Category: Operating Systems

Categories
General Computing Operating Systems

Format USB drive to FAT32 in a 32GB and larger thumbdrive world

I always need a FAT32 formatted drive so that I can upgrade some firmware or BIOS updates. I also need FAT32 for things like network equipment that only take FAT32 still, even the new stuff, looking at you Cisco. You can format a larger 64GB+ thumb drive with Microsoft Windows 11 natively, no need for extra apps. You can use the built in diskpart utility.

First step is to hit your windows key, and type CMD. Right click CMD and run it as administrator. Then you can drop into diskpark:

diskpart
list disk
select disk X (select the disk you know is yours)
clean
create partition primary size=32768
select partition 1
format fs=fat32 quick
exit

Done, now you have a drive that is fat32 formatted and you can dump your files on it that you need.

Categories
Operating Systems

Did you get a Windows configuration update for Windows 11?

Did you received a Windows configuration update for Windows 11 on September 13th 2023 or so? I noticed this on 3 of my Windows 11 22H2 computers. This one was weird, typically there is a request for reboot based on a KB and lets you know. This one had no information regarding what it was related to.

Looking at my Windows update history (Search for Update History on your search bar), it is likely KB5030219 or KB5031217 . If you click on those links, it will direct you to the Microsoft KB and details as to what it likely was related to.

Let me know if I am wrong, but I am guessing this is likely what that meant.

Categories
Operating Systems

CentOS 8 Stream Error setting up base repository

This is a super simple fix. If you are trying to set up a centos 8 stream server with just the boot iso and the internet. You need to select the repo that it can pick from so you can get your packages. When you are selecting your isntallation source, the “on the network” source you can pick for a repository URL is: 

mirror.centos.org/centos/8-stream/BaseOS/x86_64/os/

Select done and then you can select your packages. My go to is a minimal install, then you can continue your installation.

Categories
Android Android Google

Disable profanity filter in Android 10

This is such a silly thing to have to disable, but any time I was using voice to text, it would always put asterisks for swear words. This is on my Google Pixel 3 XL running Android 10 latest update of Feb 2020. The fix was to disable it in THREE spots, not just one, not just two, but all three. The three spots are: Gboard, Google voice typing, and in the text correction section.

Section #1 Google Voice Typing:

Settings > System > Languages & input > Virtual keyboard > Google voice typing and make sure that Hide offensive words is disabled.

Section #2: Gboard

Settings > System > Languages & input > Virtual keyboard > Board -> Voice Typing -> Offline speech recognition and make sure that Hide offensive words is disabled.

Section #3: Text Correction

Settings > System > Languages & input > Virtual keyboard > Board -> Text Correction and make sure that Block offensive words is disabled.

Section #4: UPDATED (Added April 21 2020)

If those three options do NOT resolve it, the 4th option you can use is to disable offline voice: Settings > System > Languages & input > Virtual keyboard > Gboard > Voice Typing > and disable “faster voice typing“.

Categories
Operating Systems Windows 10

Quick and dirty robocopy script to back up directory

I used to have an xcopy script that ran this, but now I have upgraded to using robocopy to mirror my files to a network share that I disconnect and put in cold storage when not actually backing up.

robocopy E:\ \\192.168.50.30\backup\ /E /XD “System Volume Information” “$RECYCLE.BIN” “found.00*” /MIR

Break down of the script: E: is the SOURCE of my files and \\192.168.50.30\backup\ is my DESTINATION to copy TO. If you not the XD trigger, that EXCLUDES certain files. I want to ignore certain system files that do not matter to my back ups. You can do this for nearly any directory. /MIR is what actually MIRRORS the files, so they will look exactly like what you have on your SOURCE directory structure.

The only downside is there is no versioning with this, what you see is what you get, so if you were struck with some randomsware, this won’t save you. You would want something like seafile, or some other back up service. If there’s any interest, I can make a post on how to create a seafile server to do your back ups and version control. It has the added benefit of having versioning, browser accessible, and phone applications.

Categories
Server 2019

Windows Server 2019 Eval to Server Standard

I had issues converting an Eval server 2019 to a Standard Server 2019, and for whatever reason, it was painful to find the solution. Someone on reddit actually posted about it, so here is me documenting it for posterity!

# ISO Used: 17763.253.190108-0006.rs5_release_svc_refresh_SERVER_EVAL_x64FRE_en-us.iso

# Commands Executed:

DISM /online /Get-CurrentEdition
DISM /online /Get-TargetEditions
DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerStandard /ProductKey:N69G4-B89J2-4G8F4-WWYCC-J464C /AcceptEULA

slmgr.vbs /upk
slmgr.vbs /ipk <MAK_KEY_HERE>
slmgr.vbs /ato

# Initial Product Key is GVLK (unable to find official source at present)

Unofficial GVLK Source

ProductGVLK
Windows Server 2019 DatacenterWMDGN-G9PQG-XVVXX-R3X43-63DFG
Windows Server 2019 StandardN69G4-B89J2-4G8F4-WWYCC-J464C
Windows Server 2019 EssentialsWVDHN-86M7X-466P6-VHXV7-YY726
Windows Server 2019 Azure CoreFDNH6-VW9RW-BXPJ7-4XTYG-239TB
Windows Server 2019 Datacenter Semi-Annual Channel (v.1809)6NMRW-2C8FM-D24W7-TQWMY-CWH2D
Windows Server 2019 Standard Semi-Annual Channel (v.1809)N2KJX-J94YW-TQVFB-DG9YT-724CC
Windows Server 2019 ARM64GRFBW-QNDC4-6QBHG-CCK3B-2PR88
Categories
Computer Hardware Windows 10

microsoft surface pro 6 battery bar stuck at 100%

You would think this is a good thing, but no, haha. It’s nice to know what your battery is actually at. While the tablet was logged in, I did this key combo, and that resolved it:

hold volume + and power button for 15 seconds and that should fix it.

Categories
CentOS 7 Operating Systems

How to enable ip forwarding on CentOS 7

I wanted to enable IP masquerading/forwarding on CentOS 7.5, but for some reason, the typical method was not working. My clients could connect, but no traffic was passing beyond the VPS, and on to the internet. I was pretty sure it was my firewall masquerade rule was acting up, but no. It ended up being the kernel routing that you typically set in /etc/sysctl.conf as

net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1 I also tried net.ipv4.conf.default.forwarding = 1

I ended up needing to use the new method, which was actually in the top comment section of the sysctl.conf file. Which refernces using /usr/lib/sysctl.d/50-default.conf
add this line to the bottom of that file: net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1

Reboot, problem solved, started routing traffic outside of the VM.

Categories
Computer Hardware HP VMWare ESXi

HP GEN8 Microserver Raid 5 transform times with 4x8TB WD RED’s

I opted to drop a 4th 8TB WD RED in my raid 5 array on my HP Microserver Gen8. It has a P222 raid card in it running the latest, as of today firmware: 8.32. I had the server running for about 2 years in it’s current configuration, with no issues, but I wanted a little more disk. If I had more slots, I would have opted for a raid 10, but I wanted smaller footprint, so this is what I am working with.

So far the transform has been about 36 hours, and running:

/opt/smartstorageadmin/ssacli/bin/ssacli ctrl slot=1 ld 1 show

in ESX 6.7, I am at 40%, oooofta. I imagine rebuilds with these large disks would be just as painful. Good news though, Unrecoverable Media Errors is 0.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BACKUPS, AND THAT YOU TEST SAID BACKUPS!!
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BACKUPS, AND THAT YOU TEST SAID BACKUPS!!

Also make backups before you toy around with your raid, I have backups if this goes south, but always have backups.

Did I mention, HAVE BACKUPS AND TEST SAID BACKUPS!!

Categories
Android

Lenovo Tab 8 plus and Tab 10 plus to get Android 8 – OREO!

I am so pumped, I am glad they’re updating it. So far still my favorite tablet out there. I have been getting security updates every month or so, and now confirmed to have Android 8/OREO!

SOURCE: https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht501098

Tab4 8 Plus Tablet (TB-8704F, TB-8704X) Android 7.1 Nougat Android 8.1 (Oreo) Nov 2018 In progress
Tab4 10 Tablet (TB-X304F, TB-X304L, TB-X304X) Android 7.1 Nougat Android 8.1 (Oreo) Nov 2018 In progress
Tab4 8 Tablet (TB-8504F, TB-8504X) Android 7.1 Nougat Android 8.1 (Oreo) Nov 2018 In progress