Stop the Windows Update Restart

On January 21, 2010, In Small Business Tech, Windows 7, By Edgar

I have been often frustrated when I sit down at my desk in the morning and find Windows has rebooted for an update. This seems to happen when I leave Windows for the night with a project open ready to continue work the next day.

I also notice this on my Mac where I run Windows under VMWare Fusion. I will be working on something and hear the Windows reboot sound and ponder on what work I just lost.

What was Microsoft thinking? There isn’t even an option in the update manager to turn it off. I was lamenting this with some other Windows users when one of them said, “thats why we run Server 2008 on all our machines. It has an option to turn that off.” I decided there must be a registry setting or some other way to turn it off.

A Google search led me to an article on Lifehacker to disable the restart nag. It gives a command line way to turn off the nag: sc stop wuauserv. So I opened a Command window with Start>Run>cmd>Enter. Entered the command and got a permissions error.

Missing my sudo command in Unix and my Mac I went googling again. This time to find out how to Run the Command Line as Administrator. I was led to an article on LiteBite. I’m running Windows 7 which is close enough to Vista that this method worked for me.

The resulting output seems to indicate I have squashed the restart bug(feature).

SERVICE_NAME: wuauserv
TYPE               : 20  WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
STATE              : 3  STOP_PENDING
(NOT_STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0×0)
SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0×0)
CHECKPOINT         : 0×1
WAIT_HINT          : 0×7530
Time will tell. Just remember to reboot periodically so that updates are applied.
 
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New website helps employers connect with candidates.

On December 7, 2009, In Small Business Tech, By Edgar

A new LDS Church Employment Website activated on 29 October 2009 allows any small business to access a large database of possible candidates, and list jobs nationwide at no cost. The entry portal URL is “http://ldsjobs.org”.

The features for all users, include:

  • The website reaches out to hundreds of employers several times a day and grabs new job postings.
  • Employers can conduct candidate searches for registered job seekers using an advanced search-engine.
  • The “Stake Job Leads” section allows ward members to provide informal networking leads that can be shared with other members within each stake.

Larger companies can arrange for a company job listing site to be downloaded daily and included in the job listings database.

Action Items for Users: All users of the database will need to register personally. This includes job seekers, and  employers. Registration is free and easy for members and non-members of the LDS Church. This may be the only job listing site that doesn’t fill your mailbox with ads once you register. Members of the LDS church may use their LDS Account. If you have already registered to access “Stake and Ward Web Sites”, you already have an LDS Account UserID and Password.

All users who need a new account should:

  1. Go to http://ldsjobs.org.
  2. Click “Create an Account”.
  3. Select to register as a Member or a Friend (both registrations have access to the same features, members are tracked by the church and notification is sent to their leaders of their employment needs.)
  4. Member Registration will require your “membership number” (found on your temple recommend) and your “birth date.”
  5. Wait for your registration to be approved (usually in 24 hours, this step is to protect the job seekers from unsolicited email.)
 
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A Different Christmas Poem

On December 3, 2009, In Good News, By Edgar

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight. (more…)

 
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SharkBite

On November 25, 2009, In Small Business Tech, By Edgar

SharkBite fittingsIt doesn’t have a direct connection to small business technology, but I found a great product I want to mention. I needed to remove a puncture valve someone installed for the refrigerator water supply, and wanted to replace it with a ball valve.

I guess pipe soldering is close enough to electronics soldering that I don’t mind it when I can get the pipes dry and the soldering isn’t taking place next to a dry wooden beam. This project was going to be hard to dry and was right next to a wall and in the ceiling near a joist and was going to be hard to get dry.

At the hardware store I found a T called a SharkBite. Each end of the T can be push fit. I was skeptical, but desperate so I picked one up to try.

When I got home I turned off the water and cut out the bad section of pipe. Although I opened sinks above and below the section I was working on there was still a lot of dripping while I worked. Soldering would have taken forever.

I carefully cleaned each end of the pipe with emery paper after reaming. Then I slid the SharkBite “T” on to each end of the pipe, making sure everything was well seated.

I was a little nervous turning the water on. The joint still rotated but it didn’t pull out. I guess that is the way it is designed. It has been almost two weeks without any leaks.

Next time I’m in the hardware store I will buy a couple more for emergency repairs. According to the manufacturer the connections can be separated with a special tool and reused.

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Web Hosting for Small Buisiness

On November 11, 2009, In Small Business Tech, By Edgar

A web presence of some kind is a requirement for every small business. There are lots of options for hosting a site from free to hundreds of dollars a month. (more…)

 
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Brother QL-570

On November 6, 2009, In Apple Computer, By Edgar
Brother QL-570

Brother QL-570

Since reading David Allen’s book Getting Things Done, I have been using a Brother PT-1280 to label folders and other things around my office, and even garden tools. It is small and portable and has been pretty good, but I found better in the Brother QL-570. (more…)

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The Pocket ATM

On November 5, 2009, In iPhone, By Edgar
Deposit@Mobile from USAA FSB

Deposit@Mobile from USAA FSB

As popular as the iPhone is there are really only a few apps that I have found that make a significant change to how people did things before the  iPhone. Even though it is impressive to go for a haircut and see everyone in the waiting area playing the latest game on their iPhone it isn’t that different when they were all on their PSP or whatever. (more…)

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Slow iPhone Backup

On April 10, 2009, In Apple Computer, By Edgar

I don’t know if I have ever backed up my iPhone because it takes so long. I found this suggestion on how to fix the problem (more…)

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Control over a Socket

On December 30, 2008, In Apple Computer, Noah's, code, By Edgar

We are going to use an NER325ProXR , from National Control Devices, to control lighting and blinds in the building. The device seems pretty easy to use with Windows but we need to use our website running on OS X Leopard to have access to the controller. (more…)

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Custom Mini-Coax

On November 27, 2008, In Small Business Tech, By Edgar

miles of wire

We run a lot of mini-coax in a building. The Lindon building is mostly short runs from the receiver to the plasma with a few long runs in the large conference spaces. South Jordan and future buildings have all the AV home run to a central AV rack and back again. We have miles of wire to put it all together. (more…)

 
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