheap suits. The ties are left over from former more affluent days. What amazes me is the price of dress shirts. I used to buy them for $10-$15 now they are $20-$40 each.

Fixing the truck has me broke next month, but if luck holds at all I want to get a dark blue suit too. Dark blue, gray pinstripe, and tan in my opinion makes a pretty good set. Two to wear, one at the cleaners. Or wear one with two in the suitcase. They make good combinations to give a variety of looks. Blue coat with blue, gray, or tan trousers. Tan coat with tan or blue trousers, gray coat with gray or blue trousers.

Of course most folks these days, if their job does not require them to have more, only have one suit if they have one at all. Most folks seem to not mind looking like a bum even at church, wedding, and funerals. I look at the university students wearing tee shirts and ragged jean shorts to class and think how much nicer it was when they at least wore slacks and a button down collar shirt.

Of course, I only think I have to dress this way because I am old. In my youth old folks tended to dress nice. So I have to dress nice now. How silly.

Actually I find that wearing a suit these days is a nice conversation starter. “Why are you all dressed up?”

“I thought it was Halloween.”

“I am planning on taking over the rackets in town.”

“I thought we were getting married.”

“I like myself.”

There are a lot of answers. They seem to draw a smile and a laugh.

Also, I am finding that I get treated better when wearing a suit and tie. It is kind of amazing. In places where you are normally ignored, someone comes up and wants to help you. Often someone walks you to the front of the line. “That guy has a suit, he must be someone important”, seems to be the thought. People are more polite to you than they are when you dress shabbily

The starter on the Blazer went out Monday. It was not unexpected, it had been flaky for months. I was planing on replacing it next month anyway.

In the old days that was a 20 minute job in the shop, 30-45 minutes in the driveway. Now?…

This is what the Factory Shop Manual says for a 1994 S10 Blazer 4WD with 4.3L V6:

1. Disconnect negative battery cable.
2. Remove brush end Mounting Bracket (if equipped).
3. Raise vehicle on hoist.
4. Disconnect the Solenoid wiring (from in Wheel Well).
5. Remove the Skid Plate (if equipped).
6. Remove bolts, and two brackets holding the Brake Pipe to the Cross Member.
7. Remove Cross Member (3 bolts each side).
8. Remove Bracket holding Transmission Lines to the Flywheel Housing.
9. Remove Rod Brace to Flywheel Housing.
10. Remove Lower Flywheel Housing.
11. Remove two Starter Bolts.
12. Remove Starter.

Replace in reverse order (it may be easier to connect Solenoid Wiring prior to bolting in the starter).

(I did clarify some things in that, they were more criptic)

That was pretty close. I did not have to so steps 3a to 7 (My Blazer came with skid plates however I have them off, the other four steps are not actually required as you can work around them). However it does not say anything about having to drop the front drive shaft to move the flywheel housing far enough to clear the starter. If they had allowed a half-inch more clearance you would not have to do all that extra stuff, but then I guess the dealers have to make a profit on repairs.

I had to walk to the auto parts store, and carry the new starter back with me. The auto parts store is only 2.5 miles from the apartment, but I am a 64 year old disabled guy. That was the first ordeal.

When I got home I took a bit of a rest, then jacked up the truck, and tried to remove the starter. No, I did not check the manual, after all I had R&R’ed maybe 200 starters over the years, I knew how to do it. Two hours later, exhausted, I decided I didn’t know how to do it, and knocked off for the day. That was the second ordeal.

In the morning I dug out that Factory Service Manual and got the above listing of steps. The third ordeal begain. Under the truck again I removed this part, and that part, and disconnected this and that. I scraped up my hands getting the wires lose, you have about two inches between the frame and exhaust header from in the wheelwell to get at them. About three hours later with some contorted twists and turns I had the old starter out.

Then came the fourth ordeal, getting the new starter in place and connecting the wires. Putting the parts I had to remove to get the old starter out back on took about an hour.

I picked up the tools and put the tire back on. Oops, I could not get the safety pin out of the jack with the tire on. So I removed the tire again, pulled the pin, replaced the tire, lowered the truck, connected the battery, put down the hood, and got into the truck. I turned the key and she spun over for a few seconds, then fired up. That was not an ordeal at all.

So that 20 minute flat rate job took only eight hours total, including the walk to the auto parts store and back, and cost me $120. No wonder they want so much to do it at the shop. I imagine it is a two hour job if you know exactly what you are doing, have power tools, and a hoist.

For those looking for HOWTO information, this is how I would do it in the future

1. Disconnect negative battery cable.
2. Raise the passenger front of vehicle on jack.
3. Remove right front wheel.
4. Remove the Skid Plate.
5. Disconnect universal joint and move front drive shaft out of the way.
6. Unbolt Rod Braces at Flywheel Housing and move aside.
7. Remove the four bolts holding Flywheel Housing
8. Drop and move aside the Flywheel Housing.
9. Loosen the two bolts holding Starter so  it will drop about an inch.
10. Disconnect the Solenoid wiring (from wheel well).
11. Remove the two Starter Bolts.
12. Remove Starter (It will take some twisting and turning to get it out).
13. Replace in reverse order.

If something disastrous is going to happen in my life it has a 50% chance of happening in February or March. This year it looked like I was going to make it through OK.

However, Saturday (3/29/08) my only up to date computer died, again. That is the third motherboard failure in eight months. This one I am typing this on, the old AMD Athlon Thunderbird 900mhz machine, has been going strong since 2000. So a $100 motherboard with a $30 processor is about twenty times more reliable than a $400 one with a couple of $500 processors. While I built the new computer with previous generation components at what seemed to be a reasonable price (About $800 v $2500 if I had built it two years earlier) the unreliability makes it ridiculously expensive.

I do not know what to do about it? Have the motherboard repaired? Buy a desktop motherboard + cpu + memory? Maybe the thing is to do the second and upgrade this box, while going around with Supermicro again about another warranty repair. Money is short, of course, as always.

On the good side: I bought a gray pinstripe suit that does not look as cheap as it was (Could not resist making the accompanying photo. How come I look so unhappy?), and have ordered a couple of new hats. The white elephant motorscooter is gone, at a slight profit. And the kitchen is clean (Although the workshop end of it is still a bit cluttered). My health is a bit better than it has been for the past year.

After a week of spring weather it turned cold again today.   Instead of near 60 it was only in the mid-30’s.  But the Sun was bright, and I decided to go for a walk.  So I bundled up, got my cane out of the truck, and headed out intending to do only a couple of miles.  I was only about a quarter mile from the apartment when it started to snow big fluffy flakes drifting silently down.   It quickly got heavier then it clouded up and the temps dropped. With wind gusts to maybe30 mph it was suddenly rather uncomfortable.  This all took maybe 5 minutes.  At that point I decided that discretion indicated to abort my peregrination and return to the apartment.

Mountain weather is like that, can change unexpectedly in minutes.  Now, twenty minutes later the sun is shining again.