Logitech G915 TKL with brown switches

I saw about two weeks ago that Logitech was releasing a new updated G915 without the ten key pad. I knew I was going to get this as I had purchased the G915 but due to the length of the keyboard, I returned it. I said if they come out with a TKL version, I’m sold.

The last version I had was the equivalent to the Cherry MX Blue switches. The one I have is called Tactile which is the equivalent of Cherry MX Brown switches. It’s so nice to type on. I was hoping the linear (Cherry MX Red) was available, but I’d have to order it online. I’m content with the Tactile (Cherry MX Brown) version.

This is my first Cherry MX Brown keyboard. Up to now I’ve only had blues and reds. I primarily like the feeling of the reds. I don’t like blue as it takes too much force to type and causes a lot of typos.

The build quality appears to be the same, sans the TKL.

The thing I liked the most of the G915 was how fast it connected to both the wireless and bluetooth. I’ll update this review as time goes on.

I am using the keyboard with my 2015 MacBook Pro 15″. I took it on one appointment and it was great typing on it. It fits into my InCase backup perfectly. It’s not bulky at all.

Repairing laptops

I used to do a lot of computer repairs. Things like replacing keyboards, fans, speakers, LCD screens, etc.

Early to mid 2000s, you could easily get spare parts for most notebooks and desktops.

Desktops are obviously easier because they usually follow a standard such as ATX. However, lately, I’ve noticed that Dell has its own proprietary power supply units which you can only get from Dell. The good thing is the motherboard still uses the ATX standard. This means I can take an everyday PSU and plug it in, it’s ugly and it’s hanging outside of the case on a desk, but it fixes the computer.

On the laptop front, things have gone down the shitter. They’re making them not be repairable if you ask me. Parts are scarce. Replacement batteries after your warranty run out are non-existent. Before you tell me to run over to eBay or some other surplus store, don’t bother. I have tried purchasing batteries from there and they claim to be true OEM replacements, but they’re not. I’d have to imagine they’re exceptionally good counterfeits.

I tried going direct to the manufacturer which you used to be able to do such as HP’s Part Surfer and 9/10 times the part you’re looking for is no longer being sold.

They call this planned obsolescence.

The one thing I do know is that business class laptops and desktops typically can come with a standard three-year next business day warranty. And in doing so, you guarantee yourself three years’ worth of parts if anything goes wrong. I can’t say for sure how the parts market looks after three years.

The only reason I’m writing this is because I left the computer repair world a few years ago and moved towards supporting small businesses with their IT needs. I help procure desktops and laptops, typically from Dell small business such as their OptiPlex and Latitude offerings. Again, three-year next business day warranty. You can add on, a four-hour window too.

Overall, I agree with the right to repair movement. Computer manufacturers are hurting consumers by not allowing us to repair our devices. Having readily available parts is one part of the right to repair, IMHO. Without it, you’re having to go to places like eBay and hope and pray that the part you order is the right one. They have so many different part numbers for a single laptop model, but most of the time there are a lot of small variances in the actual model.

In closing, the right to repair should be given to everyone. The way these companies hurt consumers is by and large. Planned obsolescence should not be a thing.

PEXUS313AC2V not compatible with VMWare ESXi

I contacted StarTech via their chat and they informed me that this card is not compatible with any version of ESXi. No idea if it’s compatible with Hyper-V. I’ve had luck getting some non-officially supported devices to work properly. No luck this time. I tried to pass it through to the virtual machine, including installing the StarTech official driver. No luck.

VCenter backup via SMB to Synology

I was trying to create a VCenter backup within VCenter 7.0. I had a hard time trying to backup to my Synology. I did some Google-Fu and found that you have to turn on or set the max SMB to SMB 3 on the Synology under Control Panel, File Services, SMB/AFP/NFS tap and then click on Advanced Settings:

Change the Maximum SMB protocol to SMB3:

Apparently VCenter only supports SMB2.1 and 3.0.

Upon setting it to Max SMB protocol SMB3, I was able to create the backup.

The format to enter into VCenter backup will be SMB:\\server\Share. You don’t need to add the SMB port. I hope this helps.

Cannot format a used Windows hard drive in an iMac

I was trying to use disk utility to format a Windows hard drive that I installed into an iMac. I kept getting an error about “MediaKit reports not enough space on device for requested operation.”

I Googled and found this blog: https://www.aioboot.com/en/mediakit-reports-not-enough-space-on-device-for-requested-operation/

The article explains how to use Terminal to use diskutil to unmount the partitions and then you can use disk utility GUI to erase and partition the drive.

Update for Universal C Runtime in Windows download links broken

If you’re trying to download the Update for Universal C Runtime in Windows from this link: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2999226/update-for-universal-c-runtime-in-windows, just know that you’re not going crazy and it’s not down temporarily. Those links are down for good. However, after a Google search, I found this post and a nice developer fixed or found the right download links for all operating systems including Windows Server 2012 NOT R2. Working link: https://discuss.pencil2d.org/t/cant-download-update-for-runtime/4025/13

Lenovo Yoga C740 Ubuntu missing Intel wireless card

If you have a Lenovo Yoga or similar model or even a laptop that Ubuntu just cannot seem to find the wireless card, follow these instructions:

https://askubuntu.com/questions/1180765/intel-wifi-card-not-working-on-ubuntu

You have to make sure you follow the edit of the answer which is to do the update and install linux-oem-osp1. If you don’t do this, it will not work. Also, reboot. You should see the wireless device show up upon checking it via settings.