Nafcom – Page 5 – Nafcom's Personal Site

Migration of the Seagate DiscWizard Advanced Capacity Disk to a normal GPT partition

I recently switched from Sagate’s OEM version of Acronis True Image called “Seagate DiscWizard” to Acronis True Image 2020. It resulted in the setup routine detecting the OEM version (which is according to Seagate’s Knowledge Base from 2013)

VirtualDiskSetup.msi will work in Windows 10 yes, but according to Acronis support this driver is from Windows 8 and not officially supported in Windows 10 and end of life since 2013.

So how can this be resolved?

From an email to Acronis Support in which I described how I have done it:

so I have continued on this as circumstances changed a bit:

I decided to get an addtional SATA III controller to put in an empty PCIe slot I still had in my computer and put an SSD onto it.

So here is what I have done:

As the HDD in question was 6 TB, 4 spread across 2 partitons with the Seagate DiscWizard Extended Capacity Manager and the 2 TB accessible on the front of the HDD was the Windows 10 system disk, I have done the following steps so far:

1) I have tried True Image 2020 Clone Disk Wizard, but as the new SSD is 1 GB smaller than the HDD (due to the nature of SSDs), I got warning messages saying there might be the possibility that Windows cannot boot after the clone is done as the destination disk is smaller than the source.
Despite I answered twice to proceed anyway, after the 2nd confirmation, the Clone Disk Wizard window simply closed without any further message on the screen.

So I gave up on this and instead used the free version of EaseUs Partition Master and cloned the 2 TB Windows 10 partition of the 6 TB HDD to the 2 TB SSD.

2) After that, I added the cloned Windows installation on the SSD via EasyBCD manually to the Windows 10 boot menu.

3) I booted my PC into an old Windows 7 installation I still have and disabled the Extended Capacity Manager. then I went to the Windows own disk manager and removed the 2 TB partition and then used EaseUs Partition Master to remove the 495 MB recovery partition too as windows own Disk Manager would not because of “not enough free diskspace to perform operation”.

4) Then converted the undefined partition from MBR to GPT.

5) Opened the Seagate DiscWizard again. A notification window poped up stating “No Extended Capacity Partitions found, you can partition the disk using “Add New Disc” functionality.

6) “Add New Disc” —> Was able to create a full 6 TB GPT partition

7) Booted back into Windows 10 onto the SSD.

8) Opened Acronis , went to recovery, said disk from the previously backed up extended capacity “Disk” stored on my NAS, to the unpartitioned 5.55 TB disk. However after 40 minutes of waiting, no activiy on the disk even. So I aborted this try and now create 2 partitions with EaseUS Partition Master that are both 3 TB and try again but this time recovery from partiton to partition instead.

I hope this will work!

Not quite the way it was supposed to work and I still have no idea why the clone disk wizard of True Image 2020 left me hanging with no clue, but it is busy recovering now

You are doomed when you have to report a bug to Apple – Here is why.

As a product and software tester myself, I am aware that products have bugs. Apple is not left out of this problem.

It all started in 2017 when I got myself an Apple Watch Series 1. 4 weeks into using the Apple Watch, I noticed that the feature to auto unlock my Apple Watch when I put it on in the morning and lift my arm and turn my wrist, no longer worked. So instead of my notifications, it would ask everytime to unlock my watch, which meant I would miss all notifications which is kind of bad as this is the whole purpose of having a smartwatch. I have tried 3 weeks in resolving this issue together with support after initally sending a bug report. Mind you, no solution was ever found.

So 4 weeks into the problem I lost my temper and patience and decided to resolve it by totally disabling the feature totally. I knew since it was a problem the day I did after applying the latest WatchOS that it must be a software issue, not a hardware issue.

Disabling fixed it in the way that I had to enter the pincode of my Apple Watch to unlock it for the whole day. And each time I received a notification vibration, I tapped the screen and it would light up and show the notification.

Now let’s step into my momentary problem with iOS 13, since day 1 of the update, I ran into massive problems with the iPhone Mail app. I explained this to Apple support yesterday the following way:

Hi there. I Reported bug in support chat 100912882154 on sept29th: What happens since the first release of iOS13 is, that emails that are received and have the same recipient and sender email address, are now displayed in the receive AND the Sent mail folder in the iPhone email app. Which is a huge problem, since almost all Internet-of-Things-devices that send status reports via emails out, do not allow to set sender email address, only recipient email addresses.

I was given https://support.apple.com/HT207132 as a work around which is of course BS as this does not solve my problem AT ALL!

With iOS 12 and below, emails from my devices where only appearing in the received mail folder (aka Inbox) AND NOT as unread emails in the Sent Mail folder as well!
Please fix this issue ASAP!

The response from the Apple Supporter for Apple Germany (I know they sit in Ireland) was, that the dev team who does bug hunting sits in the Apple HQ in the US and they cannot communicate with them at all (I was asked in the chat support conversation in September, to report the bug via the form https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html which of course I did! At the time of writing this, we are now at iOS 13.2.2 and nothing has been done about the different and nasty Mail App behavior. I have the same email address and setup since I first used an iPhone 3g in June 2008!
And unfortunately network devices do not allow you to setup a different sender address than the recipient, so both FROM and TO email addresses are always equal.

Whoever decided to change the behavior in iOS 13 did not take this into account.

Also, the filter suggested is not possible to set, even if it was, it would only change what would display in the iPhone Mail App once enabled via a toggle switch, but the dupe emails would still be stored on the IMAP mail server, stuffing up my email quota for no use.

Also, since AOL Mail does not support advanced filtering like GMail does, there is no solution here.

When I asked the supporter that I don’t want the bug report to be ignored and the bug fixed as it happened with my Apple Watch bug, he said if I think he lies to me, I can ask to talk to his supervisor. Not helpful at all. I ended the chat session then. No need to talk to an uneasy supporter who goes into the rude tendency.

It will probably be like in the Apple Watch case, it will either be fixed with iOS 14 or never at all.

So, I implemented a workaround in Opera Mail, with a filter and every couple of days, I would delete the emails falling under the filter.

Now you wonder, what happened with my Apple Watch bug that I reported 3 years ago? They fixed the problem by simply removing the feature from the Watch altogether! when they released WatchOS 6.1 for the Apple Watch Series 1 😀

Finally fixing the navigation issues on my blog!

okay. I finally tried again after a year to fix the navigation issues on nafcom.eu, worked out a solution and emailed it to the theme support guys, who helped me back in 2017 to fix one problem but then ignored me when I re-approached them in 2018 🙁

So here is how it’s done:

1) First set post page as home page: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/16508229/wordpress-how-to-set-my-posts-page-as-home-page
2) Then add your old “home page” to the menu at Appearance -> Menus (e.g. in my case I renamed it to “About” before I did that)
3) Then add a custom link as described in the youtube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlcpNMhka3M and post it to the home page
4) Trash the old blog page to avoid people who accessed nafcom.eu/blog in the past are not confronted by a white page but instead get re-directed to an actual blog post which is next closest to this!

Cheers! 🙂

New Windows 10 Soundblaster X-FI Xtreme Gamer drivers for 1903 aka 19H1 finally released

4 weeks ago, Creative Labs finally released a new driver package for their old X-Fi soundcard series finally.

(Myself having a Soundblaster X-FI Xtreme Gamer PCI sound card from 2007 myself) so finally the sound output for the analog output can be again selected in Windows 10 X64 1903 and the apps delivered with the driver work again, however some have been removed, so the package just only comes with the following tools:

-Creative Audio Control Panel
-Creative Software AutoUpdate
-THX Console

But better than nothing!

Info source and download URL

Soundblaster X-FI Xtreme Gamer PCI Soundcard & Windows 10 x64 Build #1903 (May 2019 Update)

So, now the new Windows 10 May 2019 update is out and unfortunately yet again the X-FI Xtreme Gamer PCI Soundcard is giving problem. For last build (1809), installing the drivers caused a bluescreen, so one had to uninstall the driver and program package before updating Windows 10 to the December 2018 update (#1809) and use the alternative package from Daniel K. which worked just flawless.

No such luck this year. The main problem is, that the analogue speaker jack is not detected and so not selectable as a sound output device (and the recording device “What u hear” is also missing as well).

A detailed description with screenshots can be found in the Microsoft Answer Forums here.

Since May 1st I am discussing with Microsoft Support via Twitter for possible solutions and reported it to their engineers via the Windows 10 Feedback Hub as well!

Lets hope they’ll find a solution soon!

They asked that I report it to Creative Labs as well, here is what they replied to me via email:

Creative Support (Creative Labs Pte Ltd.)
3rd Mai, 06:55 +08
Dear Joerg,
Thank you for contacting Creative Labs.
Regarding your query, as of this moment, there is no further development for newer driver/software for EOSL product such as the Sound Blaster X-FI series (except for X-Fi Titanium). It is true Creative releases driver for Win 7,8 and 10. However for Windows 10, it was released and intended for initial version of Windows 10. No further releases after that. Some users we’re still able to use it for subsequent Win 10 update and some are not or having some issue which we’re not able to support anymore, since there is no driver update available.
Rest assured that we will forward this as official feedback from one of our users.
If you require further assistance, please reply to this email and we will get back to you.
Regards,
Mil
Creative Labs Pte Ltd
Worldwide Customer Response

Things you need to know to become MCSA certified

The MCSA is a mid-level credential that can be acquired between the MCP and MCSE credentials. The MCSA certification is intended for framework administrators and helpdesk support experts who execute, oversee, as well as troubleshoot existing Microsoft network and system infrastructures. The MCSA is a stepping stone toward a definitive objective of becoming an MCSE certified if that is your picked career path. One advantage of pursuing the MCSA certification first is that if in future you choose to go for the MCSE certification, all the MCSA exams will count toward the MCSE certification.

To become an MCSA certified you need to have a thorough comprehension of the following:

Creating, Configuring, Maintaining, Securing, and Troubleshooting File, Print, and Web Resources:
You ought to have the ability to distribute different sources into Active Directory and manage file systems, authorizations, and disk quotas. It is imperative to know how to make virtual directories and servers, start-stop administrations, and execute encryption (SSL). You should likewise know how to troubleshoot Internet browsing from client PCs and manage and design an FTP site.
Configuring, Administering, and Troubleshooting the Network Infrastructure:
You have to successfully troubleshoot routing issues utilizing different diagnostic utilities including Tracert, Ping, Pathping, and IPconfig. You ought to comprehend TCP/IP and how it is associated with servers and clients on the OSI model. Since you’ll presumably need to troubleshoot and fix DHCP on servers and client computers in many cases, the MCSA requires that you know how to recognize unapproved DHCP servers on the system & network and troubleshoot, configure, and maintain DNS, WINS, and NetBIOS protocols.
Managing, Securing, and Troubleshooting Servers and Client Computers:
You should have the ability to install and configure server and client computer hardware and troubleshoot servers and workstations that won’t boot. You have to comprehend what Safe Mode, the Recovery Console, and parallel establishments are and how they can enable you to recoup a framework that won’t boot. As an MCSA, you should know how to manage and install Windows 2000 updates. You should likewise have the ability to rapidly install service packs, hotfixes, and security flaws that Microsoft posts.
Configuring, Managing, Securing, and Troubleshooting Active Directory Organizational Units and Group Policy:
You should be able to create, oversee, and troubleshoot client and group objects inside Active Directory (AD). When working with the AD, you should know how to oversee object & container authorizations and analyze AD replication issues.
Configuring, Securing, and Troubleshooting Remote Access:
You should know how to appropriately configure and troubleshoot remote access and virtual private network connections (VPN). With Windows 2000, Terminal Services is currently accessible as by default, and you should have the ability to execute and troubleshoot Terminal Services for remote access. Moreover, you should know how to install and configure Terminal Services and comprehend the permitting ramifications you may experience.

uCertify being an online learning platform provides courses for the Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate MCSA certification exams. The MCSA certification training program prepares you on all the Microsoft technologies and trains you to pass the MCSA certification exams.

Learn skills to Administer Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014 Databases

SQL Server is a relational database management system, which provides comprehensive tools and add-ons for data-driven applications, enterprises, or business intelligence (BI). Data technology and services market is estimated to reach USD 57 billion by 2020. Considering the amount of data generated and stored on a daily basis, skills to handle complicated database is highly demanded by employers all around the world. As per the stats, more than 50% of the hiring managers prefer the certified administrator. Therefore, earning a SQL Server certification is the step to boost your career in the IT domain.

Microsoft offers Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014 Databases: 70-462 certification exam. This certification is designed for the professionals who install, maintain, and configure tasks; set up and operate database systems; store, back up, and secure data from unauthorized access. Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014 Databases certification validates the expertise of candidates to install and configure SQL Server, maintain instances and databases, optimize and troubleshoot, manage data, implement security, and implement high availability. Earning a Microsoft SQL Server certification qualifies you for a position of a database developer or database analyst.

Once you earn the SQL Server certification, you will be able to apply the tactics of application development in coordination with SQL Server. This indirectly benefits you with a more responsible attitude toward your profession. With a Microsoft SQL Server certification, you can stand ahead of the crowd in terms of career advancements and job prospects. A Microsoft certification holds great value in the IT industry and work efficiency improvement and salary upscale.
So, want to be a Microsoft SQL certified professional? Then start your prep today with uCertify Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014 Databases (Course & Lab).

So how is it when you switch from digital to physical game card version of a Nintendo Switch game?

There are only a lot of guesses of what happens when you switch from a digital to physical game card version of a Nintendo Switch game, e.g. at the Nintendo forum here: https://en-americas-support.nintendo.com/app/social/questions/detail/qid/71828/~/go-from-digital-game-to-physical/comment/14407

Quote:

NIGHTFIRE5

That is correct. Simply enter the System Settings screen from the Nintendo Switch Main Menu, head down to Data Management, then “Manage Software”. When you scroll through the options regarding managing the software in question, you should see an option which states that the software and the game icon will be deleted, but to delete the Save Data, you’ll have to access another section of the Data Management screen.

Created 12/29/2017 05:33 PM

Now, here is what exactly happens:

1) You have the digital version already.

2) You select to “Archive”. Then on the home screen in the game selector, the game icon will be marked on the top with the “Cloud” icon. When you then insert the Game card, it will ask if you wanna do an update download maybe (Say yes) then the game will start loading from the Game Card and the icon above the game change from the cloud Icon to the”Game Card icon”

3) When you remove the game card again, the icon will change to the cloud icon again. Means you can switch between game card and cloud version all the time. 🙂

Using the Logitech C920-C webcam on Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

Welcome and Happy New Year 2019!

So, a few years back, I have bought the C920-C which is the business version of the C920 HD consumer version. The main difference is, it was not coming with software of any sorts and is also reffered to as “Logitech C920-C Webcam for Cisco”

While the consumer version was supported in Windows 7 and up, the business version was relying on the codec support built in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 to work.

I found out by checking it again that Logitech changed this. on December 18th, 2018 they have released the new “Logitech Capture” software which adds support for Windows 7 and adds the software you previously did not have for this model: https://support.logitech.com/en_us/product/c920-c-webcam/downloads

In my case, I had to restart the PC afterwards and let the device manager search for drivers automatically for the camera and it found the driver shipped with this software package for Windows 7 x64! 🙂

Nice move, Logitech!

UPGRADING AND REFURBISHING OF A SONY VAIO VGN-FW46M LAPTOP – Part 3

I have foound a problem for the inability to close the control panel for multimedia because of too short wifi antennas to route them correctly: : I bought U.FL wireless antenna laptop extension cables! 🙂

They allow me to extend the cables a few centimeters. just about enough to make sure everything fits in place again! 🙂 I got them cheap from China in a pair of six 🙂

UPGRADING AND REFURBISHING OF A SONY VAIO VGN-FW46M LAPTOP – Part 2

After selling the previous Sony VAIO VGN-FW46M last year because it constantly broke and I got tired of constantly repairing it, I went for the Sony Vaio SVE1713Z1EB of 2013 which has an Intel i7 core, and USB 3.0, however it only has 1600×1900 HD Ready and it has absolutely brutally bad driver support for Windows 7 and 10. Any driver I have tried from AMD, the dedicated graphic unit inside will flicker, only the bare universal drivers will do a satisfactionary picture. Even if I disable automatic driver updates, Windows 10 won’t stop reinstalling a bad driver now and then!

1920 × 1080 pixels aka FULL HD just make more fun and it has a way better touchpad than the SV1713Z1EB which has this unibody touchpad with virtual buttons, *’yuck*!

As written in part 1 in 2016, the same upgrades have been done to this again including a 2nd hand display exchange, because the laptop came with a broken one (yes, this particular model is hard to come by, so even with a broken screen I took the chance and got it!).

As you can see the screen has a tiny dent in the middle of the right hand side of the screen, hence it was a bit cheaper. I bought it from an UK Recycling company, so rescued another screen and laptop from the waste dumps!

As I had to take the whole computer apart anyway, I decided to take the chance and replace the internal N draft wireless & bluetooth mini PCI-E with a Realtek RTL8821AE 433Mbps 802.11ac WiFi BT 4.0 Wireless Mini PCI-E Wlan Card
(It’s important to use the Realtek one, the Intel AC & BT4.0 card has no proper Windows 10 64bit driver support!). (They are some officially but the driver disconnects the card randomly without reason).

Also I have decided to be smarter than last time and not buying official Sony Vaio FW certificated RAM, instead I checked with RAM’s specs that are inside (2 x 2 GB Hynix PC2-6400S 200Pin DDR2 800Mhz Laptop SO-DIMM NON-ECC RAM” and went to buy 2 of

“Hynix4GB 2Rx8 PC2-6400S 200Pin DDR2 800Mhz Laptop SO-DIMM NON-ECC RAM”

The laptop is very picky and just buying random DDR 2 SO-DIMM will result in the laptop crashing during operation!

As I assumed back then, this unit came with a ” MATASHITA BD-MLT UJ230A” (my previous one had an “AS” inside), the specs are almost identical, so this is good enough to stay.

Only downer is a bit that the media panel won’t close even to the keyboard anymore, as the cables are a bit shorter now due to slight layout differences in the new WLAN mini PCI-e card, so I cannot re-route the antenna cables properly over the button field.

Anyway, good to see this 11 years old laptop model upgraded and to new speeds! 🙂