Replacing a Laptop Hard Drive

{ May 21, 2009 @ 1:14 pm } · { hardware }
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I have purchased several Dell Latitude D630s for folks here in the office, and without fail, eventually the hard drives on these have to be replaced.  I am replacing one now, and thought it might be helpful to someone out there to see pictures and get a walk-thru.  It is very easy actually, and I am fairly confident that anyone can do this.  For better pictures and guide, check out the quickguide online.

This is a 250GB, 72KRPM replacement drive, part number 341-7743 from Dell, by the way.

1.  Back up all data and make a note of all programs that will need to be reinstalled.

2.  Shutdown your laptop and remove all power sources (not a bad idea to remove even the battery).

3.  Make sure you have a small Phillips screwdriver and that your laptop is securely lying upside down.

4.  Remove the two screws from the top left portion of your laptop.DSCF1626

5.  Carefully pull out the hard drive.

DSCF16206.  Remove the single screw that attaches the hard drive to the bay.

7.  Attach the new drive to the bay and secure the same screw.

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8.  Put new drive and bay back into the side of the laptop.

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9.  Reattach the new drive to the laptop with the same two screws taken out minutes ago.

DSCF162510.  Turn laptop right-side up and and boot laptop with an OS disk in the CD Drive and begin formatting your new drive.

I told you anyone could do it!

Internet Explorer 7 Issues – Can’t Use Text Boxes

{ May 20, 2009 @ 7:17 pm } · { Internet Explorer, Microsoft, software }
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I have a user who suddenly was unable to type anything in her text boxes in IE 7 a while back.  We were in the middle of a big move and my time was so limited that we just installed Firefox for her and she was fine, for a while.  It wasn’t until we started rolling out Microsoft Office Communicator and Microsoft Office Live Meeting this week that I was reminded of the issue because she was unable to type new messages or respond to messages sent her in Communicator.

I did all of the normal things we do, I think.  I cleared out all cookies and temporary internet files, I ran antivirus and ad checking and spyware programs.  I even uninstalled Java and reinstalled it and nothing worked.

Finally, I reinstalled IE 7 as a last resort before just doing an upgrade to IE 8, and after a reboot . . . walla . . . she is able to type in text boxes in IE 7 and Communicator now.

Installing a New Tivo Hard Drive

{ April 24, 2009 @ 5:59 pm } · { fun, gadgets, hardware }
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So, I had this really crappy week a while back where my ipod, my Tivo and my laptop all died on me.  The ipod I fear is toast, as the connector won’t connect to a pc anymore no matter what I try.  It is two years old, so I think I will have to suck it up and buy a new one.

The laptop needed a new battery, easy to buy and fix.

The Tivo though, that was interesting.  It basically started spontaneously rebooting itself.  If you have ever had to sit through this, you will understand how quickly this becomes painful.  After several calls to tech support and trying different variations on a reboot. . they determined what I already knew to be true, my hard drive was gone.  Their recommendation, a refurbished unit for $160.  A new unit, with about 160 hours of space, is about $299.99 . . . so I figured I would look around a bit and see what I could find on my own.

I did find a couple of sites that sold replacement 160GB drives for about $100, so I decided to give that a shot.  Since it was a hard drive, I figured even if my Tivo never works I can reuse the drive in one of my PCs.  I purchased my drive from DVRUpgrade since they are somewhat local for me, and did the swap last night.  My Tivo was still working on getting all of the programming last night, but it appears to work just fine.  The swap was simple, made even simpler by the Torx driver they sent with the replacement drive, and their instructions are right on the money.

I am still bummed about the iPod, but at least I won’t have to miss any more of my favorite shows.  I have missed Grace, Brenda, and Dr. Brennan, not to mention all the new greats like Leverage, Lie To Me and Dollhouse!   Thank goodness for Hulu.

Smartphone won’t sync with Exchange 2007

{ March 27, 2009 @ 1:50 pm } · { Exchange, Microsoft, Network Administration, gadgets }
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I really like Exchange 2007.  My most active smartphone user has a Motorola Q that uses ActiveSync and he called in a panic the other morning because for about 12 hours his phone would not sync with the server.  He could send mail out, but he couldn’t get anything new in.

My first response was to have him reset his device, but that didn’t help.  So I went to the server, not really expecting to find anything there.  What I found were two consistant error messages in the Event Logs:  Event ID 1008 and Event ID 4999.

Here is the exact error for MSExchange ActiveSync Event ID 1008:

An exception occurred and was handled by Exchange ActiveSync. This may have been caused by an outdated or corrupted Exchange ActiveSync device partnership. This can occur if a user tries to modify the same item from multiple computers. If this is the case, Exchange ActiveSync will re-create the partnership with the device. Items will be updated at the next synchronization. . .

So I went back to the server to check the settings under Manage Mobile Device and noticed that I could “Remove Mobile Device Partnership.”  Since it wasn’t working anyway, I gave it a shot.  What do you know, after the users next sync he was ready to go.  Seems the partnership had corrupted and removing it and forcing a new one fixed our issue. . for now.

MSXML 6 Service Pack 2 Failed

{ March 11, 2009 @ 7:40 pm } · { Microsoft, Office 2007, software }
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Good night!  It took me several hours and lots of frustration today just to get Outlook Business Contact Manager 2007 installed.  Actually, to be most accurate, it took me that long just to get SQL Server Express Edition installed.  I would get almost done and then get a failure message.  The logs would indicate that

MSXML 6 Service Pack 2 (KB954459) 6.20.1099.0 Failed.

Ok, seems easy enough, uninstall the darn thing and try again, right?  WRONG.  It gave me the same darned error message when I tried to uninstall it to.

A quick Google search had me installing and using the Windows Install Cleanup Tool to completely remove MSXML 6 Service Pack 2 and a quick reboot had me back on track with the contact manager software installed in no time.  I had never heard of this program before, but I will be adding it to my list of tools.

A Big Move and Lots of Learning about Networking Fundamentals

{ December 4, 2008 @ 3:12 pm } · { Career, Network Administration, hardware, networking }
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I have been trying for a couple of months now to find good links and helpful information on what it takes to move a company, specifically the data center, as that is what I am responsible for.  As I move through this process though, I realize that I need to do a lot more than move some servers and routers. 

The past two days have been spent meeting with cabling companies trying to get a handle on what we need to get the the phones to ring and the computers connected to the internet and our servers.  It seems I need a cabling company to come and wire my building.  What they do is run all the wires from our server room to the rest of the building, but there is a bit more to it than that. 

There will be a demarcation point where the T1s will be dropped, I am most likely installing a T1 and a PRI, and the companies that drop those will only do that portion.  From there, I need to extend the demark to the MDF in our server room.  Because we are moving into a large warehouse, I also need to have them create an IDF and run fiber from the MDF to the IDF. 

While I am learning on the fly, I am finding it hard to find helpful articles on the web that explain this all.  Most sites focus on telephony or data networks but don’t explain how it all fits together.  If anyone out there knows of sites that explain all of this well I would love to see them.  I plan to share all I learn here, and hope that I expain it in a way that will make sense to me and others when I am done.

HP Laptop Trick

{ December 1, 2008 @ 8:21 pm } · { hardware }
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It has been too long since I posted, but I need to jot this little jewel down before all the learning I did today makes me forget this stupid, yet effective trick to bring a laptop back from what appeared to be a meldtdown.

My HP Pavilion laptop got stuck, so I powered down and tried to reboot, but I got all lights, but no display. Rebooted again, same thing, and I also noticed that my cd drive wound up but HD seemed to be out for the count in noise and in light indicator. Oh boy, figured my HD was toast and I would have to get a replacement. Went to HP support site where it said:

Test the AC adapter
Follow the steps below to determine whether the problem is related to the AC adapter or your notebook system board.

Remove the battery and disconnect all external devices from the computer.

Hold the Power button for several seconds, with all power sources removed. This drains residual power from the system, and may correct many problems.

Connect the AC adapter to a wall outlet and plug the other end into the computer.
Press the Power button to start the notebook PC.

Thanks HP! This worked like a champ and I am now happily blogging. Woohoo!

New Cell Phone

{ November 6, 2008 @ 2:41 pm } · { Blackberry, Exchange, gadgets }
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I had to get a new phone and the first phone DH chose for me (yes, I let him pick because at first I didn’t really care what kind of phone I got) was the Verizon Voyager.  Wow, what a GREAT phone. It has a touch screen and a keyboard that was very easy to use for texting. Here is a little demo of that phone:

HOWEVER, the Verizon site said this was compatible with Microsoft Exchange Servers, which it is not. myblackberry1When I called tech support for help they were quick to point out that Verizon does not own any software that will push from a Corporate Exchange Server. So, since the folks at work were willing to pay for the phone and service if I got another phone, I began looking for a Blackberry or Windows Mobile phone. I chose the pink Curve and am happy with it. It is not quite as fun to text with, but it does have all the functionality I need. Now if I could just find a case for it that I like. . .

Firewall video and software – Systm and IPCop

{ September 5, 2008 @ 7:47 pm } · { Linux, Network Administration, Security, fun, hardware, networking, software }
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I was surfing around looking for tools to help me learn more about networking and TCP/IP packets and I came across Systm.    It is a DIY show for geeks that has a bunch of shows on how to setup “geeky” stuff, like a home NAS and Media Center and yes, Firewall.  So after listening to the show on firewalls I decided that my very next project will be to setup an IPcop firewall system at home for testing and learning.  I understand from the show and by looking online that there are many people out there using it, so I should be able to setup it up and get help and learn a few things as well. 

Now if I can just dig out a complete system from my closet at home I will be all set. . .

Just Finished My First SANS Training Event

{ September 2, 2008 @ 7:13 pm } · { Career, Network Administration, Security }
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I just finished a week of SANS training in beautiful St Louis, MO and am still digesting all of the information.  I also want to hold off a full assessment until after I have actually taken the test for the GIAC certification in October, but I did want to share some general impressions.

I attended a SANS Community event, which is one of their smaller events that usually consist of just a couple of classes in a given city.  I attended the Security 401:  Security Essentials Bootcamp and got exactly what I expected from it.  I am fairly new to IT Management and even newer to IT Security and I found this class to be an excellent beginning source of information.  I have honestly found it hard to know where to start often in getting training and laying some network and security foundations, and this class did just that.  It was a very wide, or top-level view of IT Security.  I found that I learned a great deal, and came away with some tools that I am learning and will eventually use in my environment.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the knowledge level of our instructor.  I have been to many IT training classes where I have felt that the instructor did a quick reading of the material and knew only a bit more than I did on the given topic.  That was not the case with the SANS Instructor we had.  He definitely knew his material backward and forward, and had used it in the field at a consulting level and on the job.

I will know for sure how well the information was presented when I sit for the GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC) test in a couple of months, so I will post again at that time.  I will be studying for this for the next couple of months by going over the printed material that was handed out at the bootcamp in addition to going over the on-demand class material and taking the practice tests.

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