Category: IT-howtos

Symptoms Windows updates fail to install with error code 0x800b010c. The affected update can vary: an SSMS component, Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, or – as in my case – a Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable package. Attempts to fix the issue, including cleaning the WSUS cache, modifying the registry, and resetting permissions on BITS… Continue reading Troubleshooting Error Code 0x800b010c

In this third and final tutorial we are going to add FritzBox specific sensors to our MRTG service. If you have not installed and configured your MRTG already, please see my first tutorial. If you feel unsure how to add new custom sensors based on shell scripts, or you need more help on customizing the… Continue reading Monitoring FritzBox from MRTG with FritzBoxShell

In the previous tutorial we have covered the installation and initial setup of MRTG. In this short one we will add a handful of sensors, OID and script based, before we proceed with the custom sensors for FritzBox in the next tutorial. Going beyond typical network interface sensors, for which MRTG was developed on the… Continue reading Adding custom MRTG Sensors

This article covers initial installation and configuration of MRTG on a Raspi running *bian Linux distribution. Additional information on adding custom sensors and monitoring a FritzBox router will be published in separate tutorials. Before we begin, let’s consider where this setup makes sense. If you have a relatively new Raspi with 2GB or more memory,… Continue reading Install and configure MRTG on Raspbian

To be precise, this article describes primarily how to password protect the boot process on your Mac and what the profit and impact thereof will be. And, despite the fact that the technology has been introduced probably more than two decades ago, the majority has not activated it. The procedure is very simple and described… Continue reading How to disable MacOS single user mode

  Symptoms: Imagine a case where one or more files on a network shared drive are constantly disappearing. Usually it is a precise folder where this happens. If the disappearing files or subfolders are moved somewhere else within the same network share, they stay intact. Some older files and subfolders on this location are not… Continue reading The mystery with the disappearing file

  Not long ago a user of an Office 2013 Pro Plus product, licensed over Office 365 subscription has reported that her Recent Items list was thoroughly obsolete. Here is how and why my research was extended over hours as well as how you can circumvent the problem (for the latter jump straight to the… Continue reading Yet another Recent Items problem in Office

  Symptoms: When you try to backup GPO via GPMC.MSC you receive an error message that contains the description Backup of GPO failed. Error [Invalid pointer] When using Powershells Backup-GPO command the result is even more dubious: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.   Cause: Although searching for "Invalid pointer" in… Continue reading Cannot backup GPO – Error Invalid Pointer

  Recently I came upon a problem where I could not connect to a device attached to the serial port using ttermpro: the application would fail with the "Cannot open COM1" message and show a "Disconnected" state. Trying other applications such as putty or hyperterminal would end up with similar errors, so it was clear… Continue reading Cannot open COM1 resolution

There are numerous ways to announce your absence in a team using Outlook and Exchange, and they have all their weak and strong points. One nifty solution though, is to create a room resource in Exchange / Office 365 and use its calendar as team vacations overview. Some of the advantages that this solution offers… Continue reading PowerShell – create room resource as vacation calendar