Originally published June 28th 2002.
Like most computer obsessed users I have a home server running at home. It handles my internet connection, stores my files and hosts my web, FTP, email, Certificate and VPN servers. No matter where I am I like access to my files, because you just never know. As well I like to play with a lot of different technologies and try to get an understanding of how they work. There are lots of connection options available to me, but what do you do when something stops …

You’re copying data over and don’t want to delete any existing: of course the dialog box doesn’t have a “no to all” button, so you click no about a thousand times.  Or follow this trick: hold down SHIFT and click no: now no existing files will be overwritten.

I’ve just finished six months of dual booting my PC with Windows XP Professional and Windows Vista Ultimate x64 (the 64 bit version of Windows).  Please peruse my initial installation here if you haven’t already before continuing.
Let me start by confirming I am still dual booting, but mainly because Vista x64 isn’t supported by the Connector software from Windows Home Server.  If I want my PC backed up I have to go into a 32 bit operating system to get it done.  A 64 bit version of this was to …

I’m from an admin background and love the granular control of shares and security that come with Windows Server products and Windows 2000 Professional.  In Windows XP Microsoft wanted to simplify the process with Simple File Sharing.  To turn this rubbish off:

Open My Computer
Pull down the Tools menu, click Folder Options, and then click the View tab
Navigate to the Advanced Settings section, and uncheck Use Simple File Sharing
Click OK

I signed up for the Microsoft Windows Home Server beta program early in the year and have been impressed and completely satisfied with the product. The final release came out a while ago, but my Microsoft PR contact never came through with a copy so I picked it up at NCIX.com for $153 CDN and upgraded my RTM (release to manufacturing) copy this past weekend.
For those not in the know, Microsoft Windows Home Server (WHS from now on) is just that: a small server operating system designed for the home. …

It’s been a while since I loaded up a first person shooter: I’m a big fan of real time strategy games and haven’t felt the need to rapid hand and eye coordination. Saw a few screenshots of Medal Of Honor Airborne and thought to give it a spin.
The box give the game basics, and in truth you don’t need more. You’re part of the American airborne dropping into six different locations to defeat the Nazi’s. Installation went smooth and I adjusted the configuration to give me maximum graphic details.
You start …

With even a passing interest in computing you would be hard pressed to have not only heard and shown interest in Microsoft Vista but also the deluge of bad press it’s received. Slower than Windows XP! User Account Control a failure! Version confusion! And so it continues. Whatever your feeling, Microsoft has the leading market share for an operating system and has moved to the Vista platform, with XP to go the way of the dinosaur over the next few months.
Of course XP will live on through your old PCs …

Here’s a great site that provides keyboard shortcuts for a ton of applications.  I’m a DOS user from way back and enjoy keyboarding instead of pointing and clicking.  A simple and to the point web site.
KeyXL Keyboard Shortcuts

Anyone with a Creative X-FI sound card knows that it’s modes need to be changed to get the best performance.  Entertainment mode for compressed music playback, Game mode for EAX hardware support, etc.  X-FI Mode Changer is a simple and web built free application that can automatically switch modes based on the application launched.
X-FI Mode Changer

It’s been a few weeks since my last eWeakly, simply for the fact that I haven’t done anything computer related of interest.
Last week Microsoft released the Windows Home Server Community Technology Preview (CTP).  This put a lot more fit and finish to the product.  I used the upgrade option to upgrade my existing WHS beta 2 installation.  Things went well, but I was still getting a failing service and couldn’t install the client software.  I had hoped the upgrade would resolve these two issues.
Around the same time I realized my …

Iron Lore and THQ have finally released an expansion for the hit game Titan Quest. I played through the original twice: you can play it three times, each at a new difficulty level. To be clear, this review is for those who have already played Titan Quest and want to know about this expansion pack, Immortal Throne.
As I said I finished Epic mode in Titan Quest and was anxious to play Immortal Throne. After installation I imported my existing player and started in Normal mode. I …

A really nice and clean backup application that keeps multiple revisions or your files, a sort of personal version of Microsoft’s volume shadow copy service.  Designed for artists and media professionals who make constant changes to the same document, this is a very handy little utility.  And of course it’s free!
FileHamster

For all of us fans of GRISoft’s free AVG anti-virus comes an anti-rootkit.  Lots of these floating around, but you can’t go wrong with free now can you?
AVG Anti-Rootkit Free

A nice little application from Filehippo.com that is a single executable, no install.  It scans your system and looks for updates to software and drivers you have installed.  It generates an HTML page and loads in your browser.   Slick and simple.
Filehippo Update Checker

My APC UPS problems continue ( see last week for more details ) with random reboots.  I don’t believe the battery is working at all right now.  I have a brand new APC Smart UPS 1500 Rackmount in the garage, but I’ve been hoping to sell it instead of absorbing it into the household tech.  Guess it will be pressed into service.
I posted a review of the Promise SATA300 TX4 but needed a high quality pic.  There’s a tiny picture on the Promise website but when you click “Enlarge Image” …

At home I run a Small Business Server ( SBS ) 2003 domain and connect my PCs to it.  I’m in a corporate setting and am used to a Microsoft domain setup, so when SBS 4.5 was released many years ago I jumped onboard and have kept upgrading to the latest and greatest.  In a nutshell SBS combines Windows Server, Exchange and remote access in one nice package and adds a ton of wizards to guide you through getting set up and maintaining your environment.  With SBS 2003 the wizards …

An amazingly simple and effective Firefox 2 plug in that does two things really well; clears your search box after a specified time, and opens your search in a new tab.  Brilliant!
SearchLoad Options

With the high cost of Vista looming on the horizon I thought it best to sign up for a Microsoft subscription package and get all their software for one year for one price.  I wanted to screw around with a lot of their products and this was the best way to get mostly everything on one place.
Microsoft basically offers three ways to do this: TechNet, MSDN, Action Pack.  TechNet is aimed at the IT crowd, with full access to all Microsoft retail corporate/enterprise software ( no home or game products …

While I can’t endorse slang titles for software, Recuva is a nice little Windows undelete program.  The caveat with all undelete programs is to have them already installed before you try and undelete something, so it’s a sort of “install and forget about it” kind of thing until needed.
Piriform Recuva

This free ( free registration code sent via email ) utility allows you to make a backup of your Window XP and Vista drivers, then reinstall them in a single process.  Saves some time locating your drivers and reinstalling piecemeal, but I would only do this if I knew all my current drivers were working properly.
Innovative Solutions DriverMax