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If you are upgrading to Windows 7 from XP you will need to do a clean install, and installing your favorite apps again is time consuming and annoying. Now you can install your favorite applications while waiting they are installed for you. How many times did you go to all the websites, download, installed and configured them over and over again.

With Ninite things have become smarter and more efficient.

Ninite runs on Windows XP/Vista/7 and works in the background 100% hands-free.  We install apps with default settings and say "no" to browser toolbars and other junk. All we do is install the latest versions of the apps you choose. Not even Ninite is installed.

Just pick your favorite apps and download the installer. In minutes the tools are installed for you and you can focus on more important things.

Click here to run and install application by yourself as never before.

After 6 years of working with Windows Server 2003 I finally made this script to disabe the restricted IE mode. Microsoft already fixed this feature for Windows Server 2008 and it can be easly switched off in Server Manager. For Windows Server 2003 you still need to open appwiz.cpl and run the steps.

The screenshot below made me creating this script:

Microsoft Internet Explorer’s Enhanced Security Configuration is currently enabled on your server. This enhanced level of security reduces the rish of attach from Web-based content that is not secure.

This message make sense but not when I need to update latest firmware, drivers or work on a CA as shown in my example.

Create new file named disable “IE-Security.txt”  and paste text below.

[Components]
IEHardenUser=Off
IEHardenAdmin=Off

Save the file and run SYSOCMGR.EXE /i:%windir%\inf\sysoc.inf /u:c:\IE-Security.txt

This made my server now less secure but my life easier to get this done.

My LAN IP addresses recently changed and therefore I needed to move my Qnap TS-109 NAS box to a new IP address. Since than I was not able to open the SABnzbd+ web interface on tcp port 8800. The Qdownload folder and sabnzb subfolder still worked when presenting an NZB file. The SABnzbd+ daemon worked but I was not able to use GUI.

After leaning that Qnap released their v3 firmware I download and installed the binaries on my NAS box. New SABnzbd+_0.4.11 QPKG package was released and I download it and wanted to install this plugin and solve my problem.

As the screenshot above shows the process of installing this SABnzbd+_0.4.11QPKG plug-in/package hanged at 50%. I reboot the NAS box, disabled SABnzbd+, reboot, removed Python package and reinstalled Pyton and SABnzbd+_0.4.11 but nothing helped. I even renamed the file as suggested in the support forms; still it did not helped. Tried with IE7 with WIndows XP; still it stopped at 50%.

Until I found a post that SABnzbd+_0.4.11 package may have a bug and try to go back to a earlier version. That’s what I did.

I found a post how to install the SABnzbd+_0.4.11.qpkg package without the web interface. Use putty.exe or ssh (mac/linux) and 22/ssh port and login. Go to your share where you stored the package and run it.

[/share/Qtemp] # sh SABnzbd+_0.4.11.qpkg
Install QNAP package on TS-NAS ...
qinstall.sh
SABnzbd+.tgz
4852+1 records in
4852+1 records out
qinstall.sh: line 79: qpkg.cfg: No such file or directory
Installation Abort.

As you can see it failed. Make sure you installed the IPKG QPKG package to run the following commands. Wget is needed to download remote files (ipkg install wget).

Update: 2 November 2009 –> I changed wrong hyperlink to 0.4.9 version and added unzip step

[/share/Qtemp] # wget http://ftp.qnap.com/QPKG/TS-109/SABnzbd+_0.4.9_TS-109.zip 
[/share/Qtemp] # unzip SABnzbd+_0.4.9_TS-109.zip
[/share/Qtemp] # sh SABnzbd+_0.4.9_TS-109.qpkg
Install QNAP package on TS-NAS ...
qinstall.sh
SABnzbd+.tgz
4794+1 records in
4794+1 records out
Link service start/stop script: sabnzbd.sh
Set QPKG information to /etc/config/qpkg.conf
SABnzbd+ 0.4.9 has been installed in /share/HDA_DATA/.qpkg/SABnzbd+.

Wow my SABnzb+ is working again and I can access the web interface on port tcp 8800. SABnzbd+_0.4.12 is released and no QPKG package so far but now I can do that from SSH shell.

[/share/Qtemp] # wget http://surfnet.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/sabnzbdplus/SABnzbd-0.4.12-src.tar.gz
[/share/Qtemp] # tar -vxzf SABnzbd-0.4.12-src.tar.gz
[/share/Qtemp] # /etc/init.d/sabnzbd.sh stop
[/share/Qtemp] # cp -R SABnzbd-0.4.12/* /share/HDA_DATA/.qpkg/SABnzbd+/
[/share/Qtemp] # /etc/init.d/sabnzbd.sh start

After two weeks no GUI interface I found a solution how to get my SABnzb daemon up and running with the latest version.

Qnap released their new FIRMWARE V3 which brings the best user experience with the AJAX technology for their NAS users.

Firmware v3 features:

• QNAP NAS now supports Virtual Disk which enables the NAS to connect to other iSCSI targets over the network by the built-in iSCSI initiator feature for flexible storage expansion.
• EXT4 file system supports larger volume size (>16TB) and higher performance than EXT3. For more information, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ext4.
• With UPnP discovery, you can discover your NAS from any OS that supports UPnP. With Bonjour enabled, you can use the Finder to find the NAS or its services, e.g. AFP, on Mac OS X. There is no need to enter the IP address or configure the DNS servers.
• QPKG: The QPKG software package platform enables the users to maximize the usage of Turbo NAS by installing additional software packages developed from the users and community worldwide. This can be done by simple click ‘download & clicking’ without going through any complicated process.
• IP Filter/Network Access Protection: It’s simply the best anti-hacking solution that you will never want to miss.
• IP Filter/Network Access Protection: It’s simply the best anti-hacking solution that you will never want to miss.
• The NAS records all sorts of events such as system errors, warning messages, and connection logs. You can manage the log record by right clicking the logs and block the host IP address.
• QFinder for Windows & Mac: The QFinder not only allows you to discover and configure your QNAP NAS, but also supports the other features, such as Wake-On-LAN (if applicable). And the brand new design QFinder4Mac is now available, a native OS X application for your QNAP NAS.
• QGet for Windows & Mac: The QGet is simply the best client application for Download Station, which allows you to control your download jobs remotely.
• The new UI supports popular browsers, including Microsoft Internet 7 & 8, Apple Safari 3 & 4, Mozilla Firefox 3, and Google Chrome.
• The wizard guides you through the configuration process and makes it simple and fast.
• Resource Monitor: Provides you the live view of the CPU Usage, the Disk Usage pie chart, and the bandwidth transfer statistics.
• Get the latest news from QNAP such as up-to-date firmware, application and QPKG packages by the built-in RSS feed.
• You can switch the display language of the GUI in a flash.
• Select your favorite theme color for the web interface of the NAS. The settings will be applied automatically.
• With real-time list search, you can find the specific user, group or share folder within just a second.
• TwonkyMedia: TwonkyMedia works with DLNA-certified digital media adapters or UPnP AV-compliant devices, such as AV systems, TVs, PCs, game consoles and mobile devices (e.g. Apple iPhone).

List of features is so huge and unbelievable what the engineers of Qnap did. The upgrade on my TS-109 from v2 to 3.1.0 Build0708 went very smooth. The NAS box is even quicker.  Memory usage is still the same and with my config only 3MB free now.

If you own this piece of master work from Qnap please check their website and update you own NAS box.

To give you a better impression please see my screenshots below:

a) When you enter the Qnap v3 Admin interface

b) Qnap new AJAX login window and options to rember username and password. how sweat.

c) QNap Turbo NAS Overview. New icons and interface which I really like. Super!

d) Qnap Firmware Update screen

e) Qnap Volume Management screen

f) Qnap Network Service screen

g) Qnap QPKG Plugins screen

Well this is something to consider if you don’t have any virus protection so far. You should and Microsoft offers it now for free. I will install it on my Windows 7 systems.

Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a free* download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology. It’s easy to tell if your PC is secure — when you’re green, you’re good. It’s that simple.

Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the background so that you are free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want—without interruptions or long computer wait times.

Click here to download your copy.

For last couple of hours I am struggling with installing the SSP provider for Sharepoint 2007 server. During the creation of a new SSP provider a Indexer is required; well I can’t select any because it is empty. Searched on google and found out that I need to start “Office SharePoint Server Search” service in Central Administration website “Central Administration > Operations > Services on Server” and enable that service. Guess what? The service is missing.

Example screenshot:

Than I found my mistake. During the installation of Sharepoint 2007 I choose for Server type"Web Front End" instead of “Complete”.

I went back to my notes I created during the installation and I saw in the screenshot “Web Front End” server type was selected…

Related links:

• Installing a New Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 Portal: Step-by-Step Instructions
• Deployment for 2007 Microsoft Office SharePoint Server