How to Reinstall AlienWare Respawn and use Existing Recovery partition

The Background:

I have been an AlienWare fan for quite awhile now...that loyalty is going downhill since Dell took over. It used to be that when AlienWare sent you a machine, you got FULL recovery (as in OOTB setup) discs.  Dell stopped doing that a few years ago.  Silly me didn't notice - at least not in time.

So imagine my surprise when I realize, after reinstalling Windows 7 Pro, that I not only didn't have the entire set of drivers and software packages on the provided Resource CD, but I couldn't build recovery discs even though the partition was intact and I could launch the AlienRespawn utility.  Because I'd done the install the way I did, I still had the Alienware Respawn software on the hard drive.  I had not made my recovery CDs from Alienware Respawn, at least not for this desktop. I was a "good girl" and did it for my M11x, so I tried to make a bootable USB drive off of that laptop and then copy my desktops recovery partition. No that was not successful, it would start but the BCD didn't jive with a few other files that I didn't have on hand but Alienware Respawn seems to create on the fly.

After much digging, and many internet searches I took a chance on what may/may not be a Dell-owned site, but I found the file I needed (which I later found on my M11x as well).

The Fix:

As long as your recovery partition is intact you will be able to make yourself a set of recovery disks or bootable USB/UFD (take your pick of term) and restore your system back to the original configuration. Some other posts say this will only work on laptops, but it worked just fine for my Aurora R2 desktop.

Step by Step:

1. Go to this site: AlienRespawn - The Heros! and download the AlienRespawn_Basic.exe file.
2. If you're not 100% certain about your machine's current configuration I suggest running the "Easy Step 1" on the right side of the page. Just to be certain that your machine can run the respawn utility.
3. Launch the AlienRespawn_Basic program. Follow the prompts. I went with almost all the defaults except for the Emergency Backup option - I included my "Downloads" folder so I didn't lose some of my work already done (like downloading FireFox and Kaspersky, in addition the respawn program).
4. Don't panic when it starts in on the recovery partition configuration. Mine was left intact, it didn't reformat or overwrite any of the files on that partition.
5. When the install is done you'll need to reboot.
6. AlienRespawn should show up in your All Programs list, go ahead and launch it.
7. The main screen may tell you that you need to create your recovery disks (it will be in red), pick your choice of discs or USB. 
• If you choose USB, make sure you have at least a 16GB stick around that you can afford to have reformatted and lose all data that's on it.
8. I used the USB option and it only took me an hour to restore my machine back to OOTB settings.  (I still recommend making DVDs though as you may forget and overwrite your USB stick.
9. Once the recovery set is done you can restart your machine, hit F12 to pick your boot device and start the restore process.  (The F8 option won't work here as the AlienRespawn option is not listed.)
10. When the restore is done, you'll have to set it up for it's first use, just like you did when you first got it.
11. Finally, do the Toy Story Woody "I did it! I did it!" happy dance.

And if you're like me and your machine had to be reimaged due to kids installing things they shouldn't and getting a PITA trojan, you will lock your rig down tight and not allow any kids near it ever again (especially teens!).

Big shoutout to the folks behind the AlienRespawn site, you saved my sanity (because I couldn't possibly be beaten by a stupid recovery partiion, but was too lazy to hack the .wim to get it to work with just WinPE).

GroupWise News

I meant to post these earlier but life has been getting in the way, so playing catch up now.

If you're just getting around to installing Novell Data Synchronizer Mobility Pack 1.2.5.299 that was released back in May -  it has been released in the Patch Finder with Z10 fixes and a few other bug fixes

(http://download.novell.com/patch/finder/) - and are having YaST errors when trying to install, you may want to go check the Forums for a thread that was started on 8/7/13. It's in the Data Syncronizer/DS Mobility Pack forum.  You may have a repository issue that is fairly easy to resolve yourself. So save yourself an SR.

In other GW news, if you're experiencing the deleting messages on a BlackBerry 10 device issue, Datasync has just entered into it's beta phase (which is good news) with an anticipated release date of "late 2013" to resolve the issue where when a message is deleted from the Blackberry device, it is also deleted from the server and not simply moved to trash.

VMWare News

As all Novell folks know, the vast majority of Novell admins are versed well beyond Novell products and across a multitude of technologies. A few may not realize though that VMWare started as a means for those of us going the self study route for Novell certs to use the equipment we had on hand to setup practice labs.

I've been using VMWare now for a long time, and have been tossing around the idea of getting my VCP but have been stymied by the mandate to sit the entire course before being "allowed" to sign up and take the exam. That's because there is no local center to take the $2,500 class at, so I'd have to include travel expenses, which put it out of my reach.

Not any more!  As of August 12, 2013, VMWare has made the class available via the web.  Yay!!  Now I can save up my pennies and take the course, which includes electronic version of the guides, practice tests AND an exam voucher.  Not too shabby.

Here's the link with the info on their new OnDemand training:

VCP OnDemand Course

Grudgingly accepting Apple

Don't get me wrong, I was an Apple fan way back in the MacIntosh days, but I have the same issue with them now that I did then. They are too proprietary. However, that being said, my music library is in iTunes and I'm too lazy to move it to another platform, so when Phred the cat ruined my Original iPod 20GB by peeing on it, I struggled along using my iPod Shuffle (courtesy of Novell, thank you!) for a few years.

I finally broke down and purchased an iPod Touch so I could have music and stream movies to help drown out the noise factor at my new cube location. Unfortunately, the local WAN team blocks streaming so I've only been using it for music, but it does the job. Luckily for me though, my team has been granted the ability to work from home several days a week now to allow us a quieter environment to concentrate on our tasks at hand. And to take conference calls. Lots and lots of conference calls.

One problem with that...I don't have unlimited minutes on my family cell plan, so I began using Google to make calls using my little AlienWare laptop. It works great, but I'm tied to a wired headset attached to a fairly heavy device which means I can't really do anything but sit while on conference calls. So I started researching, and found I can make my iPod Touch into a cell phone. Yep, as long as I have wireless access I can make free calls via Google Voice on my iPod Touch.

Apple did this one pretty well. I can't use my bluetooth headset that works for my Android phone however as Apple, in it's proprietariness, Applehas made that impossible. And as I found in researching potential headsets, there's a big difference between a 2nd Gen iPod Touch and a 4th Gen iPod Touch and what worked for a 4th Gen iPod Touch won't work on an Original iPad (which also will not run anything higher than iOS 5) or on a 5th or 6th Gen iPod Touch. I managed to find a Sony that fit the bill though and I am now using my iPod Touch as a phone - as long as I have wifi access where I am. Pretty cool, but still not yet enough to convince me to go to an iPhone. My Galaxy IIS has withstood many, many drops that an iPhone would probably not have survived and I'm still not thoroughly convinced that I want to "live" in any single cloud environment. If I truly had my druthers, I'd still be on my beloved BlackBerry Curve that is still running and that I still use for apps. (Always the rebel!)

The apps for using Google Voice on an iPod are free, one provided by Google and another called GV Phone which I like better (except for the annoying ads). It's only been a day so far, and I've had one misdialed number (using the Google app) but people seem to be able to hear me okay and the sound quality is really good as long as I don't get it too close to my Galaxy or my bluetooth headset.

So for now, I'll grudgingly accept that Apple has done something cool by providing a feature to access a service provided by one of their main competitors. I've been in the industry long enough to remember the days when that would never have happened, so it's nice to see, even if I have to throw a bone to Apple regarding their overpriced music box.

I'm late to the party - again!

Okay, so I've been busy helping friends and family fight cancer, deal with teen drama and aging parents, but aren't we all?

Anyway, wanted to let you all know - albeit late - that ZCM 11.2.3 was finally released, way to go Shaun and team!

Also, if you need a great resource for GroupWise 2012 Willem Bagchus' book is out and available on Danita "The GroupWise Goddess" Zanre's website:

http://www.caledonia.net

You might want to pick up her Guide to Moving GroupWise while you're at it.

GroupWise 2012 Administrator's Guide

It's finally here! Willem Bagcheus' guide to administering GroupWise 2012. For those that don't Willem, he's an amazingly talented GroupWise admin, Karoke "rock god", and former GWAVA engineer.  Best part is, his book is available over at Danita Zanre's - the GroupWise Goddess - website.

My apologies Danita for lifting this graphic off your site, it was the best one I found so far.  :)

To purchase this book go to: Caledonia Network Consulting

And don't forget to pick up Danita's GroupWise 2012 Upgrade Bundle, her guides for Novell Mobility and Moving GroupWise.  They're very reasonably priced, easy to follow, and will help layout the groundwork for your project planning.

(And no, I don't get anything from either Danita or Willem besides laughter and sanity checks).

ZCM 11.2.3a Delayed

Recent information is that during testing a new bug was discovered that could cause issues when upgrading.  The good news is this was caught in testing rather than after it was released. And while the delay may not be long, and some people may be disappointed, I am glad they caught it now and are fixing it prior to release.

Another item that was brought up is a new TID related to updating the ZENworks News Items in ZCC.  Some didn't get a hold of the original 11.2.3, but apparently there may be an issue with some folks not seeing an item regarding 11.2.3. If you're one of the people that didn't see something regarding 11.2.3 and are running on Linux, try this out:

TID 7011998

Annual Training Opporutnity for MidWest folks

This one is put on by a friend's user group and has had great reviews from those that have attended in the past. If you can make, it sounds like a great deal!

For those of you in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, there's an IT conference next month with some great Novell training. It is the Illinois Valley Network Users Association conference April 17-18. A
few Novell folk including yours truly will be there giving a few sessions on ZCM, ZMM, GroupWise, and Filr/iPrint. In addition, a trainer from Novell training will be there giving some ATT courses both days. Here are the Novell session topics.

Breakout Sessions
Novell ZenWorks Present and Future Roadmap
Embracing BYOD in the Enterprise with ZENworks Mobile Management
Novell GroupWise Windermere Deep Dive
Extending Your File and Print Services to Mobile Devices with Novell
Filr and Novell iPrint

ATT Sessions
ZenWorks Patch Management (3.5 hr)
ZenWorks Mobile Management (3.5 hr)
ZenWorks Configuration Management Essentials (1 day)

Full conference schedule
http://www.ivnua.org/training-seminars.php

Class descriptions
http://www.ivnua.org/class-descriptions.php

The conference is only $230 (after using discount code "novell"), and the ATT courses are $100 for a half day class and $200 for the full day class. This is a great learning opportunity, especially for those that did not make it to BrainShare. The conference is in Utica, IL which is about 1 hour south of Rockford / 1.5 hours west of Chicago / 1.5 hours east of Quad Cities.

BrainShare 2013 and a Cool App

So, BrainShare 2013 is over and I missed it all. Well, almost all of it, thanks to Danita Zanre, Tom Hafeman, Willem Bagchus, and Susie Winterhoff, I got to see lots of pics and a few videos so I don't feel quite so left out.

Post conference reports indicate that our "old" Novell is back and that the conference was a success. Lots of conversations about the new products, the keynotes were upbeat and useful, and Filr was in heavy use. I have yet to try to activate my Filr account, but definitely want to get my hands on it. Might be time to upgrade my internet so that I can have a dedicated IP for my play lab...that or get some cloud space somewhere.

Dates are still being discussed for BrainShare 2014, I'm saving up my pennies and vacation days to be there, whenever it is announced.

I also learned about a smartphone app that I had not been aware of previously. It's probably been out there for some time, but I'm not a huge smartphone app user. Battery life being what it is, and being spoiled by my old Blackberry, I tend to use my smartphone for as a phone.

Available for iOS and Android, search for "learningcentral", making sure you select the one made by Novell (there are more than one on the Android side at least).  Use this app to locate and download materials from ATT Live, SUSECon and BrainShare.  Pretty sweet!

Overall, it seems like Novell is set for a revival. Hopefully the Attachmate folks will have better marketing success than the Novell of the past. There's no need to repeat those mistakes!

New GroupWise Book!!

Yes, people still care about and use GroupWise enough to write a new administrator's guide for 2012. Not only does someone care, it's someone I know who wrote it, and he's an amazing Karoke singer to boot.

Willem Bagchus, of former GWAVA fame, has written the latest book to come out, Novell GroupWise 2012 Administrator's Guide. He's also offering a special on it if you pre-order before February 28, 2013.

Better yet, pick it up at BrainShare and I'm pretty sure you can talk him into autographing it for you. And if you do, please tell him hello for me.

I will miss seeing you all this year, but other duties call that also make it impractical for me to get cookies out there in time. (Actually, I don't trust UPS or USPS to get them there on time).

BrainShare Conference Party

In case you didn't see the post on the Novell forums, NetIQ and Novell have rallied to bring back the BrainShare Conference Party (a.k.a. concert).

This year it will be Sawyer Brown (yep, it's country, yep, I like them so blppptt!).  I'm a bit bummed because I won't be there this year, but other duties call.

Conference party will be on Wednesday, February 6th.  Hope you all have a blast!

I will be working on some new tech, at the current job (still love it), that will be having me travel to our corporate office. Unfortunately for you all, that means no cookies. There just isn't enough time to get the done in time to ship. Sorry folks.


If you miss my Snickerdoodles that much just wait a few months. I'm working on an cookbook that I'll self-publish in an eBook format that I hope to release by June. The receipe for them is in there. Or you can find it on my other blog: pyrhaven.blogspot.com if you desperate for them now.

One last bit of "bad" news: no BrainShare Buddies this year.