Web Logs - deweypalla

I was working on a .net web app when I discovered that the webbutton event doesn't fire for clicks.

Following leads by other forums on such a similar problem, I went about re-installing dotnet frameworks from 1.0 to 2.0. A barrage of unrelated error messages upon sourcesafe checkouts of the web project convinced me that I wasn't fixing anything. I religiously applied registry hacks and re-installed vs .net as told but still made no progress.

Finally, and with the last straw drawn, I removed everything in this order: web app, vs .net, dotnet frameworks 2.0, 1.1, 1.0, then IIS. I rebooted then restored all that stuff backwards.

Voila! Buttons that work and a full 3 hours "well-spent".

I was simulating a network model for a client using Windows 2K AS domains. After much fumbling with my Windows XP workstation failing to join the domain, I was surprised that the NAT-based internet shares through Sygate had gone haywire as well. Nslookups from the server failed as direct pings succeeded. It was the other way around for the workstation.

After re-installing the advanced server o/s, I finally got to log my XP box as a domain member. But the DNS-NAT problem persisted. Eventually with so much hair pulled out, I ended up demoting the domain controller to a standalone server, configured caching on its DNS service and relegated to DNS forwarding in Sygate. That, along with DHCP instead of static addresses (which worked before) finally gave me peace.

Note to self: domains, sygate home network, Win DNS and NAT mix no more than beer and whiskey do.

A mailer daemon I received reported a failure sending an e-mail to a friend who's in my address book. Apparently, I sent a message with the text 'I don't bite, weah!' along with a zip attachment.

Now, I don't remember sending anything like it and was surprised to subsequently receive a similar message from that failed recipient. Only this time, it had 'Hokki =)' as a subject.

It turns out that an Internet worm called Bagle.H got a hold of my (or my friend's) .wab. Tough luck for the wretch, my sometimes-trusty NAV wouldn't let it through.

I was configuring a workgroup for our corporate LAN using a new CNet Admtek chipset. It worked out fine with Windows 98SE and Windows XP machines but had problems on Windows 2000 machines. On all 4 machines, it would always report an Error Code 10, Device Could Not Start Properly or something to that effect. Windows Troubleshooter says it has something to do with the device being seated properly. Consistently on 4 machines, I doubt that.

There was nothing posted on the Net on it so I ended up installing old Mexico-made chipsets of CNet NICs using Davicom drivers and sure enough, the network suited fine. No wonder some things can't help but be referred to as 'old reliables'.

A client reported being plagued by a bloodhound.w32 virus on his XP machine. It turns out that bloodhound is actually NAV's way of tagging viruses it couldn't identify.

Using AVG antivirus, John Doe finally got a name, Valla.2048, a corruption of the Norse heaven. It attaches itself to .exe files effectively hampering their execution time.

Following an advice to disable System Restore, I went on to repair the infected files using Norman's vallafix. Somehow, system files were deleted so that after a reboot, I had an OS that wouldn't start and couldn't be restored.

What got it starting again was a 'repair' using XP's setup program, which was more of a re-installation than a real fix.

Just so bloodhound doesn't rear its ugly nameless head again, I left AVG on the machine.

I was looking to get rid of a 'search the web toolbar' that kept coming out when i boot, along with suspicious startup programs like bridge.dll and omniscient.exe. They weren't viruses but were actually a tad worse - spyware. So i went off to download and install spybot and adaware and finally got rid of it.

My wanderings for a solution led me to this page, since I had been trying out a few P2P's for some time now. But you really don't have to be into P2P's to see the extent of adware and spyware. You just need to surf the popular sites with a spybot blocking on. Lo and behold...

Here's an experts-exchange forum on data recovery options. I tried a number of them and have yet to find one that actually runs on my machine and does the trick. Some colleague "accidentally" fdisk-ed his partition and now wants it back.

Using Access databases with VB leaves a lot to be desired. I've been looking for alternatives and this just might be it. A client-server model with support for stored procedures and triggers. I've always wanted an app-db tandem that will cut it right for SME apps minus the overhead of a SQL Server rollout. I'll be reading this writeup on my trip to Batangas for a client and hope to come back with new software development arsenals.

If regular expressions for validator controls seem Greek to you, you'll find this helper page a welcome relief.