Running Linux guests using Qemu 5.0+ on a Windows host, using the WHPX accelerator, may fail to start and freezes on this line: [ … ] Freeing unused kernel image memory: … These guests work fine using Qemu 4 on the same Windows host, configured to use a SkyLake CPU type. The issue can be … Continue reading Qemu 5 on Windows Host With WHPX
Category Archives: Windows
Invalid Signature with GRUB
A MacBook Pro 7.1 configured for triple booting between MacOS, Linux & Windows failed to load Windows from Grub bootloader, reporting “invalid signature”. Configured with Refind boot manager and a Hybrid MBR, which initially had the Ext4 Linux partition in the MBR but not the NTFS Windows partition, we attempted to chainloader the Windows boot … Continue reading Invalid Signature with GRUB
Windows 10 Photos Imports Duplicates
If you use the Windows 10 Photos application to import photos from an SD card or camera, note the following to avoid creating duplicate files: Selecting a folder that was imported previously will cause duplicates of photos. The duplicates will be placed in the same folder but renamed with a number at the end, e.g. … Continue reading Windows 10 Photos Imports Duplicates
PXE Booting Guide
Configure DHCP ServerConfiguration below is for isc-dhcp-server on Linux: # For hardware LAN Boot ROMs:option tftp-server-address 192.168.1.200;filename “pxelinux.0”;# For HyperV Guests:# option 60 = client identifieroption dhcp-client-identifier “PXEClient”;# option 66 = TFTP server nameoption tftp-server-name “192.168.1.200”;# option 67 = Bootfile nameoption bootfile-name “pxelinux.0”; 2. Configure TFTP ServerOn Linux, tftp-hpa is recommended, with a directory structure … Continue reading PXE Booting Guide
The Windows 10 Backup Mess
Windows 10, in 2018, has a variety of built-in backup mechanisms. Unfortunately these are mostly incongruent with each other and each offers different points of protection. 1) File History This is the native Windows 10 backup component. It requires a second disk or SMB network share, to which data located in the User folders are … Continue reading The Windows 10 Backup Mess
Windows 8 power button on start screen
To enable the power button on the start screen in Windows 8.1 (disabled by default on screens smaller than 8.5″), add either of the following registry keys: For current user: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell For all users on the device: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell Value to add: Launcher_ShowPowerButtonOnStartScreen, DWORD = 1 Note: if setting this value via Group Policy Editor, the HKCU setting … Continue reading Windows 8 power button on start screen
Boot Windows with Syslinux
To install Syslinux on an NTFS partition to boot Windows XP: Download and extract the latest Zip file from: https://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/utils/boot/syslinux/This file contains code for Windows and Linux systems, only copy files from within the “bios” folder. Create the directoriy structure on the active NTFS partition: C:\boot\syslinux Within the extracted folders, find and copy from the syslinux-x.xx\bios\com32 … Continue reading Boot Windows with Syslinux
Windows 10 Backup Settings shortcut
To create a desktop shortcut to the Backup settings in Windows 10: Right-click desktop -> New -> Shortcut -> ms-settings:backup -> Next -> Finish Rename the shortcut to “Backup Settings”.Edit the shortcut’s properties to customize the icon. For shortcuts to other settings see: www.nextofwindows.com/the-complete-list-of-ms-settings-shortcuts-to-windows-10-settings-applet
Automate PDF printing from batch file command line
Adobe Reader is not suitable for printing PDF files using a batch file because it remains open after the print is done and there is no simple, safe & reliable mechanism to close it. Instead use Ghostscript commandline as shown below: gswin32c -dPrinted -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -dNOSAFER -q -dNumCopies=1 “C:\test.pdf” *Must be a recent version of … Continue reading Automate PDF printing from batch file command line
Can’t access local resources when VPN connected (Vista & Win7)
Windows Vista introduced a new feature that allows PPTP VPN credentials to access resources on remote servers when the VPN is connected. The side effect is that access to local resources then fails. The feature can be disabled per VPN as follows: Locate the .pbk file that contains the entry that you dial: %AppData%\Microsoft\Network\Connections\Pbk Open … Continue reading Can’t access local resources when VPN connected (Vista & Win7)