Category: Tech solutions

Assorted technical problems and their solutions.

Create a bootable USB drive to install Windows

Its very common for servers to be delivered without a DVD-ROM drive these days and PC’s are not far behind in this regard. Ofcourse you can use a portable DVD drive for installation purposes, but that’s hardly ideal and not very fast. Since modern computers have the option to boot from USB a better approach …

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Use Xplorer2 and customize the [Windows]+E key shortcut

If you like some control over your files and directories you probably have a filemanager installed for Windows. Recently I discovered Xplorer2 as a great alternative for Windows Explorer. It handles a bit like the good old Windows Commander, but with more options and a lot easier on the eyes. You can download that here. …

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Installing VmWare ESXi 5.0 from USB drive

While installing a server you often don’t have the option to boot from a CD/DVD-drive because current hardware quite often just doesn’t have such a drive. To circumvent this problem you can attach a USB DVD-drive, but booting the installer directly from a USB disk is less hassle and speeds up the installation process significantly. Below …

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Tips and tricks for Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2

Most of my work on servers is done for small and medium offices, involving a maximum of 50 clients. These networks are usually managed by a domaincontroller with Exchange and a terminal server. Not so long ago this would be installed on 2 different pieces of hardware to keep up performance, but in the current …

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Remove files older than x days

I love using cli scripts to make my life easier, both in Linux and Windows. On this site you can see several examples of that, including the use of backup scripts for several systems/applications. Making a script that does this can sometimes give you a headache by having to remove logfiles or accumulated compression files …

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Remote access to IASO online backup (Linux) on a Windows client

IASO’s Online Backup software has many advantages and there is even a client for Linux. Maintaining the backup on Linux without a GUI can be a real pain though, not to mention the fact that usually the admin installing the backup software on the server, and the one maintaining and checking the backups are not …

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Brilliant battery life for Android

Some applications can use up a lot of system resources and thus drain your battery of much needed power. Specially things like task killers, WLAN and video recording/playback hog a lot of CPU and memory. After a while you start to notice a steep decline in the amount of time your battery will be able …

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My favorite Android apps

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am a big Android fan. My HTC Desire HD is the best phone I’ve ever had, and after 2 years its still fast and reliable. I have rooted my phone (its a branded Vodafone model, so basicly to get rid of the pre-installed Vodafone apps) and …

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My favorite Chrome extensions

The Chrome browser, I think everyone has at least heard of it, it’s fast, reliable and most importantly nice and clean. Well maybe a little too clean, sometimes you just need more functions that just aren’t there or are a bit hidden in the interface. That’s where extensions come in. I have made a list of my …

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Automated checking of external IP

You host your own mailserver (and the provider even lets you), but the external IP address of your DSL/Cable connection is dynamic. So after a few days suddenly you realise there is no connection to the mailserver, and all the mail is bounced back to the senders. Sure makes for a quiet weekend, but not …

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