Posts by Jack Cook7

Hold up, let’s slow things down for a sec.

That hard drive inside an external enclosure is almost definitely just a standard SATA HDD tucked behind a SATA-to-USB converter. So, on the PC side, you've basically got a USB-to-SATA bridge making that drive look like a local SATA drive. From there, you can set it up to show up however you want. If you want it to act as a Windows share via SMB, it needs to be visible on the network.

So, how are all these devices actually hooked up? Is everything running through Ethernet straight into a router that's acting as a switch or a hub?

wanderingbison9 said:The phone isn't really the priority right now.

I’m thinking that by unchecking the "use network storage" option in my router settings, I might have accidentally disabled SMB as well. Does that sound plausible?

I have my PC and an Apple TV both connected via Ethernet, yet neither of them can seem to find the media server on the router.

Ugh, clearly they’re being super vague about this. That "Use network storage" option could mean literally anything.

At the end of the day, it might mean you have to
- first, toggle "Use network storage" on (which might actually refer to using a USB SATA drive (!)
- and then, you also have to enable DLNA on the local network.

DLNA is basically just a glorified plug-and-play upgrade for a Windows share SMB setup. They *should* be compatible, but honestly, it feels like a total pipe dream. Try turning one or the other off. It's a Layer 2 network, so you don't need DHCP or an IP or any of that junk. But you won't be able to reach anything outside that specific network.

Once you get everything humming internally, then we can start talking about accessing stuff from the outside through the gateway.

wanderingbison9 said:Thanks. I've actually already gone through those instructions and followed everything exactly as described. Honestly, it really couldn't be any simpler than it is right now.

Hmm, the drive is SATA inside a USB enclosure, so the enclosure should be handling the SATA-to-USB conversion itself.

My goal is to have both working. My home network—the part using the Windows share—is functioning perfectly fine, so that side of things is all set. It’s just this media server component within the router that's being stubborn; the router simply won't show up on any of the DLNA clients, even though UPnP is definitely enabled. Both of my TVs can see each other, and they can both see my PC, and the PC sees them just fine. But for some reason, they just won't recognize the router as a media server.

P.S. maybe I should check the technical specs in the PDF.

Ugh, you're mixing up two totally different networks. You've got Windows SMB and then you've got DLNA. DLNA is basically a local broadcast network specifically designed for a handful of devices doing real-time streaming.

Then you've got Windows SMB, which is based on IBM networking. Paradoxically, just like DLNA, it's built for small networks without a router, since it's all based on Ethernet broadcasting.

Ditch the phone and disable that Windows share
And the devices should be able to see each other over the physical UTP Ethernet network plugged right into the router.

Once you get the physical Ethernet setup sorted out, then we can worry about the phone's Wi-Fi.

Your phone is probably just hitting the router as a WAP. You gotta make sure there's actually an option in the router settings to present that SATA drive as a DLNA device.

Man, that USB drive is basically a SATA drive to you now, isn't it?

Think of it this way: your router is acting as the SATA host and controller.

But here's the real question—how exactly is the router presenting that drive to the rest of your network?

If you're trying to set it up as a Windows share, you're essentially turning that router into a Windows SMB server. That means all your other devices have to act as Windows SMB clients, all tied together by their IP addresses.

fadedorca66 said:Some providers try to "save" on IP addresses by using CGN, so a ton of users end up sharing the same one. I guess you're with a provider that does that?

Look, CGN isn't just about cutting corners—it's actually a necessity. It's basically advanced NAT. Think of it as a later version of a proxy, but an earlier step before we get to algae.

The evolution goes like this: proxy -> NAT -> CGN -> algae. (And don't forget the IPv4-to-IPv6 encapsulation part!)

There are a million reasons why things are set up this way, but one major headache is that people running small home setups without their own leased IP ranges run into massive issues.

But hey, who actually owns even half of the available IPv4 space anyway?

So you’ve got two different email accounts set up in Outlook, right? But here's the kicker—how many actual mail servers are we talking about? Like, how many different domains is each one actually responsible for?

Look, I’m not trying to drag this out, so yeah, I’m with you on that.

Just have them jump into the BIOS and yank PXE right off the boot list, then we'll see what kind of magic happens.

feralcrane5 said:I'm currently connected to my home Wi-Fi. However, when I check IPStack, it displays an IP address and a location that isn't even remotely where I actually am. I suppose you might wonder if this is somehow normal?

On top of that... when I attempted to edit an article on Wikipedia, a message popped up stating that editing is temporarily blocked for my IP address. The strange thing is, the address listed there isn't mine at all, and the number doesn't match what I see on IPStack. On Wikipedia, it shows this odd format that looks like xxx.xxx.xx.x/xx. What kind of IP address ends with /xx, and why would I be blocked when I haven't even edited anything on Wikipedia yet—not to mention my current IP isn't even the one they're mentioning?? 😕

Yep. Basically, the physical spot where a user is sitting compared to what their ISP reports has zero correlation most of the time.

Just because you're sitting in a small town in Kansas doesn't mean you can act like a tough guy thinking you're untraceable just because the IP says you're in some random part of Chicago. You think the local sheriff won't find you in an hour? Oh, they will. Public data doesn't care about how things work behind the scenes.

Also... when I tried to edit a Wikipedia article, it told me editing is temporarily blocked for my IP address, but the address shown isn't mine at all, and the number is totally different from what IPStack shows.

You basically inherited someone else's IP because your provider rotated it through their pool.

Honestly, you got lucky. You could've had SWAT knocking on your door at 4 AM.

On Wikipedia, there's this weird string that looks like xxx.xxx.xx.x/xx. What kind of IP ends in /xx? And why am I blocked when I haven't even edited anything, and my current IP isn't even that one?? 😕

It's called classless routing—been the industry standard for like 30 years. If you want to be anonymous online, you actually have to try.

George Murphy12 said:Like I said before, it could totally be a faulty HDD or just a bad connection... then during boot, the system misses it and just moves down the priority list. You can always pull an OS install via PXE if you've got a server to grab it from.

Nope.

PXE is strictly just a network communication protocol. Seriously, you could have a rig with zero hard drives, no DVD drive, no smartcards, no microSD, no permanent storage at all—just raw RAM and an EPROM that supports PXE—and the PXE will boot that machine up every single time and everything will run just fine.

A PXE server is basically just a machine that spits out a boot image over the network to a PXE client, usually using multicast ethernet. At its core, a PXE server is just a glorified file server running a slightly different protocol. That PXE boot file? It’s literally just a plain old file (you just gotta know how to prep it) sitting on a file server. Think of it as being super similar to a TFTP server.

What actually happens once the client boots that "dumb" boot image over the network is a whole different ballgame.

You really gotta watch what you're doing when cleaning electrical contacts.

There are tons of different types of electrical contacts out there.

The basics? You've got low-frequency versus high-frequency. Then you've got the whole breakdown of high current vs. low current, high voltage vs. low voltage, and so on and so forth.

Memory modules run on crazy high frequencies with super low voltage and current. Their contacts are just as critical as the ones on your CPU. When we're talking about a typical 2GHz setup, that contact needs to be absolutely flawless from both a mechanical and chemical standpoint—perfectly smooth, zero oxidation, no electromigration, no gunk, nothing. Whatever "perfect" means in this context.

WD-40 is basically an acid that eats away at the surface (which is usually already compromised anyway). How much damage it does depends on the chemistry of the surface you're hitting. At the end of the day, even if it manages to strip away all the oxides, carbides, nitrides, and grime, you're left with a surface that's uneven, even if it looks "super clean." Because of that roughness, you're looking at extreme electrical stress, oxidation, burning, and performance degradation due to increased resistance. You can even end up generating a massive amount of RF interference because those contact surfaces start sparking while they burn. You won't be able to measure that RF noise easily, but trust me on this—it shows up crystal clear on an oscilloscope. We're talking transient contact noise. Every electronic device or contact has to have some kind of "smart" mechanism to minimize and neutralize that stuff to a certain degree; otherwise, instead of getting a crisp digital signal (not to mention the usual headache of digital signal distortion in an analog world, but that's a whole other story), you get a giant, uncontrolled mess called noise. Figuring out how to fight that noise and pull a useful signal out of it is a massive engineering hurdle. As frequencies go up, which forces voltages and currents down, the electrical charges shift, making the noise way more pronounced and the demand for perfect contacts even higher. (And yeah, there's also basic thermal noise, but let's not get sidetracked.)

Isopropyl alcohol is probably the gentlest stuff that can actually clear up most contact interference. It's actually the main ingredient in most "contact sprays." Once everything dries, you should blow it all off with some ultra-clean filtered air. And I mean it: NO Q-tips, no paper, no cheap shop compressor air. And definitely no erasers.

There is NO paste or oil that can replace direct metal-to-metal contact. Sure, it might work for a tiny bit of time, but in the long run, they're going to start burning, which causes way more harm than good.

If you've already messed with high-frequency contacts using something like WD-40, the first thing you need to do is kill the power immediately and thoroughly degrease those contacts:
- First, use some heated medical-grade naphtha, wait for it to dry completely, then blast it with clean air.
- Then hit it with isopropyl alcohol. Then blast it with air again.

bluecyclist64 said:But what's the point of even debating this? What are we actually trying to achieve here?

Because it was all about standing up against communism!

Man, you kids today just don't get it.

Amanda Robinson4 said:Maybe that's because that whole storyline is actually based on true events! Back then, Tom actually moved to Washington, D.C. to study film directing, so his life there probably looked pretty much like that... But, since they labeled it autobiographical, it might actually be based on Stojanović, which would mean that specific part of the movie is scripted after all. Still, I totally agree, Tom just feels so real in it...

Even so, you have to admit that leaning into those old clashes between factions isn't exactly groundbreaking... it's kind of cheap emotional bait.

The real issue is that back then, any movie touching on WW2 had to basically worship Tito and Yugoslavia. But here? They actually compared the regime to the fascists and Nazis... Talk about a gutsy move! It ended up causing a massive scandal, landing Stojanović in jail, giving the Academy in Washington, D.C. huge headaches, and even keeping Tom Gotovac from graduating for a while... crazy stuff...

Looking back at it now, what was actually wrong with the "regime" suppressing stuff like this?

Morgan Ortiz6 said:So, I just grabbed that Free bulk YouTube downloader to give it a whirl. Just for a quick test run, I grabbed four links from YouTube, tossed them into the YouTube URL list field, and hit "start download." But... nothing. Absolutely zilch. It’s like pressing a button on a remote and having the TV just stare back at you blankly. No progress bar, no files popping up, just total silence.

Sorry, things got a little hectic on my end!

You're totally right though—most of those links are useless. They're either strictly licensed or have those annoying time limits and crazy speed caps.

Just a heads up, make sure you check which Windows OS you're running and whether it's 32 or 64-bit.

Youtube-dlg 0.4 actually works, even on those "restricted" clips (you know, like those kids' cartoons and other stuff that's officially licensed).
https://www.softpedia.com/get/Intern...tube-DLG.shtml

Laws regarding internal company policy are super loose.

Basically, anything on official computers, phones, or paper docs belongs to the company. That includes desks, drawers, filing cabinets—everything.

So, sure, you can lock your papers in a drawer and take the key home, but the company still has the right to peek inside whenever they want without you knowing.

Even those landline calls at the office? They can be recorded at will without even telling the person on the other end. The call is company property, period.

Work cell phones are a bit more sensitive since the data usually goes through an outside carrier, but it’s the same deal. The phone or the number belongs to the firm, they pay the bill, so they own the recording. There are telecom services that can redirect every single call from an employee's mobile or work number straight to a server chosen by the owner of Company X. You might think you have a phone, but if the number belongs to Company X, every call or text gets sent straight to them automatically.

It's the same if you're using a company phone but have a private number plugged in. Ever heard of "locked" phones?

Whose money, whose rules.

A company can't touch your private email, Skype, or WhatsApp accounts—not legally—even if you open them on a work device.

But! If you use them on company gear, they have plenty of rights to install spyware that logs everything from your passwords to every chat, encryption be damned. It happens all the time. There are stealth programs that run in the background and beam everything to specific servers. There are even third-party cloud services that handle this. Just a quick Google search will show you.
https://www.spyagent.net/

They can even capture full screenshots without ever touching your webcam. And don't even get me started on how some bosses feel entitled to use the camera—whether it's on your PC or your phone—to spy on employees, even after hours, just because the device is "official."

So, if you start a private video or voice session like Skype on a work device, the company basically has the right to record everything you do.

Don't confuse this with talking to outside parties; for those people, companies actually have to give explicit notice at the start of the call if it's being recorded.

American laws are pretty weak on this stuff. (Like everything else, honestly.)

Back in the day under socialism, this was explicitly banned, but hey, technological progress... democracy and the rule of law, right?

And no, encryption won't save you. Your only bet is using completely private devices that are totally disconnected from the company.

As far as I'm concerned, if you find a company pulling this kind of surveillance, you should bail the second you get a few solid references under your belt. That’s a toxic, rotten environment run by incompetent bosses. If someone is really riding you, gather evidence of the spying. It’s always useful when you can shove proof in the face of the people "supervising" you that they never disclosed they were watching. Nothing shuts a monitor up faster than proving you were actually monitoring *them*. And since you did it on your own private gear, they can't claim any rights to your logs or content. Watch how fast their tone changes then. 😉

=================

Keep in mind, all they need to surveil you is to know you're posting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Reddit.

Some sites aren't even properly secured with HTTPS, making them extra vulnerable. Bosses like that can literally read what employees are writing online in real-time. These managers think they're so clever, assuming their staff doesn't realize they're reading their messages. The only question is who those messages are for—the random people on a forum or their own bosses.

It’s the exact same deal with Facebook, Twitter, or whatever else—even if they’re technically "safe" because of HTTPS. Look, if you check the logs on a local firewall, it’s dead easy to see when Employee X hits up Facebook to drop a message (you can tell just by looking at the traffic spikes). Give me an hour or two of shallow digging, and I can bridge that 1:1 gap to prove that "John Doe" on Facebook is actually Mike Miller from Company X. It’s honestly as simple as signing a contract with your full legal name and SSN.

Sure, there are ways to put some guardrails up (like using a VPN, Secure DNS, DNS over TLS, or DNS over HTTPS), for example: https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/dns/dns-over-tls/

But at the end of the day, it always comes back to this: any halfway decent firewall admin can spot user activity in their sleep.

There’s a fix for that too, but that’s a whole different conversation.

Bottom line? Use your own phone, your own number, your own laptop. Keep everything encrypted and stay off the company Wi-Fi or the office cellular network entirely.

Just to clear things up, PXE isn't really for installing stuff—it’s for booting over the network when you don't have any local bootable drives handy, whether those are physical sticks or software-based. That said, you *can* use it to install an OS on local machines, boot up zero clients or thin clients, or even give a little nudge to a "fat" client during startup.

From what you're describing, it sounds like your locally installed OS is occasionally losing its connection and timing out with its primary boot device (most likely your C: drive or the hard drive). Your BIOS probably has a boot order set up something like C:/HDD/SATA, then DVD/SATA, and finally PXE.

If that SATA controller starts acting up, the OS sitting in the RAM or the BIOS just moves on to the next device on the list. Since you haven't got PXE configured, that’s why you’re seeing that message—honestly, if you actually had something connected to the network card, you'd probably be stuck waiting for a full minute!

Here’s a theory: the SATA controller (or maybe just the hard drive itself) fails, and the OS tries to write a Blue Screen of Death dump file. But then it realizes there's nowhere to save it because the hard drive is MIA or the SATA controller isn't responding. So, it just resets and tries to boot from the next available thing on the list, which happens to be PXE (since the DVD drive is also unreachable due to that same SATA/AHCI glitch).

===========

Go into your BIOS and strip away every single boot option except for C:/HDD/SATA.

Once the crash happens again, you can be pretty certain the issue lies with the SATA/AHCI interface or the controller itself—basically, the motherboard. To test this, grab a DVD drive and a bootable disc. If you can boot from the disc and everything works fine, but the hard drive still won't budge, then you've definitely found the culprit: the motherboard or its built-in SATA/AHCI controller.

Also, it’s totally possible that the RAM modules are the real headache, just like our buddy mentioned. Try cleaning the contacts first, but if the crashing keeps happening, swap the modules out (or try running on just one at a time since you've probably got two) and see if that fixes it.

Morgan Ortiz6 said:Damn, that’s for Windows 10... I actually need it for Windows 8.1

Check these out:
https://download.cnet.com/s/youtube-dowloader/

Specifically this:

https://download.cnet.com/Free-YouTu...-10875415.html

The thing is, this one just grabs YT links one by one. It's kind of a drag because you have to sit there clicking through everything constantly. If you’re looking for a real batch/bulk download—like, you find maybe 10 links at once, toss them all into the downloader, and just hit "go" to grab the whole lot—you definitely need something a bit smarter than this.

https://download.cnet.com/s/youtube-dowloader-bulk/

Like this: https://download.cnet.com/Bulk-Youtu...-77721821.html

Is there anything like YouTube Kids for Windows?

Check it out—I found 4 different options for Windows right here. Once you get them installed, you'll see a download button pop up right under the video. Just pick your resolution and quality, and boom, you're done.

https://download.cnet.com/s/snaptube/

Morgan Ortiz6 said:So, here’s the deal. I need to grab about twenty different clips from YouTube, right? I’ve been messing around with various downloaders using Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, but honestly, the whole process is such a massive drag. Having to manually open the software, paste the link, hit go, and then repeat that entire tedious dance twenty times over is just exhausting. It feels like a total waste of time.
Is there some kind of tool out there that actually works smarter? Something that just detects when I've copied a link and kicks off the download automatically without me having to babysit it every single time?

Izvolte (just search Google for "bulk & batch download youtube"):
https://github.com/Lettly/Youtube-Download-Batch

https://gadgets.ndtv.com/how-to/feat...deoder-2279719

You can actually pop in an SDXC card up to 2TB, too. I mean, sure, it won't outrun an NVMe drive, but it’s definitely kicking more butt than a standard SATA drive.

Might even work with an SD card if the hardware plays nice.

Just a little handy locksmith clamp for the kit.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/brand-locksmith-clamp-50mm-85-014761/example