Kiwi Banana Downunder

Blog has moved

2007-05-27T14:43:00.000+10:00

This blog has moved to http://www.dadamonkey.com

Project: Lappy - Part 3 of 3

2007-05-25T21:58:00.000+10:00

Part 3 - Clean Up the Messy Partitions

Because my workmate had attempted to dual boot XP with Kubuntu, he inadvertantly created a bit of a mess with the partitions. For example, using the gparted LiveCD failed to access the partitions because it thought the whole hard disk was a single unallocated partition.

At first I could not for the life of me figure out what was happening. In the end, I resolved this by booting off the Windows XP CD and proceeded with the install until I got to the stage where you get to manage the partitions. There was this one particular partition who's total size exceeded all the rest combined and that of the hard disk itself! After deleting this odd partition, everything appeared to return to normal and I quit the setup.

And sure enough, this did the trick.

Now gparted LiveCD was able to access and view the partitions with no problems. And dual booting between Kubuntu and Windows XP was successful.

And just to add that cherry on top, I updated Kubuntu and Windows with any new updates.

Project: Lappy - Part 2 of 3

2007-05-22T19:27:00.000+10:00

In Part 1, Windows was installed on the primary partition and this meant the MBR was occupied by the Windows Bootloader. This effectively means only Windows loads at startup.

So how do we get Kubuntu to load instead? The answer is dual boot! This is where you configure the system so that either of the operating systems can be selected upon startup.

Part 2 - Seting up Dual Boot

There are three possible configurations in setting this up:

make Kubuntu bootable using the Windows Bootloader
make Windows bootable using GRUB (Kubuntu's Bootloader)
make Windows and Kubuntu bootable using a 3rd party Bootloader

Option 1 requires the boot sector data from the Kubuntu partition to be copied to a file the Windows bootloader can use for booting Kubuntu.

Option 2 requires simple editing of a configuration file on Kubuntu.

Option 3 ... well, I never went any further than the 2nd option.

With the aid of the Super GRUB Disk (SGD) I restored GRUB (Kubuntu's bootloader) by installing GRUB's IPL to MBR.

Now only Kubuntu loads at startup.

Then I edited /boot/grub/menu.lst to include an entry for the option of loading Windows. This entry has to be made after the divider at the bottom of the automagic kernels list ie after this line,
### END DEBIAN AUTOMAGIC KERNELS LIST.

# This entry manually added by me for a non-linux OS
# on /dev/sda1
title Windows XP Professional
root (hd0,0)
savedefault
makeactive
chainloader +1

After saving the changes and rebooting, I was now presented with the option of loading Kubuntu or Windows XP at startup.

I found the resources at the Illustrated Dual Boot Site to be invaluable and highly recommend this to anyone who is considering on setting up a dual boot Linux and Windows system or if you simply need help with Linux bootloaders.

Project: Lappy - Part 1 of 3

2007-05-21T21:51:00.000+10:00

Back in February 2007, I helped a workmate to recover precious photos from a notebook which wouldn't boot. This same workmate had offered me another challenge over the weekend:

install Windows XP onto the primary partition and setup dual boot with the existing Kubuntu 7.04 system on the second partition - all this on his IBM ThinkPad R40 (2722-9BM) notebook (which he's given the nickname, Lappy) which also happened to contain sick partitions.

This challenge did not start off on the right leg because I had left Lappy at work on Friday. The realisation dawned upon me only once I was already at home! So I had to return to work to grab Lappy and thankfully no-one had taken it from my desk. My wife and 11.5 months old bubs got a joyride (20 min each way) out of this trip so they were happy - especially the little one!

After doing a bit of research on the net, I was ready to proceed.

Basically, the steps involved were:

install Windows
setup dual boot
clean up the messy partitions

Part 1 - Install Windows

I was warned Lappy has a dodgey optical drive which would sometimes work and other times not at all.

In anticipation the optical drive would not work for me I went online to look for solution that would allow me to boot from a USB flash drive and install Windows from this instead. I came across this resource, Installing Windows XP from USB. I followed the instructions to the tee but did not have much success with booting off the flash drive. I would get the "no operating system" error. As it was stated in the article, this method does not work for all flash drives. Anyway, I gave up this avenue as it had taken up a bit of time to prepare the flash drive, etc. But I'll definitely revisit this idea at a later time because it would be handy to have a flash drive that you can bung into any old system which supports booting from USB to install Windows. Definitely more friendly on the pockets: would you rather carry around your Windows CD or a USB flash drive in your pocket?

I thought I would try out my luck and pray the optical drive would work for me. As it turned out lady luck was on my side that night! Windows was installed from the CD without any hiccups. Hooray! Then I proceeded to update XP with everything under the sun - from Service Pack 2, IE 7, WMP 11, through to all the critical security updates. This did take a bit of time using the wireless (802.11b) connection and I was doing this from the warmth and comfort of the bed!

At this stage, only Windows loads at startup. The next installment - setting up dual boot of both XP and Kubuntu operating systems.

Mother's Day

2007-05-13T12:34:00.000+10:00

Bubs (11 months, 2 weeks & 2 days) got mom this mud cake and a card for Mother's Day. We could not let mom not enjoy her very first Mother's Day! The surprise was an instant hit!

Mom then started interrogating me on when and how I had time to arrange for this surprise. She is like this whenever there's a surpise she did not anticipate for. Of course, I did not reveal my secret ... shhhh .... mom's the word! ;-)

Spiderman 3 Movie

2007-05-05T21:57:00.000+10:00

I was quite fortunate enough to have gone and watched the Spiderman 3 movie today. But before I continue, this blog entry contain spoilers below so if you have not watched the movie and intend to, then you may want to skip this entry now. You have been warned!

I do have mixed feelings with this release.

This movie had plenty of action, an awesome segment for the origin of Sandman (especially the learning parts), plenty of witty humour throughout, and provided a closure on the feud between best friends, Peter Parker and Harry Osbourne; which was set up by the 2nd movie. But I didn't get the same satisfying wow factor I experienced with the previous two installments. I'm not sure why this is the case - perhaps it was the reviews (good and bad) I had read, my own expectations (because I used to read heaps of Spidey comics when I was a boy), or was it because the person sitting next to me had produced a loud fart during the movie?!?

I'm happy with how they integrated Venom into the movie, too bad he was easily defeated towards the end. Unless there was a subtle hint, Venom did not appear to have survived the explosion.

Nonetheless, I'll be adding this movie to my collection once it is released to DVD. And perhaps my feelings will sort themselves out once I watch this movie again, this time in the comfort of home where I won't need to worry about nasty habits of others. Time will tell.

Phoebe rewards daddy!

2007-04-22T17:23:00.000+10:00

Phoebe rewarded daddy for taking care of her this weekend by showering daddy's left foot with her very own personalised fountain. Ah huh! She did her wee wee on my foot while I was holding onto her.

The last time something like this happened, also while changing her nappy, was when she was just a newborn and squirted onto my hands.

She will be 11 months in 5 days!

Lawn edging

2007-04-09T21:12:00.000+10:00

Ahh, who would've thought a lawn edging scheme would be tough to think about. From one who is not handy with tools nor creative, it was a bit of a struggle!
Yesterday, we went to visit three nurseries which also provide landscaping products: Turltle Landscape Supplies, Baulkham Hills Landscape Supplies and Flower Power. The product of choice is C&M's 'Miniwall'. However, after taking into account that 252 pieces plus 252 caps equates to approximately AUD1600 (just under AUD4.00 per piece), we had to drop this idea quickly.

On our way home, we drove around a couple of the neighbouring suburbs to get some other ideas and we did. We have, for now, agreed on using pavers I had spotted at Bunnings Warehouse, a month ago, because they're value for money at AUD0.84 each and because the colour best matched the colour of our driveway (a deep red wine/burgundy shade). Cost? Would you believe just AUD260-300? I'll also have to get some ready mix concrete to form a base and some ready mix mortar to lay these suckers! Plus I'll need some tools too! All up, I anticipate the cost will be in the vicinity of AUD400.

Now I just need to learn how to do some concreting so that I can lay these pavers on their tall sides to form what will be, in our opinion, a darn good looking and colour-coordinated lawn edge.

Which grass to lay, part 3?

2007-04-08T08:56:00.000+10:00

Don't you hate it when you've decided on something but only to change your mind yet again?!?

After making a sound decision on Palmetto yesterday, today I came across another variety of Buffalo: Sapphire Soft Leaf Buffalo (Stenotaphrum secundatum 'B12').

The main characteristic of Sapphire Buffalo is in it's finer leaf appearance. The other properties also closely match to those of Palmetto or Sir Walter Buffalo varities.

Looks like it'll have to be another turf farm visit soon, to see the Sapphire Buffalo in person.

Which grass to lay, part 2?

2007-04-07T23:19:00.000+10:00

Today, we went to visit a turf farm to see, for ourselves, the differing turf types.

Empire Turf (Zyoysia japonica 'SS500') was our preferred turf prior to today. But after seeing this turf up close and personal, it did not satisfy our expectation. While it has some fantastic properties, it did not have the same visual appeal to the Soft Leaf Buffalo (Stenotaphrum secundatum) or Couch (Cynodon dactylon) varities.

Soft Leaf Buffalo is the most ideal turf for our location, where frosts do occur during the winter season.

Both Sir Walter and Palmetto (Stenotaphrum secundatum 'SS100' are winter active (means they stay green in winter), durable, exhibits weed and insect resistance, water efficient, very good shade and drought tolerance, and soft to touch.

It was highlighted to us the Palmetto requires less frequent mowing (during summer) than Sir Walter, and this was a winner in our minds. Palmetto also happens to be AUD1.00 cheaper per sq.m than Sir Walter.

So, for now, our preferred Buffalo turf is Palmetto.

Good Friday

2007-04-06T21:15:00.000+10:00

It is important we remember Easter is not simply about enjoying time away from work or for endulging in chocolates, but more importantly to remember the sacrifice Jesus made to save us all from our sins.

Today, I was saddened to learn of a tragic accident (occuring not far from where I live) where a young boy has lost his life in a very unfortunate incident involving a garbage-truck. My heart goes out to boy's parents and his immediate family. Read the article here.

Please make sure you have a happy and safe Easter everyone! :-)

Which grass to lay?

2007-04-02T22:29:00.000+10:00

Soft Leaf Buffalo (St. Augustine grass) or Sir Walter were the buzz words used whenever I asked about which turf should one lay down for a lawn. Further research showed there were several varities of Buffalo such as ST91 (Buffine) and ST26 (Austine). Each would have it's own advantage, eg blades of grass of one variety are less broader, another would retain it's green colour throughout winter, and so on.

In my readings, I came across Empire Turf (Zyoysia japonica 'SS500') which has appealing qualities such as finer leaf, requires less frequent mowing, is low thatching, and highly rated for it's water efficiency, thus requires less watering, competes well with weeds and Buffalo, generally a low maintenance and look good turf.

However, my neighbours who have laid turf over the last year have all gone for some variety of Buffalo. And I must admit some of them look very good - and this makes the decision that much harder.

My current plan is to lay a variety of Soft Leaf Buffalo (St. Augustine grass) at the front and lay Empire Turf at the back of the house. Hope it won't be too weird!

Now I just need to measure out the areas for turfing and go visit one of the many turf farms to look at the different turf with my own eyes.

Updated: I require a total of 120 sq.m of turf.

Bubs in her overall pants

2007-03-25T21:40:00.000+10:00

In a couple more days, bubs will have reached the 10 month milestone.

Today, she got to wear her OshKosh B'gosh overall pants for the first time! Doesn't she just look cute and adorable?!?

While she is able to stand for short periods at a time only, she has not started walking just yet.

And she kissed me (several times) in public for the first time too!
She really knows how to make me feel super special!

Kiwis open Cricket World Cup campaign with a win

2007-03-17T17:08:00.000+11:00

The Black Caps (Kiwis) have scored themselves a win in their opening match in Pool C of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, against England. Check the scorecard for the full match details.

Too bad I'm not able to watch any of the matches live on TV. Coverage is available on pay-TV only and this is a service I am not subscribed to. Ahh well, there's always the internet :)

Phoebe + portacot = ????

2007-03-15T23:43:00.000+11:00

Watch what happens when bubs is left to her own devices ... in her portacot.

I am just lost for words to describe this!

A bundle of joy!

2007-03-12T22:40:00.000+11:00

My precious, Phoebe, is 9 months, 1 week and 6 days old. She has 4 cute teeth, has a turbo-boost mode for crawling and a killer smile (and I'm sure all parents think of their kids like this!).

Just take a look at the small dance routine she showed us ... ultra adorable ... awwwwwwww.

In the past 1-2 weeks, Phoebe has become very attached to me and this makes me feel very special. But being special also leads to one being very tired. But it is all worth it in the end to see how lively and happy she is.

At last, we won a game!

2007-03-10T21:31:00.000+11:00

Today we won our first cricket match for the season! Too bad it also happened to be our last match for the season.

This season has been a disappointing one for us. After winning the minor premiereship last season we (along with 3 other teams from our grade) were moved up a grade for this season. All could have went well except that this season we had player availability issues which meant we would be consistently 1 to 3 plays down per match.

From the 14 scheduled matches, we had to forfeit 2 matches because we simply did not have the numbers; and we also had 2 byes. So we ended up playing 10 matches only.

But we'll take the win. It was a good way to bow out of the competition :-)

Wild light show hits Sydney

2007-03-05T23:12:00.000+11:00

About this time last night a spectacular lightning storm ensured the night skies lit up so bright that you could have mistakened for daylight!

As bright and as ferocious was the lightning show, the thunder that followed were very loud - like as if someone had set off some explosives or dropped a very heavy metal ball onto the road outside - loud enough to startle and wake up our little precious from her deep beauty sleep.

Read more about this storm online at Sydney Morning Hearld's (SMH) website.

And check out the photos submitted by SMH readers, too!

Aloe drink

2007-03-04T22:20:00.000+11:00

About 2-3 weeks ago, the cafe at work started selling a drink called Aloe from Paldo. The curiosity got the better of my peers at work and now they're hooked on it too.

Aloe is a natural drink containing Aloe Vera Crush. It is best served chilled as it makes the whole experience more refreshing.

The cafe sells both 500ml and 1.5L versions of this drink for a pricey AUD2.80 and AUD6.00, respectively. I can buy the 1.5L bottle from a local asian grocery store for approximately AUD2.90 (slightly less if I buy bulk). So the cafe definitely make a healthy return from the sale of this drink.

Movies coming soon!

2007-02-27T22:56:00.000+11:00

There are a few movies coming soon that I would like to see - some more than others. But here are a few coming soon ... real soon!

Spiderman 3 - opens in theatres May 3, 2007
Fantastic Four: The Rise Of The Silver Surfer - opens in theatres June 21, 2007
Transformers - The Movie - opens in theatres June 29, 2007
Harry Potter And The Order Of the Phoenix - opens in theatres July 13, 2007
The Bourne Ultimatum - opens in theatres August 9, 2007
Rush Hour 3 - opens in theatres August 16, 2007

Note: The release dates listed are for Australian theatres.

But truth be told, I doubt that I will be watching all these and other titles at the theatre; might just get an opportunity to see one or two movies. Will have to simply wait for the DVD release instead (you get a better deal this way - watch the movie as many times as you like from the comfort of your home).

Installing an old TV tuner card

2007-02-20T21:21:00.000+11:00

I have this old Spirit TV Tuner/ Video Capture Card (sold by Dick Smith Electronics back in 1998) which I wanted to get up and running on a Pentium 3 (733MHz) system I had recently acquired. The problem is this card was designed to work with Windows 95/98/ME operating systems so there were no official drivers or support for later versions of Windows.

This TV tuner card uses the Brooktree BT848 chipset and the tv tuner model Temic FH5 4002 B/G.

I came across a third party solution - the BTWinCap project - which provided me with a driver to install the tuner card in Windows XP.

Before I could watch TV on this system I needed a tv tuning software to make use of the installed card. After some searching I settled on The FlyDS; a MS DirectShow based software for watching video from a tv tuner card, among other features. The latest version of The FlyDS can be downloaded from http://www.asvzzz.com.

Has anyone come across other tv tuning software (for Windows XP) which supports a BT848-based tv tuner card?

Windows Vista - OEM version

2007-02-05T13:17:00.000+11:00

In a previous post, I mentioned the OEM version of Vista is available and showed it was much cheaper than the Retail version.

With the OEM version of Vista there is a catch: the Vista Product Key will only work with the first motherboard it is installed on. In other words, you can install the OEM version of Vista on any number of computers but only one of these can be fully activated with the Product Key. The other installs will simply deactivate within 30 days, i.e. the grace period.

Read more on Buying OEM versions of Windows Vista: the facts by Ken Fisher.

My AL440LX Upgrade

2007-02-04T21:07:00.000+11:00

A few years ago my cousin handed down to me his old box - Dell Dimension XPS-233 - a Pentium II (233MHz) system.

Using the fantastic resources gathered on Bill's AL440LX Installation Guide, I installed Intel's BIOS. By doing this, it allowed me to use a Celeron 533MHz processor instead of being restricted to a Pentium II 333MHz processor on the Dell BIOS.

A slocket (or slotket) was also needed to install the PPGA form factor Celeron processor on a Slot 1 motherboard.

Here's the configuration of the Dell system I'm using now:

Dell AL440LX motherboard
Intel Celeron 533 MHz processor
MSI Master v2 slotket (MS6905)
256MB PC100 SDRAM
MSI Starforce 816 graphics card (GeForce2 MX - 32MB AGP)
Yamaha OPL3a sound (onboard)
4.3GB Seagate Medalist hard-drive (two of them)
LG 40x CD-ROM
Mitsubishi Diamond View DV17NF monitor
Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft)

Data Recovery from NTFS drive

2007-02-02T21:18:00.000+11:00

Earlier in the week I took up a challenge to help a workmate to recover some photos of his grandmother from his sick Dell notebook. His grandmother passed away recently so these photos were that much more precious; there are no other copies of the photos either.

Workmate's Dell notebook (Latitude CPx H450GT)

floppy drive
no optical drive
no network card
a single USB 1.0 port (no option to boot in BIOS)

My LG notebook (LS50-CSVA)

optical drive
USB 2.0 ports (bootable)
no floppy drive

The Dell notebook does not load into Windows. It quickly flashes an error and restarts automatically. The same happened when attempting to load into Safe Mode.

The Dell hard drive is NTFS formatted and has Partition Magic installed.

My first attempt involved removing the hard-drive from the Dell and inserting this into my external USB hard-drive enclosure. While Windows (on the LG) detected the hard-drive, it could not access the contents.

Returned the hard drive back into the Dell. Created an MS-DOS bootdisk and included NTFS Reader for DOS. The NTFS Reader utility permitted me to access the files on the hard-drive, so that was a step in the right direction. However, the floppy disk did not have sufficient free space to save the photos onto.

The HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool allowed me to make my 1GB (Transcend JetFlash 150) flash drive bootable. I also included NTFS Reader utility since this application was the only utility that could access the contents on the Dell hard drive.

Because Dell is not able to boot from USB, I popped the Dell hard-drive into the LG notebook, updated the BIOS to boot from USB, ran the NTFS Reader utility and was able to copy the photos from the Dell hard-drive onto the USB flash drive.

My workmate was absolutely ecstatic the photos were recovered as he had already resigned they were lost for good.

As a bonus, I also cured his sick Dell notebook: erased the hard-drive contents and reinstalled Windows XP.

Windows Vista ... coming to a Harvey Norman store near you!

2007-01-29T16:22:00.000+11:00

Microsoft's new operating system, Windows Vista, will be available to the general Australian public on 30th January, 2007.

Harvey Norman stores will begin the official launch at midnight (tonight). Freebies will also be given away to the first 50 & 100 buyers. Plus, Gerry Havey (Harvey Norman chairman) will sell the first copy of Windows Vista at the Alexandria store (Sydney), which will be signed by Bill Gates!

There are several versions of Windows Vista to choose from, each one accomodating for a particular niche and each one with their own pricing. For example, the Recommended Retail Price (RRP) for Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate is AU$455 and AU$751, respectively. A basic comparison of the different versions can be found on the Microsoft website.
Note: the listed RRP is for the Full Version only.

If staying up until midnight (and beyond) or spending your precious time in a queue avoiding your toes from being crunched is not your scene, then you may settle for purchasing an OEM version online! Vista Ultimate OEM is priced at AU$292.90 (excludes shipping) at mwave.com.au. One guy at work purchased Vista Business OEM for approximately AU$210.
Note: OEM version may not be your ideal avenue especially if you have little or no level of experience with installing an operating system from scratch.

A word of warning: Before you jump ahead to buy (or install) Vista, make sure your system meets the minimum requirements. And to truely enjoy the benefits and eye-candy of Vista you will want to up the ante and meet or better the recommended requirements. To see how your system measures up head over to Microsoft's website, download and run the Vista Upgrade Advisor.

Shopping for computer parts

2007-01-20T20:06:00.001+11:00

I frequently visit the following Australian websites to drool over what is available and their current pricing.

Fluidtek - can be cheap and nasty if you don't know your stuff
MSY - another cheap place for parts
J&W Computers - is the closest shop to home with decent stuff
Mwave - accepts payment through PayPal!

However, I am constantly reminded the money I spend could buy my 8 month old daughter food and clothing. Yup, the guilt trap definitely works!!! And the drooling stops here.

Having a look at Windows Vista

2007-01-09T20:50:00.000+11:00

I installed Windows Vista RTM (build #6000) onto my 2.5 year old laptop - 1.6MHz Centrino (Dothan) with 512MB RAM, and a Mobility Radeon 9600 graphics adaptor.

It was a clean install, meaning I purged everything from my 80GB hard-drive.

Vista detected and installed drivers for almost every component except for the flash-media controller. This was resolved by pointing Vista to load the driver for WinXP.

The Aero desktop - a cool feature which provides a glass like effect with the windows - was not enabled by default. This was also easily resolved by updating the Appearance settings.

Those who are familiar (and comfortable) with WinXP will quickly learn the changes in how to navigate around the system.

The new games - Chess and MahJong - are welcomed additions to the popular Solitaire and Minesweeper offerings of the past. My 13 yr old niece overseas would love the chess game - too bad she doesn't live close enough for me to show her.

My first impression of Vista ... Wow!