Enhance boot-time security with GRUB passwords

This is something that I should look into. Linux.com Article.

Automatically Updating Your CentOS 4 System

See the CentOS Docs for more details.

6.1. Automatically Updating Your System

The yum package supplied with CentOS includes scripts to perform full system updates every day. To activate automatic daily updates, enter this command:

su -c '/sbin/chkconfig --level 345 yum on; /sbin/service yum start'

At the prompt, enter the password for the root account.

	How Daily Updates are Run
	There is no separate yum service that runs on your system. The command given above enables the control script /etc/rc.d/init.d/yum. This control script activates the script /etc/cron.daily/yum.cron, which causes the cron service to perform the system update automatically at 4am each day.

BackupPC Doesn’t Start on Boot | How Linux Boots.

PROBLEM

After rebooting my test BackupPC server, I found that BackupPC didn't start. After I login, I'm able to start backuppc via services backuppc start. My theory is that BackupPC is starting before the Coraid appliance is online. I found that BackupPC is started by a script in /etc/init.d. I always wondered exactly how Linux works (booting, init.d, etc.). I found a good article on the Linux.com site; "How Linux Boots".

SOLUTION

Move backuppc from /etc/init.d to /dev/vol1 and call it from the aoe-init script.

/mnt/vol1/backuppc/backuppc start

/mnt/vol1/backuppc/backuppc stop 

HP Color LaserJet 3600 | Magenta Toner Issue

PROBLEM

Magenta "dots" along left-hand edge of printed pages.

Called HP Tech Support at 1-800-474-6836.  The technician had me perform a full calibration via the printer menu:

Configure Device < Printer Quality < Full Calibration Now

Next, I entered the printer diagnostics menu:

Diagnostics < Disable Cartridge Check

I opened the printer and swapped the magenta and cyan toner cartidges.  I printed another printer configuration page and the magenta dots were still there.

SOLUTION 

HP is sending out a new magenta toner cartidge.  It should arrive tomorrow via FedEx.

Icons have vanished on “write post” page

Here's a solution I found on the WordPress Forum:

The solution which is being repeated around the forum is:

1. Go to the write page/post page or edit page/post.

2. Then in the area where you normally write your post. rightclick with your mouse.

3. The icons/rich text editor should now come back.

This worked for me and a few others.

Jet Sled Specs

Saw this on Quest Outdoors for $11K:

1762 Lowe Roughneck 2002

Motor is 2005 Evinrude Etec 90/65.

Lowe trailer

Sawyer oars

River Larry 24V winch (controls fore and aft)

BackupPC and Removable Drives

I'd like to remove and rotate my RAID appliance drives offsite. I'm thinking about a monthly rotation cycle. I found reference to this idea in the BackupPC email list archive. I need to purchase 4 more HDs for the rotation to work.

Moving the BackupPC Data Directory

After setting up a RAID appliance, I need to move the BackupPC's data directory. I found reference to this issue on the BackupPC Forum. The solution is to create a symbolic link.

ln -s existing-path link-path

In this case, my existing-path is /home/backuppc and my link-path is /mnt/vol2/backuppc.
Therefore, the command is as follows:

ln -s /home/backuppc /mnt/vol2/backuppc

I found the procedure on SoureForge (
Create the new top level data directory on the new drive

# cd /mnt/vol1

# mkdir backuppc

Copy old data tree to new drive then rename the old data tree

# cd /home/backuppc

# cp -R * /mnt/vol1/backuppc

# mv /home/backuppc /home/backuppc-old

Make sure the new data tree has the same ownership as the old.

# chown -R backuppc:wheel /mnt/vol1/backuppc

Symlink the new mount and data tree to the former path

# ln -s /mnt/vol1/backuppc backuppc

Restart BackupPC server

Bad base code image

After installing a 3COM 1GB NIC in an ASUS system, I get the following BIOS error:

 Bad base code image.

Googling the problem, I found reference to it on the PC Perspective forum.

It states the following:

If you installed the 3COM Diagnostics software with your Nic (I assume its a 3C2000) open up Nic Doctor (should be in your system tray) select the configuration tab, then select boot rom under network parameter and under set value change it to Disabled. Next time you boot the message should be gone. This has worked for me every time. We just purchased about 20 of them here, however it seems to only happen on Pentium 3 /Athlon and older machines so far, I haven't run into the issue on a P4, XP or 64 yet.

 I'll have to place this card in a Windows Workstation to use the NIC Doctor application.  It's presently installed in a Linux box.

qtask.exe pops up 36 times on login!

The qttask.exe program is a simple program that lets Apple’s QuickTime software show up in the Windows taskbar.

The solution: Use the Task Manager to end the qttask process. Rename the qttask.exe file in your QuickTime directory to something else; you can even delete it as it is not used to play or view any QuickTime-associated data. Reboot.