How Often Do Windows Servers Need to be Restarted

How Often Do Windows Servers Need to be Restarted

By   21:48   No comments:

The most common question for any IT Administrator is, How often does everyone restart their Windows servers? Is there an industry standard or recommendation? will there be any hardware or software issue if we re-start server frequently often?

Actually, Windows server has to be restarted Only when required -- Either because of an OS / software update, a critical software failure which cannot be recovered via other methods, hardware upgrade/replacement or other activity that cannot happen without a restart.

I have never seen a standard recommendation, per se, but I could not agree with any recommendation [except from  Microsoft themselves] which would indicate a required reboot at a specific time interval "just-because".

I will not recommend a Windows server reboot because. Microsoft has made great strides since the good-old [NT] days with regard to stability and uptime. It's a shame the consensus within IT support has not changed along with this.

Restarting [and, more so, power cycling] is the most stressful period of hardware activity for a computer. You have most everything spinning up to 100% disk and fans as well as significant fluctuations in component temperatures.

Modern hardware is incredibly resilient, but that shouldn't be a reason for just bouncing servers, on a whim, a few times a week.

Just reboot a Windows server in the case of a failed service, or the like. I understand the need to get the service running again, but a reboot should be the last step in trouble shooting a server. Identifying, and fixing, the root cause of failure should almost never result in “just reboot it....”

However, In practice, Disk I/O, Network and Memory hungry applications under high and stressed workload and with low system resources available may render your Windows machine lagging, unstable or trashing which may suggest you to restart them sooner.

If you have to run such faulty applications or have to serve more users than the typical capacity of your hardware/software, or you are forced to co-locate incompatible services into one physical machine you may come to such decision that you should restart your Windows periodically. In this case you may adjust the restart period by listening to the users complaints about the server speed!

In my work place, We're not allowed to reboot servers without a weeklong back-and-forth debate among the entire department / Corporate Office that takes more than a week for a server reboot approval. Yes, this includes reboots for patching, which effectively means that it never gets done.

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Can't install Windows XP Pro SP3 on Dell Optiplex 790

Can't install Windows XP Pro SP3 on Dell Optiplex 790

By   15:14   No comments:

Dell Optiplex 790 keeps crashing into BSOD when installing Windows XP SP3. Windows 7 Pro installation goes fine on the same machine.

Before you proceed further, I would suggest contacting Dell on this at this point, perhaps you can get the Dell support guys to ship you out the XP system restore disk which comes with all the relevant drivers and support for that chassis of machine.

But, if that is not what you want to do, lets proceed further with the steps you can follow.

Try to run Dell Diagnosis check to see all your Hardware is working fine, this is because we want to make sure we are clean without hardware defects.

This is down to the SATA controller driver, if you go to Dell's website and find go to the driver downloads for Optiplex 790 on XP and download the Intel driver (pre-OS) under SATA drives, copy this to a USB/floppy disk and then during the XP install press F6 when prompted.

AHCI is the recommended setting as you get better performance. Windows 7 works fine, as it has the correct drive on the install DVD, the XP being several years old does not, and causes the BSOD.

If you still cant find success. And if your hardware has no defects, you can continue with the below, its time consuming to do the below.

Here's the simplest of the hardest way to rectify the issue of loading XP SP3 on these Optiplex 790’s; it seems that the motherboard needs to be set to ATA mode in order for the system to boot.

This is found by selecting F2 on system startup (to enter BIOS).

Choose SATA Operation>Drives>ATA Mode>Save and Exit.

Here is how you can have XP SP3 running on AHCI.

- Fresh install:  install XP with BIOS in ATA mode.  Install all drivers afterwards...

- Existing image, f.e. Optiplex 760-780 image:  load image, switch BIOS to ATA ...

... then reboot XP in safe mode (F8), BIOS still in ATA mode

Go to device manager,  find IDE/ATA ATAPI-controllers section.

Get the Optiplex 790 "Pre-OS" driver,  INTEL_RAPID-STORAGE-TECHNOLO_A07_R291720 from the Dell site and unpack it.

Manually replace controller driver, only for the second lower in the list, leave the bottom one.

Browse to unpacked driver, select iaStor.  Choose Intel (R) Desktop/Workstation/Server Express Chipset SATA AHCI Controller.

System asks for reboot, do so.  While rebooting, change setting in BIOS to AHCI.

Boot XP in safe mode again, it will detect the new controller and ask for a reboot (ignore all other missing driver messages). Reboot.

Boot XP in normal mode, the SATA controller should be in place. Install other drivers (Chipset, Video, LAN, Audio etc.)

Note: create an image at the right times, if you get blue screens you may not be able to do this driver insert trick again and have to start all over.

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How To Allocate Processor Resource To The Virtual PC

How To Allocate Processor Resource To The Virtual PC

By   19:44   No comments:

It was seriouly my question for long long time. And then I realised that it is not possible as of now. Yes, we can't Allocate Processor Resource To The Virtual PC. But, we can allocate more ram to the virtual PC, but not more cpu power.

There is no workaround till date.  Windows 7 virtual machines are limited to using a single processor even if the physical hardware has more than one physical processor. It is by design.

It would be nice to allocate more processor power to a Virtual XP Machine to match the performance characteristics of a dual core PC running WinXP. Any chance that Microsoft will allow affinity settings? Software engineers still write lot of software in Windows XP using National Instruments LabVIEW.

I has not fully embraced the Windows 7 64 bit environment with their data acquisition hardware.

From my experience: Use VirtualBox or VMWare Player. Both are faster and better compared to VirtualPC.

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Sennheiser HD 201 Advantages And Disadvantages

Sennheiser HD 201 Advantages And Disadvantages

By   22:00   2 comments:

For years now, i have been trying to find the perfect headphones for my iPod, earphones that will give a clear sound, sufficient amplification and comfortable for long journeys. And I just came across Sennheiser HD 201. I would like to share my opinion on Sennheiser HD 201.

The Sennheiser HD 201 Stereo Headphones are lightweight, made with rugged material that can withstand harsh conditions. The ear pads are built from high-quality leatherette, providing the rich style factor to the HD 201. The leatherette ear cups are non allergenic and provide greater comfort for extended listening. The Sealed ear cup design of the HD 201 ear pads enriches the listening experience of stereo sound with crisp powerful bass response, on the Sennheiser HD 201.

As an alternative to high-end studio headphones, HD 201 ear pads reduce ambient noise and deliver powerful stereo sound with greater clarity. The ear pads provide satisfactory enfolding effect to enhance the Surround Sound experience with the HD 201 headphones.

Key Features of Sennheiser HD 201 Headphone (Black)

• Powerful sound reproduction
• Rich and crisp bass response
• Lightweight and comfortable to wear
• Good attenuation of ambient noise
• Extremely rugged
• High-quality leatherette ear pads
• Gold-plated inch (6.3 mm) jack adaptor

 

Specifications of Sennheiser HD 201 Headphone:

• Compatible With: Computer, mobile
• Model: HD 201
• Type: Over-the-ear
• Product Warranty: 2 Years

The sound quality is the best in its price range. If its cost plays a significant role on your budget, these headsets try to make it a good compromise between sound quality and the cost.

Compared to the other cheap stuff, Sennheiser is definitely more viable and credible. However, this is not a headphone for an "audiophile". The bass is clear unlike a lot of other headphones, but for bass boosting HD 202s seem to be a better purchase.

The durability of these headphones haven't been tested yet since it has been only 3 weeks since I have them.

The comfort with these headphones, however is an issue. I cannot go for over 90 minutes without removing them and letting my ear cool down. Also, the cord length makes it very inconvenient for iPods.

So to sum it up, to listen to music while working, programming etc, these headphones seem to be the best. They force you to take a break once in every 75-90 minutes and the sound quality and isolation from the outer world while listening to pleasant sounds is incredible.

If your focus is to hear music on the go, especially on bikes, you should look at other alternatives. Sony seems to be providing excellent earphones for those purposes.

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Using RAM of Different Clock Speed

Using RAM of Different Clock Speed

By   14:52   No comments:

What will happen if we use two RAM at different clock speed. For example, if you are using a RAM at 667mhz, and then you need to upgrade the RAM by another one with 800mhz Speed. Now, what will the result?

Obsoletely, No big deal, but in simple terms, you are wasting your money on faster RAM. Faster RAM tends to be more expensive than slower ram for obvious reasons. Yes, but the 800mhz ram will be under clocked to 667mhz.

If you mix and match different RAM speeds, then the computer will run at the slowest speed of ram. For example, you have 533mhz, another 533mhz, 667mhz, and 800mhz. Then all the RAM will be under clocked to 533mhz.

For example, you add 667mhz and 800mhz. Whats the slowest speed here? its the 667mhz. There you go, 667mhz is the speed of the ram at which it will operate if you add 667mhz and 800mhz ram.

I would recommend selling these 512mb stick and get 2X2 gigs of ram. Look for a P at the start of serial number on rams, these rams overclocks very well.

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Different Between UEFI and BIOS

Different Between UEFI and BIOS

By   11:45   No comments:

The standard BIOS has all sorts of problems, not least of which is its susceptibility to malware. For example, there are rootkits that hook themselves into the BIOS OS-loader code, permitting them to run underneath Windows. They're difficult to remove and will reinfect Windows over and over.

And because the BIOS sits on a chip on the motherboard, it's more difficult to update than an operating system or an application. So most PC users never update their BIOS, leaving the PC possibly incompatible with newer operating systems. (The early PC BIOS was hard-coded on a chip, so upgrading required replacing the entire chip or PROM.)

The UEFI is a more sophisticated system that runs before your primary OS kicks in. Unlike the BIOS, UEFI can access all PC hardware, including the mouse and network connections. It can take advantage of modern video cards and monitors. It can even access the Internet.

And as you can see in Figure below, UEFI offers a modern, easy-to-decipher user interface. It could make dual-booting simpler, more visual, and controllable by mouse or touch. If you've ever played your BIOS, you discover that UEFI is in a whole new dimension.

Figure: The view of a UEFI-interface screen.

Unlike the BIOS, the UEFI can exist on a disk, just like any other program — or in nonvolatile memory on the motherboard or even on a network share.

At this point, it's important to note that systems can run either the BIOS or the UEFI — or both. When they're both used, the BIOS goes first to run POST, then the UEFI takes over and hooks into any calls that may be made to the BIOS. (Windows typically doesn't make calls directly to the BIOS, but other operating systems might — and the UEFI will handle them, not the BIOS.)

The UEFI can also run without the BIOS — it can take care of all OS loading/interface functions previously handled by the BIOS. The only thing the UEFI can't do is perform the POST or run the initial setup (configuring the CPU, memory, and other hardware). PCs that have the UEFI but no BIOS have separate programs for POST and setup that run automatically when the PC is powered on.

As we all know, the BIOS initialization process — including POST — seems to take a long time. The UEFI, on the other hand, can run quickly.

Moreover, a BIOS is easily reverse-engineered and typically has no internal security protection, making it a sitting duck for malware. A UEFI can run malware-dodging techniques such as policing operating systems prior to loading them — which might make rootkit writers' lives considerably more difficult. For example, the UEFI could refuse to run OSes that lack proper digital security signatures. And that's where the UEFI controversy begins.

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