Hyper-V “triple fault” Event ID 18560 [resolved]

I had 2 VMs, and I could only get 1 to run at a time.  When I booted the second VM, I got Event ID 18560, that says the VM “was reset because an unrecoverable error occurred on a virtual processor that caused a triple fault.”

“ERROR: Could not find a hard disk” when using vboxmanage to compact vdi

Goal – shrink my VDI using VirtualBox-provided tools

Important note (this will come into play later): I have VERY fast home-grown ZFS-based NAS/SAN that stores my VDI (and most other) files that I use on a regular basis.  In most cases, this proves to be faster than running virtual machines off of my local disk.

I wanted to compact my Sun (now Oracle) VirtualBox vdi file.  The vdi file was created with version 3.2.12r68302 of VirtualBox, and was a clean, patched base install of Windows 7 that I wanted to compact as much as possible.  After reviewing the user’s manual that comes with the product (C:Program FilesOracleVirtualBoxdocUserManual.pdf), page 99 gave me the command line to use (vboxmanage.exe modifyhd –compact file.vdi), and page 116 references the sdelete tool from Microsoft required to zero out blank space.  After deleting unnecessary files, deleting system restore points, emptying recycle bin, etc., I ran the sdelete tool (which took about 2 hours), then shut the machine down.  So far, so good.  Now it was time to run the “vboxmanage.exe modifyhd –compact” command, which presented a problem that most people probably won’t run into.

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REALLY odd Windows Server 2008 R2 problem (solved)

Symptoms:

The computer crashes and reboots for no apparent reason, and now users get an error message when trying to access any of the file or printer shares on the server/computer.  This is related to a registry setting, the Security Event Log filling up, and a possible bug in 2008 R2 that doesn’t allow users to access the server even after the Security Event Log issue has been resolved.

Fun with Benchmarking

Having some fun with iometer recently.  I had the opportunity to compare benchmarks on SAS vs. SATA vs. SATA SSD.  Also been working on a OpenSolaris 10 alternative to a NetApp filer.  Benchmarks for that setup are here.  Test specs, hardware specs, and full documentation should be contained in each link.  If you find something missing or want see more, drop me a comment in the space below.

Eliminating banner pages

7 pages: Average size of a print job in my dept.

13%: Amount of printed pages wasted by banner pages: 13% (1 out of 8 pages is usually thrown away recycled).

1,050,000 pages: Average yearly print volume in my dept (yes, over a million)

$932: Money wasted on paper to print banner pages each year.  That’s just the paper cost, and does not include toner, printer maintenance, etc.

Call them what you want: banner pages, separator pages, job sheet, etc.  These things are a waste of money.  I’m looking for solutions to eliminate banner pages from my department.  So far, I’ve found two options.

Fully utilizing workstation storage

This is just the beginning of a work-in-progress to fully utilize the extra storage available on the 200+ workstations in my department.  Updates will be posted regularly (hopefully).  In the end, I hope to present a step-by-step guide to fully utilizing the untapped storage potential of departmentally owned workstations.

Network Monitor on XP

This is more a reference for me than anything else. It took me over half an hour to find how to do this correctly, so I figured I would document it.

Installing Windows 2003 Server’s Network Monitor on Windows XP

VMware to Hyper-V migration easier than expected

Last week I was given the opportunity to perform my first ever VMware to Hyper-V migration. This was primarily done to get the Exchange 2003 virtual machine on a supported platform so Microsoft’s PSS would support it. VMDK to VHD conversion takes a while, but was very straightforward. Everything else is documented here. 

Remote Tech Support

If you’re reading this, chances are friends and family ask you for tech support. Even worse, they usually call you from 100 miles away and want you do talk them through something over the phone (like finding the any key). I find it much easier to tell them to get out of the way and let me fix whatever is broken.  But when they do call from 100+ miles away, what do you do? Here are some viable options I have come across recently.

March 2005 XP & GP Presentation

I was reminded last night that I”ve had a good idea or 2 in the past.  Watch my March 2005 presentation about using Group Policy to secure Windows machines here.  Original link to the presentation, and presentations by others can be found here.  Files have been archived below for future reference:
Meeting Notes
PowerPoint Presentation
Video of the presentation