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Archives for April 2010

Apr 22, 2010 By Jared Heinrichs Leave a Comment

Why CSS code margin:0px auto doesn’t center container

You may have come across this CSS annoyance. You go to type this in an HTML file:

<div class="mainWrapper">
   <p>Test</p>
</div>

 

In your linked CSS file you type:

.mainWrapper { width:1000; margin:0px auto; }

 

You THINK… Ok. Top and Bottom margin is 0px. Ok. There is nothing above or below the box. Left and Right margins set to auto. Ok. Say your screen resolution is 1680px. We can see 1000px is used for mainWrapper. The rest should be used in the Margin. 680px divided by 2 equals 340px on either side.

If you think this way you are mostly correct. Unfortunately this doesn’t work all by itself. mainWrapper needs help from the container above it. (Most likely the <body> tag).

In order for mainWrapper object to float it needs this CSS code:

body { text-align:center; }

 

Without this “text-align”, the box will not float in the middle of the screen. Without the “margin:0px auto; the box will not float either. You NEED both! Now go back to coding 😉

Filed Under: CSS Tagged With: How To

Apr 20, 2010 By Jared Heinrichs Leave a Comment

Troubleshooting 101 – The Cisco way

Sometime in your career, you will need to troubleshoot an issue that may creep up in your network. Cisco has developed a methodical method, which if you follow it, may guarantee a successful outcome every time – or at least you’ll have collected the critical information needed by TAC in order to resolve the problem as quick as possible. The methodology of troubleshooting is:

Define the problem: Did you receive clear understanding what the problem is? What are the real or perceived symptoms and has this symptom or symptoms occurred before. What is the scope of the problem? Is it only affecting one user or a subset of users or the entire company? Normally the help desk will receive the problem or trouble ticket then escalate it to the next level or team. Additional information may be required by your team to really determine what the problem is.

Gather the facts: This process is the corner stone of all the other processes rely on. First of all, refer to previous trouble tickets to see if this particular problem has occurred in the past and what methods were used to correct it. If this is the very first time, determine if changes were made to the system (i.e., IOS or other application upgrades). Interview user(s) who are affected by the problem and see if this just recently occurred or has been occurring over a period of time. Then review any protocols that may be involved with the problem to understand how they normally function. Pull any necessary trace files or dumps and analyze the traces for abnormal behaviors and you may have to execute debug commands when needed. Also topology diagrams are critical in helping to isolate the problem.

Analyze the Data: Use deductive reasoning to narrow the scope of possible causes, or enlist help from other sources who may have greater knowledge of the process that is being affected. Also make sure you use all the required troubleshooting tools and use them to find the primary cause. Once you determine all the likely causes associated to the problem it is time to go to the next step.

Create Action Plan: Write down Action Plan(s) that would be needed to implement to fix the issue at hand. You need to write it down before implementing it because what if it does not fix the issue and you forgot what you just implemented. In that case you could be injecting a new problem into the system. The other reason for writing it down, is that it allows your mind to focus on the possible problem resolution and to clearly analyze if this fix will cause another problem with other systems.

Implement the Action Plan: Now it’s time where the rubber meets the road. You thoroughly researched the issue, came up with a sound solutions, are now ready to implement the fix. Once the fix is in place, it is time to test.

Observe the results: Did the test conclude that the issue has been resolved?

Utilize Process: If not, we may have to undo the fix that was done and go back to "Gather the facts" or "Create an Action Plan" if more than one possible fix was thought of to resolve the problem. It is critical that you undo the last fix before implementing a new one so that you know exactly what the fix is. Once the problem is fixed than it’s time to go to the document phase.

Document: This for some is the hardest step to complete. It is vitally important that you document all the problems and what has been done to resolve them. Remember, history repeats itself and this is especially true in the world of IT. Along with this, you may use this time to look at process documents used by the help desk to see if they need to be updated, so that next time help desk personnel could resolve the issue before it gets escalated up to the engineering level.

Following this step by step guideline will take more time up front, but it can save you countless number of hours in the long run and provide a quicker resolution on average.

Filed Under: Troubleshooting Tagged With: How To

Apr 13, 2010 By Jared Heinrichs Leave a Comment

nVidia Driver update

Sorry for not posting more but I’ve been extremely busy with Micah, the house packing and renovations! I did notice that nVidia has released a new driver. Here are some of the benefits of this new driver.

I’ve got a Geforce 280GTX video card. The Windows 7 64bit driver can be found here:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7_winvista_64bit_197.45_whql.html

 

This is a WHQL-certified driver for GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 100, 200, and 300-series desktop GPUs and ION desktop GPUs.

New in Version 197.45

  • Recommended for the best performance with the new GPU-accelerated features in Adobe CS5.
  • Adds support for the new version of MotionDSP’s video enhancement software, vReveal.
  • Fixes a video playback issue in Media Player Classic.

Existing Support in Release 197 Drivers

  • Supports Next Generation ION.
  • Supports GeForce GT 320 , GeForce GT 330 , and GeForce GT 340 .
  • Upgrades PhysX System Software to version 9.10.0129.
  • Upgrades HD Audio driver to version 1.0.9.1 (for supported GPUs).
  • Increases performance in several PC games from v196.21 WHQL. The following are examples of measured improvements. Results will vary depending on your GPU and system configuration:
    • Up to 13% performance increase in Crysis: Warhead with a single GPU
    • Up to 30% performance increase in Crysis: Warhead with SLI technology
    • Up to 13% performance increase in H.A.W.X with single GPU
    • Up to 15% performance increase in H.A.W.X with SLI technology
    • Up to 30% performance increase in Left 4 Dead with single GPU
    • Up to 28% performance increase in Left 4 Dead with SLI technology
  • Adds SLI and multi-GPU support for top new gaming titles including Assassin Creed II, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Command and Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight, Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City, Mass Effect 2, Napoleon: Total War, and Zombie Driver.
  • Enhanced SLI support for Metro 2033, Supreme Commander 2, Unigine, and World of Warcraft.
  • Adds Ambient Occlusion support for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Need for Speed: Shift, Resident Evil 5, RUSE, and Street Fighter IV.
  • Adds override anti-aliasing support for Mass Effect 2.
  • Includes numerous bug fixes. Refer to the release notes on the documentation tab for information about the key bug fixes in this release.
  • Users without US English operating systems can select their language and download the International driver here .

Other Support:

  • Supports GPU-acceleration for smoother online HD videos with Adobe Flash 10.1. Learn more here .
  • Supports DirectCompute with Windows 7 and GeForce 8-series and later GPUs.
  • Supports OpenCL 1.0 ( Open Computing Language ) for all GeForce 8-series and later GPUs.
  • Supports OpenGL 3.2 for GeForce 8-series and later GPUs.
  • Supports CUDA Toolkit 3.0 features and performance enhancements. See CUDA Zone for more details.
  • Supports single GPU and NVIDIA SLI technology on DirectX 9, DirectX 10, and OpenGL, including 3-way SLI, Quad SLI, and SLI support on SLI-certified Intel X58-based motherboards.
  • Supports NVIDIA PhysX acceleration on a dedicated GeForce graphics card. Use one card for graphics and dedicate a different card for PhysX processing for game-changing physical effects. Learn more here .
  • Download these FREE PhysX and CUDA applications now!
  • Supports GPU overclocking and temperature monitoring by installing NVIDIA System Tools software .

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Apr 5, 2010 By Jared Heinrichs 2 Comments

How to replace a Windows Server 2003 Domain Controller

It is a known fact that servers reach the end of their lives. Some get there quicker than others, based on age, manufacturer, usage and several other factors. However, if your organization has spent time deploying Microsoft’s Active Directory server, you will know that replacing a Domain Controller and migrating everything Active Directory based over is not the easiest procedure you’ve ever performed.
Of course, you could simply image the old server and restore it to the new server, but this could cause licensing and driver issues, not to mention the fact that I prefer to rebuild a server from scratch rather than live with the clutter of an old server on new hardware. In order for you to build a new server, promote it as a Domain Controller and then migrate Active Directory, you need to follow several steps.
Note, at this stage, you must verify two things. First, check on the old server (to be replaced) in Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs that Microsoft Exchange Server (any version) is NOT installed on the server. Furthermore, do not perform this procedure if the old server to be replaced is a Small Business (SBS) Server, since this procedure of replacing the server will break the SBS, and special precautions must be taken. Look out for future articles on how to migrate off an SBS server.

Check the network

Prior to working on the network, I suggest you download the Windows Server 2003 Support Tools to the old server from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=6EC50B78-8BE1-4E81-B3BE-4E7AC4F0912D&displaylang=en. Once installed on the old server, you can run the command dcdiag from a command prompt, which tests the Domain Controller and verifies there are no present issues in Active Directory. This way, you can fix those issues before migrating. If all tests are passed, and only when all tests are passed, you should then run netdiag to test the network configuration of the server, and again ensure all tests pass before proceeding.

Install the new server

Firstly, install Windows Server 2003 to the new server. If you have the R2 edition, install Disk 2 of the CD-Rom media after initial setup completed and the system is up and running.
Once the new server is up and running, install drivers for the Network Card and any other necessary drivers. Then, once a Network Connection can be seen on the server and you can communicate over the network, configure the server with a static IP address on your network. At this stage, set the Preferred DNS Server to be the IP address of (one of) the existing Domain Controller(s). Do not enter any ISP DNS servers here.
Next, join the server to the existing Active Directory Domain. This is performed the standard way – in the same way as you join a workstation – through Start, Control Panel, System, Computer Name, Change. Choose the Domain option, enter the Domain Name and then press OK. A restart is required at this stage.

Prepare the Domain

If you will be installing Windows Server 2003 into a Windows Server 2000 domain, or Windows Server 2003 R2 into a non-R2 Server 2003 domain, you need to extend the schema. This involves placing the Windows Server 2003 media into the Domain Controller which currently holds the Schema Master FSMO role. For Windows Server 2003 R2, you must enter Disk 2, for other editions, enter Disk 1. For Windows Server 2003, browse, on the Schema Master, to the drive:\i386 folder at a command prompt. For R2 edition, browse on Disk 2 to the drive:\CMPNENTS\R2\ADPREP folder at a command prompt.
Once in the directory, the command dir should show the list of files available, one of which should be the adprep.exe tool. At the prompt, you should execute the command adprep /forestprep, to extend the forest schema. Once replication between all Domain Controllers in the Forest has completed – any only when that has occurred – you should then execute adprep /domainprep via the same procedure, and again, wait for replication to take place before proceeding.

Promote the server

After the reboot, you can now invoke the dcpromo wizard, used to promote the server as a Domain Controller. Start the wizard by entering dcpromo into the Start, Run box, then press OK. When prompted whether to enable Advanced Mode, I suggest unless you wish to see Advanced Features that you do not enable this feature. Follow through the wizard, opting for the ‘Additional Domain Controller in an existing domain’ when prompted. When the wizard completes, it will install Active Directory Services onto the server. Do NOT press ‘Cancel’ at this stage. If you made a mistake, wait for the wizard to complete, when you can restart the server and re-run the dcpromo wizard to correct the issue.

Install DNS

DNS is a crucial part of Active Directory, used for the whole of the Active Directory system. As a result, we must migrate DNS from the old DC to the new DC.
The easiest route to do this is to use Active Directory-integrated DNS, so that the DNS replicates from Domain Controller to Domain Controller with Active Directory replication traffic. To check whether your DNS zones are Active Directory-integrated, look on your existing Domain Controller in the DNS console (Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, DNS). Under Forward Lookup Zones, look for <yourdomainname.com> in the list. Beside the zone in the ‘Type’ column, you should see ‘Active Directory-integrated’ noted. If it does not report this, right-click the zone, choose Properties, then on the General tab beside Type, press the Change button and check the box marked ‘Store the zone in Active Directory’. Press OK.
Now the zone is stored in Active Directory, we simply need to install DNS on the new Domain Controller, and the DNS information will replicate in due course. To install DNS on the new server: Start, Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Add/Remove Windows Components. Click ‘Networking Services’, then press the Details button. Check the box to enable ‘Domain Name System (DNS)’ and then press OK. Pressing Next will install the new roles you have checked (DNS, in this case).
Once DNS is installed, it could take a short amount of time before the data shows up in the DNS console on the new server. However, it will show up in due course, so be patient; you don’t even need to manually create the zones.

Global Catalog

In a single-domain, single-forest environment, all Domain Controllers should be Global Catalog servers. The Global Catalog contains a partial replica of all objects in the forest, and is used to establish Universal Group Membership at logon. Without it, logins may not work properly, if at all. Thus, the new server should be a Global Catalog server.
To achieve this, on either the old or the new server, open the Active Directory Sites and Services tool from Administrative Tools in Control Panel. In the tool, expand the site which owns the server, then expand the server object itself. Within the server object, you will see an object entitled ‘NTDS Settings’. Right-click on this, press Properties and then check the box marked ‘Global Catalog’. OK out, and then it is necessary for replication to take place before the server will become a full Global Catalog.

FSMO Roles

The final step is to transfer the FSMO Operations Roles from the old server to the new server. The Operations Roles dictate the DC which performs particular Active Directory tasks. For example, the Schema Master role dicates upon which server the Schema can be extended.
To transfer these roles to the new server, follow the instructions in this Microsoft Knowledgebase article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324801. Note: Verify any information you read is based on the TRANSFER of the roles. SEIZING is not applicable here, and should not be performed for a graceful DC migration.

DNS Server on the new server

At this stage, DNS should have replicated, so you should now set the Preferred DNS Server on the New Server’s Network Card to point to the IP of the new server, and that IP address only. Do not enter any ISP DNS servers. It is recommended you use the full IP address of the server, rather than the loopback 127.0.0.1 address.
You may wish to enable Forwarders in the DNS console. Since no workstation or server should have the ISP’s DNS server manually configured on its NIC, the forwarder at the server enables DNS on the server to resolve the IP address of external domains using the ISP’s DNS server. See http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc773370.aspx for details

Test

Finally, before demoting the old server, I would shut down or unplug the old server from the network, then test network resources and verify everything – particularly logins – works properly. You may find that the workstations are still detecting the DNS Server as the old server. This would need to be manually overridden to be the new server for test purposes.

Demote

If everything is working, then you can, at this stage, reconnect the old server, boot it up and then run dcpromo and choose the options to demote the server. Before disconnecting it from the network fully, you must remember that data and any other applications on the server must be transferred to the new server. ROBOCOPY is a good tool for doing this, since the /COPYALL switch enables you to copy the NTFS ACLs along with the actual data (Windows’ standard Copy operation will not carry the security permissions over).

Hope this helps

Filed Under: Windows 2003 Server Tagged With: How To

Apr 5, 2010 By Jared Heinrichs 10 Comments

HP Pavilion Slimline s3137c TV PC Shutdown problems

I had received an HP Pavilion s3137c PC in for repair. The machine was doing some pretty funny things. The machine after about 3-6 minutes of use would just start rebooting. I originally thought it was to do with either RAM, Power supply or something was over heating. When ever I see this I always put on more thermal grease on the processor. First thing to do is to clean the processor and the underside of the heat sink with lint free material that is soaked with rubbing alcohol. This helped but the machine still seemed to reboot now every about 8-10 minutes.

Next I went on to test the other components. They all came back fine. This had me puzzled. I went back and triple checked all the capacitors looking for one to have a slight bulge. Still nothing.

I talked to the client and they said they had absolutely no luck with this machine. It was sent back during the warranty period twice.

I went back and looked at the machine and I noticed that the south bridge heat sink was getting really hot. I wondered if the heat sink on the processor could be turned around to blow air across the processor and the south bright. Turns out you can! Originally the heat sink fan was near the rear of the machine. I turned it 90 degrees and re-installed it.

The machine is now been running for almost 48 hours with no shutdowns! I wonder if this was a flaw in the design of the HP Pavilion Slimline s3137c? I am wondering during the warranty period did the heatsink get install incorrectly? I will have to check too see if I can see a hardware manual of the machine. I will post pictures how I installed the heat sink soon.

*Update* – Sorry – Here are the pictures:

The fins should be pointing away from the power supply. When I looked at the computer they were facing to the back of the machine where those holes are. The fan should be close to the power supply. By doing this the fan for the processor is doing two more things. Removing the hot air from the power supply, (It’s still cooling the processor) and then the air goes over the south bridge helping to cool it as well.

Fins-face-down--Fan-is-up

You should clean up the thermal grease off the processor and the heat sink. The main thing you need is rubbing alchohol and some kind of cloth/rag that is lint free and clean. You will most likely never be able to use the cloth again. I use this product to clean the processor and it works great!

Alchohol-Prep-Pads

You will need to re-apply the thermal past to the processor. I recommend using ceramique. Your local computer store will sell this for around 8 or 9 dollars Canadian.

Ceramique-Thermal-Paste

Put a little blob directly on the processor. You don’t need very much. Then place the heat sink down like you saw in the first picture. Re-screw in the heatsink making sure not to wiggle it.

The Machine has now been running for 4 days straight now! 🙂 Good luck!

*Update 2* Official Repair manual – HP Pavilion Slimline s3137c Repair Manual

Filed Under: Computer Hardware Tagged With: How To

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