Charles The Technician

Mail Server Fix

Posted by Charles | Filed under Advice, Computer Repair

On our mail server I’ve been going through a freaking LIST (2000+) user names of people who’s email accounts have not been deleted from our email server by our account maintenance software. Recently our server has been running slow and taking 3 hours to deliver email. So after some heavy investigation I found out why.

We have a crap load of people with 5000 emails in their inbox that no longer have an account with us that are recieving 25+ emails an hour.

Our server stores those emails as individual files in a directory and has to count them to check for quota size. Those of you that run Linux try and list a directory that has 5000 files in it and see how long it takes your computer to do it. Yeah now imagine a mail server doing this everytime an email comes in to one of these people that have full inboxes?

So I set about making this list and tried to automate the userinfo lookup by yanking names from this text file and pushing it through to my vuserinfo file which creates output like this:

name: [user name]
passwd: [Some long hash]
clear passwd: [actual password]
comment/gecos: “”
uid: 0
gid: 0
flags: 0
gecos: “”
limits: No user limits set.
dir: /home/vpopmail/domains/[our domain]/[username]
quota: 20000000S
usage: 0%
last auth: Thu Dec 14 02:20:26 2006
last auth ip: pop3

so I can triage the 90%+ users and delete their accounts since they are the problem children.

So I go and try:

cat deactivate.txt | ./vuserinfo > output.txt

nothing

it hates piping, I can’t even pipe single lines into it.

I tried a few other ways and nothing worked.

so I broke down and wrote a shell script.

====================
#!/bin/sh
#
# This takes a text file with usernames seperated out one per line and feeds it through
# ./vuserinfo and strips some of the useless output
#
filename=$1
if [ “$1″ = “” ]; then
filename=De.txt
fi
echo “reading $filename and processing press ctrl-c to end”
rm output.txt
lines=`sed -n ‘$=’ $filename`
lines=`expr $lines - 1`
i=1
while ((i < = lines))
do
readthisline=$i\p
usernamer=`sed -n $readthisline $filename`
./vuserinfo $usernamer > Tempoutput.txt
grep name Tempoutput.txt >> output.txt
grep usage Tempoutput.txt >> output.txt
grep last Tempoutput.txt >> output.txt
grep account Tempoutput.txt >> output.txt
i=`expr $i + 1`
done
rm Tempoutput.txt
cp output.txt /root
echo “*********************************************”
echo “************* Work Completed ****************”
echo “*********************************************”
====================

and it got the work done, so many problems that I ran into on the way since I haven’t written a shell script more then 3 lines line EVER before. This would have been solved if only the file allowed for simple piping.

Fast forward to today, server is running Metric FUCK-TONS (smaller then OMGWTF-TONS, but larger then SHIT-TONS) better, but we still have a crap load more to go.

It wouldn’t be so bad if the accounting software we had didn’t fuck up the inactive customer user name report and toss up error messages because that report became corrupt and I no longer have the install software nor does that vendor even sell the version we are using anymore. (We use Platypus by the way).

Lots of work done, lots more ahead.

PCLinuxOS

Posted by Charles | Filed under Advice, Computer Repair, Rants, Technology

Previously I’ve been dabbiling through with Kubuntu 6.06 and found that it required a lot of “after market” work to get things the way you want them for basic use which the average user just wouldn’t want to do.

Granted there are things that make these “after market” changes alot more simple such as EasyUbuntu or Automatix but again, this requires some changes the average user (I’m talking windows user) isn’t going to be willing to put up with, that and I really don’t like the way Ubuntu implements root access. People shouldn’t be logging in as root, but if they need to for whatever reason, it’s nice to know that they actually can.

I also recently purchased a $46 850Mhz Dell Optiplex 150 with 256Mb ram, that was refurbished as a toy. I was going to turn it into a web server for an internal shop Wiki and FTP server that would allow us to leave files on this server without having to file share around to different computers and worry about logins.

I put PCLinuxOS on it after someone showed me it and I have to say I’m impressed. Right out of the box it looks like a viable alternative for anyone who is wanting to change from Windows to Linux and not have to worry about digging through a lot of .conf files if they don’t want too. I haven’t tried DVD playback or MP3 so I’m really curious if that is done right out of the box (it looks like DVD playing works out of the box as the necessary packages are pre-installed).

{rant}
The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) is evil. Because the DVD format can be considered a method of encrytption for someone to create a free alternative that reads DVD’s they would have to break the encryption to make the software which in America would make them a CRIMINAL. Also to have DVD playback that this person created on your computer would make you a criminal. Though I don’t know of many times it being enforced, this law is stupid, tell your representatives to get rid of it…or in 5 years I’ll run for Senator…AND keep this blog.
{/rant}

So I went ahead and installed it on my main computer and I’m quite impressed. Ran DVD’s flawlessly, was a download and restart away from having the ATI drivers for my video card done up correctly. I put all this on the 3 partitions covering the first 120gigs of space on my 250gig HD. I’m leaving the rest just in the event I decide to go back to duel booting XP or want to try other distro’s for kicks.

In other news I got a kick out of learning how to mount a Apple computers HD for data recovery under Linux. That and I was able to get my hands on an iMac to iOpen the iDamn iThing. I found it to be an iExperience, they use philips head screws for the bottom plate, then switch over to hex screws further in, everything is so tight and close together I can’t believe anyone would want to work on the things but interesting enough once you get the right tools together (I had the hex screw drivers in my trucks toolbox), it wasn’t that difficult.  Not as easy as working on a regular desktop (2 screws and your in, 4 screws and the HD is out) but was extremely easy for a first time job.  I don’t remember the first time I opened up a desktop computer but I don’t remember it being that easy.  Then again I know the parts by sight now.  And that was about the time I formatted 2 floppies that contained a pinball game because I was told you had to format all floppies before use.

Yes at one point I was an idiot too…

If you want to play with Linux and give PCLinuxOS a try: Click Here

Love,
iCharles~

Lack of productivity followed by a blinding flash of…something.

Posted by Charles | Filed under Computer Repair

This job has it’s pattarns, typically if I get one modem problem in the shop, I can expect to have 5 following right behind it, lighting storm?…expect to have to replace 4 or 5 power supplies and/or motherboards.

So when I get behind because of extracarricular activities like dealing with internet companies, hotels griping, and other large projects, and stuff that just isn’t the daily thing I’ll have a couple of days where it seems like not a computer leaves this store, then on the 3rd day or so I spit out 4 to 5 computers.

This scares the ever living fuck out of the accountant because she is so used to seeing technicians that do work to the standard of the government then expecting it back in the shop within 3 days.

So far I’ve had 2 real returns, one because the customer asked for work and after I did it, it wasn’t what they were wanting but was what they asked for. Other was a virus / spyware removal and some very nasty custom virii that their nephew had left in a “Do not execute” folder and low and behold…they executed it.

I’ve had other returns that were just PEBKAC, like a fresh windows install on a new hard drive and in a drunken stupor the owner seeing that he still has all of his old emails on outlook after an overnight download. “It’s not a fresh install!!!all my old shit is on there.” and one I was really to blame for, like leaving a boot disk we use in the CD-tray and it not booting to windows for the user so they flipped out instead of removing the CD even though it says very plainly “Booting from CD”, then gives you the options to boot from the “C” drive or to continue.
I’ve had about 120 computers in this shop since I started working here back in May, I may not be batting 1000 but I feel damn confident in my level of success.

So tonight I’m doing it again, I’m wide awake and I’m working after hours and pushing out 5 computers before going to sleep.

Have a nice fucking [night],
Charles~

Everytime you purchase an E-machine…God kills a kitten.

Posted by Charles | Filed under Computer Repair, Rants

Sounds like a joke but I’m serious, ever wonder why the “please spay and neuter your pets” commercials aren’t as prevalent anymore? Because idiots who purchase E-machines handle that by proxy.

These computers are cheap, no joke, because the manufacturers cut corners in putting these computers together, from the faulty power supplies which have a tendency to take out the motherboard with them when they go out within a year to the faulty motherboards which have a HIGH tendency to have bad capacitors (see: www.badcaps.net).

Even better when this does occur, according to Microsofts OEM License (The one you agree to when you purchase Windows Pre-installed on your computer) is only valid on THAT computer. Well guess what? When you change your motherboard out, it’s no longer “That computer”, it’s an entirely new computer. There are some examples floating around the internet where people have been succesful at reinstalling windows XP afterwards and getting it to run, but it’s illegal even if they did.

Microsoft might not sue an individual that does this to one computer. But when I have on average 4 E-machines a month that come into the shop needing this sort of fix to work they might just sue the shop I work for (if I did it, and no I haven’t).

Cost of a good motherboard: $105
Cost of a good power supply: $55
cost of a retail copy of Windows XP Home: $89 - $95
total of $250
cost of an average E-machine: $345

Cost of that average E-machine after turning it into a non-emachine computer: $595, your soul to Microsoft, and 5 minutes of laughter from E-machine tech support to tell you that you can’t use the OEM license on the side once you’ve changed out your motherboard.

So do yourself a favor everyone…go take that $595 and buy a REAL computer. And if you can’t find someone to build you a good quality computer, then go to someone a little less fucktarded like dell or Hewlett Packard.
But remember you get what you pay for, don’t spend a dollar later trying to save a nickel today.

If you just so happen to be the proud owner of the worlds worst computer do yourself a favor and go purchase a new power supply right now, don’t wait for your current one to go bad. A standard 400 watt ATX power supply will do.