To ring in my new year, I had some outlook 2007 issues.  Like most of us out there, I have been struggling to get some performance out of this new version of outlook for some time.   Now, I should mention that I’m far from an average user.  I have 10+ gigs of email in my exchange mailbox (no I don’t believe in archiving), and I I’m also running Xobni, so I do hit outlook pretty hard.  I feel it is fair for me to wait on occasion for things, but I’m running a fairly new Vista 64-bit machine with 12 gigs of ram, so Outlook cannot complain about resources.  I know its only 32-bit, but I can give it a full 4 gigs of ram if it wants, and it usually takes it.   It would be nice if there was a 64-bit version of outlook… someday.

One of the common performance tweaks is disabling the searching in Outlook.  With Google desktop, Microsoft, and in my case Xobni, you need to pay attention to how many programs have there hands on your database for indexing.  I disabled outlook and Google to only rely on Xobni for searching.  I followed the instructions, and THOUGHT I had removed all the search features in outlook.  Today I was VERY surprised to find the index service in Vista was STILL indexing my outlook data file.  Here is how I found it.

I had an unrelated search speed issue, so I looked into tuning my indexing settings to speed things up a bit.   If you are like most of us, you are running Google desktop as well, so I don’t really need the Vista index, but I do want it there for the occasional focused or advanced search.  Anyway, when going into the search options, I clicked modify and found that my Microsoft Office Outlook was still selected to be indexed!

I unchecked it, adjusted some other areas like “offline files” and other network shares that I don’t want indexed.  Then I initiated a full re-index to ensure it was cleared.

I’ll post later and let you know if I notice an increase in speed.

The Microsoft approved upgrade path from Vista to XP (I kid of course, but if you have an Inspiron 6000 like me, it IS definitely an upgrade path) will be allowed until July 31st, 2009.

We’ll be able to request the downgrade from Dell until then. Nice!

http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=210800478

As you should already know, having a UPS (uninterruptible  power supply)  for your server is VERY important.  What you may not know is that having software configured properly to handle a power outage is equally important.  If the computer on the UPS is not configured to shutdown properly, then the UPS will provide no additional support for the server during an extended power outage.

We recently started servicing a new customer who was using a standard Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Small Business Server (SBS) Edition, and during our audit process, I found out that not only was the software not configured properly, but the “Server Agent” part of APC’s PowerChute Business Edition, which is installed as a service, was not running, and could not be started, even with restarting the server.  Noting that there was a more recent version of the software, I attempted to run the new install to upgrade the currently installed version.

After trying to upgrade to the latest PowerChute Business Edition software, the PowerChute BE Server service still would not start, even after restarting the server again. Then I decided to try to uninstall the software, but running the uninstaller would flag an error saying the uninstall files could not be found.

After searching the internet, I found the correct files, folders and registry keys that needed to be removed in order to do a clean install of the PowerChute BE Server service here: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2006/11/01/remove-and-uninstall-apc-powerchute-business-edition-agent-server-and-console-manually/.  Please be aware that this page includes a PG-13 ad on it, so proceed with caution

Since I tried to uninstall the softwarefirst, some of the folders and registry keys listed below were not there. Just delete the ones you see. If you don’t see it, don’t worry about it. Also, on some of the registry keys, it would not let me completely delete the key. In that case, expand the keys fully, and try to delete each sub-key as well. The key may not go away, but you will notice that all of the values in the right side pane will disappear, and this will be enough.

These are the folders you need to delete to remove PowerChute BE Server from your computer. User windows explorer for this bi clicking START, then RUN, and typing EXPLORER. Navigate to the following folders:

C:\Program Files\APC\PowerChute Business Edition\server

C:\Program Files\Common Files\APC

C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{A6491A4A-AAA0-4892-BFEF-ECD6CECE2FF3}

Next, you need to remove some registry keys. To do this, launch the Registry Editor by clicking START, then RUN, and type REGEDIT. Browse to keys listed below, highlight them, and press Delete. You can also right click on the key and choose Delete from there.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{A6491A4A-AAA0-4892-BFEF-ECD6CECE2FF3}

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\Root\LEGACY_APCPBESERVER

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\APCPBEServer

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\LEGACY_APCPBESERVER

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\APCPBEServer

The following is the set of folders and registry keys associated with the 2 other parts of APC PowerChute Business Edition installation:

Agent:

C:\Program Files\APC\PowerChute Business Edition\agent (or any other install path specified during installation)

C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{BCE9F441-9027-4911-82E0-5FB28057897D}

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\APC\PowerChute Business Edition

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppPaths\v:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{BCE9F441-9027-4911-82E0-5FB28057897D}

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\Root\LEGACY_APCPBEAGENT

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\APCPBEAgent

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\Eventlog\Application\APCPBEAgent

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\LEGACY_APCPBEAGENT

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\APCPBEAgent

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Eventlog\Application\APCPBEAgent

Console:

C:\Program Files\APC\PowerChute Business Edition\console

C:\Program Files\InstallShield Installation Information\{0F86FD09-BA63-4E45-A70B-604C1106C2F2}

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\APC\PowerChuteBusinessEdition\console

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\console.exe

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{0F86FD09-BA63-4E45-A70B-604C1106C2F2}

In the business of making technology work, system crashes are par for the course.  We run accross so many BSODs that when they show up, we are more likely to yawn than to scream.

We work with anything our customers use: Windows (all possible flavors), Linux (many flavors), OpenBSD, and Mac OS, DOS (yes DOS).

Sometimes we forget that even Macs running OS X crash, maybe it’s the genius of the Apple marketing that has us numb to that fact.

So, when those crashes happen on a Mac (an oldie but goodie eMac to be exact) we can’t help but chuckle… it’s sort of cute in a geeky way.

Running a System Update and a Office for Mac update at the same time provided us with these latest screenshots.

Enjoy -Elias

Corner Edge has just completed a MAJOR implementation of a Vmware ESX cluster. We have greatly improved our data center capabilities and offerings.

This time around I want to add another tidbit to the online body of knowledge.

I recently received the following error while configuring Vmotion on our Vmware ESX 3.5 server cluster:

Error during the configuration of the host: SysinfoException: Node (VSI_NODE_net_tcpip_plumb) ; Status(bad0005)= Already exists; Message= Unable to Set

Now what is THAT supposed to mean? Vmware has amazing technology, but that “amazing” thing hasn’t yet reached their error messages.

It turns out that if your iSCSI traffic is configured with a specific network (Example: 10.0.10.10), and you try to configure Vmotion ports within the same network space (Example: 10.0.10.20), the Virtual Center wizard fails with the error above.

“Best practices” dictate that iSCSI traffic and Vmotion traffic should be completely separate from each other. But even if they are physically separated, and you may want use the same network space… well, you can’t.

Solution: Make the network address space for iSCSI (Example: 10.0.10.x) and Vmotion (Example: 10.0.20.x) different.

Oh and a better error message could be:

Wow buddy, you may think you’re really smart using the same network for iSCSI and Vmotion, but might as well forget it. I refuse to work that way. Make them separate networks!

Cheers,
Elias

EnviroSharp has enlisted Corner Edge for design and marketing services to help launch their amazing new service. Corner Edge provided logo development/branding corporate communications, sales collateral as well as web site design, complete hosting and enterprise services.

EnviroSharp is a odor removal, air and surface decontamination service that is chemical free, environmentally friendly and offers permanent results that are unconditionally guaranteed. Still not sure what exactly EnviroSharp is? Click the FAQ tab at envirosharp.com to learn all there is to know about the service and how it works and what others have to say about it. So if it you have a stinky problem in your home or place of business call a EnviroSharp service provider, they will be happy to help. Maybe you’re looking for a great career opportunity, talk to EnviroSharp about becoming a service provider, contact them today.

Corner Edge Solutions has launched the new Rennroc corporate website. Rennroc is a powerful risk management data base service. The new corporate website design reflects the power of the product with bold accent colors on a striking black and blue page. Visit the site to learn all there is to know about Rennroc and why so many companies are choosing it to address their risk management needs. Rennroc is a scalable service with an ever growing list of tools and modules, so as your business needs grow Rennroc will be there 24-7 to help you through. Shoot them an email to schedule a online demonstration.

The Corner Edge team is very proud to announce the implementation of design.corneredge.com.

Corner Edge services a wide base of clients ranging from fortune 500 multi-nationals to small business and Entrepreneurs. This site was developed to showcase the broad range of design that Corner Edge offers to its’ clients.

After scouring the Intertubes for an answer and not finding a solution, I feel this is a worthy tidbit of new technical information I should share with the rest of the world.

It’s a simple yet annoying problem.

While installing a fresh copy of Windows XP Pro on a Vmware ESX 3.5 host, I got to the usual “Licensing Agreement” page (you know the one with all the legalese). It asks for the F8 key to be pressed to “agree”.

To my surprise, pressing F8 just wouldn’t work! No combination of CTRL, ALT, shift, ascii-codes would work either, I was stuck on the agreement page!

I had seen this before with a Vmware Workstation installation.  Where, if I wanted to enter a VM’s BIOS settings I needed to use a PS/2 keyboard (in addition to my regular USB keyboard) in order to press “ESC” to enter the configuration page.  The only theory I had in mind was that maybe the USB devices weren’t loaded early enough to access the BIOS, while PS/2 support was. *shrug*

Well, back to ESX. I tried pressing F8 through both the VIC2.5 Console tab and through a separate Console window. No luck.

It turns out that the only solution to pressing F8 was to access the VIC2.5 through another workstation (using a PS/2 keyboard) and finally F8 was accepted. Weird.

Yes it’s simple yet annoying problem.

(For the record, my workstation has a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (ver 1.0))

Update 20080814: One reader’s comment really fixes this beautifully

hey4ndrw Says:
If you have the Microsoft Wireless Natural Multimedia ergonomic keyboard, and no amount of leaning on the F8 key to select “I Agree” works when reinstalling XP, try tapping once on the F Lock button (one key to the right of F12), then pressing F8. Worked for me.

The Corner Edge Team has launched a new site for Urban Impact a Pillar of Fire Ministry.

Urban-Impact.org now features Blue Jean Banquet,  a special event site to highlight and service their Spring Fundraiser June 1st in Zarphath NJ. The Evening of Urban Flavor features special guest speaker Super Bowl Champion David Tyree of the New York Giants. Buy a ticket or become a sponsor, and make an impact!