Rescuing a 2TB Harddisk

My first mission on the first day of 2015 was to rescue my wife’s 2TB portable harddisk.  She was not able to access her 2TB portable harddisk using her laptop. 

To rule out that it is cable or USB port issues, we have tried using different cables and tried on a few laptops but still no luck.

Windows is able to detect the harddisk but it will freeze the whole Windows.  Meaning that, nothing will response when I tried to run them and I couldn’t even shutdown the laptop even I unplugged the harddisk.  I will need to do a hard reboot.

I tried to open the command prompt before plugging in the harddisk.  I then tried to run a chkdsk but it just freezed there forever.

I am optimistic that the data in the harddisk can be recovered and the problem might be caused by bad file system which is stopping Windows from accessing the harddisk.

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Microsoft Surface Pro

I was asked to configure a Microsoft Surface Pro for office use.  The Microsoft Surface Pro running Windows 8 Pro is powered by 3rd generation of Intel i5 processor.  It weighs about 900g which is about 240g heavier than the Dell Latitude 10.  The dockable keyboard sold separately is an useful accessory to have.  There is no SIM slot for Microsoft Surface Pro so WIFI is needed to get on to Internet.  The maximum configuration comes with 128GB storage which is double of Dell Latitude 10 maximum configuration.  It is quite a nice tablet but it will be good if it can “slim” down reduces in weight.

As part of the setup, I joined the Microsoft Surface Pro to our Active Directory domain.  After joining to the domain, the swipe up to get to the logon screen was disabled.  There is a message on the upper left corner which read “Press and hold the Windows button, and then press the power button to sign in.”.  This is different from Dell Latitude 10 which is a combination of volume up button plus power button.

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Dell Latitude 10 Tablet

I was given the opportunity to get my hand on a demo unit of Dell Latitude 10 Tablet installed with Windows 8 Pro.  The tablet is powered by Intel Atom Processor Z2760 and weighs 660g.  There is no dockable keyboard like the Microsoft Surface.  There is a docking station for the tablet where I can connect up keyboard but I find the docking connector a bit flimsy.  The configuration that I get also comes with micro-SIM slot.  The speaker is located at lower right corner of the back and my right hand tends to cover it while holding it.  Overall, it is still a decent tablet which allows I can get some works done on the go however an option with a dockable keyboard and shifting the speaker up will be good.

Before returning the demo unit, I reset it back to the default factory settings and it is really easy with Windows 8.  Here are the steps to do the reset.

Slide from right to left to call out the charm bar.  Touch on Settings.

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Cannot Amend Wrongly Entered User Name On Windows Authentication

I was in an urgent to RDP to a Windows 2008 server from my Windows 7 machine and misspelled the user name.  Instead of deinfotech\administrator, I entered deinfotech\administartor.  I hit the enter key and got a “Your credential did not work” message.  Here comes the frustration.

Instead of giving a chance for me to amend the user name, I have to re-enter the whole user name.

Maybe I am just being critical but when I am in a rush, I find this really annoying.

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Windows 8 Developer Preview Available For Download

Windows 8 Developer Preview (x64 and x86) is now available for download at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/home/.
I am downloading the x86 version now and the ISO is 2.8GB.
Have fun playing with the next generation of Windows OS.

Update: Attempt to setup using Windows Virtual PC and VirtualBox but it won't install.

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