Recovering an LVM volume group from a formatted drive.
- Category Archives Technology
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Windows 10 – fixing 4K Display Scaling
Fix scaling issues for programs on Windows 10 with High-DPI displays.
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Gaming PC Upgrade 2017
Upgrade of my main desktop PC for medium- to high-end gaming.
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No Man’s Sky – first impressions
My first impressions of No Man’s Sky for PS4.
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Just a shout-out to my Garmin Map Update HOWTO from last year
Saved me tons of time again this year: Garmin Map Update HOWTO
Or so I thought… it’s never this easy, is it? “There was an error installing the Update”. Well, that’s bloody useful, isn’t it, Garmin? Have I mentioned before that your software SUCKS???
Luckily I’m an experienced hand with their shite, and creating a hard link on C: drive (where they INSIST on creating a temporary area to download their 5GB onto) to my D: drive (where I actually have room for it, and where I TOLD it to install the maps to) fixed this.
Specifically, it abuses C:\ProgramData\Garmin\CoreService\Downloads as a temporary download location.
To create a hard-link, also called a “Junction”, in Windows:
mklink /J Downloads D:\Garmin\DownloadsThis still requires you to have at least 6GiB free space on C: drive, as the Garmin software still checks free space requirements even after you have already downloaded the maps prior to installing on your GPS device.
I repeat, Garmin SUCKS when it comes to software.
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Debian “Jessie” – fix post-upgrade bootup problem (nfs mounts and systemd)
Debian fails to boot after an upgrade; systemd tries to mount nfs before network. GAH!
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Debian “Jessie” – Fixing monitor resolution
Fix monitor resolution using a custom EDID file.
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Android SDK, HAXM, and Avast!
Checklist to support Virtualization for the Android SDK under Windows 10 and running Avast! antivirus.
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Installing Windows 10 on a Sony VAIO TZ
So I got bored and decided to see if I could get an old VAIO VGN-TZ27GN running Windows 10. The short answer is: Yes.
UPDATE 2019-06 : Drivers download link.
Summary
After post-install fixes, these items are not yet working:
- WebCam
- Turning Bluetooth on/off via software
And the following items have not been tested:
- Modem
Everything else seems to be working just fine. Not bad for a pretty old and underpowered laptop!
Base Install
The base install went quite easily, taking some time due to spinning disk, but nevertheless no worries. Ended up using just over 8GB of diskspace, around 9GB after a couple of updates and Skype was installed.
Issues
What worked?
Almost everything. Not too shabby for an old bespoke piece of kit.
The most surprising entry here was the fingerprint reader.
What didn’t?
- Three devices in the Device Manager: SD and MS card readers, and an unknown device.
- The special hardware buttons on the front.
- Some of the Fn keys.
- The microphone and webcam. Nothing flagged up in Device Manager, but no go either.
- Disabling bluetooth. Funnily enough disabling Wifi works.
Post-install fixes
All drivers were downloaded from the official Sony Support Site.
Memory Stick and SD-Card reader
Simple case of heading over to the Sony support site, downloading and installing the drivers. This sorted out the device errors in the Device Manager. A quick test showed them working now.
Status: SUCCESS!
Unkown Device
The Unknown Device turned out to be the Sony Firmware Extension Parser (SFEP). A quick download from the Sony support site and it installed flawlessly.
Status: SUCCESS!
Microphone
So the microphone did end up working just fine, it’s just that the TZ has both a built-in microphone as well as a microphone jack, and Windows 10 defaulted to the jack. Switching defaults in the properties and it’s all good.
First Attempt- Downloaded Audio driver from Sony support site.
- Created a restore point
- Tried to install the driver.
- The driver failed to install from the setup program, but installed fine when manually clicking on the various
inffiles in the driver package. - Microphone still not working, but found second device in Audio Settings now. Set other device as default, et voila, va haff a vorkink mikrofon! Now I wonder if it was always working… let’s try a System Restore!
Status: SUCCESS!
Camera
As for all the other issues, Step 1 is to download the Camera driver from the Sony support site.
Unfortunately the driver fails to install. Even forcing the install manually fails to get the camera working, as does running the installer in compatibility mode.
For now, the webcam goes down as broken 🙁
Status: FAIL!
Keys
To get the keys working, download and install the following drivers in this order, rebooting as necessary between each one:
- Install Sony Firmware Extension Parser (
SFEP.exe) - Install Sony Shared Library (
Sony_Shared_Library.exe) - Install Sony DLL Utils / Setting Utility Series (
Setting_Utility_Series.exe) - Install VAIO Event Service (
VAIO _Event_Service.exe)
And both hardware keys and Fn-keys are now armed and fully operational!
Status: SUCCESS!
Bluetooth
While it works, it’s impossible to turn it off without using the hardware switch, which also turns off Wifi.
Attempting to install the driver from the Sony support site failed with a message saying the software is incompatible with this version of windows.
Status: FAIL!