Personal computing discussed

Search found 26 matches

by shodanshok
Thu Aug 10, 2017 4:00 pm
Forum: Linux, Unix, and Assorted Madness
Topic: A Linux RAID-1 mystery (and some answers)
Replies: 41
Views: 23403

Re: A Linux RAID-1 mystery (and some answers)

I learned something fascinating about software RAID-1 on Linux yesterday. This all grew out of some messages I saw logged by the monthly scrub pass that Linux does on all active RAID arrays (it runs a scrub on the first Sunday of every month in the middle of the night). The mystery began when I not...
by shodanshok
Thu May 04, 2017 4:06 am
Forum: Processors
Topic: Looks like RyZen got caught cheating on benchmarks
Replies: 64
Views: 10467

Re: Looks like RyZen got caught cheating on benchmarks

Ordinarily, that kind of automatic optimization would be welcome, but upon further investigation, the CPU-Z team failed to replicate that behavior with Ryzen CPUs in real-world situations. Furthermore, the team says that due to the extreme unlikelihood of that specific sequence of instructions show...
by shodanshok
Thu May 04, 2017 4:02 am
Forum: Processors
Topic: Looks like RyZen got caught cheating on benchmarks
Replies: 64
Views: 10467

Re: Looks like RyZen got caught cheating on benchmarks

TR says it all right here. Now admittedly CPU-Z was never a proper benchmarking tool, which is why TR wisely avoided using it, but that's still no excuse for "optimizing" your way to success in microbenchmarks by intentionally ignoring the program code. Especially when those optimizations...
by shodanshok
Sun Jun 29, 2014 12:31 pm
Forum: Windows
Topic: Installing/uninstalling lots of software, without bogging?
Replies: 5
Views: 1865

Re: Installing/uninstalling lots of software, without boggin

With moder Windows version, the real problem is not the registry, but the amount of small, random reads issued to the hard disk drive. If you install a software that preload it and/or attach itself to other softwares (eg: a search toolbar), these small read will greatly increase, slowing down the sy...
by shodanshok
Sun Jun 29, 2014 11:59 am
Forum: Windows
Topic: bitrot in Windows
Replies: 26
Views: 10603

Re: bitrot in Windows

While bitrot is a real thing, as HDDs' sectors are ECC protected, it is (fortunately) a rare event. So it is difficult that the problem Ars described was due to real bitrot. The ECC protection should detect and recover most errors. Basically, three scenarios are possible: - detected single bit error...
by shodanshok
Thu Jan 02, 2014 6:47 pm
Forum: Linux, Unix, and Assorted Madness
Topic: I needed a new distro
Replies: 175
Views: 45998

Re: I needed a new distro

And try doing it on a UEFI motherboard sometime if you want an exercise in extreme frustration! :lol: Remember the discussion about this months ago? All of my nightmares came true when some new Dell laptops came in with Secure Boot enabled. Installing Linux on that thing was like playing 11-dimensi...
by shodanshok
Thu Jan 02, 2014 6:39 pm
Forum: Linux, Unix, and Assorted Madness
Topic: I needed a new distro
Replies: 175
Views: 45998

Re: I needed a new distro

Seems to me this degree of customizability is more valuable on an embedded platform with limited RAM and/or mass storage. For modern desktops and servers the size of the OS on disk and the memory footprint of the kernel are largely irrelevant. Disk space and RAM have both gotten cheap enough that o...
by shodanshok
Tue Dec 31, 2013 4:51 am
Forum: Linux, Unix, and Assorted Madness
Topic: I needed a new distro
Replies: 175
Views: 45998

Re: I needed a new distro

Hi all, I tried many distros, but I am basically settled on CentOS for servers and Fedora for desktops. I like very much Debian also, but in many enterprise environment the only supported distros are RHEL (CentOS) and SUSE. Moreover, RHEL/CentOS has some significant advantages: - it strongly pushed ...
by shodanshok
Wed Dec 11, 2013 4:26 am
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: Random Shutdowns
Replies: 15
Views: 3150

Re: Random Shutdowns

Try to start windows with automatic reboot in case of BSOD disabled. If I remember correctly, you had to press F8 before Windows boot and select the appropriate list. My suspicious is that Windows die with a BSOD and, after 5 seconds, it automatically reboot. With automatic reboot disabled, you shou...
by shodanshok
Wed Dec 11, 2013 4:23 am
Forum: General Software
Topic: Strange DNS Errors In Windows Logs. Malware?
Replies: 20
Views: 9587

Re: Strange DNS Errors In Windows Logs. Malware?

If you can, try to change your DNS server using Google's ones (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.) and let me know what happens.

Regards.
by shodanshok
Tue Dec 10, 2013 9:37 am
Forum: General Software
Topic: Strange DNS Errors In Windows Logs. Malware?
Replies: 20
Views: 9587

Re: Strange DNS Errors In Windows Logs. Malware?

shodanshok: I'm a bit hesitant to post that info on a public forum. I did follow your instructions though. When I ping wikipedia, the host is resolved. An nslookup says Server Unknown, then lists my router's IP. It then lists the name, IP addresses, and alaises for Wikipedia. Aside from these error...
by shodanshok
Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:22 pm
Forum: General Software
Topic: Strange DNS Errors In Windows Logs. Malware?
Replies: 20
Views: 9587

Re: Strange DNS Errors In Windows Logs. Malware?

Hi, I don't think that the banner has any relation with your problem. So, let try to analyze your current configuration: - open an elevated privilege dos prompt - issue the command "ipconfig /all" and paste the output - issue the command "ipconfig /flushdns" - issue the command &...
by shodanshok
Tue Dec 03, 2013 10:58 am
Forum: Windows
Topic: Dumb windows question #1:
Replies: 8
Views: 1769

Re: Dumb windows question #1:

The HAL only matters if you're swapping ISAs. By default the Windows x86 HAL will allow up to two sockets, and it doesn't really care about the number of processors. Windows still needs to be syspreped before a chipset swap is done. While generically true, it really depend on the combination of BIO...
by shodanshok
Tue Sep 24, 2013 11:53 am
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Virtualization Server advice
Replies: 52
Views: 12084

Re: Virtualization Server advice

Good Monday morning, gerbils. XenServer won't let me create an "ISO Library". This is slightly annoying. I'll have to burn an OS to disk and then put the disk in the physical host to create a VM, I guess. On the topic of Vsphere Hypervisor, I just read this: Unlimited number of cores per ...
by shodanshok
Fri Sep 20, 2013 3:49 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Virtualization Server advice
Replies: 52
Views: 12084

Re: Virtualization Server advice

Check out the Dell R515 PE R515 with up to 12 Hot Swap Hard Drives, LED 64GB Memory,(4x16GB) 1600MT/s, Dual Rank LVRDIMMs at Std Volt, for 2 Processors 2x AMD Opteron™ 4386, 3.1GHz, 8C, Turbo CORE, 8M L2/8M L3, 1600Mhz Max Mem PERC H700 Integrated RAID Controller 512MB Cache,12HD RAID 10 for PERC H...
by shodanshok
Fri Sep 20, 2013 3:40 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Virtualization Server advice
Replies: 52
Views: 12084

Re: Virtualization Server advice

RAID: I think it's going to be hardware RAID; I'm just going to assume that for the simplicity's sake for the moment, but regardless I'm 98% sure it'll be hardware. I've heard this from you guys: RAID 6 or RAID 10. Anyone have anything against RAID 1? I know it becomes space-inefficient pretty quic...
by shodanshok
Fri Sep 20, 2013 3:35 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Virtualization Server advice
Replies: 52
Views: 12084

Re: Virtualization Server advice

Xen 4.0+ has memory balloning, and memory sharing and memory paging are in the tech preview stage with the notes stating, "Preview, due to limited tools support. Hypervisor side in good shape." Xen Release Features http://wiki.xenproject.org/wiki/Xen_Release_Features Good to know, but I r...
by shodanshok
Fri Sep 20, 2013 3:30 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Virtualization Server advice
Replies: 52
Views: 12084

Re: Virtualization Server advice

RAID: I think it's going to be hardware RAID; I'm just going to assume that for the simplicity's sake for the moment, but regardless I'm 98% sure it'll be hardware. I've heard this from you guys: RAID 6 or RAID 10. Anyone have anything against RAID 1? I know it becomes space-inefficient pretty quic...
by shodanshok
Fri Sep 20, 2013 11:32 am
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Virtualization Server advice
Replies: 52
Views: 12084

Re: Virtualization Server advice

Work needs a virtualization server. Needs to happen in the next month or so. I have several questions, and probably more to come. First, here are the requirements: * Budget: Let's say $5000, with some wiggle room if it's absolutely worth it. * Run up to 10 low intensity Windows Server 2012 VMs, but...
by shodanshok
Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:14 am
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: Double Encryption possible but is it more secure ?
Replies: 45
Views: 7856

Re: Double Encryption possible but is it more secure ?

Ryu Connor wrote:
FWIW, layering encryption to increase the time to compromise is what 3DES does.


Sure. Moreover, standard GNU C crypt(3) function use a 25-fold DES encryption scheme, among other protocols as well (MD5, SHA1, ecc.).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crypt_(C)
by shodanshok
Sat Apr 27, 2013 8:12 am
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: Double Encryption possible but is it more secure ?
Replies: 45
Views: 7856

Re: Double Encryption possible but is it more secure ?

FWIW, layering encryption to increase the time to compromise is what 3DES does. Yes. But there's not much point unless you're using an obsolete (and therefore easier to crack) form of encryption like DES in the first place. For the record, 3DES is now officially deprecated in the financial institut...
by shodanshok
Wed Jan 16, 2013 3:55 am
Forum: Motherboards, Chipsets, & RAM
Topic: How to force pcie x16 slot to run at x4 on a GA-790FXTA-UD5?
Replies: 9
Views: 5332

Re: How to force pcie x16 slot to run at x4 on a GA-790FXTA-

Hi, as per PCI-E specifications, if you plug a lower grade (eg: 4X) card into a full 16X slot, the only mandated speed is 1X. Anything better (eg: 2/4X) is the result of optional negotiation between the motherboard chipset and the specific card. Generally, the optional negotiation works quite well w...
by shodanshok
Sat Oct 06, 2012 8:13 am
Forum: Processors
Topic: IPC Comparison History?
Replies: 3
Views: 3814

Re: IPC Comparison History?

Jon1984 wrote:
I believe it's something like this you are looking for:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/processor-architecture-benchmark,2974.html

:wink:


Very nice link. Thank you.
by shodanshok
Sat Oct 06, 2012 8:10 am
Forum: Processors
Topic: Running cores at different speeds (AMD 1090T)
Replies: 8
Views: 3105

Re: Running cores at different speeds (AMD 1090T)

but unfortunately I had to reset BIOS and do a clean install of Windows on my SSD after a firmware upgrade. re-installed the mb drivers? http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/raid_windows.aspx#2 Then try that AOD program...it will tell you if everything is set correctly. Thanks all. I...
by shodanshok
Thu Jun 14, 2012 11:59 am
Forum: Processors
Topic: Virtualization and Ivy Bridge
Replies: 10
Views: 7310

Re: Virtualization and Ivy Bridge

The features the others are commenting on pertain to running a headless vm server OR clients. (VT-x for server and VT-d for client PC's). This is not correct. A long time ago VMware was pretty much the first out of the gate, and they do virtualization entirely in software. They called that binary t...
by shodanshok
Thu Jun 14, 2012 11:56 am
Forum: Processors
Topic: Llano or wait for Trinity (Desktop)
Replies: 5
Views: 3685

Re: Llano or wait for Trinity (Desktop)

From leaked specifications, it seems that the two top Trinity APUs will be the A10-5800K and A10-5700. The A10-5800K will have 4 cores (2 modules) @ 3.8 GHz base clock w/Turbo @ 4.2 GHz and a HD 7660D (384sp) @ 800 MHz. This part is rated @ 100 Watt. The A10-5700 is quite similar, with 4 cores (2 mo...
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