FREE Backup Exec 2010 upgrade!

For a limited time, when one purchases two years of support, you get to upgrade to BE2010 for free!  If you are interested, let me know.

Watchguard announces the new XTM330 model

Some of you may have been aware that this new model was in the works, but for those of you that were not, this is built like an XTM 5 series, but has a slower CPU and less memory. Its target market is to give small businesses a more robust, higher throughput firewall than an Edge/XTM 2 Series, at a similar price to the 2 series. It comes with XTM Pro on it, so it has 55 SSL users available on it from the factory. It has some pretty decent specs for the price, and takes away any concern of under sizing a 2 series firewall for a customer that might seem like they would need a 5 series in a techs eyes.

http://www.watchguard.com/products/xtm-3/overview.asp

Win2k3 repair & version differences

I had a client w/ a Windows 2003 server that supposidly failed to come back up after installing Windows Updates.  The only reason it was W2k3 is because thier accounting software isn't (or wasn't at that time) compatable w/ 64-bit or 2008.  The machine would post, and as soon as it would start windows it would go to a black screen, and the hard drive lights would stop.  Even in Safe-Mode the result was the same.  The server had a COA for W2k8, the customer told me it was W2k3 standard, and gave me a Dell OEM W2k3 standard disk.  After a bunch of trouble shooting, it was time to do a repair install.  I booted the machine up off of that CD, and the install took off, no prompts or anything, it just installed it!  What it had done is do a parellel install of Windows!  It apparently saw the damaged copy, and just ignored it, didn't ask to repair it, and just installed itself on the d-drive!  Fast forward a few hours, I had reason to believe that this might be an Enterprise or R2 version of windows; after loading the registry hive from failed copy I was able to find out it was actually R2 Standard! 

HP D530: Video Card Install

I put in a Nvidia Fx5200, P118, 128mb dual head AGP video card in the machine hoping to squeeze out a few more horse power out of the system.  Windows 7 saw it as a generic video adapter.   The Windows Expirence Index was at a 1.0 for the Nvidia card, which was the same as the one built in on the motherboard.  Further more, Aero would not work. 

Nvidia does not make a Win7 driver, the closest they had was Vista.  After much searching I found a hacked version of that driver here: http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/drivers/vista/96.85/disclaimer  After applying it, and rerunning the Windows Experience Index the video scores jumped up to 2.0!