Re: [Hampshire] An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
On 24 March 2012 21:25, Bryn Jones wrote: > > Anyway. Anyone got any kit they don't need, want, think is useless. > I'm here!! Anyone that wants to talk to me about business and setting up > CIC's please do! Anyone want to offer some time (when I get some sessions > running!!!) say Hi. Anyone got a cordless phone they don't need I'd really > be pleased!!! Hopping to the wired phone I have is uh irritating and I'm > always too late to pick it up > Just out of interest, at work they have a purchasing policy. Each piece of computing equipment they purchase must have a full cycle cost associated with it. I.e. Purchase, support and disposal. The problem with this, is it normally means that the equipment then goes back to the manufacturer or sent to approved destruction center. They are then not allowed to "recycle" the laptop in the sense of giving it to someone else who can still make use of it, or give it to the employee for home use. The reason being, that they then cannot assure that it will eventually be sent to approved destruction center when the time comes. How would you get round these sorts of problems? I think that if you could build up some sort of arrangement with the "approved destruction center", you might then get all the equipment you need for very little effort. It would probably be something like, they might lend you the PC for an extra year or two, but you have to eventually return it when you or your users cannot make use of it anymore. The trouble is, that is just more work for the destruction center, so I cannot see why they would help you. Kind Regards James -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Is my HDD on the way out?
On 24 March 2012 20:53, Imran Chaudhry wrote: > Is my HDD on the way out? I recently observed errors such as those in > screenshot here, it seems to happen intermittently: > > http://db.tt/QEQa7Pxj > > As it is a relatively new HDD, I replaced the SATA cable just to be sure and > months passed with no errors until the above which happened about week ago. > > I performed a long SMART self-test which passed with no errors reported. The > SMART log also listed no errors. > What is the make, model of the HDD? Some HDDs, that although they say they support SMART, don't actually report anything to SMART when things fail. I have found MAXTOR to do this on multiple occasions. SEAGATE seem to be quite good with SMART error reports. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
I have always been highly interested in Business and the whole Open Source Ethos, I hate waste, hate chucking kit out I guess part of me has always wanted to get a business off the ground. but I want to be able to give something back to people wether it will be Linux / Open Source training / Cost effective machines / hardware training and diagnostics I'm always keen to learn new stuff, have a passion for Linux, orignally came from a Windows background grew up using 3.1 thesedays I Keep my options open and use both Windows and Linux both have there strengths and merits I'm not one of these people who sticks to one Operating System sure Microsoft has it's anal ways of doing things and I grew up having to put up with the Whole ME, Vista, Hell but with newer versions of Windows such as 7 and 2008 R2, Things have come on leaps and bounds, Especially with Server 2k8 R2 and setting it up without a GUI ( Server Core) and using Powershell to administrate the system I kind of think Microsoft are changing there approach, Although Server 8 and it's Metro interface is horrendous :) NO GUI please :) and the cost of deploying Windows in the enterpise is still very expensive. Linux to me is a Swish Army knife I like how you can customize it to suit your needs, remove any additional bloat Specilaize the Distribution to suit your needs wether it will be Server setup or a media station. When I first was introduced to Linux a few years ago, I will not lie my intial reaction was " Linux wtf is Linux? " then it has been a love affair ever since :) Making the initial transition from Windows to linux for me was a very daunting experience, Linux felt very alien to me I had to change the way I thought about using the Operating System yep I actually had to engage my brain cells and think :), I remember the days of being first faced with a terminal window and learning basic concepts such as command line navigation, package management basic commands such as LS, GREP, TOUCH, How to | commands, enviornment variables, run levels, how the file system is laid out, I'm not a Linux wizard today, Everything I have learnt has been self taught and I continue everyday to develop my skillbase right now my distribution of choice is CentOS, If anyone is new to Linux then you can't go wrong with the following materials and of course plenty of hands on time. These resources would be very useful to anyone new to the LUG UNIX AND LINUX SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION HANDBOOK - FOURTH EDITION ( One of the most informative books I have read) COMPTIA LINUX+ COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE - Roderick Smith Train Signal LINUX+ Videos - Very informative teaches you the basics and how to BASH Script So that is the history of myself :), I am highly interested in continuing the development of my Nix skills, and am highly interested in any business opportunities or projects you guys propose I am keen to learn, very driven and very ambitious and would love to learn more from the Linux gurus. Lastly has anyone picked up a Raspeberry Pi yet? me want want want > Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2012 08:18:42 +0100 > From: james.dut...@gmail.com > To: hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk > Subject: Re: [Hampshire] An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general > chit chat > > On 24 March 2012 21:25, Bryn Jones wrote: > > > > Anyway. Anyone got any kit they don't need, want, think is useless. > > I'm here!! Anyone that wants to talk to me about business and setting up > > CIC's please do! Anyone want to offer some time (when I get some sessions > > running!!!) say Hi. Anyone got a cordless phone they don't need I'd really > > be pleased!!! Hopping to the wired phone I have is uh irritating and I'm > > always too late to pick it up > > > > Just out of interest, at work they have a purchasing policy. > Each piece of computing equipment they purchase must have a full cycle > cost associated with it. > I.e. Purchase, support and disposal. > The problem with this, is it normally means that the equipment then > goes back to the manufacturer or sent to approved destruction center. > They are then not allowed to "recycle" the laptop in the sense of > giving it to someone else who can still make use of it, or give it to > the employee for home use. The reason being, that they then cannot > assure that it will eventually be sent to approved destruction center > when the time comes. > > How would you get round these sorts of problems? > I think that if you could build up some sort of arrangement with the > "approved destruction center", you might then get all the equipment > you need for very little effort. It would probably be something like, > they might lend you the PC for an extra year or two, but you have to > eventually return it when you or your users cannot make use of it > anymore. > The trouble is, that is just more work for the destruction center, so > I cannot see why they would help you. > > Kind Regards > > James > > -- > Pleas
Re: [Hampshire] Is my HDD on the way out?
On 2012-03-24 20:53, Imran Chaudhry wrote: > Is my HDD on the way out? I recently observed errors such as those in > screenshot here, it seems to happen intermittently: > http://db.tt/QEQa7Pxj > As it is a relatively new HDD, I replaced the SATA cable just to be sure > and months passed with no errors until the above which happened about week That message *usually* happens due to read-sector errors -- i.e. sectors on the disk that aren't able to read properly. Of course it *could* be some interface/driver bug but I don't expect so given the error and my experience. This is actually quite normal -- go read about 'grown defects'. I have had many cases of new-ish hard-disks with 'grown defects' as well as old disks that are actually failing, etc. I used to minimize this problem a lot by doing a full read/write test on new hard disks before using them. This would have the effect of causing many iffy sectors to be 'mapped out' early on, rather than finding these things out later. You can *read test* your disk with a command like 'badblocks -vs /dev/sda' ran as root (or with sudo). This can be very useful to 'test' if you *currently* have any unreadable sectors. It simply reads every single sector on /dev/sda drive. WARNING: Do not use the -w or -n options if you don't know what you are doing. -w wipes the drive! --Simon -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
[Hampshire] Raspberry pi. Was. An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On 25/03/12 14:19, Ally Biggs wrote: > Lastly has anyone picked up a Raspeberry Pi yet? me want want want > > Mine is due week commencing 16th April. Looking forward to having a play with it. :) Cheers, - -- Alan Pope Engineering Manager Canonical - Product Strategy +44 (0) 7973 620 164 alan.p...@canonical.com http://ubuntu.com/ -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.11 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJPbzGHAAoJEMx6UFtfvV4wlTUH/jOA7Hbp9ouCf4WfMoIV9VFk CeA37NaXnir8nTNOZ5HWh9T2Q0h8qhSdcoSwh+07GzOtLjMGRUYY4gfexQqth69M GsfTHxCCAaqUQs8g4mBITNbxr35jqq08KTIumI2tFFLDepPotN6biH5fN8M7XlRD ibJy7ZkXZ/oYVw8Z2982yMi0820s5MOrhWXJa/2qxcGM4ocp1n4g/Lfbj4OQJF7L dyowKMbSc9/Z2c9f7c5DcebqsqcQExymS8HwIC5RkCmNcKfnPEixEEB8wR7yhJ9f USYIPpCMKCifYUo94XAKmyB4AKXQEaRHP+zrNUCSDFY/BQYAbIfXlZc5pByzT8g= =WP0K -END PGP SIGNATURE- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Raspberry pi. Was. An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
Want. Finances says no!!!. On 25/03/12 15:53, Alan Pope wrote: -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On 25/03/12 14:19, Ally Biggs wrote: Lastly has anyone picked up a Raspeberry Pi yet? me want want want Mine is due week commencing 16th April. Looking forward to having a play with it. :) Cheers, - -- Alan Pope Engineering Manager Canonical - Product Strategy +44 (0) 7973 620 164 alan.p...@canonical.com http://ubuntu.com/ -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.11 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJPbzGHAAoJEMx6UFtfvV4wlTUH/jOA7Hbp9ouCf4WfMoIV9VFk CeA37NaXnir8nTNOZ5HWh9T2Q0h8qhSdcoSwh+07GzOtLjMGRUYY4gfexQqth69M GsfTHxCCAaqUQs8g4mBITNbxr35jqq08KTIumI2tFFLDepPotN6biH5fN8M7XlRD ibJy7ZkXZ/oYVw8Z2982yMi0820s5MOrhWXJa/2qxcGM4ocp1n4g/Lfbj4OQJF7L dyowKMbSc9/Z2c9f7c5DcebqsqcQExymS8HwIC5RkCmNcKfnPEixEEB8wR7yhJ9f USYIPpCMKCifYUo94XAKmyB4AKXQEaRHP+zrNUCSDFY/BQYAbIfXlZc5pByzT8g= =WP0K -END PGP SIGNATURE- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
I think I'm with you here!. That's an unusual policy (as far as I am aware!). Answer in 2 parts - 1. I'm not planning on any kit being returned except as goodwill i.e. person in question has got moneys together and life sorted and bought a new machine. 2. Why is your company's policy this??? dban'll wipe a disk. an old phone can be reset. WEEE by any chance? On 25/03/12 08:18, James Courtier-Dutton wrote: On 24 March 2012 21:25, Bryn Jones wrote: Anyway. Anyone got any kit they don't need, want, think is useless. I'm here!! Anyone that wants to talk to me about business and setting up CIC's please do! Anyone want to offer some time (when I get some sessions running!!!) say Hi. Anyone got a cordless phone they don't need I'd really be pleased!!! Hopping to the wired phone I have is uh irritating and I'm always too late to pick it up Just out of interest, at work they have a purchasing policy. Each piece of computing equipment they purchase must have a full cycle cost associated with it. I.e. Purchase, support and disposal. The problem with this, is it normally means that the equipment then goes back to the manufacturer or sent to approved destruction center. They are then not allowed to "recycle" the laptop in the sense of giving it to someone else who can still make use of it, or give it to the employee for home use. The reason being, that they then cannot assure that it will eventually be sent to approved destruction center when the time comes. How would you get round these sorts of problems? I think that if you could build up some sort of arrangement with the "approved destruction center", you might then get all the equipment you need for very little effort. It would probably be something like, they might lend you the PC for an extra year or two, but you have to eventually return it when you or your users cannot make use of it anymore. The trouble is, that is just more work for the destruction center, so I cannot see why they would help you. Kind Regards James -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
On Sunday 25 March 2012 16:36:23 Bryn wrote: > Why is your company's policy this??? dban'll wipe a disk. an old > phone can be reset. WEEE by any chance? That, and the horror stories they have heard. Lisi -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
Yeah there's a note on my todo list about writing a data destruction policy!!! AFAIK dban works and has been certified by someone or other cleverer than me. I believe Jamies use a paid for tool (paid per use not by single licence!!!) as part of an agreement with a supplier of PC's to them. On 25/03/12 16:48, hants...@googlemail.com wrote: On Sunday 25 March 2012 16:36:23 Bryn wrote: Why is your company's policy this??? dban'll wipe a disk. an old phone can be reset. WEEE by any chance? That, and the horror stories they have heard. Lisi -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Is my HDD on the way out?
hello, At 08:25 25/03/2012, you wrote: On 24 March 2012 20:53, Imran Chaudhry wrote: > I performed a long SMART self-test which passed with no errors reported. The > SMART log also listed no errors. > What is the make, model of the HDD? Some HDDs, that although they say they support SMART, don't actually report anything to SMART when things fail. I have found MAXTOR to do this on multiple occasions. SEAGATE seem to be quite good with SMART error reports. Any idea if Western digital hard drives are the same? I have a WD hard drive that reports fine with the windows program HDsentinel which sits in the back ground. But booting windows XP on it results in a lot of slow downs or halts in moving the cursor or freezes. (hardware interrupts in process explorer spikes) It always comes back to being ok but I think there is something up with the HD after swapping the cable and port with no joy. Martin N Running MorphOS v2.6 (Nov 2010) on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] Raspberry pi. Was. An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
If you ever had an interest in an amiga in the 80s and 90s there is MorphOS that you can run on old PPC mac hardware. There is a 30min demo but to buy its 100 euros rather than the usual 130 euros. Martin N At 16:27 25/03/2012, you wrote: Want. Finances says no!!!. On 25/03/12 15:53, Alan Pope wrote: -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On 25/03/12 14:19, Ally Biggs wrote: Lastly has anyone picked up a Raspeberry Pi yet? me want want want Running MorphOS v2.6 (Nov 2010) on Mac Mini, Moderator of MiniDisc,amithlonopen,bwfc Yahoogroups -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
We use blannco works out about £1.30 to wipe a hard disk http://www.blancco.com/uk/benefits/most-certified-data-erasure/ > Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2012 17:22:45 +0100 > From: bjo...@riseup.net > To: hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk > Subject: Re: [Hampshire] An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general > chit chat > > Yeah there's a note on my todo list about writing a data destruction > policy!!! AFAIK dban works and has been certified by someone or other > cleverer than me. > > I believe Jamies use a paid for tool (paid per use not by single > licence!!!) as part of an agreement with a supplier of PC's to them. > > On 25/03/12 16:48, hants...@googlemail.com wrote: > > On Sunday 25 March 2012 16:36:23 Bryn wrote: > >> Why is your company's policy this??? dban'll wipe a disk. an old > >> phone can be reset. WEEE by any chance? > > That, and the horror stories they have heard. > > > > Lisi > > > > -- > > Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk > > Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire > > LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk > > -- > > > -- > Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk > Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire > LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk > -- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
On Sunday 25 March 2012 17:22:45 Bryn wrote: > Yeah there's a note on my todo list about writing a data destruction > policy!!! AFAIK dban works and has been certified by someone or other > cleverer than me. > > I believe Jamies use a paid for tool (paid per use not by single > licence!!!) as part of an agreement with a supplier of PC's to them. There are those who believe that it is virtually impossible to ensure that data on an HDD is unretrievable, no matter what you throw at it, how much you are willing to spend on it or how much trouble you are prepared to go to. Some people believe that simple destruction (say with the help of a large hammer and strong magnet) is enough, but Hugo Mills once said that the only way to be absolutely sure that the data on an HDD is utterly unretrievable is to melt the disk in the centre of a very hot furnace. He said the temperature that he believed necessary to be absolutely sure, but I'm afraid that I can't remember it. Most data is clearly not worth that amount of trouble. But if you were afraid that the Nazi war machine could use the data on the drive to drop an atom bomb on your population, what would it be worth then? Lisi -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
> There are those who believe that it is virtually impossible to ensure that > data on an HDD is unretrievable, no matter what you throw at it, how much > you are willing to spend on it or how much trouble you are prepared to go > to. They are wrong. It is actually very easy to destroy the data on a HDD. It just smells a bit. > Most data is clearly not worth that amount of trouble. But if you were > afraid that the Nazi war machine could use the data on the drive to drop > an atom bomb on your population, what would it be worth then? The same as any other sensitive data destruction - the price of a grinding disk for my angle grinder. When the platter is glowing yellow-red, you've exceeded the Curie temperature, so any magnetic material left on the platter isn't going to hold any data anyway. The tricky bit is destroying data whilst leaving the HDD usable. This isn't something I'd do with *really* sensitive information, but for most stuff that we mortals come across, good ol' nwipe is plenty good enough. Vic. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
> Vic did you try and buy something when I wasn't there? Yep. Several times. I failed. > Apparently he came down to Jamies and was told that he > couldn't purchase any memory AISI, there are only two ways for Jamies to make any money:- - Sell small amounts of kit at hugely inflated prices to the unsuspecting - Sell large amounts of kit at small markup to those who know what they're getting The latter method is often described as "pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap". the former as "There's one born every minute". > as I said before if you need anything in > future give me the heads up I do need a few bits. I've got most of the kit I need off eBay (meaning that Jamies got none of my cash), but there are a few low-priority bits outstanding. I'm glad you'll be back at work soon - I had a nasty suspicion you'd gone the same way as Glen. Vic. -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
Re: [Hampshire] An introduction, a blag and well a bit of general chit chat
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 On 25/03/12 19:24, hants...@googlemail.com wrote: > There are those who believe that it is virtually impossible to > ensure that data on an HDD is unretrievable, no matter what you > throw at it, how much you are willing to spend on it or how much > trouble you are prepared to go to. "They concluded that, after a single overwrite of the data on a drive, whether it be an old 1-gigabyte disk or a current model (at the time of the study), the likelihood of still being able to reconstruct anything is practically zero." http://www.h-online.com/newsticker/news/item/Secure-deletion-a-single-overwrite-will-do-it-739699.html Cheers, - -- Alan Pope Engineering Manager Canonical - Product Strategy +44 (0) 7973 620 164 alan.p...@canonical.com http://ubuntu.com/ -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.11 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iQEcBAEBAgAGBQJPb3XEAAoJEMx6UFtfvV4wpjAH/0AY50g1AOOl06eeKp8ImqH0 5K3YJy7e51CGnsRTFCHHv3126lhZjqqMCFkhDB0wNAf4MZx1W1i5HAZMVRiaIC0O hxhaW1BKOibB9yDA//CguIbEEoknBLyGCFtFv6c/jddS/sco4qyJfqTKh10zHT9a 5fW2YKot3rPVd5h4MYoZnAkQRo3Awti4NIFjyoEO+5eF2UxNki9om8XW9oDyJvbi uV5kiO/y3H9QGTBipAnBKZXS4Kn33X3Su3xi1QeRCsDCESZxBOS7yovHc0GodJIV dVUrFT9Hw0MXv9L4hsEOD5M8/xp4BKVpXlaJRb4cZv5MRbDOAyGMJLu23khN1vQ= =oo2Z -END PGP SIGNATURE- -- Please post to: Hampshire@mailman.lug.org.uk Web Interface: https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hampshire LUG URL: http://www.hantslug.org.uk --
