Subj : Why Windows won't spe To : Ky Moffet From : Barry Martin Date : Wed Nov 20 2024 07:45:00 Hi Ky! > > OK, possibly that aspect: nothing is running Windows here except the one > > Virtual Machine with XP so no experience. > KM> Yeah, they're trying to make sure I only run old Windows in a VM > KM> too. > Currently here the only reason for running Windows is to get ILink. > ..Should switch it all to SeaMonkey (but first!). Also have the > software for the X10 (home automation) stuff on it (VM XP) but switched > that over to a Raspberry Pi. Also occasionally ran utilities to repair/ > recover thumbdrives but those generally failed: if the underlying Linux > system doesn't see the thumbrive (or see it properly) then the Windows > on top of the Linux system probably doesn't see it either. KM> That kinda indicates a hardware-level fail. The VM has its own KM> drivers. OK. The failed hardware more than likely the thumbdrive I was trying to repair/recover. A very few I did fix. the rest probably not recoverable under any consumer-level method. > KM> Today I'm trying to figure out why the one Win11 is constantly > KM> downloading... something, to the limit of the available > KM> connection. It was a preview build (cuz that's the one I could > KM> get intact, the real thing won't complete the download) but it > KM> doesn't seem to be updating. > Something like 'Task Manager' or 'System Monitor' to see what programme > is doing the download? Years ago I had a tangential problem KM> Not useful in this case. And being it's a, um unofficial build, KM> there could be Things Going On we need to know about. (As KM> happens, there weren't.) Think of the stuff Microsoft could learn from unofficial builds - the beta testers of the operating system world! KM> But... Is that like a spaghetti, or rigatoni, or....? KM> === KM> Finally tracked down the apparent bad behavior by the "Need for KM> Speed" Win11, the only one that would agree to install on Zombie, KM> probably because it uses the Win10 installer. (Also has a few KM> handy things, including a much better version of Office 2016 than KM> the one I still resent having paid $8.99-legal for.) However it KM> is a "preview" edition, and occasionally whines that it expired a KM> year ago. (Tho activation through MSGuides worked.) I tell it KM> that its calendar needs updating. Compute like it's 1999! (Trying to reference the song.) KM> So I always run Task Mangler, and... why is it filling up every KM> scrap of download capacity that some other machine isn't using?? KM> (And it's really good at getting out of the way when something KM> else wants bandwidth. Regular Windows Update is not, it likes to KM> hog the whole thing.) Regular Windows Update is being a snob: "I'm better than anyone else on this line." KM> Wireshark wouldn't show me ANYTHING. Like, blank. *suspicious KM> glare* No wonder it's taking so long: nothing is happening!! I have seen transfer speeds reported at some extremely slow rate: usually the end of an extremely huge file. KM> So ran one or another of the NirSoft utils and observed many KM> connections, all pulling lots of data. Some to Akamai which is KM> one of Microsoft's CDNs, and more to... Edge-something, I've KM> already forgotten, but it used to be Yahoo's CDN. 157.x.x.x. KM> After much thrashing around, I learn that this is another of KM> Microsoft's CDNs, specifically a cache server, and apparently KM> Zombie is running a huge update in the background, without KM> running Windows Update (which seems to operate entirely KM> independent of this, and still handles security and driver KM> updates). One of the connections IDs to the domain for Office KM> updates. But that's weird Wireshark not reporting activity. Unless you just happened to poll at a time when no download was occurring because the copmuter needed to extract the latest portion to determine what to download next. KM> Learned that this has been going on for most of this year, and KM> has caused some alarm at the enterprise level, and among home KM> users with the savvy to notice. (Has also generated a slew of KM> complaints to various abuse loggers.) You couldn't just TELL KM> us...??? Maybe Microsoft wanted to generate user traffic to verify the need for the Bing search engine plus hard drive room to store the forums! KM> But apparently it does not affect Win11 Home, as the little KM> netbook doesn't have this habit. (Actually, WinAero Tweaker can KM> totally disable updates, to where it goes "Whuuu??" if you try to KM> run Windows Update.) But this is Pro, apparently. And does not KM> require a Microsoft login to work, as Home does. Logins are good and bad. Good in verifying legitamacy, but that also probably curbs other upgrades like adding additional hard drives or even replacing the motherboard. Bad in seems to require access to Microsoft. What if there's a storm and the connection is unavailable? KM> === KM> So, it's not a problem, or malware, or anything untoward; it's KM> just a bad decision by Microsoft. And when it finished a couple KM> hours later, I couldn't see any difference, and I STILL haven't KM> found where it was storing the updates (they're not in Software KM> Distribution, where they normally land). Isn't there frequently an area of the hard drive reported as not doing anything? Megabyte or so on eithe rside of the partition. And could probably use a 'secret' format which isn't reported by the file utilities. KM> And why the heck did the Office2016 I paid money for have such a KM> gawdawful interface it's entirely unusable, but the one from, uh, KM> unofficial channels is normal? Not to complain, finally got what KM> I paid for, but geez. The unofficial channels started off with the official Office2016, also didn't like it, and modified to their (and most people's) satisfcation. If official channel would have been called open source. KM> OTOH, Control Panel doesn't work. The functions are still there, KM> you just have to dumpster-dive for them. That's how discoveries are made?! > SchedulesDirect (for MythTV - provides the TV programme listings) was not > updating. Somehow found out the reason was because I had a 'constant > connection' to their website, so I used some sort of IP monitor to > discover that information. Shut off the offending computer (it was a > laptop I was testing but don't recal why I installed MythTV on it); > regained my SchedulesDirect data a few hours later. (The remote site > had temporarily blacklisted my connection and automatically reset.) KM> That's possibly the dumbest behavior I've ever heard of. Like no KM> one ever has two installs in the same household?? The way I phrased it, yes. One can have multiple installs: can have Master and Slave Backends. (Makes the recordings, holds the recordings.) I have multiple Frontends (playback units). I think the problem was somehow I configured the Backend on the laptop thinking I was configuring the Frontend, (This was probably 20 years ago -- from what I recall of then and what I'm doing currently bringing up the new system it would be very difficult to get that confused.) > KM> But I'm wondering if it's also why linux generally won't speak to > KM> older Windows too, despite that the LiveCD of the same distro did > KM> so just fine. > KM> So which line am I fixing?? > The green one. If the LiveCD worked but the installed version does > not I'm thinking compare the configurations. Files > Other Locations > > Windows Network > select computer. KM> No, I mean in, what was it in, uh, fstab ?? Try something like: ## //192.168.4.120/Motion /mnt/NSA320_Motion cifs username=xxx,password=xxx,iocharset=utf8,gid=1000,uid=1000,file_mode=0777, dir_mode=0777,vers=1.0 0 0 Obviously don't comment -- the double comment is more or less a code for me when updating. The portion to go back to use the old SAMBA is vers=1.00. No spaces allowed in the command section. You probably need to change cifs to the specific format or use auto. This site might be helpful: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Fstab > Another option is at the bottom of the Other Locations panel is "Connect > to Server" and try a new connection. KM> Maybe in Gnome!! I haven't added any connections in ages; usually easier to use Remmina/ TigerVNC/NoMachine as I usually need to see the Desktop. > I have also used tools like Remmina, TigerVNC, and now NoMachine to > connect to the desktops of remote computers. Only Linux here, so no > experience with Windows, etc., but Remmina does have RDP (Remote Desktop > Protocol) and I think that's for Windows. KM> I don't need to connect to the desktop, I need to connect to the KM> filesystem. ssh?! > > KM> It's just bizarre that they can't make this backward compatible > > KM> without whining about "security risks". You just handle > > KM> networking, and let me worry about my own bloody security! > > That's probably the issue: most people don't know how to run those > > details on their computers. Those stories of people using the CD tray > > as a cup holder and stuffing money in the floppy slot are true! ...To > > me a warning/reminder of a potential problem is nice, but yes, let me > > get around it if I need to, plus have the option to stop whining about > > the specific incident. > KM> It wouldn't be that hard to have it disabled by default, but when > KM> you try to use it (like for contacting older device) have it pop > KM> up with "You need to enable..." and a Control Panel link. Just > KM> like they do when something needs a runtime module. That way the > KM> morons would be protected and the rest of us could fix what we > KM> need to. > It's creating the linked popups that's creating the problem with the > programmers! KM> Oh, is THAT how it works! I wonder, if I stick a pin in the KM> bubble... Then the pin gets stuck in the bubble. ...You don't think they're going to make the bubble out of something fragile do you? > KM> But instead it just acts like there's nothing to see on the > KM> network. > Yes, and sometimes the error messages give barely a clue other than "oh > hey: something's wrong". KM> Oh, that would be Apple, which LITERALLY spits up "Dude, KM> something went wrong!" as the official error message! They're soooo helpful! KM> WinAero Tweaker to the rescue -- one of its settings restores KM> the proper error messages in the event of a BSOD. But that does KM> no good for smaller errors, tho one can trawl Event Viewer and KM> sometimes discover the problem. It's amazing how many silent KM> faults happen. Yes: back when I had a problem because the USB3 extension cable was too long there were thousands, maybe million lines of errors just on this one problem -- I think every minute -- in syslog. Anything display normally? Nope. I eventually discovered while looking for another problem. ¯ ® ¯ BarryMartin3@MyMetronet.NET ® ¯ ® .... Don't void warranty by removing screws -- open with hacksaw instead. --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com (454:1/1) .