Author Topic: Fettled any computer stuff today? (Read 216680 times)

pcolbeck · « **Reply #275 on:** 19 March, 2015, 10:52:32 am »

Quote from: tiermat on 19 March, 2015, 10:36:01 am

Quote from: pcolbeck on 19 March, 2015, 10:12:33 am
Quote from: tiermat on 19 March, 2015, 08:52:37 am
FWIW HP Envy laptops actually have two vidoe cards, an Intel one and a NVidia one. The default is to use the Intel one, for power saving reasons. To get the laptop to use the NVidia for more grunty work (such as 1080p video) you need to install Bumblebee and Primus.

Not quite true. The latest Nvidia binary drivers will let you switch between the two GPUs without using Bumblebee but using the Nvidia app instead. Which way is better depends on your distribution and or requirements.

I tried them, but couldn't get GDM to ~~reliably~~ work, I just got a white screen with a sad looking computer on it. Using Bumblebee and Primus works fine (and the load average stays at ~0.5, instead of >5 when playing a movie)

It's funny I had major issues with Bumblebee. I think how you get this Nvidia Prime stuff to work properly is very distribution / release dependant at the moment. I'm on Ubuntu 15:10 at the moment but with Arch I never got it working properly and just used the Intel drivers.

tiermat · « **Reply #276 on:** 19 March, 2015, 11:25:53 am »

Ah! Therein lies the rub, I am on F21, so Nvidia-prime is not available to me, only bumblebee.

Oh well.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #277 on:** 19 March, 2015, 04:37:33 pm »

I do not know why there was a 40 GB chunk of the lapdancer's internal HDD empty and unallocated but the D drive is now 40 GB bigger than it was yesterday.

Canardly · « **Reply #278 on:** 19 March, 2015, 05:34:00 pm »

Suffering significant keyboard lag atm and trying to trace/eliminate cause.

neilrj · « **Reply #279 on:** 19 March, 2015, 08:35:59 pm »

Quote from: Canardly on 19 March, 2015, 05:34:00 pm

Suffering significant keyboard lag atm and trying to trace/eliminate cause.

Brain/eye/finger interface error usually

Biggsy · « **Reply #280 on:** 22 March, 2015, 03:46:48 pm »

I'm having a go with PrimoCache (free trial). Not yet sure that it really helps much/any overall, but it can put more memory to use for disk caching than Windows does, including "invisible" memory (e.g. RAM above 4GB with 32-bit Windows). Advantageous even for SSDs (in theory at least); also can use SSD as HDD cache.

Dataram RAMDisk can access invisible memory as well.

CommuteTooFar · « **Reply #281 on:** 23 March, 2015, 08:09:52 pm »

Today I replaced my FM1 motherboard and A6 cpu with an A88 chipset and an A8 cpu because I needed a cpu that did AES.

David Martin · « **Reply #282 on:** 23 March, 2015, 10:42:19 pm »

Added another neopixel strip to the blinkenlights project and it looks pretty (204 LEDs displaying a DNA sequence in a scrolling manner).

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #283 on:** 24 March, 2015, 07:41:24 am »

I have figured out how to generate a pseudo-random playlist for use with Not iTunes. The downside is that it takes about four hours to generate.

Afasoas · « **Reply #284 on:** 24 March, 2015, 08:44:37 am »

Finally coerced Samba into offering some network shares. Probably about time I garnered a better understanding of it.

tiermat · « **Reply #285 on:** 24 March, 2015, 09:53:28 am »

Quote from: Afasoas on 24 March, 2015, 08:44:37 am

Finally coerced Samba into offering some network shares. Probably about time I garnered a better understanding of it.

Good luck with that

I have a config file that works, and does exactly what I want, it having taken me many months to mangle into the right shape. It is one of the critical backup items, being backed up to 2 machines and to 2 CDs.

Afasoas · « **Reply #286 on:** 24 March, 2015, 01:02:55 pm »

Quote from: tiermat on 24 March, 2015, 09:53:28 am

Quote from: Afasoas on 24 March, 2015, 08:44:37 am
Finally coerced Samba into offering some network shares. Probably about time I garnered a better understanding of it.

Good luck with that I have a config file that works, and does exactly what I want, it having taken me many months to mangle into the right shape. It is one of the critical backup items, being backed up to 2 machines and to 2 CDs.

Providing Windows AD integrated log-on to our fleet of linux servers would be a boon. Subject to feasibility/cost.

tiermat · « **Reply #287 on:** 24 March, 2015, 01:07:41 pm »

Quote from: Afasoas on 24 March, 2015, 01:02:55 pm

Quote from: tiermat on 24 March, 2015, 09:53:28 am
Quote from: Afasoas on 24 March, 2015, 08:44:37 am
Finally coerced Samba into offering some network shares. Probably about time I garnered a better understanding of it.

Good luck with that I have a config file that works, and does exactly what I want, it having taken me many months to mangle into the right shape. It is one of the critical backup items, being backed up to 2 machines and to 2 CDs.

Providing Windows AD integrated log-on to our fleet of linux servers would be a boon. Subject to feasibility/cost.

Checkout LikeWise, forget SSSD

Biggsy · « **Reply #288 on:** 25 March, 2015, 03:37:31 pm »

Fitted 8GB RAM to my old Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop. CPU next, the only thing left to be upgraded. (SSD, USB 3.0, Bluetooth and better wi-fi already done).

Could have replaced the whole computer instead, but I might not have liked the screen, keyboard and touchpad as much. It's the devil I know and love.

tiermat · « **Reply #289 on:** 27 March, 2015, 10:43:37 am »

Have just managed to use Foreman to provision a host using libvirt and KVM.

w00t, 1 am l33t

Afasoas · « **Reply #290 on:** 02 April, 2015, 10:23:05 pm »

Foreman looks interesting. I will at some point be looking at some automation around deploying and configuring my KVM machines so I'll take a closer a look at that.

Tonight I've been mainly given myself a headache trying to set-up internal and secure external mail servers using Postfix.

The external email server is running on a VPS and really I want it to be a proxy for all my incoming and outgoing email. This means is can receive and queue email when the internal mail server is not available, due to dodgy domestic ADSL or whatever. Hopefully I can also deploy some spam countermeasures there too. Being on a fixed IP, it will also be useful as a relayhost and will save relying on Gmail.

I think I've mainly figured out what I need to do.

tiermat · « **Reply #291 on:** 03 April, 2015, 07:14:29 am »

Over the last couple of days I have fixed the Wii (the softmod had stopped working) and installed lollipop on my tablet.

Plug1n · « **Reply #292 on:** 03 April, 2015, 07:31:39 am »

Damn you Android and Google. Nexus 7 OTG only works if the device language is set to US English. Apparently a known issue since at least 2013.

Can I have some hours of my life back?

neilrj · « **Reply #293 on:** 03 April, 2015, 08:28:38 am »

Quote from: Plug1n on 03 April, 2015, 07:31:39 am

Damn you Android and Google. Nexus 7 OTG only works if the device language is set to US English. Apparently a known issue since at least 2013.

Can I have some hours of my life back?

Eh? Mine is UK english everywhere and OTG is fine with Nexus Media Importer and if you mean OTA (updates) then I got Kitkat without issue and the same with Lollipop too (5.02 was never sluggish for me so 5.1 is no change).

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #294 on:** 09 April, 2015, 06:00:17 pm »

Labelled notwork String, reorganised same and hid switch behind the Anbaric Distascope before the blinkenlights drive me insane.

Re-routed lapdancer HDMI cable to the Anbaric Distascope so I can in theory Babbage away while using a different source for audio.

Maverick · « **Reply #295 on:** 10 April, 2015, 03:19:15 pm »

Flashed the firmware on BT's Huawei VDSL modem so I can get at the line data and set up a RaspberryPi to monitor the connection with dslstats.
A lot of data now accessible, not sure what all of it means yet.
This has been prompted by BT 'improving' the line by enabling G.INP which resulted in the latency jumping from a respectable 15ms to a frankly unacceptable >40ms.
The data tells me interleaving has been enabled (never needed it before). It is now back down to around 20ms with the flashed firmware - coincidence? Maybe.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #296 on:** 17 April, 2015, 03:05:43 pm »

Put SSD and extra memory into new Babbage-Engine; jibbled cables one SATA socket to the right. Added keyboard and mouse. Now waiting for the Mega-Global Sounds Like A Big River Corporation of Seattle, USAnia to pull their bloody finger out chiz.

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #297 on:** 18 April, 2015, 03:36:43 pm »

Mega-Global Sounds Like A Big River Corporation of Seattle, USAnia have pulled out their finger and I am typing this from the imaginatively-named Big-Babbage (other machines on this network being Baby-Babbage, Baby-Babbage 2 and El Gordo - the NAS).

Initial thoughts

This keyboard (Logitech K120) isn't bad for a tenner.
Why, on a "Custom" install of Win 8.1, do you insist on installing all those shittty "apps"?
Why, on a "Custom" install of Win 8.1, do you insist on copy a load of settings from Baby-Babbage 2 even though I told you not to?
How can I swap the drive letters for the HDD and the CD drives?

Biggsy · « **Reply #298 on:** 18 April, 2015, 04:45:21 pm »

Quote from: Mr Larrington on 18 April, 2015, 03:36:43 pm

How can I swap the drive letters for the HDD and the CD drives?

With Disk Management.

https://www.google.co.uk/#q=windows+8+disk+management

Mr Larrington · « **Reply #299 on:** 18 April, 2015, 05:22:27 pm »

Cheers Biggsy - normal drive lettering has been resumed. Now I have to figure out how to disable the annoyance that is:

>>Checking media presence.....
>>Media present.....
>>Starting PXE over IP4.

after the BIOS splash screen. The last line changes to IP6 after a while. Quite a long while, which is somewhat negating the speed advantage of booting off a supersonic SSD. I may have to RTFM