Alister had a issue with a old Dell Server with a disk failing, these are the error Al was getting in the event viewer:
There was an unrecoverable disk media error during the rebuild or recovery operation: Physical Disk 0:1 Controller 0, Connector 0
Sense key: 3 Sense code: 11 Sense qualifier: 0: Physical Disk 0:1
Link to SCSI sense Key Codes
Openmanage is the tool to look at the hardware status of Dell servers, can be installed on Windows, Linux and VMware
Andy ask how to Setup email alert on a NAS if a disk fails
Andy issue with virtual box is fixed updating to latest version and has a question about port forwarding, Portward.com has some good guide to set-up forwarding (but just avoid the ads on the websites)
Jerry has been getting to grips with his new job and Cloud config AWS
Links about Should I remove exchange onsite after migrating to Office365
Caution: Decommissioning Exchange can have unintended consequences. Before decommissioning your on-premises Exchange organization, we recommend that you contact Microsoft Support
Great email we got from one of our listeners:
Thank you very much for your excellent podcasts.
A few shows ago, I think that Al said something about wanting to improve his writing style. I have not knowingly read any of his writing and I am not sure what the issue is precisely (and I have no expertise in this area). I think that he (like Andy and Jerry too) speaks very clearly and coherently and he is clearly knowledgeable and enthusiastic and so gives his audience a very enjoyable listening experience. My tips for anybody wishing to improve their writing (for what they are worth) are:
- Try to regularly read examples of the types of writing you admire and enjoy reading.
- Use spell checking software and perhaps also grammar checking software (though that can sometimes be too pedantic, especially if, like me, you were brought up during the time when grammar was hardly taught at school and so you, like me, know little more than what verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs are and so cannot really understand the error messages of the grammar checker).
- Read a guide to clear writing style. (Try to avoid anything that sounds too pedantic unless you enjoy that.)
- Avoid trying to be too clever and instead just write as you would speak to your audience. (Some people try to write using business jargon in an attempt to sound good, but it can often just hinder effective communication.)
- Consider using speech-to-text dictation software if you find that it is the process of typing that is causing the issue.
- Read back aloud what you have written to see whether it sounds all right. It is often useful to use speech-to-text software to help with this, because it is very easy just to read what we think we have written rather than what we have actually written. For example, in Microsoft Windows, you could try Microsoft Narrator, since it is built in (or download a more fully featured screen reader such as NVDA, which is free and open source software), on an Apple product you can use Voice Over, which is built in, and in GNU/Linux, you can use Orca or Speakup. If you do not like the Default voice, try others.
- If you have a friend whose writing style you admire and enjoy, you could ask him or her for feedback on your writing.
I hope that this helps. Thank you again for a great podcast.
