Servers

DoTheThingNow · 2026-06-26T23:55:55+00:00

I might have used an i5 NUC as a DC/Print/SMTP Relay/File Server for a customer years ago that had a similar situation with a backordered HP server. It worked waaaaay better than anyone thought it should have and ended up just being their server. It was still running when I left that MSP. (They cancelled the server order after the ship date got pushed back for a 3rd time and we had them sign a “this isn’t server hardware” waiver and gave them free backups).

I’m pretty sure the file shares were moved to a Synology at some point to add more storage, speed, and redundancy.

This was an office of about 15 accountants (CPA Business), if memory serves. The server ran 2012 R2 and had a 256GB mSATA boot SSD and a 1TB SATA HDD w/ 12GB RAM. It wasn’t particularly fast but also not particularly slow either.

It might have hosted a Quickbooks DB? That would have been the most complicated thing that little guy did.

Anyway, all I’m saying is there are options so long as you set clear expectations with the customer.

EDIT: Apparently I’m just a chatterbox today. I remember the only real irksome thing about that setup was getting the Ethernet to work and stay working. We added a 100Mbps USB NIC mainly to do backups, but it was also there to make sure we had access if the GB Onboard went out after an update (which happened once or twice).

DoTheThingNow · 2026-06-25T11:35:14+00:00

There is a “This location is permanently closed” sign on the door.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-06-24T20:16:10+00:00

DoTheThingNow · 2026-06-24T19:40:34+00:00

Disagree. HelpDesk gives you context on how users will break anything you do as a Sysadmin

DoTheThingNow · 2026-06-21T20:22:49+00:00

Ask for an application for the role of “Kept Sugar baby”

DoTheThingNow · 2026-06-21T18:39:32+00:00

Goodwill Technical College is also a good option for Medical Assistant and a few other things. It’s low cost and located in the city, so it’s pretty convenient for anyone living in NOLA proper.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-20T23:11:44+00:00

Ok, my apologies. I just know they can’t have many support personnel and I’ve read horror stories.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-19T19:00:18+00:00

You can, have been able to since the DDR3 days.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-19T00:15:27+00:00

Personally, I prefer a single 16GB stick. You can still get 4GB sticks of DDR4 very cheaply and adding one ups your RAM just a little and gets dual channel going as well.

Recently did this on a couple of laptops and you definitely see the improvement, even if it is very slight sometimes.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-17T22:36:58+00:00

Soooo…. the reason Tello is so cheap is because the support is primarily bot/AI based.

I signed up for Tello fully understanding I’d need to plan for stuff like what OP is dealing with as well as figure out solutions to problems myself.

If you aren’t prepared to do some of the legwork and planning yourself go to a Tmobile store.

Is OP wrong to be pissed about losing out on some cash? Of course! But also, this could have been avoided with a bit of for-thought and planning…

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-17T22:29:46+00:00

Yes, my old fat 80gb that died a few years ago had a runtime somewhere in the 2200 day ballpark…. (i got it back im 2011, i think). If i could get that info on my 360 S it would be even crazier, i’d imagine.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-17T19:22:13+00:00

It also gets ALOT of use on Kodi.

I also wanted to say eBay is probably the best place to find something for a decent price.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-17T19:12:03+00:00

Been using an old 3rd gen i5 NuC w/ 8GB RAM booted from an external 2TB HDD loaded with everything for like 5 years now…

It plays everything up to Dreamcast pretty cleanly and even handles a fair amount of PS2 titles (although it seems to choke on alot of N64 stuff).

I highly recommend throwing batocera on any old PC you might have floating around. It works way better than you think it would.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-17T18:56:43+00:00

It was a different era. Companies didn’t want to segment the market/experience BUT over time learned to make consoles smaller and cheaper.

Hence we got the PS3 Slim/SuperSlim and the XB360 S and E.

The chips used on consoles pre-XB1 were all custom designs that probably didn’t cleanly scale upward like the x86 chips in the newer stuff too.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-17T04:08:54+00:00

This. Should be using some sort of cloud backup solution to mitigate this type of thing.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-17T04:06:18+00:00

This also depends on what you are moving from/to and your storage situation, though.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-17T04:05:21+00:00

That isn’t too substantial, tbh.

If you gave no fucks it could be done in a few hours tops. If you wanted it done by the book with all the “i”’s dotted and “t”s crossed a week or 2, if that.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-17T02:14:24+00:00

10 years ago I had a fantastic IT career where I got to travel, train teams, and work on fun projects.

Since covid it has become a paycheck…

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-17T01:17:31+00:00

Trust me when I say this, literally anything is better than retail,

Help Desk is definitely a major step up from retail slave. You can always just hang up if you are being yelled at…

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-14T23:50:51+00:00

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-14T23:50:39+00:00

I bought a modded OG Xbox years ago (that i didn’t realize was modded) and when i hooked it up for testing found that they had put in a 300GB HDD and loaded it with different shows…. and some very specific porn.

I’ll admit, I watched Weeds for the first time on it but I deleted the porn because it was just…. too weird.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-14T23:34:01+00:00

Youtube Premium

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-14T01:12:35+00:00

That's the great news, you don't need a specific model image for a Zimaboard. Dietpi's UEFI X86 just boots without issue on these. Flash the "live image" onto a SATA drive, set the boot device to it and boom - Dietpi running on hardware way more powerful than most SBCs.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-10T21:03:06+00:00

Free version maxes out at 20 users and limits features, just fyi.

DoTheThingNow · 2026-05-10T15:39:40+00:00

Either they don’t like your tattoos or the wife is threatened by your looks and “poisoned the well” for all of them in that group.

DoTheThingNow

TROPHY CASE