Friday, April 09, 2021
Thursday, April 08, 2021
Chevy Bolt Cabin Air Filter: $9 on Amazon, no tools needed. Carbon Impregnated.
Did mine yesterday.
Here's the link on Amazon (using it supports my Blog): https://amzn.to/31ZtAfm At this time, it's under $9 for Prime members.
Here's a video guide:
Thursday, February 04, 2021
AU-PM422 Audio Playthrough is crackling and slow. Bad. Headphone jack on Computer works fine.
UPDATE: Solved. Watch the Video: https://youtu.be/DNzwruJqVdo
I have the AU-PM422 Music played through it is crackling, slow, bad. I tried both a USB 2 and a USB 3 ports.
Same music through my computer headphone port is fine.
Mac Pro Desktop OS X 10.14.6
And yes, the AU-PM422 is both an audio output and input device. :)
Will update when I hear back from Maono.
It is probably not the cable. Tried the original and a second I had laying around. Max data rate is 192kbps so I don't think that's it even if my cable was USB 1. :)
Buy me a Coffee? http://paypal.me/beachfitrob $1 for Mickey D's coffee if I helped. :)
Saturday, January 16, 2021
Cheap Pen for Monoprice TWA60 Tablet on Amazon. UC-Logic Compatible
Thursday, December 10, 2020
FIX: iTunes Version 12.9.5.5 Cutting in and Out: Audio glitches on all outputs. Mojave 10.14.6 (18G6042) : Audio Hijack
In short, I *THINK* it was Audio Hijack and/or the ACE component.
I installed updates and here's what is current as of 10 Dec 2020:
*MUCH* better now. Not sure it's 100% fixed but WAY better. Audio for some reason sounds better.
OCCASIONALLY getting a 'click' in audio like playback stops for a split second.
This is not hardware as YouTube has no issues. Just iTunes so far.
Which is what led me to thinking it's a plugin.
Did this help? I take coffee can donations at http://paypal.me/beachfitrob as I'm currently underemployed and the blog is a small source of income as well as my podcast and YouTube channel.
Subscribes and Likes also help. :)
https://linktr.ee/realactorrob
Sunday, December 06, 2020
How to FIX: Bad BIOS Flash and You Can't Boot back to the Floppy or USB to fix it Because CMOS settings won't save. Can't Boot anything. F11 BBS to select boot for example won't start.
Sunday, November 08, 2020
Drobo Series 3 WILL Downsize itself!
Well color me SHOCKED.
Tons of people on Reddit told me this wasn't possible.
I made a little video because I'm sure someone would say that I just got a screen grab showing the drives green or something.
I can assure you this is legit.
And no, I cannot PROVE what I say so I'm hoping someone will validate this.
Keep in mind, it feels like maybe 5-6 days that this happened over. I didn't keep track because of course I didn't expect it.
The Drobo DID go into data protection MANY times. At one point I think I had 48 notifications. :)
So, you could pull a drive, wait for it to all turn green again, THEN insert a smaller drive. I tried this before the rebuild was all done with a 1TB in the bottom bay and it just turned that drive red and wanted me to replace it with a bigger drive (like the 4TB). So I'm guessing that Drobo prefers that easier and quicker method vs. all the days of rebuild it too.
WARNING: This DOES place your data at more risk, but if you had it set up for 2 drive failure, less so obviously.
In my case, all I had was Time Machine backups left to copy off, and I had other backups so not hugely critical.
HTH! Someone else give it shot if you've got non-critical data or a Drobo laying around.
Now I wonder if the Series 2 will do it.
Drobo Series 3 Speed Sucks:
Update: Read more on my Drobo Saga above.
Series 3 Drobo, 4 drives: 3/2/3/4TB (7.2TB net storage)
Firmware 4.1.4
Tested with BlackMagic Disk Speed Test on Mac Pro 8 core 2009 flashed to 2010. Newertech USB 3 PCIe card.
Tests:
25% free (75% used)
About 30Mbyte/second if I'm lucky.
I think this is due to the very large number of files on the unit due to a Time Machine volume and a data drive and somehow the 4TB drive addition seemed to slow it down but note that I have had no errors in weeks on it, and the 4TB drive has gotten moved to my Mac Pro internally with no isses and no SMART trips via SMARTReporter.
Monday, October 12, 2020
Easy Money Links and Referral Codes for Webull, Raise, Tesla, Discover, Cash App, Gasbuddy, Get Upside, Amex, Rakuten, Mypoints, SoFi, PEI, Money Networks, more to come!
I've got some videos with more stuff or more in depth evaluations of some of these here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHfnZVroL1-VYU8usosblA0w8As2b-nGg
Robinhood:
- Free stocks! Stocks given are random. Could be Ford, Apple...might be Groupon or Zynga. I got a GE and Zynga, wife got Groupon. I've gotten close to 20 free stocks I bet. Plus it's a good starter for trading stocks. -=> https://share.robinhood.com/robertb4367
SoFi:
- Hi! 👋 Join me on SoFi Money. You can save, spend, and earn interest—all in one account. Use my link to sign up and you’ll get a $50 bonus. https://www.sofi.com/invite/money?gcp=53642e1f-1339-4cdc-b191-9d5b8345789e Has pretty decent products and cashback and stuff on the debit card I think.
PEI:
- A bit of work to set up but it just builds extra money in the background when you use your credit cards. I'm sure they are tracking spending habits. Not yours, just an aggregate. I don't care, it's free bucks for doing nothing. You can a bonus when you use my link. $20 to cash out but eventually you'll just get it. https://getpei.app.link/invite?code=theroblog
Tesla:
- Ok, not an easy money link but you can save some money using my link for $100 off solar roof or panels, or 1,000 free supercharger miles...I'm trying to earn a Powerwall. -=> https://ts.la/robert99827
HEB Card:
- Deposit $40 and get $20. 5% savings account for the first $1,000. The $20 you need to wait 190 days or so before you can get another one with a new card...see Netspend below. Use the Cash App to buy groceries/reload for a total of $75 and earn $7.50 instantly once a week. I've got a video coming to explain this in more detail. https://www.hebprepaid.com/get-a-prepaid-card/?aid=HEB_RAF_1&site_id=RAF_MOB_URL&uref=1607706280
Netspend:
- This is the same as the HEB card above in the areas that count. No fee as long as you have activity every 90 days, 5% FDIC Savings interest rate, and if you load $40 (you can get one every 6 months or actually 181 days basically...I'd wait maybe 190 days to be sure) you can get another $20. Make sure you have a recurring deposit, like $1 every 60 days or something to avoid the inactivity fee. Link to get it: https://www.netspend.com/get-a-prepaid-card/?aid=RAF_1&site_id=RAF_OAC_URL&uref=8161238103
Discover:
- http://refer.discover.com/s/qq5ioc $50 credit statement after 3 purchases.
Cash App
- https://cash.app/app/VTWFXHX $5 to sign up and send $5 to someone...PLEASE copy the code 'VTWFXHX' and put it in the box when you create your account...the link doesn't track my referrals if you just download the app after that, so, please use the code. We both get $5.
WeBull
- https://act.webull.com/t/vDLeYglLNLGq/sdp/inviteUs/ Free stocks. Gotta deposit $100 but you got all the free and easy money above, right?
Raise
- Buy gift cards right on your phone that show up in 1-2 minutes. So, you're at a restaurant or Auozone or whatever store and you buy the EXACT amount of gift card you need and get at least 5% back. Plus you can still use coupons and other deals as this is just a form of payment. $5 bonus to start. I've saved about $450 in 2 years. https://geta.raise.com/RBULLOCK3365
GetUpside
- This is a little involved, but basically you claim the offer (There's a lot of fast food and gas station offers) and upload your receipt. Examples around me are 22 cents off per gallon of diesel, 16 cents/gallon gas, and 10-15% off Popeye's and Wendy's. It's a quick few bucks, and once again, it stacks with other offers as the business doesn't see anything. -=> https://upside.app.link/HAC7F
Gasbuddy
- Up to 25 cents off per gallon. You can use the Fuze card to store this card, so you don't have to carry the Gasbuddy card with you. https://www.gasbuddy.com/app
Amex American Express
- http://refer.amex.us/ROBErBhU98?xl=cp15 10000 Membership Rewards Points back after you spend $1,000 in purchases on their new Card in their first 3 months of Card Membership.
Rakuten
- Love this plugin. Easy cash back via installing an extension on your browser and it will try multiple coupons or discount code at checkouts to see if any save you money. I use it on Ebay and Raise. So yeah, extra money on discounted gift cards on Raise. https://www.rakuten.com/r/ROB4892?utm_campaign=RAF&utm_medium=RAF%20share&eeid=45830
Mypoints
- I only do the ones that give me points for visiting a site when I have some downtime. https://www.mypoints.com?rb=22126919
Migrating Storj from Mac OS X Windows GUI VM to NAS, Docker, Linux, etc.
Quick post:
rsync over SMB is painful. Don't.
rsync over NFS from a direct attached Drobo...less so.
Best is probably a direct copy to disk, move that disk to Unraid, and cp it over. THEN do an rsync from your live node, stop the node and sync (maybe) then you're done.
Reminder for OS X: Disk Utility won't mount an NFS share for you any more. It's CLI time.
First, create a directory on your Mac you'll mount the NFS Share in.
Then, to mount, this: sudo mount -t nfs 192.168.1.175:/mnt/user/storjnode2 /Users/robertbullock/storjnode2
Use your IP for your server obviously and the end bit is where you'll see all the files. You might consider, again, copying the files over THEN doing an rsync.
I recommend the -aP flags like this:
rsync -aP /Volumes/Drobo\ Series\ 3/StorjStorage/storagenodeWin10VirtualBox /Volumes/storjnode2/storage
You can just type the command and flags then drag the source to the terminal window, hit space, then drag the destination. (This is an older command structure when I was using SMB...ugh.)
I'd appreciate comments on how this could be faster. I'm only getting around 5mBytes/sec over gigabit Ethernet.
Tips for an out of work IT guy accepted: http://paypal.me/beachfitrob Every quarter helps!
I built an Unraid server in a Dell T310 Poweredge
I built an Unraid server in a Dell T310 Poweredge. I have the Xeon version (did anyone buy anything less?) with the SATA/SAS N621K backplane.
Notes: Get an H310 IMHO and flash that to a dumb SAS HBA/IT controller. There's a post on my blog here about that process.
I put a 2x5 5.25 to 3x3.5 trayless adapter in the double T310 Bay. It WILL NOT fit the stock opening.
Pics to follow, maybe, but all you have to do is remove the lower support lip by bending it out with a screwdriver and taking a pair of pliers and bending it back and forth a bit til it snaps off. Then put a single screw in the side or two if you like, thru the friction finger thingies next to the blue retaining mech. Just slide the whole bay a bit back and forth til the screw hole is in the corner of the slidey hole...yeah this needs a pic.
It's the iStarUSA BPN-DE230SS: Click to see on Ebay or Click to See on Amazon (I'm out of work, please use these links.)
The H310 connects fine with an SFF 8087 cable to the T310 N621K backplane. Click to Buy one on Amazon or Click here for Ebay (did I mention I'm unemployed?)
I'd get one 8087 to 8087 for the backplane, and one that's a breakout cable (the one with 4 SATA ends) to run to the trayless bay, leaving one to connect to an SSD you could throw anywhere in the case with whatever fastening scheme you like...or just lay it on the bottom.
I've set the power management in the BIOS to min, and it seems to help fan speed as my drives trip the higher speed...thanks DELL.
You can of course use the onboard SATA ports on the T310 but I have to see if they are limited to 2TB, which seems likely. Still, they're there and free and you already have power and one SATA cable from the removed DVD drive, right?
...more to come.
Did this article help you? Send me 50 cents at http://paypal.me/beachfitrob ;)
Thursday, October 08, 2020
Megarec.exe for Flashing Dell H310 from HP
https://support.hpe.com/hpsc/swd/public/detail?swItemId=MTX-e66fc5b245bb48b59341da62f6
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ukhbhrqj4sh6lzq/LSI-9211-8i.zip/file
Yeah, me too:
megarec.exe -writesbr 0 sbrempty.bin
- If this command fails it should be safe to proceed to step 2. (Note from me: Worked fine for me.)
megarec.exe -cleanflash 0
- Reboot the computer and boot back into the USB drive.
sas2flsh.exe -o -f 6GBPSAS.fw
Also, if you just type 'sas2flsh -listall' IIRC mine just said the board was operational and let me input 6GBPSAS.FW as the firmware to flash when it asked. Reboot.
Wednesday, October 07, 2020
OpenOffice crashed when Opening Passworded File. I'm on Version 4.1.7 and OS X 10.14.6
I'm out of work. :( If this fixes your problem, by me a cup of coffee using the link on the right side of this blog. If I had $1....I'd have a dollar.
Crash dump:
Path: /Applications/OpenOffice.app/Contents/MacOS/soffice
Identifier: org.openoffice.script
Version: 4.1.7 (???)
Code Type: X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: ??? [1]
Responsible: soffice [9009]
User ID: 501
Date/Time: 2020-10-07 11:32:28.271 -0500
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.14.6 (18G6032)
Report Version: 12
System Integrity Protection: enabled
Crashed Thread: 0 Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000724565a10950
Exception Note: EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY
----
Ugly, Right?
I found this fix and knock on wood, it worked just now after consistently crashing over and over. I could start a new doc but when I opened a passworded file I've used over and over for years...crash.
Mac OS, it just works, right? B.S. it does. TBF, it's because this is probably because in my case it's an upgrade over an upgrade over an upgrade....
From This thread: https://forum.openoffice.org/en/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=85216
"Also, check in your user preferences to see if Java is enabled.
On menubar: OpenOffice/Preferences/OpenOffice/JavaMake sure "Use a Java Runtime Environment" is checked and there is a check mark beside a installed JRE."
Wednesday, September 30, 2020
A Tale of Two USB 3.0 (3.1?) PCIe Cards in a Mac Pro 2009 (flashed to 2010) Inateck KT4004 vs. Newertech MAXPower 4-Port USB 3.1 Gen 1 PCIe Controller Card
The Inateck I bought because I'd had an older Mac Pro (2008) with one of their powered cards (via SATA power) and it worked well but I left it in the 2008 when I sold it as it's a bit of a pain to remove/install.
I also replaced the cable just to help troubleshoot...of course I could have gotten a bad card/cable...but I still have the old ones, so, moving on.
Similarities:
Both are FL1100 chipsets and have 4 ports each.
Why I like the Newertech better
Let's be honest. Foremost is it's a name brand. That's the warm and fuzzy factor.
For the objective reasoners, it's a 4x PCIe card vs. a 1x PCIe card. I don't know if that's what sped up my Drobo 3 by a factor of 4 in throughput (it's supposed to be a 5Gbps card just like the Inateck) but it did. Someone explain in the comments, because I think it might be a flaky card. The Mac Pro 2009/2010 is PCIe 2.0 so a 1x card like the Inateck should be plenty for a Drobo 3.
That said, the Newertech is a 4x card, so at the least, if you have multiple USB 3 devices, especially storage, that would be the obvious choice for overall much better throughput.
Update: It's a PHYSICAL x4 card but only RUNS at x1 speed....which begs the question as to why you would make the card physically an x4 since now it won't work on a PC I have in an x1 slot...power draw maybe? But I don't know if you get extra power capability with extra lanes...
System report confirms x1 speeds. So I still wonder why my Drobo speed sucks...it just seems to vary widely. I am going to try my old USB 3 cable next and cross my fingers as I fling chicken blood at it and standing on one leg.
Thoughts? Is my math right? I get about 100 megabyte/s r/w on it now which is only around 20% of the bus speed of 5Gbps and half of the 2Gbps for an x4 card.
It SEEMS like my speed had dropped from previous benchmarks on the Inateck, but perhaps 25 megabyte per second was all a 1x card could manage?
Again, check my math in the comments.
Here's the punchline. On Amazon, the Newertech is only $5 more. Spend it.
I won't even link to the KT4004 at these prices. But if you use this link -=> https://amzn.to/3n7yZdG you'll help support me as my main job ends Sep 30, 2020 due to Covid.
Or take a look on the top right sidebar here and 'Buy Me a Cup of Coffee'. Or if your Tesla options printed, become a Patreon sponsor.