hansolo77

I too appreciate you taking over on this for me Dazz. It's much appreciated. Honestly, I think it's great I finally have a win under my belt, but it's a sour win. There always will be that little guy in the back of my head saying this probably should have went to YJ, but who's to say? If GC were here, he's probably just call it a tie and make some really cool TIE banner for us both to have/use and then setup some crazy tie-breaker game lol. But it's like you said, it's all for fun, not like we're playing for prizes lol. ps; that ninja was just a joke, we're not planning on having real prizes or anything! LOL.. there are some official competitions out there though, so if interested, Google is your friend!

Is it better then to have an unmanaged switch, so you don't have to do a lot of configuring?

I actually love all the Final Fantasy music. Nobuo Uematsu is a god. But I also yearn to listen to some of the music from the Star Wars games..

I used to love space sim games, until my system couldn't handle them anymore. I played through most (if not all) of the LucasArt's games (X-Wing, Tie Fighter, X-Wing VS TieFighter), and then all of Wing Commander, part of Wing Commander 2, all of Wing Commander 3 (amazing cast btw), and all the juicy bits I could get my hands on playing Star Wars Galaxies (Jump to Lightspeed expansion). This new stuff like EVE, Star Trek Online, Elite Dangerous, etc. They're all pretty to look at, but I miss the old mission driven story based atmosphere. I've yet to try these new games because my system is incapable of providing me a good experience.

You guys went way over my head, or at least tthurman did lol! I'm not afraid to learn though. All I need is some extra ports. This 24-port monstrosity isn't exactly what I need. But 8 might not be enough since I'm always finding more stuff to plug in. On a managed switch, how does it work with a router. Would I even need a router? I'm probably not going to get rid of the one I have, I just bought it for like $249 a few months ago, and it's wireless. I ask about needing a router because it sounds like if the switch has an uplink (as these switches do in the newegg sale), you would plug your modem into that. In my situation, I think it would go MODEM -> ROUTER -> SWITCH -> COMPUTERS. And just connect the router to the switch's uplink port. I could then remove all the other LAN ports on my router, and plug them all into the switch. If that's the case, how would I configure the router to know that the switch will be using additional IP addresses? This is new territory for me.

I recently started considering whether or not something like this could be useful to me. As it is right now, I have a Netgear 4-port Wireless Gigabit router. It works great for home use, plug the modem in, split it into 4 computers, or "virtually" 254 wireless devices. However, the current setup is limited to just the 4 ports. I have an xbox, my server, my main computer, and my dad's computer all connected to it. I also have a BluRay player in my room, which has to go wireless (and suffers connection issues because of it) as well as a PS3 and a Wii which I have to swap the LAN plug from the Xbox to use. My new server's motherboard I'm planning on buying has 3 RJ-45 ports, 1 for a dedicated remote management, and 2 for Gigabit connections. Now clearly my little 4-port router can't do it all. I thought about adding another 4-port router I have to the mix, to give me 3 more ports, but it's only 10/100, and I have no idea how to do it, or how to even go about configuring the IP addresses through something like that.... Would something like this alleviate all my headaches? Would it be a simple task to just plug this into the router, and get 24 ports out of it? Or is this more of a business use device, and wouldn't work in the home networking environment.

I'm thinking about maybe giving CrashPlan a try. I've asked in the IRC channel on the seedbox what people would recommend, and it's come up a couple times. Of course, the BIG suggestion everybody is giving is Rsync. I don't think they quite understand what I'm wanting to do though. I'm looking for a complete system disk image backup, not just files like documents, photos, etc. Programs that "sync" are typically used to keep a synchronized backup of files like that. For a true system image backup, I need something that will allow backup of hidden system files, etc. I think that was part of the hurdle I was having with SpiderOak. After installing the client on my machine, and the seedbox, it just sat there even though I told it to do a backup of the entire C:\ drive. I think it was trying to synchronize with the seedbox's client, and was getting locked up in trying to see what files had changed between the 2. Further investigations through various online reviews actually say SpiderOak's only achieving factor is it's ZERO KNOWLEDGE, but the actual functionality of the service is crippled and damaged and always failing to work right. So it actually comes as no surprise then that I was having trouble. CrashPlan still needs looking into though. An online review said it's fast and works great. And while the free service offers only 2gb of storage ON THEM, you can still use the program to do a complete system image backup "on a friends computer" for no extra charge. So the only hurdle here then would be the need to install the appropriate client on the seedbox slot so they can communicate. Not sure if they offer a Linux (or whatever OS the seedbox hoster's use) compatible client or not.. need to spend some time on their website and see what they have.

He's in Portugal or Spain or something. Got himself a girlfriend. Seems to be doing real nice by my opinion. Can't say I blame him. You guys would NEVER see me if I had a girlfriend, or an opportunity to go on vacation someplace like that. You better believe it! As for Dazzle, he didn't know I needed help until I sent him a PM. And as for me.. well I've been working a lot of hours of late. Decided I needed a major overhaul on my server PC and it needs parts bad. Gonna cost a pretty penny, so I asked if I could get some more hours at work (I typically get 20-25 hours, can't work a lot because of my mental illness/anxiety/stress). She's started scheduling me 32 hours a week (most I can get at 8 hours a day and still have my "off 3 days" availability). However, this week in particular has been rough because I'm actually ending up working 6 days. One of the girls they hired quit in the middle of her shift after only 4 hours, and the girl who supposed to cover for her (on my usual days off) has been calling off. The best part is that she called off yesterday too (my day off) and said Wednesday she probably would because she had a headache...then she came in last night after I left to tell her other friend in the department that she went to the zoo. UM... you call off work because you're dying of a headache, then go to the zoo instead of work the shift you were told to cover? Yeah, so I worked it, and also worked the "new girls" shift on Tuesday. So I've been working 8 hours, Monday through Friday, and then tomorrow too. Doesn't seem like a lot to some people, but I can't handle it, especially after only working 4-6 hours most on every other day for 5 years. New BONUS game is on the way. (gonna let Dazzle handle it lol)

Yeah I thought about something simple. Trouble is, I need it to do incremental, otherwise it would just take forever.

Updated OP. You now have until September 30th to compete!

@stigzler - Yeah, I actually had a MAJOR crash with it. Don't know what happened. It completely locked me out of all of my low level OS functions (like Device Manager). It kept telling me that I was connected to the computer remotely and only had READ access (couldn't change anything). Google turned up the solution to just rename the computer. But I couldn't do that because my Admin login wasn't an Admin. I couldn't MAKE him an Admin unless I was an Admin. So not only did the permissions get screwed up, but some how my security was too. I looked around and decided to try Windows Server Essentials 2012 R2 since it was Wikipedia's determination that it was the next step in the Windows Home Server product line, and was the latest version of any Windows Server available (before Windows Server 2016 comes out). If you sign up, you can get a free 180 day trial. That's 6 months. Plus, as long as you have a backup, you can reinstall the OS and restore the files and have another 180 days, indefinitely (or so I've heard). So yeah, with WHS 2011 giving me trouble literally right after install, I decided to go this route, and it's been very stable with no issues so far. Anyway... @ Everybody else.. My seedbox supports FTP and sFTP. Honestly, I've looked at a few programs, and nothing really grabs me as being worthy. I've actually been deeply reconsidering even bothering with it. I like the security in knowing that a backup exists offsite should a failure happen. I really don't suspect a failure to occur on an SSD drive. But you never plan to fail, just fail to plan. I'd really like to make something work, but I'm also confronted with the problem of doing a remote restore should the need arise. So even though a simple upload to the seedbox would be nice, there would be no simple download back to a bare bones new drive. I'd still have to reinstall the OS, and install whatever program would be necessary to get the data back. So like I said, I'm reconsidering. I had hoped somebody may have ran into this problem (though not really a "problem") and had a working solution. StableBit, the makers of the awesome DrivePool, are actively developing a service called CloudDrive. Basically, it allows you to create an additional VirtualDrive on your system that is built into the kernel of Windows at the lowest level possible, making it appear as a regular drive. Then you configure it to use any number of available cloud services. If you have more than 1 service, you can "Pool" them together with DrivePool, and use them all simultaneously. Theoretically, all you'd have to do then is program your Server Backup to backup to that Drive. The problem is that many of these cloud services offer very little drive space on the Free level (like 1gb). My OS drive is up to 40gb already. This would be the perfect option. I asked if the program supports any type of FTP, so I could use this with the Seedbox, but he said it doesn't have the functionality. I gave SpiderOak a try last night. It gives you 2gb of their own storage space for you to use, and then you can add an infinite number of additional devices (like other computers, cellphones, SEEDBOX, etc). My seedbox FAQ's actually lists this program and specific instructions on how to install it on your slot, which I did. It creates a new folder automatically for you, and reports it's location to the SpiderOak primary server. When you run the program on your local machine, it tells you that you have 2 devices, THEIR 2gb, and the newly created one on your seedbox slot. The problem is, when I tried to use it, the program just stalled out and did NOTHING. Plus, I don't know exactly how it would work. Essentially, SpiderOak is for file syncing (not drive syncing). So if you put a file in the SpiderOak folder, it automatically transfers it to all of the devices on your list. Now say I put my C:\ drive in there. Well, SpiderOak would duplicate it to all devices. But the "free" device they build is only 2gb and my C drive is almost 40gb. So would it only put 2gb worth on there, and then the other 38gb on the seedbox, or would it not bother with the free drive? I tried to just REMOVE the free device, but it gave me a warning saying I can't remove the primary/default device... After spending nearly 2 hours getting it set up, and then like 3 hours waiting for it to DO something, I gave up and just uninstalled it. I had high hopes for it because you could run it in the background, schedule backups, and do a bare bones restore without needing to install the OS. Maybe I just didn't do it right. I'll have to look into it more.

How would guys feel about an extension on this game? Since it was highly voted, and didn't come out till almost half of the month was over. I was thinking about giving it till September 30th, to let everybody have a go. Does that sound fair, or should we keep it at the normal monthly cut off? As it is right now, we only have 19 days to compete, compared to at least 30. What's your call?

I know we're all a bunch of techno geeks, so this would probably fit right in here. I'm in no hurry though, so don't feel like you need to respond ASAP. I've been tinkering with Windows Server 2012 R2 and am trying to get it setup and running smoothly. Something I'm looking for though is an offsite backup solution. Something I can run that can utilize cloud storage. Server comes with a built in support to do a system backup with Microsoft Azure, but they want to charge for the space you use PLUS a regular rental fee. There are various other cloud services available like Dropbox, Amazon A3, etc. The problem with those are they all charge for access. Some of them might offer a FREE plan, which would do little to suit my needs. They usually have a size limit of 1gb or something. I need something I can use to backup my entire system drive in case of a failure. Right now, that would require a minimum of 75gb, but preferably more. Also, I need a utility that can work on a schedule and provide incremental backups to the site instead of completely copying the whole system each time. To get things rolling, I have a Seedbox. I got it in January and really love the speed and uptime. I asked in the IRC support channel if it would be allowed for me to utilize the available storage space in my slot for system backups. They said it would be allowed. Then over the last couple of weeks, they've effectively DOUBLED the capacity of storage on all slots system wide. I'm paying about $15 a month for 1tb of storage now, with 0 bandwith limitations and something like 10GB/s bandwith. Such a deal. So now I just need to find a program that can take my system drive, and back it up to a folder I can create on the Seedbox. I won't have to go BUY a backup service, and pay a fee for the amount of storage I use or for upkeep. It'll all be included in my Seedbox. 100gb is 1/10th the storage available to me, and would probably be all I would need. So does anybody know of a program/utility I can get (preferably free, but I can pay if it has a good support structure and highly rated/recommended) that can do what I'm looking for?

Oh yeah! Updated OP, DB, RSS

I have no problem doing it, but would this include members in my category? (not moderators, but VIPs, etc)

Isn't that the one where you have to jump and throw stars at the right place, or am I thinking of a different boss or different game? I seem to recall never getting past that boss.

We had it on the old Atari 800. Dad remembers playing it in the arcade. I wish I had a track ball though, playing with a joystick or mouse just isn't cool enough.

Looks like you're doing better beating your old scores. Keep it up! Updated OP, DB, RSS

Looks like you knocked be77amy down to the +10's. Good job! Updated OP, DB, RSS

You did it again! Improved your submission before we could even add it into the board! Way to go! Updated OP, DB, RSS

Nice improvment! Did you decide to let your kids play? Updated OP, DB, RSS

Doing better! Updated OP, DB, RSS

Grr, you took my 5th place! Updated OP, DB, RSS

No movement, but definitely securing your 4th place position! Updated OP, DB, RSS

Not bad for a first try! Updated OP, DB, RSS