Root Access

1:12 AM

was xp sp4 ever released?

MBraedley

Just me, or is the main site down?

so is up

for me at least

lit's up, so is area 51

MBraedley

SU specifically. I can access gaming.

Meta SU seems to be down for me as well

did windows xp sp4 ever get released?

MBraedley

No, only as far as SP3

1:18 AM

ok

just wanted to make sure i wasn't crazy

headesks

one of my USB ports on my laptop snapped off

which means sending it for servicing and not being able to use it for a week or so ><

ooh

its in that awesome faux art-deco building

Parkview Square

Parkview Square is an office building located in the Downtown Core Planning Area, Central Region, Singapore. It is situated along North Bridge Road, and is near the major commercial hub at Marina Centre. It is next to Bugis MRT Station, Bugis Junction, and The Gateway, and straddles the Rochor Road and Ophir Road corridor. Parkview Square is one of the more expensive office buildings in Singapore. The occupancy rate for this building was rather low when it first opened. However, as the economy improved, the occupancy rate for this building grew higher steadily. Besides commercial offi...

2:09 AM

hm, on site warranty, guess not

3:03 AM

@KronoS Yes

4:57 AM

seems like the user page is due for an overhaul

5:14 AM

hm

apparently the broken usb port is not a known issue, and it dosen't get covered under warranty. they said they will review it if i e mail them a picture

Hello guys!

Journeyman?

@Borisyo: the USB port on my laptop snapped off inside a USB plug, called up lenovo service and they were like 'its not covered, but we might reconsider if you send a picture'

@JourneymanGeek Oh so that is why your response delayed?

no, i was having lunch

@JourneymanGeek Go through legal documentation. See if there is statement about USB port. If it is covered - SUE THEM!

5:25 AM

naw, rather deal with it calmly without too much fuss

to which i mean, i will ask if i can escalate it, then go play the social networking game

Class action lawsuit.

With whole SuperUser community.

ok, now you're being absurd

You know what i have noticed? The support especially in electronics are canned reponse people without expertise in technical support.

talked to a level 1 support guy, who asked me to e mail him the picture of the parts

which i have

I understand that companies want to grow and pay less, but they are sacrificing value for money. The balance weakens.

First i noticed people talk badly about HP, then came Lenovo, then DELL...

5:29 AM

thing is, lenovo support here is still IBM

and IBM service used to be awesome

You know, in these times i think everyone should have expertise in computers, otherwise they will pay a lot or pass their computer to unqualified technician.

@Borisyo: its under warranty, the whole idea is to get it fixed for free

Yes IBM support some models, but it worsened?

cause yanno, its 6 months into a 3 year warranty

its a current model.

In my country there is/are laboratories that are certified and work with Lenovo, HP... People send their laptops there and then are sorry about it. I sent my 5 year old HP there and received it with scratched screen.

5:34 AM

our service is by IBM

Certainly there are labs to avoid here... That is why you should be familiar with laptops and order on-site warranty.

i trust em to be expensive, but good. its under warranty so it needs to be free and good

We have IBM taking care of ThinkPads and "certified" labs taking care of IdeaPads.

thinkpad here

i wouldn't get an ideapad

Why?

It is for gamers.

5:36 AM

I don't need a gaming system

i need a tough, usable tool, and one that i know can be fixed easily

ThinPads are suited for this?

thinkpads are that. they also, least unless they deny my service request, had the best warranty service in the business

yup

And DELL?

I have Latitude for business.

I am satisfied.

not too bad, but depends on era

Era?

5:38 AM

ya, there was one point where they were utter complete... drek

You mean the latest is greatest?

You mean they were best once?

they were decent

they went crap

I remember they recalled laptops because of explosive batteries...

now they are decent again

Speaking about hardware or customer service?

Lenovo outsource their customer service. I hate that. I called someone, they were non-fluent in English and call quality was bad.

I heard they just follow FAQ. Dang!

5:41 AM

Lenovo's support was either local or regional

If you own a laptop, be familiar with it as you are with you car.

Especially if your business depends on it.

When i email'ed Dell's CS i talked with a Greek woman.

@Borisyo: i can change the tire, but i can't do a shock absorber swap

@Sathya Looks interesting... Where did you get that from?

She stopped responding later on.

Q: Feedback wanted: NEW USER PAGE

meta @WilliamHilsum

37

The user page needs some love. We've been working on a bit of a redesign and now we want your feedback! Our goals were: Improve the UX: reorganize the information in ways that make a bit more sense (instead of the current jam the data in wherever it can fit model of UX) Make it modular, so we...

5:43 AM

Ahh... Thanks

@JourneymanGeek Sorry i do not own a car.

I know that car is a must in USA...

lol. neither do i.

is there some way i can sync a particular folder on my notebook and my desktop whenever they are in the same network

@JourneymanGeek You are from USA and do not own a car?

i can change a tyre better than either person in my family when i drive

@lovesh: yes

@Borisyo: what makes you think i am american?

5:44 AM

@JourneymanGeek i have seen FreeFileSync but that looks like to be used on a single computer

@JourneymanGeek Because you write correctly.

@JourneymanGeek Actually i don't know.

@Borisyo: well, the way i spell colour should give away the fact that i'm not american ;)

@JourneymanGeek Australian? UK?

nope

singaporean ;)

When i visit SuperUser i think everybody is from USA... Weird.

@JourneymanGeek Well yes... And i am?

5:46 AM

@JourneymanGeek can freeFileSync be used to do that?

donno, never heard of it

@Borisyo: i'm assuming Israeli of Russian decent?

@JourneymanGeek then can u suggest some way or point me at a link

@lovesh: have you tried... www.superuser.com ?

@JourneymanGeek Not Israeli. Just russian accented guy.

and perhaps searching for lan sync ?

5:47 AM

Guys may i have your attention please?

@Borisyo: well you mentioned support sucking in israel a few times

geek multitasks, cause geek is *awesome*

@JourneymanGeek I live in Israel, but i am not Israeli.

I live in singapore, i was not necessarily singaporean

@lovesh If it is small, You can use Dropbox with Lan Sync... but, to be honest, I have tried many things over the years for syncing - Microsoft Synctoy works well, but, nothing is perfect... Dropbox is the best I have tried, but, it would be nice for a solution not involving third parties

If anyone cares to dedicate 3 minutes of their time for me, please see this:

http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic/308990-did-i-do-right-thing-by-paying-additional-money-for-razer-deathadder/page__pid__2073595#entry2073595

5:51 AM

@Boris_yo Well... I use my mouse (a £4 regular usb one with a scroll wheel) on a regular desk, no pad - and it works fine... I just skim read and any sort of mat/textured surface is usually a big no-no... to be honest, you have a nice mouse... unless you are cutting down, enjoy it!

if I had unlimited money, I would buy gaming keyboard/mice... but, I don't and there isn't "many" benefits, so, I go cheap.

@WilliamHilsum: i got a gaming keyboard cause it was the most readily available mechanical keyboard ;p

@JourneymanGeek I really want a mechanical one after reading Jeff's blog post... but... to be honest, my cheap one works... and, I like replacing it every few months... feels so nice to type on a crisp keyboard

maybe a more expensive one will feel good / won't go bad :/

Mind you, I have had this one for about 6 months... it doesn't exactly feel bad...

@WilliamHilsum: my rubber dome keyboards tend to last 4-5 years. mechanicals.. the REALLY good ones could do decades easily.

I love the way the switchy keyboard i got feels compared to anything else tho

Which one did you go for?

A black widow ultimate - backlit, clacky tactile keys

only thing i hate is is that its a fingerprint magnet. the 'silent' version of that keyboard is matt, but half the joy of mechanical keyboards is the clackyness

5:57 AM

~£100 ... Wow! ... If I had the money spare!

I guess I have to feel it to understand!

lol

most are more expensive

and thata a fair bit more than what i paid, unless the pound went right down

o0

the pound went down to 2 sgd?

ok, about what i paid

It wouldn't surprise me if it was more expensive here... everything is a rip off.

eh, not as bad as when i was there

@WilliamHilsum thanks

on average then, UK prices as far as computers went was about three times what i paid here

6:03 AM

@WilliamHilsum William i am not a gamer but my focus is eronomics and i bought Razer since people told me it is best for "palm rest" users.

@WilliamHilsum: there's a cheaper non backlit version as well.. skips the passthrough ports, amazon.co.uk/Razer-RZ03-00390500-R3W1-Gaming-Keyboard-Layout/dp/…

@WilliamHilsum If i lived in USA i would return it, change for Logitech m705 and get monetary difference back. $72 for gaming mouse that you are not going to use for games sounds like mistake.

@Borisyo: played with the macro software yet?

least with keyboards, the macro programming software is awesome on razers

I have been trying to work since about midnight (it is now 7AM)... I have probably done less than 45 minutes work - I just can't seem to focus recently :/ Annoying.

@WilliamHilsum And how about Logitech Performance? $177 in my country! Crazy! I would better buy 64GB SSD.

6:06 AM

@Borisyo: hardware is relatively cheap here

i spent less than 900 sgd on my laptop

@JourneymanGeek In Singapore?

@JourneymanGeek Macro does not work for "Windows Key"

@JourneymanGeek Lucky :P I wanted to buy some thing in Malaysia, but, I was shocked at the prices... Could only find latest stuff from Dell as all local shops were just selling old stock at over the top prices :/

I hope to go to Malaysia again soon... Maybe I should try to get down to Singapore!

@WilliamHilsum: for parts, sim lim square is awesome

Bookmarked! ... In Malaysia I went to something similar (I think)... It was a 5 floor (maybe 7, can't remember) shopping centre just full of IT shops... I like the random USB gadgets - finger print readers, graphics tablets and more that were cheap - <£10 e.t.c. .... I wish I bought some! But as I said, laptops and normal stuff were just over priced IMHO

6:38 AM

hm

I need to check if i can browse a windows 7 backup from another windows 7 system

excellent, i can

DMA57361

7:25 AM

morning all

morning

hm

right, they say its chargable, but its apparently a known issue with this model. e mailed a link and pending...

Shiki

12:55 PM

Thereifixedit: My computer been locking up all the time randomly. I started to suspect the hardware. But it didn't happen in Ubuntu, nor in Safe Mode. So I went for softwares.

I couldn't determine the culprit until I enabled the "manual BSOD" (r-ctrl + 2*Scrl lck)

After that, I opened up the memory.dmp in windbg and found the .sys file causing the problem

it was the Intel LAN driver...

1:07 PM

i didn't know about that manual BSOD thing. need to try it on the dell ;p

Shiki

pcsupport.about.com/od/tipstricks/ht/makebsodxp.htm

it works even on Windows 7

2:25 PM

meanwhile, on yahoo answers...

2

@Sathya WOW!

@WilliamHilsum :D

Mind you, if you want a confession, When I was about 4/5 and I got my first CD, I stuck it in my Dad's computer's 5 1/4 inch drive... I figured, if it fits in the hole, it will work (good motto!).... I think it is still in there! That computer is in the attic...

And with that... I need to go for a job! bye!

@WilliamHilsum & others: fsf.org/campaigns/secure-boot-vs-restricted-boot

5:08 PM

@sathya thats good. Answer, dont get it out, when paying the bills someday you will wish it was still stuck there.

6:35 PM

@TomWijsman Without reading, I can guess what it will say, and, I think it is a load of $hit.... already heard comments from other FSF people and I can't believe their argument

I could say that many Linux full drive encryption things don't support Windows!

I need to do a blog post... when I have more time :/

@WilliamHilsum Please note the article is not aimed towards Microsoft, but rather to the hardware vendors that should implement it right in their BIOS as in the ability to disable the mechanism if you know the BIOS password or something like that.

These new bioses seem to be like whole mini OSes themselves :-) the more it is poorly coded software, the more it can be hacked?

They just want to watch closely the implementation of hardware vendors such that they haven't interpreted it in a wrong way which would be a pain to run anything else on the computer. It's really easy for a hardware vendor to be lazy and not providing the ability to not use the feature...

well, fair enough if it is a good article, just all the others haven't been

added it to read it later and will read tomorrow on the train!

I also first was like "oh, this is just about Microsoft" after reading the first words but then the person that send it to me wouldn't have send it... so I continued reading.

6:43 PM

I just can't really think of many/any technologies that really have locked other vendors out... with the exception of closed hardware items such as phones/i devices etc... but, truthfully, you know what you are getting when you buy it

the whole DRM thing with Vista was just one example of press rubbish that never really happened

Yeah, haters gonna hate...

It is the progression seen that is what I hate, mabey today its not so bad, but they keep doing more lockouts and controlls and people keep rolling over for it and even paying for it.

The people speaking out dont want to see things head in that direction, if enough people have a fit, the bean counters might decide it is a bad idea. if everyone gives in and even loves it, then we will all get it, even the ones who dont want it.

@Psycogeek Can you name a few of these lockouts and controls?

Trusted installer , basic same thing, protect the system from virus, lock the user out of it too. worst case, the virus is the trusted installer and the user is just a loozer :-)

first 2 certificates that were hacked , microsofts :-) Dutch company that issues certs got Hacked , etc etc. round and round they put 18 layers of garbage in to protect us, and i can still show thousands of users with viruses

I actually have had a system that the audio stuff was screwed up because of the DRM filter, on my own machine.

7:02 PM

@Psycogeek Nothing is enforced with trusted installer in the slightest... I didn't see/know about MS certificates being hacked :/ ... and, all code signing, even for drivers is for the good of the entire ecosystem - BSODs off of drivers are MUCH MUCH lower now than Windows 95 days because of it... and, getting a certificate doesn't exactly cost that much... but, you can easily disable it all anyway.

@Psycogeek What DRM filter? Are you talking about loopback? in which case, find a different audio driver/card that allows it.

the DRM filter that came in via some update to XP, way more complex than i am, but it really screwed my system up royal, I didnt even know or care what it was , untill i attempted to track down what had happened.

I am not alone, there have been small program developers who have indicated that things are getting harder for them, some thinking about giving up completly. it is a progression, first it was certs, then signing, making simple things more complex for the pepole who were just working for free for the community

Q: How do count strings repeated multiple tables?

0

content_field_l1_lista | | vid | nid | content_field_l1_lista_value | | 1 | 1 | Los Fabulosos Cadilacs | | 2 | 2 | caifanes | | 3 | 3 | the ramones | | 4 | 4 | null | | 5 | 5 | maria bonit...

discussion php sql

@Psycogeek AFAIK, this isn't a Windows restriction, some companies distribute driver updates through Windws update, and many added these restrictions - but, the updates are optional and you can always hunt down old versions.

@Psycogeek Signing makes it no harder - same as it has always been... you just type one command when you are finished to sign the driver/program and you are done!

I just think that this negativity is unjustified! sorry!

7:17 PM

it was not the driver this time, it was in a service pack, it somehow got into my sound card drivers.

@Psycogeek How can you be sure!? I manage one recording studio, and, they haven't had any problems - it must of been something relating to your card

it got between the drivers, I know what i saw, and later figured what happend, and did fix it, at the time i was seriously ticked off, and wrote it up in a rage , you know one of those unreadable posts :-)

@Psycogeek If it was Microsoft disabling it, how did you fix it?

it was not a disable? it broke stuff when it got in there, when the driver loaded it would crash the whole computer. It was worth whining about at the time. I retracted back to the previous Service pack, and avoided it for a long time. Eventually i went into the DRM mode anyways, with different drivers??

@Psycogeek Sorry, I don't mean to sound so bad - I just highly doubt that was DRM, it sounds more like your driver was either using undocumented APIs which happens all the time, or, it was just written bad... There is always a chance microsoft changed things, but, they hardly ever make (breaking) changes in service packs.

7:34 PM

how do people know what breaks what anymore? it is almost like they all own a new windows Apple. ya microsoft can do no harm, i get it :-)

@Psycogeek Not at all, I have been very critical at MS over some things, but, the DDK is clearly documented, MSDN exists with millions of examples and more... I can still run some programs that worked in Windows 95... Microsoft are very careful with backwards compatibility.... but, you get a lot of people, especially driver manufacturers who do funky things such as undocumented APIs, backdoor macros and more

speaking of DRM there was also Macrovision, want to look up how many people who were doing 100% legal and Legit DRm who got stuck by that?

I remember my old Epson printer driver had a macro in the installer that automatically accepted the unsigned driver and more - it is just bad practice/drivers...

@Psycogeek I have always been against that and serious DRM like starforce... there isn't really a defence... but, that is different to a driver not working after an update!

wow you bring up all the memories :-) there are 2 Game lock drivers that installed when i put some games on, after removing the games the lock drivers stayed

Epson drivers :-) ohh what another mess , i had 165Megs of them on my system. i needed 35megs after trimming for the 3 printers to work still.

Plus i have 2 printers that i tried to hack with cart resetters , that are permenentally ruined, they will not work with original epson carts now :-(

8:07 PM

in XP any standard person could Remove the entire existance of a program off thier computer, and had to have the CD to even think of installing it. I would always remove all the "server" stuff off the "pro" took minutes. Now with the grand secure system, a virus can install servers that i know nothing about :-) and turn my system into thier playground. was that a security feature?

@Psycogeek No, but, that isn't just Microsoft - it is undocumented, or in some cases documented APIs to go under the kernel, it has existed in every version of Windows (was only abused in xp) and it is also in Linux and OSX, just, under reported when those systems get infected.

Of course i wasnt only uninstalling most of that stuff and turning off services to "be Secure" i just wanted it GONE and it was more secure without it.

anyway... I am going to take my dogs out then go to bed... im shattered! talk to you later!

@Psycogeek well... you realise that is the whole point of secure boot and stuff - the kernel will know when it has been effected!?

but, every time MS try to be more secure, free AV or more, companies start complaiing and spreading BS

yes another layer like DEP

im falling asleep at my keyboard! Ill talk later! sorry :(