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Linux Technology Windows

Samba Based Active Directory on Ubuntu 22.04

Matthew 17 Comments

Preface

I have been waiting for a long time to write this post.  In order to test this out, I needed to upgrade my home lab.  I had a VM machine running XCP-NG (I tried Proxmox, it’s just not the same), but it had an old dual core Intel and 8GB of ram, so not much I could do with other than host a good single VM… which is pointless, the server might as well be the function of that single VM.  So recently I was able to upgrade my main system to a Ryzen 5 5600X with a new mobo, RAM, and PSU, so I figured I would use my old Ryzen 5 1600X in the server. …

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Fun Gaming Linux Technology Windows

Creating a Local LAN with Zerotier

Matthew 0 Comments

I have been meaning to create a video about this for some time.  I am a tech fanatic, and when a better solution than Hamachi crossed my path, I was instantly indulging myself with its vast capabilities.  Zerotier is an amazing application.  It can be used to create a Local LAN so that gamers can play legacy titles like Warcraft III and the like, but it can also be “privatized” giving you full control over who has access to your network.  I have tested it on Windows and Linux, and use several personally created networks to play games with my friends back in Ontario, as well as administer my web servers, and lock down SSH to use only the internal network.…

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Other Technology Windows

VMWare ESXi 6 vs Windows Hyper-V

Matthew 0 Comments

I just spent the weekend reformatting my home server from Windows 2012R2 Data Center running Hyper-V to VMWare ESXi 6. Now installation issues aside, as ESXi can be very picky, ESXi seems to be exactly what I am looking for as far as virtualization goes.

A little background into my situation first: A few months back I picked up a system I was planning on doing virtualization with. I already had a copy of Win2K12R2 Data Center from when I took a course at Dawson College here in Montreal, so I took advantage of the new system and installed it. I had installed Hyper-V, but didn’t do anything with it until about a month ago when I installed a test of CentOS 7.…

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Technology Windows

UPDATE: Going from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, Installing apps the Easy way, and Much Much more.

Matthew 0 Comments

Well its been a while since I posted anything of value. So today, while its slow at work, I decided to post about my experience in upgrading my laptop from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 which was released on the 29th of July (Yay Free Upgrade). Some of the things I will cover are what to look out for, and more info on what the update allows you to do. I will also cover 2 ways to install free applications the easy way after a wipe and reload (or a bare-metal install). And Finally I will give an update on some of the posts to come.…

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Personal Technology Windows

[FIX] When Deep Freeze won’t thaw – VHD Style

Matthew 4 Comments

If you are a follower of my blog you know that recently I have done a lot of work with Virtual Hard Drives.  I have made the decision to convert our Computer Centre and Classroom PCs over to VHDs so that they would be easier to maintain.  We use a nice piece of software (I think its pretty cool, most people on the net don’t) and thus far it has worked without issue.

So here is the new set up I have laid out for the Lab, and I got it running on a test system after some trial and error when it came to the Windows 7 side:

  • 1 physical hard drive with 2 partitions
  • First Partition has 2 VHD Files which are configured to be bootable (see how)
  • Second Partition used as a “Thawspace” to transfer files between the two OSes
  • Physical Hard Drive does NOT contain an OS
  • First Partition (becomes D: when booted) has access removed via GPO so no ones messes with the VHD files.
…
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Personal Technology Windows

[FIX] Booting from a Windows 7 VHD – The problems encountered and the Solutions.

Matthew 3 Comments

As many of you know I am a Manager of a Computer Centre and Server/Network Administrator for a small library in Montreal Canada.  Every so often I get tasked with a project that makes my life hell for few days/weeks.  This time round, its Microsoft that’s the culprit of my frustrations.  And since I had to search the internet for multiple solutions, I figured I would write a post to help others who are in the same situation.

Topics Covered

How to boot from a clean system solely to a VHD

SO my first task was to reimage a test machine.…

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Technology Windows

Resizing VHD Files, the easy way.

Matthew 3 Comments

I have looked all over the net for easy ways to resize VHDs.  For those of you who don’t know what a VHD file is, it’s a Virtual Hard Drive.  Now for years I have played with virtualization, normally with VMWare or Virtual Box (The latter being free) which has always dealt with some form of virtual hard drive, however the VHD (and now VHDX) has become a standard with virtualization, so much so that you can actually boot Windows off of a VHD without virtualization software.  Both Windows 7 and 8 flavours of Windows support this feature.…

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Lack of Posts, Bell Canada, Windows 8 and Exchange 2013.

Matthew 2 Comments

Sorry for the lack of posts, I try and get one in at least once a week, but as you can tell I haven’t posted in over a month.  I have been extremely busy with Work and School that this site has escaped me.  So I decided to make a rant post.  There will be 3 main topics, Bell Canada, Windows 8(.1) and Exchange Server 2013.  There may be more, depending on how I feel after the rant.

Round 1: Bell Canada

So anyone who has me as a friend on Facebook knows the story about the issues I have been having with Bell.  …

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Refresh failed with the following error: The RPC server is unavailable.

Matthew 0 Comments

TL/DNR:

Verify your DNS info is correct for each system

Full Story

During my studies at Dawson College I ran into his issue a lot while trying to set up my virtual lab environment.  Using both VirtualBox and VMWare.  Here is a basic layout of my virtual lab environment:

Domain: SME.zlocal

System Name IP Address Function OS
OLYMPUS 192.168.12.250 DC. AD, DNS Server 2012 Datacenter
ARES 192.168.12.251 TBD Server 2012 Datacenter
HERMES 192.168.12.5, 196.168.1.119 Gateway, IIS Server 2012 Datacenter
ZEUS 192.168.12.10 Remote Service Control Windows 8.1 Enterprise

I chose the Greek Gods as they are of interest to me.  OLYMPUS, Home of the Gods,  being the Domain Controller, Active Directory and DNS, where everything is stored.  …

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Adding a Windows 8.1 bootable VHD to windows 7

Matthew 0 Comments

Sounds simple right?  Well it is, if you know what you are doing.  However for those that don’t, try finding a tutorial online.  Over the last 3 days I have been trying to find a tutorial that doesn’t ahve you create and install windows intot he VHD while on the target system. What I ned to be able to do is to add a pre-made VHD into windows.

The reson for this is becasue I am not doing it to just one system, I am creating a VHD that I will deplay to several systems allowing them to multi-boot.  In order to do this I create the VHD with a virtualization software like VMWare, Hyper-V, or VirtualBox.…

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