Monthly Archives: June 2005

Windows 2000 post SP4 rollup package

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If you are integrating the Update Rollup 1 for Windows 2000 SP4 into a network share to install from a DOS boot floppy, you are going to get
Setup was unable to copy the following files:
errors for several files. The way to fix this, according to knowledge base article 890206 is to edit DOSNET.INF and remove all the lines in the [Files] section that have d1,UNIPROC in them. You might also want to remove the lines that have d1,wms.
You’d think someone would have tested this before shipping this out the door….

Is someone at Michelin reading?

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Didn’t I mention refunding tickets? Just kidding, they seem to be trying to do the right thing. The funding of some tickets for next years race is also a nice gesture. We’ll know later today how the teams fare in front of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris, but even the statement from Michelin includes some rather loaded political-looking parts. And, of course, the FIA can’t let that go.

WSUS and sundry other updates

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I’ve been playing around with WSUS recently for use in Housing. Primarily, I’m testing it with student site computers as the targets for automated installs, though the reporting we get from the “download and wait to install” mode also works well on our servers.

A few things bother me though:

  • There doesn’t seem to be a way to force the install of a patch as soon as the computer checks in. Our workstations are commonly reinstalled during the year, if I switch to WSUS as my patch management solution, it appears as though I need to keep patching my install point every month. Not a big deal, as long as the /integrate: option always works.
  • WSUS needs the BITS 2.0/WinHTTP 5.1 update and Microsoft Installer 3.1 before it can do anything else. This isn’t a real big deal, either expect to wait 24 hours to install actual patches or stuff those into cmdlines.txt to run during unattended setup.
  • Superceded update handling seems to be wonky, or something. I’v seen 1 case where an update for Windows 2000 is shown as “superceded” by an update for Windows 2003. Not likely. And all this update declining business is confusing too.

I guess, when all is said and done, WSUS is a better solution than our current homebuilt Winbatch file version checker feeding into a SQL database. And WSUS is free, so no complaining allowed!

Other updates to, hopefully, come for the labs this summer: Acrobat Reader 7, McAfee VirusScan 8.0i and all the newest versions of all the free stuff we run (GAIM, Firefox, putty, etc). I’m also investigating McAfee’s ePO server, but that may have to wait until fall to get done.

F1 Indy Debacle

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GruntDoc has a pretty good summary of how I, and I hope most other American F1 fans, feel. I think David Hobbs had the best idea on the Speed coverage: Penalize the Michelin runners by docking them all their constructors championship points.

But, all joking aside, I can see both sides of the argument here. Michelin told the teams the tires they brought were not safe to race on. It took them time to identify the source of the problem and under the rules as they exist today, Michelin is not allowed to replace the tires the teams already have. Bridgestone runners, on the other hand, saw it as an excellent opportunity to gain some points on the dominant teams.

I’m fairly certain, sans all this political in-fighting and other various mine-is-bigger-than-yours-isms, a satifactory compromise could have been reached. The team principles, Tony George, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Bridgestone runners are not to blame. The FIA is probably blameless here too, but the chances of it actually playing out that way in the press are nil. Michelin screwed up, plain and simple. Somebody needs to step up and volunteer to fund at least partial refunds to fans.

I’m certainly glad I didn’t take time off to attend the race, pay for tickets or a hotel room in Indianapolis. And I have a feeling very few people will bother next year either.

Formula One rule changes?

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With these proposed rule changes, it looks like Formula One wants to become the NASCAR of Europe.
Single tire supplier? Boo.
The return of slicks? Yay.
Standardized ECU with no traction control? Boo.
Onboard starter? Shrug.
10% of current downforce levels? And you thought the Minardis and Jordans were squirrelly already…
A real clutch? But, where are the techno-weenies going to get ideas for bells-and-whistles shift mechanisms on high dollar cars and not so expensive Pontiacs?

Server Room AC

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Why is it that the A/C never dies at a good time?
graph
Those are internal server temps, so it’s not all that bad but it did have to happen just before the end of the day, after the HVAC service guy had left for the day. He came back in and fixed things up, so we owe him a favor or two.

Time to get a standby A/C installed there.

Avon Walk update

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Alisha successfully walked 26.2 miles yesterday and 13.1 miles today. One other member of the team also walked the full distance, most of the others managed 13.1 yesterday and today. She’s tired, sore and blistered, but it’s a good cause. We got back to Champaign a little after 6 pm, after leaving downtown Chicago without attending the closing ceremony. The other 2 husbands and I had some fun, but this weekend was more about the walk than anything else.

And now, some pictures.
First, compare and contrast the before and after shots:
Before
After
(Many thanks to Kelly’s brother Phil for buying and bringing the bouquets.)

And the proof is in the blisters, not real clear, but they are there.
blisters

The rest of the pictures are here, Alisha is probably most proud of the timestamps on the first two, proving she was wide awake and moving at 5:07 am.

Chicago and the Avon Walk

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Alisha is off on her walk, getting an early start on the east side of Soldier Field at 7:00 am. She had to be on the shuttle bus by 5:30 am, so this was an EARLY morning.
The opening ceremony was a very large sea of pink, organizers said 2400 participants are walking but it looked much larger due to all the friends, family and volunteers milling about.

Alisha has the camera, so no pictures just yet. A couple of other husbands and I are going to try to find one of the cheering stations here in another half hour or so. Hopefully the rain will hold off until tomorrow night, but the radar doesn’t look all that promising.