Category Archives: Computers

Computers, Hardware

Rebuild a Degraded RAID-1 Array on Adaptec 1430SA Controller

THIS ARTICLE ALSO INCLUDES HOW TO CLONE AND RE-SIZE THE DISK PARTITIONS CONTAINING THE OPERATING PARTITION ONTO LARGER CAPACITY DRIVES AND REBUILD THE RAID ARRAY MIRROR.

What to do when a RAID Mirror Array Degrades.  When a RAID array (mirror) is not protected by a hot spare and one of the disk drives in that array fails (and you want to keep the same size/capacity Array in place), then remove and replace the failed disk drive with a brand new unused drive of at least the same or larger capacity and feature type as the existing drives (such as the same RPM, same cache size, etc., features).

Some RAID Controllers will automatically begin to rebuild the array when the new disk drive is detected by the controller.  If not, then there are other ways to start the rebuild.

Manual Rebuild using the Array Configuration Utility (ACU) BiOS.  Replace the failed drive with a new one (of equal or greater capacity). Boot the system, press CTRL + A to access the ACU utility on system boot up. When inside the ACU utility, select ‘Array Configuration Utility’, then press Enter. Select ‘Initialize Drives’ and initialize the new drive that you have added to the system.

Then select ‘Manage Arrays’. Highlight the array that needs to be rebuilt, and select CTRL + S option in order to manage hot spares for the array, add in the new drive as global hot spare for the array and a rebuild will begin on the degraded array automatically. Note: The CTRL + S option is not available on all controllers.

Manual Rebuild using Adaptec Storage Manager

If Adaptec Storage Manager Software is installed on your System, then you should be able to use this procedure as well.  Replace the failed drive with a new one (of equal or greater capacity).  Boot into the operating system and login to the Adaptec Storage Manager software.

In the Enterprise View click on the controller with the degraded logical device.

Under physical devices view click on the newly added harddrive and select ‘Actions’ and then ‘Create dedicated hot spare for’ then select the logical device which needs to be rebuilt.

A rebuild will then begin automatically on the degraded logical device. For further detailed instructions on how to assign a dedicated hot spare in Storage Manager, please refer to the Adaptec Storage Manager User’s Guide.

REBUILD THE RAID ARRAY MIRROR AND RE-SIZE THE ARRAY AND THE OPERATING PARTITION ONTO LARGER CAPACITY DRIVES.

I plan to use either EASEUS To Do Backup or EASEUS Partition Manager, or Macrium Reflect v5 (Server Edition), to clone and to resize the Raid array onto the larger capacity drives.  If you use the search box at the Macrium Reflect website, you can find how to download a 30 day trial version of Macrium.  I will need to use the Server edition because I am rebuilding and resizing the Raid Array on the server hosting this blog site!!!  If you are reading this article more than a few days from its publication date, then my process must have worked if this website is still up and running.

UPDATE September 6, 2014:  When I cloned and re-sized the operating partition from the 500GB Drive Port 0 (degraded mirror) and expanded it onto a brand new 1TB drive on a non-Raid SATA port (using Macrium Reflect), the new 1TB drive NO LONGER contains the original Array information.  This means it will be (was) necessary to install the new clone 1TB onto Port 0 of the Raid Controller, and to install the 2nd brand new 1TB drive on Port 1 or Port 2., and then CONFIGURE A NEW RAID-1 ARRAY using the BUILD method.  The 1TB drive on Port 0 is the source of the Build, and the 1TB drive on Port 2 is the target of the Build.  It took from 11 PM until 7 PM the next day for the Build to complete and report an optimum mirror.

I currently have a RAID Mirror on Adaptec 1430SA RAID Controller using two 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 SATA-3 Drives, 32MB cache, Seagate Model SG3500320SA.  The drives are connected to Port 0 and Port 2 of the RAID Controller, respectively.  My event viewer contained an entry that stated the Adaptec Storage Manager application detected that the RAID Array had degraded.  Upon inspection, I found that the Hard Drive on Port 2 was failing.  I removed that drive from the Controller.

I plan to upgrade to the RAID Array by installing 2 Seagate 1TB 7200RPM 64MB Cache SATA Drives.  I found the drives on special at Tiger Direct for $60 each, plus tax.

I will install a single new 1TB drive on the standard onboard SATA controller on my motherboard (not on the 1430SA RAID controller which is installed in a PCI-e slot).  I will boot to the remaining single  500GB System drive on the degraded Array.  Then, I will download and install the server version of Macrium Reflect.

Once Macrium is installed, I will start Macrium and clone the 500GB drive while resizing the operating partition onto the new 1TB drive.  The Marcrium instructions say to select the 500GB source drive from the degraded Array, and then select the new 1TB target drive.  Next, select the source partition and drag and drop it onto the target drive.  Use the mouse to grab and drag the target partition to resize it, or merely click the button that says resize the partition to utilized the entire target drive.  Hopefully, the Macrium software will handle the resizing of the underlying RAID Array as well.

Then, I will remove the cloned 500GB drive from port 0 of the Raid Controller card and install the rezized 1TB drive on Port 0 and reboot the server to verify that all is working.  Checking in the Raid Array Configuration Utility, the new 1TB drive should show up as a degraded drive on the Array, and the second Drive will show as missing (because it has not yet been installed).

UPDATE September 6, 2014:  The original degraded Raid Array did not show up in the Raid Array Configuration Utility.  Instead, it showed the new 1TB drive configured by default as JBOD.  I realized at this point that the Array information is not stored in the controller card.  Instead it must be stored on the drives.  In which case, when Marcrium Reflex cloned the FAT Dell Utility partition, and copied and resized (expanded) the NTFS operating system partition, it did NOT keep the original Raid Array information.  Consequently, I need to configure a new RAID-1 Mirror Array with the two new drives using the “Build” method.

UPDATE September 6, 2014:  If you have hardware Raid rather than the Software-type Raid Controller, then it is still possible that the following paragraph of instructions still holds true because the original Raid Array information may still be contained in the Bios of the Raid Controller.  I am not sure about this, but if so, then:

Power down and install the second 1TB SATA drive on Port 2 of the Raid Controller Card.  Follow the instruction above to rebuild the RAID Array mirror, as if the Drive Partitions were never resized.

UPDATE September 6, 2014:  If the original Raid Mirror is not saved when you Clone and Resize / Extend the size of the Operating System Partition, then follow the instructions of Part II of this Article to Rebuild your Raid-1 Array.

See Part II Article at:

Build a Raid-1 Mirror Array on Adaptec 1430SA After an Operating System Is Installed

Computers, Networking, Programming

OwnCloud Updated to Version 7.0.1.1

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2014-08-06 18_07_16-ownCloud

Version 7.0.0.8 was deficient. Owncloud files were accessible, but the admin area did not properly display. The admin link led to a blank white page. All is well now that OwnCloud is updated to version 7.0.1.1. Apparently, Windows server with apache or IIS cannot utilize Word Preview in Docs area even with LibreOffice installed on the server and the path properly set in config.php.

Computers

Win Server 2008 R2: How To Enable The Disk Cleanup Utility

The solution can be found here:

http://www.basics.net/2013/02/25/win-server-2008-r2-how-to-enable-the-disk-cleanup-utility/

Use Option 2. because Option 1. is to install the Desktop Experience feature. However, this installs a lot of other utilities you likely don’t need on the Server.

With Option 1, you can immediately search and run cleanmgr.exe

The Disk Cleanup Utility does not clear the Windows System TEMP folder established in the environment variables.  Can anyone offer a solution for safely clearing the system TEMP folder? Please register and post your comment.  Thanks.

 

Computers

Setup and Calibrate a Touchscreen When Using Multiple Monitors

If the touchscreen monitor (the monitor with touchscreen features) is not the primary monitor in your dual / multiple monitor configuration, then you may need to select and designate the monitor having touchscreen capabilities.

First, make sure that your USB connection between your PC and your touchscreen monitor is working. In other words, ensure that the “Flicks” icon appears in your system tray.

In Windows 7, go to Control Panel, select View by: Large Icons, [very important –>] drag the Control Panel window onto the monitor display which has touchscreen capabilities, then select Tablet PC Settings from the Control Panel list.

Control_Panel_Items

Select the Setup button from the Table PC Settings window.  Follow the instructions to identify the monitor with touch screen capabilities.

Tablet_PC_Settings

You are quite welcome.

Computers

Install Two Nvidia GeForce 210 in Dell SC440 to Setup 3 or 4 Displays

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Currently running 3 monitors, including one touchscreen.

These two particular Nvidia GeForce 210 PCI-e x16 video cards are each made by different companies — Zotac and EVGA.  The Zotac card is a couple years old, but the EVGA card was purchased this weekend to run the touchscreen third monitor.  Both PCI-e cards were recognized on boot-up and the multiple displays are configurable under the Nvidia Control Panel software.

You might say, “Hey dude, the Dell PowerEdge SC440 Server does not have any PCI-e x16 slots to hold two PCI-e video cards.”  Well, there is actually one x16 slot that has been limited by design to only hold an x8 card (like a Raid controller) because there is a plastic divider manufactured into the middle of the x16 slot.  My guess is that Dell wanted to prevent this slot from being used for add-on PCI-e video cards because this SC440 Server is not meant for gaming or workstation use.  However, the original BIOS does not limit recognition of the video cards.   I didn’t look for any flash updates.

So, how do you install these video cards without any usable slots?  You can either (a) modify the crippled x16 slot by carefully cutting the plastic divider with a heated knife (not getting any of the melted plastic on the copper connectors), or (b) buy a riser/adapter that fits in the x8 portion of the slot but provides an x16 riser slot to hold the card.

Orbit Micro sells a PCI Express x8 to x16 Adapter here:  http://www.orbitmicro.com/global/pexp16-sx-16-8-p-755.html and the current price is $42.   I have an extra brand new adapter that I will sell to you for $22 plus shipping.  However, using the riser/adapter means that you will also need to re-engineer the bracket that holds the video card in the back of the case.  It’s not difficult, but I have done this both ways, and I prefer solution (a). Then, again, I didn’t wreck the contacts in the slot of the motherboard when I cut the plastic divider with a heated blade.

For the second GeForce 210 PCI-e card, you can use a metal file to “file-open” the back end of the other x8 PCI-e slot so that the front half of the x16 video card will fit in the front end of the x8 slot, and the back half of the card will hang over the end of the x8 slot.  Note, the x16 video card will function with half the lanes connected.  No problem.

Computers

Add Common Icons to Windows 8 Desktop

There are a couple ways that you can add desktop icon shortcuts for “Computer,” “Network,” “Control Panel” and “User’s Files” to your traditional-looking Windows 8 desktop, along side the icon for “Recycle Bin” which is normally already on the desktop. 1.  Go to the Control Panel of Windows 8 and select Personalization.  How do I get there?  Right click the so-called Start button of Windows 8.  It is located at the bottom left corner of the traditional-looking desktop.  Then, left click to select “Control Panel.”  At the top right corner of the Control Panel, select “View By” and select “Small Icons” from the drop down list.  In the small icon menu that is displayed for the Control Panel, click to select “Personalization.”  In the left pane of the Personalization page click “Change desktop icons.”  Under Desktop Icons select the checkbox next to each icon that you want to add to the desktop, or clear the check box for each icon that you want to remove from the desktop. For example,  check or clear the appropriate check boxes next to “Computer,” “User’s Files,” Network” and “Control Panel.” Click Apply, then click OK. OR 2.  A quicker way to achieve this same result is to right click a blank spot on the traditional-looking desktop of Windows 8.  You should then see the list shown below.  Left click to select “Personalize.” right-click-desktop In the left pane shown below, click to select “Change desktop icons.” personalization See should then see the Desktop Icon Settings screen as below.  Check or clear the appropriate check boxes next to “Computer,” “User’s Files,” Network” and “Control Panel.”  Click Apply, then Click OK. change-desktop-icons

Computers

Solved: There is a problem with this website’s security certificate

When using Internet Explorer with your homepage set to Google or Yahoo, particularly using IE7 or IE8 on Windows XP, you may receive the message: “The security certificate presented by this website has expired or is not yet valid.”

You may also receive and odd message from Google Chrome (certificate problems), such as “SSL Error: Cannot connect to the real www.google.com. Something is currently interfering with your secure connection to www.google.com.”

If your system battery that is installed on your motherboard has lost its charge (is dead), then your system time and date may have reverted to some date like January 1, 2002 at 1:00:00 AM when you either unplugged your PC from the AC power or there was a power outage on the premises.  Consequently, the SSL security certificate from Google or Yahoo is considered by your browser as being NOT YET VALID because the certificate contains a date that is far in the future as compared to your “non-current” system date.

MOST PROBABLE SOLUTION:  Open the clock and calendar in your system tray and properly set the date and time.  Close your web browser and re-open it (launch it).  Check if your web browsers will now display HTTPS:// pages like Google and Yahoo.  If they do, then you need to replace your drained system battery with a new battery.  Shut your system down, open the tower case, remove the little system battery (tiny disk-like metal battery about the size of a nickel) and go find a battery replacement with the same model number at Walgreens, CVS or your local electronics or battery store.

If this solved your problem and saved you a lot of time and effort, consider making a small donation via Paypal. Thanks.