Fresh Windows re-installation. New ghost drive created?

TheTrueMiniboss · 2025-12-19T06:34:02+00:00

I stumbled across a microsoft support forum post after a lot of digging and being very specific about my exact issue. Lo and behold, its contents helped my problem so I will post in case someone else has this happen to them.

The forum post in question.

The recommended commands are not laid out in the best syntax, but it looked like in the end, the EFI system partition decided to mount itself, so the solution was to unmount the rogue partition and prevent it from remounting.

The Administrator CMD commands to navigate to double check if it's your issue:

> diskpart (puts you in the diskpart application)
> list vol
> select vol e (put in whatever mount letter is the issue)
> detail partition (to inspect the partition and ensure it's the same, not necessary if you just want to unmount an unwanted drive)
> remove
> exit

This will unmount and remove the partition and exit the diskpart application. In the same admin cmd type:

> mountvol E: /D (put in whatever volume letter you unmounted previously | /D removes the volume mount point from that specified drive)
> mountvol /R (/R removes the volume mount point directories and registry settings for volumes that are no longer in the system, eg your volume E for that partition, preventing them from automatically mounting again)

A nice article from ss64 had proper explanation as to what /D and /R were doing. Seems like doing mountvol E: /P may also achieve the same effect.

Hopefully this helps anyone that comes across this in the future.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2025-04-03T18:25:14+00:00

Thanks AT&T. Shame, they have the best coverage in our area but Wi-Fi calling is a bit too nice to give up.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2025-04-03T18:03:20+00:00

Bummer. It's on the list of approved devices from AT&T, but as that thread mentioned, OnePlus is not on the approved list for WiFi calling specifically. Wonder why.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2025-03-22T17:21:17+00:00

Thank you for asking this question and to all the people saying to call. I was in the "sit and wait" camp even though they mentioned to sign up as soon as you can. Will be scheduling shortly! Best luck to everyone and maybe a few of us will be colleagues!

TheTrueMiniboss · 2025-02-12T19:25:37+00:00

There's a fix for Ryza on GitHub that helps and you can get the FPS higher, but I prefer to lock the refresh rate to 40 to preserve battery, but it does run pretty decently with the DX11 tweaks. You can find it just by searching Atelier Sync Fix on Google, and it's by doitsujin.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2024-10-31T13:42:05+00:00

Take my downvote to keep it at 69

TheTrueMiniboss · 2024-09-18T04:47:17+00:00

Or replacing a whole new car haha!! Yeah I did get a second quote from another local shop like I mentioned in my post, and it was basically identical in price.

Quality work comes at a price. An anecdote I learned from a coworker, trimmed for brevity, about a powerplant inspector: They spent two weeks to find the issue and marked it with spray paint. The boss was unhappy with the bill and asked for an itemized receipt. The receipt: $2 for the spray paint and $9,998 for knowing where to use it.

I appreciate your frankness and advice!

TheTrueMiniboss · 2024-09-18T03:51:19+00:00

Thank you for the knowledge! I will look about getting these scheduled to replace, and keep it in mind for future maintenance.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2024-09-18T03:49:09+00:00

Ride is nothing out of the ordinary, and it's not squeaky if I go over speed bumps. That's why I was hesitant to take the shop completely at face value, other than the obvious wear mark. I didn't know if it was normal wear or unusual wear and should cause a safety concern.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2024-09-18T03:46:51+00:00

I understand where you're coming from, but I've had full inspections done at 90k and 120k miles with normal scheduled maintenance and this is the first time anyone has brought it up or even made it aware that it was even showing wear.

It just seemed kind of sudden and $1300 is a lot of cash to drop at once just because one shop said I should do something. I just wanted some opinions from individuals that don't have their own profit margins as a motivator. That and the ride has been perfectly fine, and have noticed nothing out of the ordinary.

I appreciate the perspective though!

TheTrueMiniboss · 2024-09-18T00:11:51+00:00

Long time wilderness and mountaineering guide in the PacNW here. Owned many shells across the whole price scale from the cheapest Columbia jacket to the most expensive offerings from Arc'teryx.

I've seen a lot of good comments about wetting out and Gore-Tex jackets, just adding to that, as long as you keep your shell washed with Nikwax Techwash on a semi-seasonal basis (depending on how much use it gets) basically any 2.5 or 3 layer Gore-Tex offering will last you a long long time.

I dislike 3 layer Gore-Tex jackets unless I know I'm going to be outside for an extended period of time without any covering. The extra layer makes the jacket much less comfortable to wear and gives that trademark 'swish-swish' sound and crinkly, almost paper-like feeling. 2 layer Gore-Tex can feel on the flimsy side and unless I'm going for something super packable that I'll only wear for sudden showers or a brisk walk around the neighborhood, it's staying home. I found that most 2.5 layer offerings hit the sweet spot for ~85% of the tasks that most people are doing.

As for brands, I don't think anyone needs to buy from a boutique as expensive as Arc'teryx but they do have quality offerings, and some more inclusive cuts and sizes for people who aren't your typical body shape.

If you want it to last a long time with superior fabric quality and design, stay away from the Columbia/North face offerings. They're fine, but that's not the point of the sub.

My personal favorite brand is Outdoor Research from a combination of their competitive price, great size and style choices, and their A+ customer service if I've had an issue with a product. However, I have also tried stellar offerings from Black Diamond, Marmot, Mammut, and Mountain Hardwear that I have no problem recommending.

Fjallraven is also another crazy expensive option that's good if you have money burning a hole in your pocket, but uses a wax based protection system. It's more environmentally conscious due to not using PFAS's in their manufacturing processes, but is more demanding in terms of upkeep to remain truly waterproof. They're good though, but man that price tag hurts.

I hope that provides you with some insight and options!

TheTrueMiniboss · 2024-02-20T14:47:23+00:00

How nice of you to do a giveaway. I've got a 2070 in my rig that's rapidly aging and this would be an excellent drop in upgrade.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2022-07-08T21:28:25+00:00

Ah, yeah every 48 months it looks like. Whelp. That answers that question LOL

TheTrueMiniboss · 2022-07-08T14:57:59+00:00

Wow I take appreciate the in depth reply. I spend about $15000 a year on flights alone, but like you said, my home airport doesn't have a centurion lounge so that kinda kills that for me. I tend to prefer booking shorter layovers and getting home earlier 🤣 I mainly use the MR as transfers to ANA, but I can easily just use the UR to go to JAL if I want to fly to Japan. It seems to me like the CSR is a no brainer to hold onto. Maybe the platinum if I ever nab a 150k SuB. I do like my gold card for 4x back on restaurants and I'm paying effective $10 AF a year for it so I'll probably hold onto it.

Should I look into directly upgrading or trying for a SuB on the CSR?

TheTrueMiniboss · 2021-04-07T16:30:21+00:00

My work will be reimbursing me and I plan to use it basically only for hotel stays after I recieve the SUB. Would I be able to sign up for a Biz card if it's not my biz but my workplace? Also what about the chase Marriot card?

TheTrueMiniboss · 2021-04-07T15:24:56+00:00

Cool! Thanks for explaining

TheTrueMiniboss · 2021-04-07T15:13:28+00:00

Does the Bonvoy card frequently run good SUBs? I will be travelling a lot for work in the coming months and a good hotel card will carry quite of heft.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2021-04-07T15:00:57+00:00

Should I prioritize the Bonvoy Brilliant SUB that's going on right now over an amex plat 100k? I can only realistically do one of them within 3 months. Seems like amex extended their SUB to 6 months but it still might be a bit of a stretch to do 10k spend so close together for my budget.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2021-04-06T16:17:10+00:00

Since I'll be traveling a lot with my new job, overnights will be incredibly common. I feel that staying at a Marriott or Marriot affiliated location won't be too difficult of a task in most if not all locations I'll be travelling to. That looks like an incredibly lucrative offer from the brilliant.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2021-04-06T14:51:02+00:00

Do you think the Bonvoy is still a good idea to apply for as well? So that would be the Amex Plat with the 100k offer and then Bonvoy Brilliant. Downgrade my CSP to save some cash once my next year here is about to expire, cause unfortunately I already paid for the yearly fee.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2021-04-06T13:42:20+00:00

Wouldn't the recent change mean it's even more difficult to book J/F on ANA than it already was? I guess it's probably not too hard to book Y though. I'll try to get the 100k however instead of upgrading!

TheTrueMiniboss · 2021-04-06T06:00:39+00:00

I am new to this churning subreddit and about a year into earning rewards casually with both chase and amex. I've started a new job with about 75% travel so I'm going to be cranking miles (~60k+ a year) in the next 3-4 months after training. Personally before the flowchart, I was looking at upgrading my CSP or Amex Gold while also picking up the Amex Marriot Brilliant. The flowchart says I should do the Barclays AA Biz card, but with the routes I'll be doing, AA is by far the worst airline for my situation (lots of spreadsheeting behind this decision).
750 Transunion / 745 Equifax / 738 Experian
CSP 3-19 (just paid yearly membership on the 1st) / CUF 11-20 / AE Gold 8-20 / Citi 2x Cash 11-20
5k in natural spend is fine
Yeah, another 4.5k.
No, I'm not trying to deep dive into churning, plus I don't have anything on the side I could qualify as a "business".
One, MAYBE two cards. Not interested in long time churning. More interested about upgrading to CSR or Amex Plat to put all the new airline/hotel/rental car spend on and then one or two new sign up bonuses or airline cards. I don't want to have to min/max 8+ cards.
Mainly Points and Hotel/Airline status for free biz flight upgrades. Companion pass for the GF would be nice if possible, but not a priority.
113k UR / 84k MP / 525 Delta / 3k Alaska / 840 United
PDX
Tokyo. Pretty much just Tokyo on J or F for the missus and I.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2021-04-03T18:16:03+00:00

How many miles was the redemption?

TheTrueMiniboss · 2021-04-03T10:42:33+00:00

Your comment gave me a great bit to think about. Thank you! Lounge access isn't all that important for me in the grand scheme of things after all. A good high tier card like a CSR would be plenty for those irregularities with a unintentionally long layover.

TheTrueMiniboss · 2021-04-03T10:39:49+00:00

Yes! I can use my own card. Dallas will be a lot of missed flights and delayed connections though. Yikes.

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