Alfresco – You Will Not Beat ME!

Christ.

I was working and playing with some settings on an Alfresco server to try and harden it security-wise. BIG mistake. I couldn’t get the bugger to start up afterwards. With other work commitments in the way, it’s been down for about a day now. I’ve tried downloading the BETA of Alfresco Labs and read various forums with no joy.

The error was

org.alfresco.error.AlfrescoRuntimeException: A previous schema upgrade failed. Revert to the original database before attempting the upgrade again.

FINALLY I found the solution at Bits n Bobs. It’s ridiculously simple: drop the table alf_bootstrap_lock and restart the server.

Now to deal with the next crisis.

Trouble installing Sharepoint on a fresh Windows Server 2003 SP2

When installing Sharepoint 3.0 Service Pack 1 onto a fresh Windows Server 2003 installation, you can sometimes fall foul of Sharepoint complaining that ASP.net 2 is not installed:

“This product requires ASP.NET v2.0”

I found the solution over at Sharepoint Blogs. Run the following command on the server:

<code> C:\Windows\Microsoft.net\Framework\v2.0.50727\Aspnet_regiis.exe -i </code>

This will register .NET 2 with IIS and you should be able to use Sharepoint properly from that point on.

Creating a Bootable Windows Setup Disc with Linux

It’s quite annoying having to create Windows installation discs.

One thing I find is that every single time I do it – I keep having to check the internet, so here’s a note of the important bits.

  1. Extract the service pack
    <code>servicepack.exe /extract:C:\SP\</code>
  2. Integrate the service pack with the copied installation disc
    <code>update.exe /integrate:C:\OS_source\</code>
  3. Extract the boot image from the CD and copy it into the new O/S directory
  4. Create an iso with mkisofs
    <code>mkisofs -b bootimage.bin -hide bootimage.bin -no-emul-boot -boot-load-seg 1984 -boot-load-size 4 -iso-level 2 -J -l -D -N -joliet-long -relaxed-filenames -V "NRMSVOL_EN" -o newCD.iso C:\OS_source\</code>

Creating the ISO works in both Windows (with a 32-bit version of mkisofs) and Linux.

Get rid of that diagonal blue and white BlackBerry icon during a call

A few days ago – a weird square icon appeared in the middle of the top part of the screen on my BlackBerry. I knew that I’d pressed a button, but I couldn’t find it for the life of me. It would actually cover the call duration on the theme I’m using.

BlackBerry call equalizer icon
BlackBerry call equalizer icon

It got to a point where I started to scour the internet until I found the answer. While I’m at it – I’ve got to ask: Why is phone documentation so crap?

Anyway, it turned out that it is the call equalizer, which allows me to boost the bass or treble during a call depending on my mood. To turn it on or off simply press the ‘L’ button. This will toggle between those two and off.