2016.09.30
Not a big upgrade, but the price is right.
Two day shipping, its there Friday evening when I get home. Unbox, photograph, plug in to charger.
Later, turn it on for first time.
English, Next. Setup Wizard, Phone activation.
Only thing I can do now is use Wi-Fi or make an emergency call.
Skip through as much set up as can.
note some values:
{see Google doc "phone SCH-I545 2016.09.30-"}
Check IMEI on Verizon site: "Success! Your Samsung Galaxy S® 4 in Black Mist works on the Verizon network.".
Is there any point to resetting the phone? If there was something evil on this phone from the previous user, would it be removed? A quick search revels the self reset in Settings doesn't do much to the system, just the user.
Went to a Verizon store, got sim installed.
2016.10.01
Backup Google accounts using Takeout.
Backup and reset
Factory data reset
Reset phone
Delete all {10p... reboots, Android icon 'erasing', reboot, Verizon checkmark logo ... 10:02p ... 10:03p Setup Wizard}
Setup Wizard
Language English
"The SIM card has already been activated", Your phone number is ...
Sync your contacts with Verizon UNCHECK, Next
"Gmail setup is in a later step." Skip
Software update, checking, {seems to do nothing, next step...}
Tap & Go, Skip
Add your account, Google, Enter your email, password {OK}
Just a sec...
Get your apps & data
Restore from this backup, includes apps, app data, system settings, and Wi-Fi passwords.
Galaxy Nexus Last used 1 day ago
Also include
All apps 37
Next {why not, let's see what happens, i can always reset}
Google services {UNCHECK all of these}
Back up your phone's apps, app data, settings, and Wi-Fi passwords
Use Google's location service
Help improve location services
Help improve your Android experience
{unchecked all} Next
Setup Wizard
My Verizon Mobile
In-Store View Terms & Conditions
Not Now
Done
Samsung account
Skip
Protect your phone, You will not be able to prevent other people from using your phone when it is lost or stolen...
No
Protect your phone, You can always turn on Reactivation lock...
2017.01.27
I got the phone just set up enough to use, started using it, stopped changing it. Only recently did I even bother adding something simple like ringtones. Lately the phone has been acting flakey, and now its offering a system update, so let's see what happens.
Current version = Android 5.0.1
Settings -> System Updates, install.
Version is still 5.0.1.
2018.05.16
Frequent error messages and need to restart.
Usually something about the SIM being missing. Then there's this one:
"Global network Switching to Global Mode."
which seems more benign.
2018.07.07
Got a new Google Pixel 2 XL, time to move out of here permanently.
The mobile account was moved to the new phone yesterday, so its time to move photos, take any screenshots desired, reset, power off, and put away.
Transfer photos. While phone still mounted on PC, go through dirs, copy to Z:\. Basically just the download folder, which is probably all garbage but why sort through it now, screenshots and ringtones. The only thing left I might want to save on this phone are the messages, if it can be done easily.
It would be nice if Google could just do this, but it looks like a third party app is how its down. "SMS Backup+" or "SMS Backup & Restore"? How to decide which to trust? I'll go with SMS Backup+.
Why is my Google backup account set to Yahoo? Changed to Outlook.
I really don't use apps all that much, because seeing some of these permissions make me queasy. Why do I want some third party app to be allowed to do anything it wants to my email? I know, I should really just relax.
Backup all messages. Backing up #/2709 items.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Monday, June 6, 2016
MacBook Pro (2006) shutting itself off
2016.06.06
My venerable MacBook Pro "Core Duo" 2.16 15" has been working fine for most of its 10 year life. The display developed gray blotches, got it replaced, blotches came back, learned to just live with it. The battery held less and less of a charge until now it holds almost none. Pull out the AC power and it will shut itself off quickly. But now its getting more serious - its shutting itself off soon after boot, even though the power cable is clearly plugged in and green.
test1
bong, gray apple, login screen, login, desktop loads, open iTunes, download new podcasts... last time it shut down at this point... uptime of at least 7 minutes and all is well.
plug in ipod shuffle, add new, eject.
at least 20 minutes now and nothing.
well, that happens. i'll probably be back here soon.
2016.06.21
Due to the nature of intermittent problems, I'm not surprised nothing much happened for a few weeks. There were a few instances were maybe it powered off on sleep, or maybe I powered it of and forgot to close the lid. Because I often use online apps on this laptop (Google Drive or blogs) if something exits without saving I might never know. Chalk up another confirmed, it did it while I had my attention away for only a few minutes.
2016.06.24
In screen saver mode for a few minutes, shut itself off.
2016.07.07
Sometimes it shuts itself off, sometimes it stays on for a few days. Usually its when it goes to sleep and/or I close the lid, I'll try to wake it up and find its off. I've tried turning off the screen saver, which seems to help, then I turned off power management, not sure if that helped with frequency. Just now, it shut off mid-sentence while I was typing in a Google doc.
It needs saying that this is a 10 year old computer, and not just a computer, but a laptop. The battery has never been changed - it stopped being a battery a long time ago (years?), and can only run on AC power.
I think this is the longest I've ever used a single machine. I've more than depreciated it, and would happily keep using it, but I think its usable lifespan is almost over.
2016.07.10
left it on, close lid, come back days later - session still there!
2016.09.19
Its getting really bad now, sometimes it won't even stay on long enough for me to login, let alone finish an iTunes download and syncing session.
My venerable MacBook Pro "Core Duo" 2.16 15" has been working fine for most of its 10 year life. The display developed gray blotches, got it replaced, blotches came back, learned to just live with it. The battery held less and less of a charge until now it holds almost none. Pull out the AC power and it will shut itself off quickly. But now its getting more serious - its shutting itself off soon after boot, even though the power cable is clearly plugged in and green.
test1
bong, gray apple, login screen, login, desktop loads, open iTunes, download new podcasts... last time it shut down at this point... uptime of at least 7 minutes and all is well.
plug in ipod shuffle, add new, eject.
at least 20 minutes now and nothing.
well, that happens. i'll probably be back here soon.
2016.06.21
Due to the nature of intermittent problems, I'm not surprised nothing much happened for a few weeks. There were a few instances were maybe it powered off on sleep, or maybe I powered it of and forgot to close the lid. Because I often use online apps on this laptop (Google Drive or blogs) if something exits without saving I might never know. Chalk up another confirmed, it did it while I had my attention away for only a few minutes.
2016.06.24
In screen saver mode for a few minutes, shut itself off.
2016.07.07
Sometimes it shuts itself off, sometimes it stays on for a few days. Usually its when it goes to sleep and/or I close the lid, I'll try to wake it up and find its off. I've tried turning off the screen saver, which seems to help, then I turned off power management, not sure if that helped with frequency. Just now, it shut off mid-sentence while I was typing in a Google doc.
It needs saying that this is a 10 year old computer, and not just a computer, but a laptop. The battery has never been changed - it stopped being a battery a long time ago (years?), and can only run on AC power.
I think this is the longest I've ever used a single machine. I've more than depreciated it, and would happily keep using it, but I think its usable lifespan is almost over.
2016.07.10
left it on, close lid, come back days later - session still there!
2016.09.19
Its getting really bad now, sometimes it won't even stay on long enough for me to login, let alone finish an iTunes download and syncing session.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
client laptop purchase: mid-range
Research for a client:
For $100 less ($499) you can get a very similar model from Asus: F555LA-EH51 i5-5200U 8gb 1tb 5400rpm 15.6" 1366x768 [3]. Or for about the same price ($579) as that Dell get an even faster CPU: Asus F555UA-EH71 i7-6500U 8gb 1tb 5400rpm 15.6" 1366x768 [4].
Compare to that base Dell model, for an extra $150 (to $749) you could move up to the 7000 Series 15" Intel i5-6200u, 8gb RAM, 256g SSD, 15.6" FHD(1920x1080) 2-in-1 Touch (folds into a tablet) [5]. Same CPU and RAM, but better resolution and much faster disk, if you don't need all that extra room.
There exists a strange compromise that should be noted, an Asus with less power but with high-res screen for only $369. Its the Asus F555LA-AB31 (i3, 4gb, 500gb hdd, 1920x1080) [6]. That's a great price-point if that mix works for you, and you can see why its "#1 Best Seller" on Amazon. I think it would make a great second computer (travel laptop, tv room laptop), but not so much as a primary machine, unless your needs were really minimal.
---
links:
[1] http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/laptop-brand-ratings
Amazon
[2] http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15-5559-laptop/pd?oc=fncwv2310s&model_id=inspiron-15-5559-laptop
[3] http://www.amazon.com/F555LA-EH51-Intel-Laptop-Windows-64bit/dp/B015790WNI
[4] http://www.amazon.com/F555UA-EH71-Intel-Laptop-Windows-64bit/dp/B014LE6A6I/
[5] http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15-7568-laptop/pd?oc=dncwa005s&model_id=inspiron-15-7568-laptop
[6] http://www.amazon.com/F555LA-AB31-15-6-inch-Full-HD-Laptop-Windows/dp/B011KFQASE
For $100 less ($499) you can get a very similar model from Asus: F555LA-EH51 i5-5200U 8gb 1tb 5400rpm 15.6" 1366x768 [3]. Or for about the same price ($579) as that Dell get an even faster CPU: Asus F555UA-EH71 i7-6500U 8gb 1tb 5400rpm 15.6" 1366x768 [4].
Compare to that base Dell model, for an extra $150 (to $749) you could move up to the 7000 Series 15" Intel i5-6200u, 8gb RAM, 256g SSD, 15.6" FHD(1920x1080) 2-in-1 Touch (folds into a tablet) [5]. Same CPU and RAM, but better resolution and much faster disk, if you don't need all that extra room.
There exists a strange compromise that should be noted, an Asus with less power but with high-res screen for only $369. Its the Asus F555LA-AB31 (i3, 4gb, 500gb hdd, 1920x1080) [6]. That's a great price-point if that mix works for you, and you can see why its "#1 Best Seller" on Amazon. I think it would make a great second computer (travel laptop, tv room laptop), but not so much as a primary machine, unless your needs were really minimal.
---
links:
[1] http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/laptop-brand-ratings
Amazon
[2] http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15-5559-laptop/pd?oc=fncwv2310s&model_id=inspiron-15-5559-laptop
[3] http://www.amazon.com/F555LA-EH51-Intel-Laptop-Windows-64bit/dp/B015790WNI
[4] http://www.amazon.com/F555UA-EH71-Intel-Laptop-Windows-64bit/dp/B014LE6A6I/
[5] http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-15-7568-laptop/pd?oc=dncwa005s&model_id=inspiron-15-7568-laptop
[6] http://www.amazon.com/F555LA-AB31-15-6-inch-Full-HD-Laptop-Windows/dp/B011KFQASE
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
clean install Windows 7
I want to reinstall Windows 7 on a laptop, and I want to do it clean.
It is a Dell XPS 15 L502X, that came pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Premium. Why can't it just say if its 32 or 64 bit right in the name? Control Panel, System, System type = 64-bit.
It is changing owners now, so its a good time to wipe + reinstall, and as far as I know its been running with the same install for 5 years, so even more reason to wipe + reinstall. I need install media, and I need a key.
Can I just get the key out of the already installed system, or do I need to go elsewhere (a sticker on the machine, an invoice, etc.)? System says its activated and the product ID number - is that the key? Don't think so. There's a sticker under laptop. Shutdown, flip, copy alphanumeric sequence.
As for media, the best case scenario would be an install partition on the laptop. The disk is 500gb, and the partition visible is C: of size 450, so maybe. Boot Options (F12), There is Diagnostics partition, but no utility or anything else.
In previous install, I noted a to-do to make recovery disks - I don't think I did, in any case they are gone. Will it still let me make recovery disks? Will they be clean install disks, or an image of the current system (unacceptable)?
I should have checked Disk Management first, there are 3 partions, one with a 100 mb, a recovery parti of 15gb, and another parti for C: of 450gb. So how to do I use it. Run Dell DataSafe Local Backup-Basic Edition. The basic edition can create recovery media, restore to factory state, etc. I'll do both.
In Dell DataSafe, Backup, Create Recovery Media, discs or usb. Select disc, Preparing, at 0% (~310pm, 318pm 47% - so slow is it making ISOs), ~322pm Insert blank recordable disk now..., insert dvd-r blank, total size 8.2gb. Number required 3. USB flash drives are cheap, but why tie one up. Even better would be to just give me the ISOs, and I'll copy them to a disk archive somewhere. Or an ISO (if that's the right term) of the USB version.
Verifying at 73%, error message, D:\ This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action, OK. Seems to be OK, but staying at 73% (342pm). At 348p, the disk just ejects itself, and asks for disc 2. 355pm asks for disk3, ejects 418pm.
Making DVD restore discs cost an hour.
I still want to try creating the USB option, and I have a blank 16gb handy, formatted blank NTFS. It wants at least 9gb. Start creation at 423pm, finish at 444pm, 1/3 of the time as DVD (on usb2, presumably).
It is a Dell XPS 15 L502X, that came pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Premium. Why can't it just say if its 32 or 64 bit right in the name? Control Panel, System, System type = 64-bit.
It is changing owners now, so its a good time to wipe + reinstall, and as far as I know its been running with the same install for 5 years, so even more reason to wipe + reinstall. I need install media, and I need a key.
Can I just get the key out of the already installed system, or do I need to go elsewhere (a sticker on the machine, an invoice, etc.)? System says its activated and the product ID number - is that the key? Don't think so. There's a sticker under laptop. Shutdown, flip, copy alphanumeric sequence.
As for media, the best case scenario would be an install partition on the laptop. The disk is 500gb, and the partition visible is C: of size 450, so maybe. Boot Options (F12), There is Diagnostics partition, but no utility or anything else.
In previous install, I noted a to-do to make recovery disks - I don't think I did, in any case they are gone. Will it still let me make recovery disks? Will they be clean install disks, or an image of the current system (unacceptable)?
I should have checked Disk Management first, there are 3 partions, one with a 100 mb, a recovery parti of 15gb, and another parti for C: of 450gb. So how to do I use it. Run Dell DataSafe Local Backup-Basic Edition. The basic edition can create recovery media, restore to factory state, etc. I'll do both.
In Dell DataSafe, Backup, Create Recovery Media, discs or usb. Select disc, Preparing, at 0% (~310pm, 318pm 47% - so slow is it making ISOs), ~322pm Insert blank recordable disk now..., insert dvd-r blank, total size 8.2gb. Number required 3. USB flash drives are cheap, but why tie one up. Even better would be to just give me the ISOs, and I'll copy them to a disk archive somewhere. Or an ISO (if that's the right term) of the USB version.
Verifying at 73%, error message, D:\ This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action, OK. Seems to be OK, but staying at 73% (342pm). At 348p, the disk just ejects itself, and asks for disc 2. 355pm asks for disk3, ejects 418pm.
Making DVD restore discs cost an hour.
I still want to try creating the USB option, and I have a blank 16gb handy, formatted blank NTFS. It wants at least 9gb. Start creation at 423pm, finish at 444pm, 1/3 of the time as DVD (on usb2, presumably).
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
bootable usb for spinrite
Goal: run Spinrite on new Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Series (sata hd) using usb flash drive.
Make bootable usb flash drive using sandisk adapter with a memory card.
Get HP USB Disk Format Tool (from extremeoverclocking.com, see links at end), run SP27608.exe, extracts HPUSBF.EXE and HPUSBFW.EXE to a dir.
Run HPUSBFW.EXE, select i:, FAT32, check Quick Format, check Create a DOS startup disk,
Also downloaded and extracted win98boot.zip, feed it that dir
Start
error: Device media is write-protected.
This drive is really old anyway, find a newer one for better compatibility all around.
Got a recent usb stick (16gb, usb2). Repeat as above,
error: Device media is write-protected.
Uncheck Quick, same.
Uncheck startup, same.
Use Windows Explorer to format, Quick. Several seconds, format complete, disk looks ok.
Try HP Util again. This time it seems to be working. Oops - forgot to check Quick, its doing a slow format. Afraid to interrupt, don't want to brick the drive, takes an hour.
Trying again, with quick and startup files, goes much faster.
Copy over spinrite.exe.
Insert in Dell, have to change UEFI to Legacy, it boots, can run spinrite, but it has a problem fully seeing the disk through UEFI. stop.
at least it seems like the bootable usb worked.
later, tried it on a Dell XPS 15 L502X, ok.
tried it on Dell XPS 720..., ok.
---
https://www.grc.com/sr/faq.htm
http://www.windowscentral.com/how-create-windows-10-usb-installation
http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=197
Make bootable usb flash drive using sandisk adapter with a memory card.
Get HP USB Disk Format Tool (from extremeoverclocking.com, see links at end), run SP27608.exe, extracts HPUSBF.EXE and HPUSBFW.EXE to a dir.
Run HPUSBFW.EXE, select i:, FAT32, check Quick Format, check Create a DOS startup disk,
Also downloaded and extracted win98boot.zip, feed it that dir
Start
error: Device media is write-protected.
This drive is really old anyway, find a newer one for better compatibility all around.
Got a recent usb stick (16gb, usb2). Repeat as above,
error: Device media is write-protected.
Uncheck Quick, same.
Uncheck startup, same.
Use Windows Explorer to format, Quick. Several seconds, format complete, disk looks ok.
Try HP Util again. This time it seems to be working. Oops - forgot to check Quick, its doing a slow format. Afraid to interrupt, don't want to brick the drive, takes an hour.
Trying again, with quick and startup files, goes much faster.
Copy over spinrite.exe.
Insert in Dell, have to change UEFI to Legacy, it boots, can run spinrite, but it has a problem fully seeing the disk through UEFI. stop.
at least it seems like the bootable usb worked.
later, tried it on a Dell XPS 15 L502X, ok.
tried it on Dell XPS 720..., ok.
---
https://www.grc.com/sr/faq.htm
http://www.windowscentral.com/how-create-windows-10-usb-installation
http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=197
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