Backside Bus

OK, the title is obvious. Who hasn't grumbled at the default system settings on a new computer, or immediately uninstalled all the clutter placed on a system by the manufacturer? To me, it's another argument for building (or at least designing) your own systems. But I digress... on to the post. The dumbest thing I have done in a while is trust that the company that sold a server knew what was best when they set it up. By doing so, I decided to not make any changes to the overall system configuration before passing the "point of no return," where I would have to reinstall the entire system to change things. I was helping a friend set up a server for his small business. Initially, I was thinking about getting a Windows 2008 server and setting it up as a Domain Controller and file server. When we were looking at systems, Microcenter had a server with SBS 2011 and decent specs for less than their basic Windows 2008 server system, so we decided to go with that. I won&

First of all, I want to say sorry for the big break between posts... I've been busy with work and haven't had time to write. Now work has slowed down a little bit, and I'm feeling relaxed and ready for some blogging. And what better topic to write about but something that anyone who uses a computer should do, but way too many people ignore. Of course I am talking about backing up your data. I was recently reminded of how important backing up is when a friend contacted me about PC issues. They had a laptop that, after running trouble-free for about 2 years, suddenly just stopped working. As in wouldn't even POST (Power On Self Test) or make it to the manufacturer splash screen. He brought it over and I took  look. When you hit the power button, the HDD would make a slight sound (like it was trying to spin up) then stop. Other than that, nothing at all happened. I asked if he had a backup because it looked like he would have to send the system for repairs (and/or his H