DigeratiPrime

I wonder what type of problems were caused on XP clients by updates that requires these fixes?

How about Windows Movie Maker? http://download.live.com/moviemaker [EDIT] note it also requires an update http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;displaylang=en

Well I've gone ahead and ordered a refurbished UPS, I hope the deal isn't too good to be true. APC Smart-UPS 750 SUA750 for $109.99 shipping was only $12. http://www.refurbups.com/SUA750-APC-Smart-UPS-750VA-USB

CoffeeFiend I think your point about brownouts being rare and not a major factor for the overal life of the UPS are probably true. Also I knew oscilloscopes we're going to come up sooner or later As for the AMD chipset I will probably pass on them because I tend to need RAID 1 on boxes, and I cannot find any significant info on AMD RAIDXpert. I am rapidly becoming an Intel only guy as far as chipsets go. gUiTaR_mIkE thanks for the info on PCBE and link to a certified APC refurbish dealer. Also I think the APC Smart-UPS 750 is my current top pick and I see a few places selling batteries for it for around $40 too. I found that PC Personal and Business Edition both write to the Event Log, so if I know the Event ID I should be able to create a task to both send an email and run that WMI script. Also not sure but Vista/7 might recognize a UPS if connected through USB and still log events without any APC software installed. I confirmed that with APC units if the line power comes on after the PC shuts down and the UPS is off then the UPS will turn on and soft power on the PC if the BIOS supports it. I've also come across a rumor that ATX Power Supplies with Active PFC are less efficient if the UPS output is not a pure sine wave and may drop off when the UPS switches from mains to battery; not 100% sure about this.

What error message did you get? I have never heard of that software before, have you considered using well known free alternatives?

From what I understand a switching mode power supply as in a computer, already adjusts "itself" based on the actual load from its components and is therefore also able to handle variations in the power source. My reason for considering a line conditioner or line interactive UPS with built in buck/boost is so the battery lasts longer. The APC Back-UPS seem to be stand-by units without this capability. I think I will need the ability to run a command since the host does not automatically shut down the guests (with IC) in Hyper-V (Server 2008 R2); the only way is a WMI script. The alternative is to install proprietary client software on every OS that listens to the UPS on USB (messy) or LAN (expensive). I would like an event log so I could know if the UPS had a fault and shutdown the server, I could setup an task for the corresponding event to email me, so I could use WOL to turn on the server again. I do have the host BIOS set so 'POWER After PWR-Fail' is enabled, but I don't think it will turn on automatically after the UPS receives power again. Thus the UPS should probably wait if power is off for more then a instant before shutting down the server. Ideally this would be a definable threshold, since load and battery capacity can vary. I've also been looking for different UPS manufacturers, here are the ones I've come across if anyone is interested: APC, Tripp Lite, Powerware, Liebert, Belkin I know it seems I am asking for a lot, I am just trying to figure this out. I still need to look closer at replacement battery's and prices. New details: 74 seconds to shutdown host and 3 guests 264 watts peak on disk spin up - CoffeeFiend you were right about the dramatic difference mentioned in my RAID topic 180 watts when all drives active and cpu maxed.

Sweet, this smacks the face of the July 24th rumors! This is huge news, it means it's actually done, as in done period; Server 2008 R2 is also "done"! http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/arc...008-r2-rtm.aspx Another link with the full build string "6.1.7600.16385.090713-125" http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009...nufacturers.ars

Never Before Seen Footage US Weekly just posted this never-before-seen video of an extreme mishap that ended in flames during Michael Jackson's 1984 Pepsi commercial. The accident happened after the pyrotechnics went awry, causing sparks to hit Jackson's hair and explode into flames. It is speculated that this accident was the beginning of the singer's pill addiction, as he was prescribed severe pain pills after suffering third degree burns to his scalp and face. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j2wpqEsX14

Its just the server no peripherals or monitor. 10 minutes of protection is probably ok. Ideally I would like enough time to shutdown or hibernate several hyper-v child (guest) partitions and the parent (host), that will require some sort of monitor though, and APC wants $100 for that PCNS software. Or if I could get a notification via email or similar that would maybe give me a chance to do it myself, or at least give me a clue why its offline. http://www.apc-forums.com/thread.jspa?threadID=3169 http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techsp...se_sku=SEPCNSHV Or if I could get the UPS to just run a command then I could work with this: http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/archi...al-machine.aspx I will hook up a kill-a-watt meter later to find the watt usage under different loads. BTW I edited my first post to add to network cards I forgot to mention, not that it should change much.

I'd say from free to $200 USD if I think it will be worth it in the long run. I might also be adding another server identical to the one described later, so I might need another UPS or a really good one.

Just the Linux kernel though. Google uses a custom (java) framework. They don't even use glibc, so it won't be compatible with Linux distro's as we know them. Hmm I knew Chrome browser in't available on Linux so I was wondering how they were going to do it on Chrome OS. The significant point about using the Linux kernel is it means Google OS will have the same hardware compatibility and exploits. Linux has some problems on current netbooks including wireless, display, and power drivers; I don't think a Google distro is really going to improve that much. Besides why not just use a "full" and "free" distro, why restrict yourself into Googleland? It's contrary to the ideals of Linux.

Looking into getting a UPS to solve the occasional power dropout for my home server. Electricity isn't my forte so I am looking for advice. I was comparing the APC Back-UPS and Smart-UPS and from what I can tell the difference is the latter also has an integrated line conditioner. I have heard that the power supplies in computers though aren't that sensitive and don't need a line conditioner, though it should not need to switch to battery whenever the voltage input varies and thus last longer. I also would like network management if possible, however going with APC would require a UPS with a "SmartSlot" and separate purchase of a "Network Management Card" and PCNS software. Their product seems good but ridiculously expensive, so I am looking for alternatives. [EDIT] Server description: AMD Phenom X4 9850 BIOSTAR TForce TF8200 A2+ (4) 1GB DDR2-800 RAM (4) 1TB 7200 RPM HDD (2) 1.5TB 7200 RPM HDD (2) Intel PCI-E Gigabit NIC (EXPI9301CTBLK) Seasonic M12 II 500W

Since you are having problems with wireless networks you should investigate that, before blaming in on an operating system. You might be getting interference on your wireless network from other devices including microwave ovens, 2.4GHz phones, etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnet...ence_at_2.4_GHz You might be getting intereference from neighboring networks, you can check using InSSIDer (freeware) http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider Additional details that might be helpful: What edition of Vista are you running? Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate? What version of Vista are you running? SP0, SP1, SP2? What model is your router with the integrated wireless access point? For example: "Linksys WRT54G" What type of "security" are you trying to use? WEP, WPA, WPA2, other? What model is the wireless card in your desktop? What model is the wireless card in your laptop?

If you have the rights to kill a process, you can probably instead release its handle on the object you want using a tool like Process Explorer

For virtual optical drive software I reccomend Slysoft Virtual CloneDrive http://www.slysoft.com/en/virtual-clonedrive.html The only way you can access the system inside a vmware guest is to mount its vmdk file as a mapped drive, this will not be accessible from the hosts Advanced Boot Options menu.

always count on jaclaz's research [EDIT] I am sure we've all been guilty at some point of saying how expired something was soon after we stopped using it.

ChromeOS = Chrome browser on Linux.

I like it enabled on LCD displays, but not on CRT monitors. IMO it works better on higher DPI displays. Cleartype is different on Windows XP, Vista, and 7. It also depends on what fonts, and font sizes, you're using. http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2009/06/2...-windows-7.aspx

Thanks for the confirmation fizban2 I have decided to hold off though as I came across some people are having problems with 8.8.0.1009 and 8.9.0.1023 here: http://communities.intel.com/message/25868

I dont want this topic to divert too much from the original purpose, to compare different raid solutions, and get into the benefits of particular features. IMHO staggered spin up is not to useful on client machines which typically only have a single or couple of drives, since the total watts isn't going to comprise a significant or majority of the stress on the power supply and/or ups. I think a single drive uses around 10 watts on spin up. If you have many drives you're probably (should be) using a discreet raid controller and redundant power supplys or distributed filesystem. However I agree it should be simple to implement and I have noticed that some BIOS will wait for drives for a configurable amount of time - not exactly a staggered startup though. Wikipedia comes through on the details of this feature : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin-up

I dont like unnecessary risks, there are rootkits that can embed at the hardware level now and would be extremely difficult to detect let alone remove without scrapping the parts or machine. Anyway, I guess if the digital signatures pass then you can be confident that wont happen. Still we will not know for sure what the RTM is until we get a hash value, because there can be multiple images with the same name and build number but that are still different. Funny site I came across http://haswindows7rtmed.com/

I cant really say as I am not familiar with this type of software or alternatives. IMO if you're using Server 2008 you might be able to substitute by using the RMS (Rights Management Service) role.

I think we're seeing RTM builds, according to Steven Sinofsky RTM is really a period or "process" not an exact build number. http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/...dows-7-rtm.aspx It's coming soon, wait for the official announcement; why risk downloading something that may have a rootkit in it? With news sites fighting over having the news first they create misinformation and lead people into traps. I dont want the build number, I want the hash code... and the iso

Even if this is noise, there sure is much of it. Also I don't like the idea of news originating from a warez site.

Proper link to ShadowSurfer: http://www.storagecraft.com/shadow_surfer.php ShadowSurfer is similiar to SteadyState, DeepFreeze, FirstDefense-ISR, BufferZone, Returnil, Clean Slate, etc. These programs are similiar to System Restore and not really a program uninstaller.