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On my PC I am running Win 11 Pro OS on a Samsung NVMe 980. For storage I currently use 2, 6TB HDDs running 'Mirrored' using Win 11 Pro Disk Management. This array has 6 partitions (Data, Photos, Video, Music, Archive, Backup) I just ordered 2, 16TB HDDs to replace the 6TB HDDs as they are nearly...

The network card I ordered was just delivered, a supposedly "100% genuine" Intel X550-T2 PCIE 10G card. It has a YottaMark decal so I assumed it was 100% legit, but when I checked the YottaMark QR the MAC address it showed for the card is different from the MAC listed on the card decal. I would...

First some background... My home network is fairly complex (I'll include an equipment list below) because in addition to my house I have 2 other buildings; a workshop/storage building, and also an almost finished guest cottage (I plan to create a guest network for it soon, but have not had the...

I just recently added a Unifi US-24-250W POE switch to my home network. It is an excellent piece of kit, but the stock cooling fans are quite noisy and the sound really bothered me. So I purchased 4 Noctua NF-A4x20 FLX 12V fans and swapped them into my switch. Before and after dB readings are...

I'm making some major upgrades to the network in my house. Not just this stuff, but upgrading all of the very old cabling as well.

ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe/Gen3 Yesterday morning I used this PC for a couple of hours then shut it down using Start>Shutdown as I always do, it was working perfectly. About 2 weeks ago I installed a new CR2032 MOBO battery. This PC has been totally reliable since I built it years ago. Intel i2600K...

After being out of town for a few days I turned on my PC to discover the display not looking so great. I run an EVGA 560Ti via HDMI to a Sharp 32" LCD 1080P HDTV as my monitor. The image below shows the issue with my display; rows of flickering black dots and other garbage covering the entire...

I travel to China (Beijing and Shanghai) often for work and I utilize VPN software on my laptop while I am there to maintain access to the various sites that the Chinese government blocks. Up until yesterday I had been using PureVPN but cancelled my account with them after growing weary of their...

I need to boot my Windows 7 64 bit PC into safe mode but cannot using the F8 key because that just brings up my RAID menu. I currently am running a RAID1 array off of 2 SSDs for the OS. How can I boot into safe mode with this configuration? Thanks.

Hi, I just installed some of upgrades to my home network and am interested to see how secure it is from the WAN. Is there a testing site that can attempt to "break into" my home network and report back the results without actually risking damage or possibly compromising my data? Secondly, the...

I have 2 Mushkin Chronos Deluxe SSDs installed in my Win 7 Pro 64bit PC. MOBO is an ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe/GEN3 with latest BIOS, Intel i7-2600K, 16GB Corsair CML16GX3M4A1600C9B (4x4GB) RAM. No overclock. SSD 1 = Mushkin Chronos Deluxe MKNSSDCR120GB-DX 120GB (OS, Boot SSD) SSD 2 = Mushkin Chronos...

Cisco selling Linksys: Oops! Link in the next post.

My home router is an aging D-Link DGL-4100 and I am looking to replace it. My max budget is ~$250 USD. I use 2 Ubiquiti Unifi UAP-Pro APs in my home for WIFI access, so I have the WIFI aspect of my home network covered completely. All wiring in my home is either Cat5e or Cat6, my switch is a...

In October 2010 I ordered replacement batteries (APC model# RBC109) for my APC BR1500LCD UPS, it is connected to my main desktop PC. After only 18 months the batteries appear to have died. The LCD shows that with a load of only 166 watts (I had to plug my PC into one of the non-battery...

I just recently switched to Win 7 Pro 64bit after many, many years of running XP. One huge irritant of this new OS seems to be (to me anyway) the inability to create a folder on the desktop and then open that folder on the Desktop without opening Windows Explorer. I usually leave 3-4 folders...

I just built a new PC; i7-2600K, P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3, 4 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM, 120GB SSD for Win7 x64 OS, two 3TB HDD in RAID1 for data storage, and I added a second 60GB SSD to use specifically for Intel RST Acceleration. The SSDs are not in an array. The SSDs are connected to the Intel 6Gbps...

Now that my PCs are all running Win7 x64 instead of XP I am looking for the best solution for a USB recovery flash drive. My notebook does not have a CD/DVD drive so a USB flash drive is my preferred choice. I know nothing about Linux, so would prefer windows-based or compatible utilities...

I just installed a EVGA GTX560Ti 2GB card in my new PC (ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe GEN3, i7-2600K, Win 7 64 bit) along with the latest 285.62 driver. It's connected to a Sharp 1920x1080 HDTV via HDMI. At card settings of 1920x1080p the desktop is larger than the screen area. It overlaps so that only...

I am building my new P8Z68 MOBO based PC and have a question about the SATA port configuration. My OS (Win7 Pro 64bit) drive is a Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120GB SATA III SSD and my data drives will be two Seagate 3TB 7200RPM 64MB HDDs paired in RAID1 for data integrity. I will also have a SATA...

I am considering adding a 16-64GB USB3.0 flash drive onto one of the connections on my MOBO using a USB 3.0 to 20-pin adapter and using it for the swap file (or else maybe "ready-boost"?). Maybe even as a backup for the OS. Good idea? Other components are an ASUS P8Z68 MOBO i7-2600K 16GB...

Newegg has the Fractal Arc Midi available for $99 - $15 with Coupon Code: EMCJHKJ24. Free shipping. This pisses me off because my Arc Midi from Newegg just arrived yesterday and I paid $15 more for it.

Newegg has a HP server box for $250 with free MS Home server 2011 64bit. Curious if you think this would make a good UTM box? I'm thinking sell the software on eBay or Craigs (get maybe $30-$45 for it) and add a dual Intel NIC in the available PCI X16 slot. I can get an Intel E1G42ET PCIE 2.0...

I finally saved up enough to replace my aging PC. I'm going with: ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe Gen3 MOBO i7 2600K Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120 GB SATA III SSD for the Win 7 Pro 64 bit OS two 3TB HDDs (RAID1 storage) that I bought just before the prices skyrocketed I plan to run 16GB of RAM (4 x 4GB)...

I have an Intel GT 1000 NIC installed in my XP Pro SP3 PC. I downloaded the driver update file for this NIC: "PROWin32.exe", version 16.6, dated 9/30/2011 for Windows XP 32 bit. The install failed with the following error message: I emailed these details to Intel Tech Support but have...

I just installed a 10 port Cisco SG300-10MP in my office, 9 of the ports are already in use. Connected to it are PC Laptop Notebook WIFI AP B&W laser printer Color inkjet printer IP camera Squeezebox SB3 Cat5e connection to basement HP 1810G-24 switch All of these devices are connected via a...

I want to replace the D-Link DGS-2208 switch under my desk. Can't find much in the way of reviews on the Cisco SG 300-10P switch. Really want/need the POE functionality. Anyone have any experience with either the SG 300-10MP (SRW2008MP-K9-NA) that has 124 Watts POE or else the SG 300-10P...

I'm doing a bit of tweaking on my home network and am looking for a recommended tool for reliably measuring "PC > switch > PC", and also "PC > switch > Server" transfer. I tried "Lan Speed Test" but it's results varied quite a bit running the exact same test 3-5 times in a row with the same...

I am planning to encrypt the data on my new laptop to keep it safe in case of theft. Found these two free encryption utilities; TrueCrypt and AxCrypt. Both have good reviews. Anyone have experience using either or both who could offer any advice? Thanks.

I'm looking to buy a reasonably priced "N" AP for my home office but most of the ones I have found only have 10/100 Ethernet ports on them. Can anyone recommend a not to expensive AP that has gigabit port(s) on it? Prefer one with simultaneous G/N capability. Thanks

My D-Link NAT router is beginning to show it's age. After years of reliable service I have had to reboot (unplug) it 3 times in the last few weeks to get it working. I am looking for build recommendations for an inexpensive but capable and reasonably fast router/firewall/AV solution. I have...

I am looking at buying an ultraportable laptop to replace my aging, heavy, slow one. It does not have an ethernet port so I am looking at buying a USB to Gigabit dongle. I need ethernet in environments where company networks do not allow full access via WIFI for security. Does anyone have...

I just fired up Netstumbler on my laptop and was amused by some of the SSIDs: bigstinky contagion brutus virus linksys (OK, not very original) 644north What's yours?

My home network equipment rack is in the basement, and even though I have my old WAP54G running MustDie FW v2.07 with the output power set to 70mW along with a pair of 8dBi antennas, up in my office (top floor) my connections are not very reliable nor speedy. Everything in my office is wired...

Some background: The other day I decided to turn on "informational" logging on my D-Link DGL-4100 router just to see what “information” it would report. About 5-6 hours later I was surprised when the log showed up in my email because it was already full! I opened it to find that there were...

For some reason my NAS (a ReadyNAS Pro) is no longer showing up in Explorer under "Microsoft Windows Network" on my PC. It always used to be there with the shares displayed, now only my PC and my laptop are displayed in my workgroup (Lumax) listing: My NAS does show up under "Network" (i.e...

I finally moved into my new place and started setting up my network rack tonight. Everything was going smoothly until I attempted to install my new Phihong POE unit into the rack. As you can see from the photos below the rack ears are a total of about 4mm too wide. My rack is made by Middle...

I saw this display at a local networking manufacturer and distributor. The top panel is new, and although this one is filled with multi-colored Cat5e keystones the individual ports can be fitted with any combination of the keystones below it and they will all install flush. So in one 24 port...

I thought I was being VERY careful with my drill today, even so I slipped and accidentally mangled 3 Cat5e cables that were in a bundle above the 2x4 I was drilling through. the cables actually got wrapped around the drill bit and the insulation got stripped off and wires were broken. Many...

I am moving into a house that is 'somewhat' pre-wired for Ethernet but there is only one Cat5e cable running to where my AV rack will be. I can run 2-3 more cables to the area but that will require at least a couple hours worth of work as well as some gymnastics on top of a ladder in the...