Technology Tales

boot-repair-disk

A tool designed to address common boot issues on personal computers, particularly those involving the GRUB bootloader and dual-boot configurations, operates as a lightweight Linux-based live system that can be written to a USB drive or DVD. It is typically employed when a Linux installation becomes inaccessible following the installation of Windows, changes to disk partitions, or modifications to boot settings, offering a graphical interface to diagnose and repair problems such as reinstalling GRUB, restoring access to Linux after bootloader overwrites and fixing EFI or Master Boot Record issues. The process involves booting from the tool, scanning the system, selecting repair options and generating detailed reports for further assistance if needed, with a focus on simplicity and automation rather than requiring advanced technical knowledge or manual intervention. While effective for common bootloader-related failures, it does not address hardware malfunctions or complex storage configurations that may still require additional expertise.

Devuan (pronounced like dev-one) is a fork of Debian that does not use systemd as Debian is doing, like so many other distros. Part of the name must come from a collective calling itself Veteran UNIX Admin (VUA). There is no actual release just yet, but one is intended for around the same time as Debian 8.0 gets released and donations are being solicited via the website.

Here is a handy way to get PowerShell to show files larger than a certain size:

get-childitem | where-object {$_.length -gt 10000} | ft fullname, length -auto

If you've been here before, you'll notice that the first rendition of the new look for this place has been introduced. It is based upon the Intention WordPress theme, but more work is needed before it looks as tidy as I'd like it. That'll take a little while and improvements will come gradually, yet I hope that the new design is pleasing even at this time. At the very least, it looks natty to my eyes, though there are little bits and pieces that I have ended up leaving behind for now. Even so, it gives me a modern menu at the top of every page, so I'm far from disappointed. In any case, I don't mind doing some extra tinkering.

This little outpost on the web has had the same site design for around two years now, so I am beginning to wonder about making a change to it in the spirit of keeping things feeling fresh. Experimentation is in progress on the offline copy of what you see here, but that could reveal roadblocks yet. So far, things are looking hopeful, and you shouldn't be too surprised if it all looks different some day.

Unfortunately, due to a spot of hosting trouble, this blog was offline for a few days while I was getting things sorted out. Along the way, I learned a few lessons about web hosting that I'll share soon. Meanwhile, I'll continue to set in place the last few bits and pieces that made the site's predecessor what it was.

In 2007, I set myself a challenging goal: post something new to this blog every day. Of course, it didn't happen quite like that. Therefore, for 2008, I'll be going for a less onerous one: a post every two or three days. That should mean that I don't run out of steam; pacing yourself to ensure that quantity doesn't dilute quality is a superb idea. Welcome to 2008.

The standard phishing detection that comes with IE7 really does slow things down when it comes to navigating web pages. In contrast, the option offered as part of Norton 360 is much faster. So much so that you hardly notice that it's there at all. When I restored IE7 on my PC and ran it for the first time, Norton asked me to be its default fraud detection and I was away from there. Norton 360 offers nothing for Firefox, my preferred and default option, but there may be plug-ins that address that need.

I finally had enough of internetnews.com's intrusive CPU-eating ads and remembered that there was a Firefox add-on for the job. I have snagged Adblock Plus and can vouch that for its effectiveness. It also works with AccuWeather.com, a site about which I complained a while back. I just wonder why I didn't thin of this earlier; it certainly beats what ZoneAlarm could do. Now, I see why its functionality has raised some hackles, but if advertisers didn't overdo it in the first place, there would have been no problems. Well, that's marketing for you... And yes, we do want the right to ignore ads.

Having had a pretty fallow summer when it came to ideas for this blog, I am now lucky to enjoy a flush of them. Also, because of my now established one post per day rule, I am currently writing my posts ahead of time so that you can be assured of something new every day rather than a load of stuff one day and nothing on the next. That works for me because I am largely a proactive blogger rather than a reactive one. As a result, I am not bothered by a need to break something before everyone else; I simply couldn't do that anyway; I have learnt that there are many others who can make a much better job of it. Nevertheless, I do get inspired by what's going on in the technology world, and it's just that I take my time over things before sharing with others; the chance for some additional consideration before a post goes public is a very useful one. And then there are my own explorations that surely will turn up more ideas.