VirtualBox Error VT-x is not available VERR_VMX_NO_VMX
While setting up a new SuperMicro SuperServer 5018A-FTN4 with an Intel C2758 CPU for a small lab environment an an issue appeared with VirtualBox. It was reporting that the VT-x processor extension wasn’t available when running on Windows Server 2012 R2.
At the time of writing this Google didn’t have any relevant search results for my configuration but I did find an article that suggested disabling the HardwareVirtEx directive in the virtual machines VirtualBox configuration file. This partially worked but was incredibly slow and the VM guest eventually crashed.
According VirtualBox Support Ticket #10694 other programs can also prevent VirtualBox from accessing the VT-x extensions which cause it to report them as not installed.
The solution was to remove the Hyper-V role because it prevented VirtualBox from utilizing the processor’s VT-x extensions even though I didn’t have any active Hyper-V guests running.
OpenWRT Installation Tutorial on a N600 TL-WDR3600 Router
After several failed attempts to find a well supported router that was reasonably priced I picked up a TP-LINK N600 TL-WDR3600 router and found the right OpenWRT firmware to install on it.
As part of the project I produced my first YouTube video that walks through the process. The video walks through located the correct firmware on the OpenWRT site and upgrading the factory default firmware using the built-in web interface.
If you’re going to be using the video as a guide here is the link to the OpenWRT firmware for the TL-WDR3600 router.
My thanks goes out to Michael Kuron for his blog posting about his experiences with the TL-WDR3600 and OpenWRT whose blog posting convinced me to purchase this router.
Pop up Windows Not Displaying in Internet Explorer 9 on Windows 7
Came across a strange problem at work today. A Windows 7 32bit workstation that was recently upgraded to to IE 9 started exhibiting some strange behavior. All of the pop up window links (on any website) no longer worked. Clicking on a link that should open a popup window did nothing and displayed no error message. Other browsers were unaffected and correctly displayed pop up windows. Everything was functioning correctly for about two weeks after the upgrade so it didn’t appear to be a failed upgrade. Unfortunately by the time the problem was discovered it wasn’t possible to roll back to a system state before IE 9.
By enabling the Internet Explorer Developer Tools option (F12) I was able to see a No Such Interface Supported (NSIS) JavaScript error when I clicked on a pop up link. Googling around revealed similar problems with prior versions of IE but nothing specific to IE 9. Several suggestions to run the command “regsvr32 actxprxy.dll” didn’t work.
The problem was finally resolved by running the IE repair tool from Internet Explorer FAQ. The tool is a command script to re-register a long list of common controls that Internet Explorer depends on. After downloading and running the correct script (Right click, run as administrator) the problem was immediately resolved.
Hope this helps someone looking for an explanation why pop up windows in Internet Explorer 9 on Windows 7 may have stopped working.
Tech Community Experiences: YouTube and Fair Use
The Coding Horror blog has an interesting and informative entry about his experiences posting video to YouTube for his blog. From a legal standpoint it’s thought provoking and from a technical standpoint the technology employed by Google (erm I mean YouTube) is impressive. If you’ve posted content created by someone else, thought about posting, or every wondered how YouTube handles copyright complaints it’s an interesting read.
9/17/2010 – YouTube vs. Fair Use
Thoughts of a Gmail Convert
Recently I converted my mail client from Lotus Notes to Gmail. Sure, I had a Gmail address but only so I could enjoy the benefits of Google Wave and Google Voice.
Lotus Notes has always had a soft spot in my geek heart because it pioneered mail file replication and provided advanced search queries. Unfortunately it lacked in a streamlined client and to run a Domino server for myself just wasn’t feasible.
Google Apps promised a solution to cover my email, scheduling, and more for only $50/yr. Considering an Exchange account from 1and1 is almost $84/yr the trade up to Google Apps seemed attractive considering all of the features available.
My initial evaluation of the Gmail interface have been surprising, negatively surprising. This isn’t a gripe session and overall I’m impressed with Gmail and Google Apps but I’m shocked at the lack of certain features.
Notably, how to keep labeled items out of the inbox. Thanks to David Tan for demonstrating the magical setup of filters to arrange the inbox.
Gmail supports Active Sync for connecting my outlook data to Windows Mobile phones but the connector won’t sync my phone tasks with the Gmail tasks.
Oh, and no HTML embedded signatures? Gesh.
One of the advantages to Gmail is the numerous and widely used methods of checking email, POP, IMAP, Webmail, Exchange, Active Sync, etc so in the long run the lack of features in the Gmail interface shouldn’t be a stumbling block.
More to follow as I probe the depths of the Google Apps world.