Author: Andrew

A Father, Photographer and Computer Geek living in Chester County (PA).

My Photo Journal of images taken in Chester and Lancaster Counties, including Covered Bridges, Barns, Nature, Fine Art and Events. Images can also be found on VisitPA.com and ExplorePATrails.com.

Categories
Software

Dynamic IP on NIC during AD/DNS Setup Issue

When setting up a Active Directory domain, dcpromo.exe can include the required DNS installation, but the Wizard may warn you that you have one NIC adapter that is NOT set to static.

This is generally caused because both IP4 and IP6 are installed by Default and both need to be set I found a quick and dirty on-line/web based utility that can help you convert the IP4 to IP6 address:

<http://ip-lookup.net/conversion.php>

An alternative approach is to just Disable IP6 for the NIC, since to take advantage of IP6, the rest of your networking infrastructure also has to support IP6 (Gateways, Routers and Switches).

Hope this helps!

– Andrew
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Categories
Add-Ons Software

What CD/DVD burning software is supported?

My simple question is this:

What CD/DVD burning software is supported on Windows 2008 Standard Server?

Background:

A client of mine just bought a new HP ML350 G5 (March 2009), which came with a HP branded GSA-H53L (E2C) DVD Rewriter (Manufactured – July 2008) and bundled with Roxio DigitalMediaPlus (circa 2005 (MyDVD v6.1)).

When I start the install of the Roxio software, I immediately get a DLA error…

After Google-ing around, there are known issues with Roxio’s DLA software, and the drive itself appears to be a discontinued LG OEM model.

When the VAR that sold the Server is contacted, they point to HP…

When HP is contacted, they point to the VAR…

I have checked the following, and NONE show NAMED support for Windows 2008 Standard Server:

  • Alcohol 120%
  • Corel WinDVD 9
  • CyberLink Power2Go 6
  • Droppix Recorder XE
  • GEAR PRO Mastering Edition 8.00
  • Nero 9 nor BackItUp 4
  • NTI Media Maker 8
  • Roxio Creator 2009 nor Roxio Creator 2009 Ultimate

They support Vista, but not NAMED support for Windows 2008 Server, which the Owner of the company wants to see/hear.

What we are looking for is a simple, reliable way to burn data to CD/DVD media; create/mountISO images if need be (example: SQL 2008 install), and maybe take advantage of the LightScribe capabilities of the drive.

Can someone out there enlighten me to a product!

Thanks in advance,

– Andrew

03 Oct 2009 01:02:58

All:

Sorry for not following up on this in several months, but I took the suggestion of Tim Quan, and ended up downloading and installing ImgBurn from ImgBurn.com.

After doing a couple of test burns, and several months of keeping my fingers crossed, ImgBurn seems to be working fine.

The interface does take a little getting use to, but ImgBurn does offer allot of features for the price!(FREE)

Many thanks to Tim Quan, the Author of ImgBurn and all the other folks that chipped in their two cents!

– Andrew

03 Oct 2009 01:02:58

All:

Another suggested software package was StarBurn from RocketDivision, which came from Paul Svirin.

I have NOT downloaded or tried this software, but if someone out there would like to add their comments/thoughts….

– Andrew
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Activation Error – 0x8007232B, DNS name does not exist

In some cases when you are trying to Active Vista or Server 2008, you might get the following error:

Activation Error - 0x8007232B - DNS name does not exist
Activation Error - 0x8007232B - DNS name does not exist

and this is due to the way that both Vista, Server 2008 and Windows 7 handle registration.

In these cases, your SysAdmin needs to have setup a KMS (Key Management Server), and then hasto use the MAK (Multiple Activation Key) that was provided to your company.

For more information on this topic, see Microsoft’s Volume Licensing website.

If you have NOT setup a KMS, but do have a MAK, then a simple work around is to go to:

Control Panel > System > Windows activation and click “Change Product Key”

and enter the key that was provided.

Source Info:

Hope this helps!

– Andrew
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Categories
Software

Setup WHS on VMWare Server (2.0.1 b 156745)

The setup of this VM is actually very easy, with a couple of key things to note…

  • Use the Default “Microsoft Windows 2003 Standard Edition (32-bit)”;
  • Make your HD Capacity at least 65GBs (recommend 70GBs);
  • Make the HD a single file (File Options > “Allocate all space now”);
  • Make the HD a IDE Drive (Virtual Device Node > Adapter: IDE 0 > Devise: 0);

Then sit back and wait, which takes about an hour…

Do not forget to run Windows Update after the base install.

NOTES:

If you do NOT set the “Virtual Device Node” to IDE, the Setup program will ERROR saying it cannot find a disk.

If you allocate a disk size lower then 65GBs you will get an Error message during the GUI setup installation.

Hope this helps!

– Andrew

Categories
Reviews Software

First Impressions of WHS (Windows Home Server)

I had been hearing about Windows Home Server (WHS) from various sources for some time, and finally decided to take a look.

In reviewing the Main WHS website, I ordered the DVD media and paid the Shipping & Handling (nothing is free), and got the kit in about a week.

Not having any spare hardware to run a “Full” WHS on, I setup a VMWare VM, and was able to take it for a “Test Drive” for a couple of days.

In general, I was rather impressed with how easy it was to setup. Boot from the disk, and a few questions, sit back and wait.

You will need at least 70GBs of disk space, and once done, that disk will be split into (2) partition: OS and Data.

For any family that is really going to use this, they should seriously consider getting at least 1TB of HD,especially considering the cost of such drives, and if you really want to protect your data, consider getting a second HD to backup the primary.

The main concept of WHS is the ability to connect (wired & wireless) a household of computers to a centralized server for File and Music sharing, then initiate backups of those machines and publish a Family website, which should be a real interest to technically savvy Home SysAdmin.

Acer and HP seem to have embraced this market space, and if you happen to have some extra hardware laying around, you might consider creating your own “Frankenstein” server. The requirements are surprising low.

From what I have been told, if you already happen to have a Active Directory Domain setup at home, in about 45 days, WHS will start to warn you that it has detected your AD, and will start to shut itself down.

So for the price, an OEM (Acer or HP) machine or a “Frankenstein”, and you already do not have a AD,the WHS is worth considering.

– Andrew
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