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Author Archives: Ray Woodcock
Trying to Convert a Windows 10 OEM Physical Installation to KVM
As described in another post, I had a Windows 10 (version 1607) installation on an Acer laptop. I wondered whether I could use Microsoft’s Disk2VHD to convert that physical installation to a virtual machine (VM) that would run in KVM. This post … Continue reading
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Tagged computer, conversion, convert, converted, converting, EFI, export, import, install, installation, installed, interactive, KVM, laptop, machine, OEM, physical, qcow2, QEMU, raw, shell, UEFI, VBoxManage, vdi, VHD, vhdx, virtual, VirtualBox, virtualization, virtualize, virtualized, VM, vmdk, VMware, Windows 10
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Making AOMEI Backupper Work from a USB Drive
I had used AOMEI Backupper Standard to capture a backup of my laptop’s Windows 10 installation at an earlier time. That backup consisted of a single large .adi file. Now I wanted to restore that .adi drive image to the laptop’s … Continue reading
Deciding Which and How Many VMs to Run in KVM
As described in another post, I had set up a Linux Mint Xfce (LMX) 18.3 host system on my Acer laptop. I chose LMX in the belief that its simplicity would maximize the resources available to my virtual machines (VMs) … Continue reading
Choosing a File Manager for Linux Mint
Another post describes various steps I took to install and configure Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon. As part of that process, I faced the question of whether to rely solely on the default Nemo file manager, or instead to supplement or … Continue reading
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Tagged Cinnamon, Double Commander, file manager, Linux, Mint, nemo, PCManFM, thunar
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Setting Up a Basic Linux Mint Xfce 18.3 System as a KVM Host (First Cut)
As discussed in earlier posts, I had decided to find, install, and configure an operating system (OS) that would serve as a stable long-term host system for running virtual machines (VMs) in KVM. To that end, I tried Linux Mint … Continue reading
Testing KVM with Persistent Space in an Ubuntu Live USB Drive; Piggybacking
As described in another post, I ran into problems, getting the KVM virtual machine (VM) hypervisor to work in Linux Mint Xfce (LMX) 18.3. I thought maybe the problem was with LMX, and therefore decided to test KVM and my … Continue reading
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Tagged boot, CD, hypervisor, install, ISO, KVM, Linux, live, machine, Mint, persistent, piggyback, piggybacked, piggybacking, run, storage, Ubuntu, USB, virtual, VirtualBox, VMware
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Trying to Use tar and rsync to Back Up a Linux System
This post describes my efforts to use tar, rsync, and gnome-disks to back up a Linux Mint Xfce installation. These efforts succeeded, in the sense that I could create backups; but these efforts failed, in the sense that (at least … Continue reading
Exploring Tools (WinSetupFromUSB, Easy2Boot, MultiBootUSB) to Create a UEFI Multiboot USB Drive
This post talks about using USB drives to boot computers with something other than the installed operating system. The alternate boot system might be a Linux “live” CD; it might be a diagnostic tool, or an ISO made from a … Continue reading
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Tagged Acer, BIOS, boot, computer, Easy2Boot, F12, F2, laptop, legacy, Linux, multiboot, MultiBootUSB, UEFI, USB, Windows, WinSetupFromUSB, YUMI
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Setting Up a Wired Connection Between Linux and Windows Computers (aborted)
This post consists of two parts. Part 1 illustrates what happens, in networking, when your head is not in networld, and you follow advice that is not necessarily on target. Part 2 presents a more succinct and seemingly well-guided route … Continue reading
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Tagged cable, computer, computers, crossover, Ethernet, funny, humor, install, installation, joke, laugh, network, networking, router, switch, two, unidentified, Windows 10, Windows 7
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Choosing CentOS Linux to Replace Windows
As discussed in another post, Microsoft’s heavy hand in forcing the unwanted switch from Windows 7 to Windows 10, followed by a major Windows 10 update that left some of my key software nonworking, persuaded me to return to a … Continue reading
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Tagged best, CentOS, choice, choose, compare, comparing, comparison, deb, distribution, distributions, distro, Linux, Mint, RPM, simple, stable, Ubuntu
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Editing Video by Converting It to Single-Frame Images and Back
I had a video file, in .avi format. As detailed in another post, it came from a screen capture of a Google Street View route. This video had some problems. It seemed that one way to alleviate those problems, while … Continue reading
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Tagged batch, bulk, center, combine, combined, combines, combining, command, commands, conversion, convert, converting, crop, delete, edit, editing, editor, eliminate, ffmpeg, form, frame, frames, image, images, merge, merged, merges, merging, middle, multiple, picture, pictures, remove, screenshot, screenshots, single, still, video, VisiPics, VSDC
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How to View Your Google Maps Route (Street View) as a Movie
No guarantees as to how long this will last before links or features change. But for the moment, here’s how it works. Google Maps allows users to view features (in this example, bike routes) and plot out a desired path. … Continue reading
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Tagged convert, Google, GPS, gpx, maps, movie, output, player, route, street view, streetview, video, view, visualizer
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Creating a Bootable ISO from a Bootable USB Drive
Contents Preliminaries The Mission at Hand Using ImgBurn to Create the ISO Finding etfsboot.com Getting etfsboot.com from WAIK Getting etfsboot.com from Another USB Multiboot Problems Wrap-Up; Further Possibilities Later Testing . Preliminaries I was using Windows 10. I had a … Continue reading
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Tagged an etfsboot.com, any etfsboot.com, BIOS, bootable, El Torito File System, etfs, etfsboot, etfsboot.com, ImgBurn, ISO, MultiBootUSB, no etfsboot.com, Rufus, UEFI, USB, UUI, virtual machine, VM, YUMI
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Multiboot USB Tools: YUMI vs. MultiBootUSB on a Legacy System (aborted)
I had long been using YUMI to assemble multiple bootable tools into one USB device. For example, I could use a single USB drive to run “live” versions of Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Puppy, and a number of other Linux distributions, … Continue reading
SSD Overprovisioning in Linux: The Case of a Samsung 850 EVO
As detailed in another post, I was in the process of installing and configuring Linux Mint on a solid state drive (SSD) in my Acer laptop. During that process, I needed to decide how to allocate space on the SSD. … Continue reading
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Tagged 850 EVO, allocate, allow, benchmark, benchmarking, benchmarks, command, commands, Linux, M.2, M2, Mint, over, overprovisioning, partition, partitioning, partitions, perform, performance, provisioning, Samsung, size, solid state drive, space, SSD, support, test, testing, unallocated, unformatted, utilities, utility
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Defeated by Windows 10: Choosing and Setting Up an Acer Aspire 5 A515-51-563W (Kaby Lake) Laptop
This post describes the steps I took, in an attempt to get my customized Acer Aspire 5 to run Windows 10. A separate post discusses the choice and installation of hardware to upgrade this system. The steps described here were … Continue reading
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Tagged 5, 563W, A515-51, Acer, AOMEI, Aspire, backup, BIOS, clone, cloning, drive, drives, dual boot, dual booting, E 15, E5-575-33BM, hard drive, HDD, Kaby Lake, legacy, Linux, Macrium, partition, partitions, password, review, reviewed, Secure Boot, SSD, UEFI, Windows 10
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A Complete Cluster: Trying to Transfer Windows 10 from HDD to M.2 SSD on an Acer Aspire 5
As described in another post, I was attempting to customize and configure an Acer Aspire 5 A515-51-563W laptop. The task at hand was to transfer the original Windows 10 installation from the stock 1TB hard disk drive (HDD) to the newly … Continue reading
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Acer Aspire 5 A515-51 Laptop: Hardware Upgrades (Adding RAM, SSD, etc.)
As discussed in a companion post, I bought an Acer Aspire 5 A515-51-563W Core i5-7200U laptop, from among the offerings in Acer’s Aspire 5 family, and set about the process of tweaking it. This post focuses on my hardware adjustments. First, … Continue reading
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Tagged 2.0, 3mm, 563W, A515-51, A515-51-563W, Acer, alternative, Aspire 5, backlighting, backlit, backlit keyboard, CM2x3-3.3, Core i5, CPU, disk, disk drive, DIY, drive, hard, hardware, HDD, i5-7200U, keyboard, laptop, M.2, M2, maximum, memory, ram, screw, solid state, specifications, SSD, upgrade, upgrades, workaround
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Suckered Again! More Time Wasted on Windows 10
In February 2016, I tried upgrading an existing Windows 7 installation to Windows 10. As described in a previous post, that proved to be a complicated and frustrating experience — partly because, at that point, Windows 10 had not yet worked … Continue reading
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Tagged absurd, bamboozled, dumb ass, dumbass, exploitation, exploitative, f*cking idiot, fool, fooled, is a joke, joke, Microsoft, naive, nonsensical, nothing better to do with your time, ricking fiduculous, silly, suck, sucker, suckered, suckering, suckers, sucking, sucks, timewaster, timewasting, trust, waste of time, what a joke, Windows, Windows 10
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A Windows 7 User Installs and Tweaks Windows 10 (rough cut, incomplete)
Contents Introduction Preparations Updates Drivers Assorted Fixes File Explorer “Settings,” Control Panel, and Group Policy Editor Accounts and Security Portable Program File Associations Installing & Tweaking Software Context Menu Filetype Associations (continued) Other Tweaks . Introduction As described in another … Continue reading
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Tagged adjust, adjusting, adjustment, adjustments, configure, configuring, custom, customize, customized, install, installation, installing, revising, tweak, tweaking, tweaks, Windows 10
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Using VMware to Run Software When Windows 10 Won’t
A previous post discusses my efforts to use VirtualBox to run software that ran fine in Windows 10 — until, one day, something (a Windows 10 update, apparently) caused that software not to run anymore. Unfortunately, the VirtualBox effort also ran … Continue reading
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Tagged adjust, alternative, alternatives, antivirus, clone, clones, cloning, compare, comparison, configuration, configure, features, import, importing, install, installation, move, moving, performance, player, snapshots, tweak, VirtualBox, VMware, Workstation
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Using VirtualBox to Run Software When Windows 10 Won’t
Note: this is the long version. The Summary has a short version. Another post may eventually provide a more detailed short version. Contents Summary Introduction VM Software Options for Choosing and Installing the Operating System Windows 7 Licensing and Activation … Continue reading
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Tagged activate, activated, activating, activation, Adobe Premiere Elements, appliance, clone, CloneVDI, cloning, configure, copy, customize, error, install, installation, KVM, Linux, Microsoft Office, move, Office 2016, offline, performance, phone, portable, programs, reactivate, reactivation, shared folders, software, telephone, tweak, UUID, virtual machine, virtual machines, VirtualBox, VM, VMs, VMware, Windows, Xen
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Choosing the Best Benchmarks: A Comparison of VirtualBox vs. VMware Virtual Machines
As described in (1 2) other posts, I was looking at VirtualBox 5.2.6 and VMware Workstation Player 14.1.1 as possible ways to run certain software in a Windows 7 guest virtual machine (VM) on a Windows 10 host computer. The … Continue reading
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Tagged benchmark, benchmarking, best, better, compare, comparison, complex, complicated, confusing, cores, CPU, CPUs, CrystalMark, Guest Additions, Novabench, PassMark, PCMark, PCMark10, performance, player, Sandra, SiSoft, SiSoftware, software, threads, tools, VirtualBox, VMware, Windows Experience Index
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Windows 7 Licensing: A Few Questions and Observations
As detailed in another post, I was in the process of developing a Windows 7 virtual machine (VM). While researching various aspects of that process, I saw a number of statements about Windows 7 licensing. Those statements provoked me to … Continue reading
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Tagged activate, activation, agreement, America, attorney, attorneys, cost, court, courts, end user, EULA, expense, fees, injustice, justice, law, laws, lawsuit, lawyer, lawyers, legal, license, licenses, litigation, Microsoft, reactivate, reactivation, software, sue, suit, system, terms, virtual machine, VM, Windows
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Understanding VirtualBox Snapshots
Contents Introduction Summary Testing Snapshots Merging Changes Back into the Original VM . Introduction VirtualBox was a widely used and appreciated free tool for creating, configuring, and using virtual machines (VMs). This post discusses snapshots in VirtualBox 5.2.6. The VirtualBox … Continue reading
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Tagged activate, activation, clone, cloned, clones, CloneVDI, cloning, combine, compress, enlarge, merge, merged, merging, reactivate, reactivation, resize, revert, reverting, snapshot, snapshots, virtual machine, virtual machines, VirtualBox, VM, VMs, Windows
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A Windows User’s Plan for Creating a Linux Mint System
(This post summarizes the situation I faced in summer 2016, as I wavered between Windows 7, Windows 10, and Linux Mint. I did not publish it at that point because some related posts were not yet finished.) As detailed in … Continue reading
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Tagged 10, 7, advantages, dependence, Linux, Microsoft, plan, reasons, system, user, virtual machine, VM, Windows
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A Linux Mint 18 Virtual Machine to Replace Windows 7
I was in the process of transitioning from Windows 7 to Linux. For reasons provided in another post, I decided to try doing most of my work in a Linux Mint virtual machine (VM) in VirtualBox, rather than in the underlying native Linux installation. … Continue reading
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Tagged 18, configuration, configure, install, installation, Linux, Mint, package, packages, PlayOnLinux, program, programs, replace, virtual machine, VM, Windows, Windows 7, Wine
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Converting an Acronis TIB Drive Image to a Virtual Machine
Contents Summary Converting an Acronis TIB to VHD Creating a VHD via Disk Management on a Windows 7 Computer Creating a VHD via Disk Management on a Windows 10 Computer Creating a VHD via ATI 2011 Conversion Option Creating a … Continue reading
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Tagged Acronis, ATI, ATIH, Auto-resize Guest Display, conversion, convert, converting, grayed, greyed, Guest Additions, image, restore, TIB, True Image, VHD, virtual machine, VM, Windows
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Microsoft Office 2016 Won’t Run in Windows 10 After Updates
Contents Introduction A Manual Uninstallation Script: FAIL A Hybrid Easy Manual Uninstallation Method: FAIL Seeking Help from Microsoft: FAIL Understanding Windows 10 Updates A Partial Solution: Reverting & Postponing Updates . Introduction I dreaded the switch from Windows 7 to … Continue reading
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Tagged 0xc0000142, 2016, clean, cleaner, defer, delay, feature, fix, Microsoft, Office, postpone, registry, reinstall, security, something went wrong, unable to start correctly, uninstall, update, updates, upgrade, upgrades, version, Windows 10
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Debug.Log: Error: Range: Fully Unreadable
I kept seeing a debug.log file open on my desktop, in Notepad, containing this text: [0120/175101.863:ERROR:process_info.cc(632)] range at 0xaabf36c600000000, size 0x155 fully unreadable [0120/175101.863:ERROR:process_info.cc(632)] range at 0xaabf372800000000, size 0x155 fully unreadable [0120/175101.863:ERROR:process_info.cc(632)] range at 0x0, size 0x155 fully unreadable My … Continue reading
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Tagged Debug.Log, error, file, Fully Unreadable, Range, size, Windows 10
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O&O RegEditor: While Importing, an Error Was Detected on Line 1
I was using Windows 10. I had a registry edit (.reg) file that I wanted to add to the registry. I was using O&O RegEditor as my default registry viewer. When I double-clicked on the .reg file, I got an … Continue reading
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Tagged edit, editor, OO, regedit, RegEditor, registry, While Importing an Error Was Detected on Line 1, Windows 10
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Windows 10: Task Scheduler: Trigger: On a Schedule: OK Grayed
This is a dumb one, but I’m going to blog it because it managed to tie me up for at least ten minutes, and a search didn’t come up with an answer. The situation is this: I was using taskschd.msc … Continue reading
Excel Ran Out of Resources While Attempting to Calculate One or More Formulas
I was using Excel 2016. I was attempting to finish adding formulas throughout all rows of a large spreadsheet. In this spreadsheet, column A contained data, and all remaining columns contained formulas that would make incremental changes, going across, to … Continue reading
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Tagged As a result these formulas cannot be evaluated, consider using a 64-bit version of Microsoft Excel., Excel ran out of resources while attempting to calculate one or more formulas, There isn't enough memory to complete this action, To increase memory availability, Try using less data or closing other applications
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Video Formats: Choosing Among Codecs and Containers: MP4, AVI, MKV, etc.
I had been using Adobe Premiere Elements 12 and other video editing software for some time. Such software allowed me to choose the output format for each video file I produced. I had a rough sense of some differences among … Continue reading
Considering Hardware Upgrades on an Old Windows XP Machine: CPU, RAM, Drive, Battery
I came into possession of a Hewlett-Packard (HP) Mini 110-1023NR. The HP Mini line was marketed from 2007 to 2012. I was thinking about upgrading the hardware on that unit. This post presents what I learned in that inquiry. Current … Continue reading
A Batch File to Do Things Silently Every Hour (e.g., Check Up on Antivirus)
Now and then, I experienced the rude shock of discovering that my antivirus software was not running, when I assumed it was. Maybe I had intended to turn it off temporarily, so as not to interfere with a program installation, … Continue reading
Zero Result Searches
Every now and then, I would run a search (almost always in Google) that would produce no results. This post was inspired by one such search. I remembered, and wanted to take a look at, a video I had heard … Continue reading
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Tagged Correct Procedure for Washing a Chicken, Document on Hygiene No. 3, fail, Google, result, search, searches, zero, Zhang Peili
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Explorer AWOL: File Does Not Have a Program Associated, etc.
I was using Windows 10, though I’m not sure the specific operating system (OS) mattered. I was also using Q-Dir, a replacement for Windows Explorer (or File Explorer, as it was known in Win10). Q-Dir gave me the option of … Continue reading
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Tagged Explorer++, file, folder, manager, registry, This file does not have a program associated, Windows
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Why Is SuperUser Designed to Be Hostile to Outsiders?
This post contains the text of a question that I originally planned to post on SuperUser, a StackExchange website. By the time I finished it, however, I realized that its style and substance would draw hostility at SuperUser. So I … Continue reading
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Tagged abuse, abusive, discourage, hostile, negative, newbies, newcomers, outsiders, rude, StackExchange, StackOverflow, SuperUser
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