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Fedora

Just as a side note, I checked out the Fedora website in order to think about downloading their Linux distro, It seems that there is a new Fedora coming soon, Fedora 15. It's currently in Beta testing, but you can download it and try it out and report any issues or bugs to them.

Links as always on the useful links page!

Virtual Machine

OK, so yesterday I mentioned that I was going to start using a virtual machine to use with other operating systems so I can get familiar with them. Well I have just finished downloading and installing Virtual Box on my computer. It was very straightforward, I just went to their web site (there's a link in the useful links page) and downloaded the one relevant to the OS I have as my 'Host'. The host is the OS that you have running on you machine, the ones that the Virtual Machine will run are called guests.

Click to enlarge

I haven't started putting the OS on Virtual Box, but I have set up the configuration as you will probably see from my screen shot. This is also straightforward, it asks you how much RAM you want to allocate (it should really meet the minimum requirements of the guest OS as well as leaving your host OS enough to operate as well) I will be posting more on how it works and how I got on later. 


See you soon. 

Windows 7 on my home Server

As part of my development into computing and networking, and as I had an old PC I decided to try and set up the PC as a Home Network server for the household. The plan was to allow any wireless computer in the house to connect to the server computer to access a central resourse of files and media. This would free up the other computers processing power and memory.

We currently have the following devices that access the internet:

Tablet PC
Android 2.2

HTC Desire
Android 2.2

XBox 360

Desktop (Windows)
2.00 ghz Intel Pentium 4 Processor
1GB RAM
75GB Hard Drive
Windows XP Professional

Daughters Desktop (Apple Mac)
G4 Cube (yes very old!)
500mhz Motorolla Processor
20GB Hard Drive
512MB RAM
OS X

The computer that I used as the server was the following

Gigabyte Motherboard
2.00ghz AMD Athlon Processor
1GB RAM
20GB Hard Drive (Main Drive for operating system)
50GB Hard Drive (For storage of the media and files)
Netgear Wireless Card
Ethernet Port Card

PREPARATION:

As my knowledge of this type of networking is limited, I consulted a book called 'Brilliant Home and Wireless Networks' by Greg Holden. This proved a really usefull tool with clear illustrations and step by step guides.



I also overhauled the PC that was going to act as the server, it was running XP but I upgraded to Windows 7 partially so I could have better compatability with the XBox and also so that when we upgrade the other computers it will be able to have a more secure connection (apparently)

PROCESS:

Although I'm aware that 1GB of RAM is not really ideal to run Windows 7, I took the gamble as it is purely a server and will only be streaming files and media, not running heavy programs or needing lots of processing power. As it seems, there is no problems at the moment, although I do intend to upgrade the RAM at some point.

After setup, I attanpted to access the server remotely but I found that this wasn't allowing me to. After some research on the internet, I found that there is a policy on Windows that  prevents any connection to a computer unless it has a password set up. The process I followed was as follows:

Start - Run - and type 'gpedit.msc'

Open 'Computer Configuration/Windows Settings/ Security Settings/Local Policies/Security Options/Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console only'

Double click and click Disabled.

This was of course only a test as I didn't want to allow that policy to do that so I enabled it again and set up a password.

The computers I was using were old spec but that's why I wanted to use them, I wanted to see if it would work and it seems to be fine (although a tad slow) I currently have the router wired to the desktop computer and the server by RJ45 cables because I wanted a stable connection. The other devices though are connecting well.

My next job is to find a suitable app that will allow the HTC and tablet to see the server and connect to it. The XBox of course can connect to Windows anyway, but by putting all the files on the server it makes it easier, It will also help with my next project which is to set up a web server.

As I say, I'm learning so there may be things I could have done better or easier, so If I have made a glaring error let me know, but It works and I always try to research as much as possible first.

I hope that this may help some people

See you soon.

Operating Systems

Today I have been preparing to try some of the various different operating software to see how to install it and checking out the menus and where things are. I have Windows 7 and XP at home so one of the things I have done is to put a virtual machine program on my computer.

I'm also as a comparison, going to download a Linux OS, I think probably Ubuntu or Fedora. I've had some previous experience with Apple OS X but I might also try that If I can.

I'll put a link to Virtual Box which is the one I used, but there are others, this is just the one I prefer.

I'm also going to put up some screen shots of how I get on so stay tuned!

IPv6

There is a lot in the news at the moment about IPv6 and the fact that IPv4 addresses are running out. I read an article about Hurricane Electric who are offering free certifications in IPv6, all you need to do (I say all) is to complete a number of tasks and you could advance to a IPv6 'Sage'.

I'm not sure if this will be of any use to you in the IT world, but I am going to try it if only to give myself some practice in IPv6 (and you get a t-shirt if you succeed apparently, but that's not my motivation!)

As always I'll put a link on for Hurricane Electric, and I'll let you know how I get on.

Subnet anyone?

Here is a YouTube video by a man called mtasman, he is explaining the wonderful world of subnetting. It's not really the level of detail you would need for the Comp TIA exams but he really explains it very well. I always thought it was a bit confusing, but when I saw this it clicked. 

I'll put a link on the Useful Links page as there are a couple more on this theme from him. 

Self Study

There are a number of different courses available I have found that offer training in Comp TIA A+ the courses range in price. Unfortunately, even the cheapest were out of my price range at the moment, so It was good that with this certification, you can just pay for the exam.

You need to take two exams to be certified, Comp TIA A+ Essentials and Comp TIA A+ Practical Applications. After that there are a number of other certifications you can take depending on the area you want to specialise in.

Right now, I'm studying for the first two exams, there is a web site that offers free on-line videos covering every aspect of the exam requirements for Comp TIA and others as well. The videos for each area of the course a split up which can be a bit annoying, but you can buy the complete course on DVD with an audio version to listen to in the car which is good! I have found it really helpful so I'm posting the link to the web site below.

Professor Messer

I'm also going to put a link to the Comp TIA web site which also has a lot of good information.

Comp TIA

Tweet Twooo

I have added a Twitter account imnoexpert1 so that I can tweet if I don't get time to post. The tweets will display at the bottom of the Blog page, or you can follow me.

Keep moving forward

This is the theme and motto of one of my daughters favourite films, Meet the Robinson's. As any parent will know, watching films over and over again is an occupational hazard. But this one seems to have a very good message, essentially, no matter what happens; keep moving forward.

To go into a little of why I'm doing this, I have since leaving school at 16, been in the same job and still am. While the job isn't as fulfilling as it used to be, I have thought that it's lucky that I have one at least. Recently though I have been considering other options before my now 36 year old brain decides that it no longer wants any further software updates, or that the hardware can't cope with it.

I have always been fascinated with all things technology, I always used to pull things apart to find out how they worked, and even tried to build replica things out of cardboard and, well, anything I could lay my hands on!
Since I got my first computer, I've always upgraded it myself, and got a real kick out of figuring things out and making them work.

At this point, I realise that making a hobby a career isn't always a good idea, but I wanted to do something I was interested in. I could, If I wanted to be self employed, train to be a plumber or an electrician or someone that always seems to be busy and successful. But I'm sure looking from the outside, that they have as many problems as I will have.

So I have decided that I want to turn my self taught skills into certificates and qualifications and make a go of it, or should I say IT.

The foundation for my goal has already been completed, I have recently finished and NVQ Level 2 in Business and Administration which I thought would be a good start. I'm now currently self studying for a Comp TIA A+ exam which from my surfing, seems to be the best platform to build from. I'm self studying mainly due to the fact that courses are expensive, which means being quite disciplined in order to ensure to keep on track.

So why the Blog? well I wanted to have a record of what I'm doing, but I also wanted to show those who may be considering a career change themselves what I did and hopefully along the way give them a direction to follow (or not)!

As the title of the blog says, I'm no expert, but I'm hoping to be!