Category Archives: Ask J.D.

Combined two unallocated 2TB partitions into 4TB [SOLVED]

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Recently I started to repurpose a 4TB 2.5″ SATA SSD but ran into an issue utilizing the entire SSD. Specifically, even after deleting the existing partitions I could only allocate ~2TB and ~2TB (as shown on Disk1 below) Eventually, I realized that the issue was the drive had been setup as MBR instead of GPT. Here are the steps to remedy that and create a large contiguous 4TB partition. First the screenshot shows the steps, then the commands are listed

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Photoshop keeps moving the wrong layer [SOLVED]

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Recently when using Photoshop 2024 to move some small rasterized calendar text with a transparent background, Photoshop kept moving the wrong layer. Specifically the layer behind the object that I wanted to move. I checked that I was on the correct layer (and I was). Finally I realized that “Auto-Select” was checked in the move tool options dialog. After unchecking that, all was well! Short summary: if you are having difficulty getting photoshop to move the correct layer, try checking

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AMD Ryzen 3700X (Desktop) vs AMD Z1 Extreme (Ally portable)

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Hands-On Experience: Ryzen 3700X Triumphs in Handbrake Encoding Over Asus ROG Ally’s Z1 Extreme CPU While compressing some video recently, I conducted a hands-on test to compare two contenders in my personal collection: my trusty desktop PC powered by an AMD Ryzen 3700X CPU (released in 2019 almost 5 years old!), and the compact portable powerhouse, the Asus ROG Ally mini gaming system (released 2023), equipped with an AMD Z1 Extreme CPU. The battlefield chosen for this performance duel was

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Lenovo M14 portable monitor compatibility list

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Lenovo M14 and Dell laptop

NOTE: I recommend using a high quality (and relatively short) USB-C cable for best results. When I initially used a generic USB-C cable I did not have success. These are devices that I have personally tested my M14 monitor with: Devices that do work with the M14 display Samsung S23 Ultra (works well, can be used with Dex or in screen mirroring mode) Dell Latitude 7490 (works well) Devices that do not work with the M14 (as of 3/21/24) Acer

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Synology DiskStation not accessible after Windows upgrade

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Recently my Synology DS1813 was no longer accessible after a Windows upgrade and a power failure. For some reason SMB/SAMBA v1 seemed to not be working (even though I believe I had enabled legacy SAMBA support in Windows 10 and 11). The solution for me was to check the following option in the NAS’s web based DS Control Panel: Control Panel -> File Sharing and Privileges -> Win/Mac/NFS -> Enable SMB 2 and Large MTU -> Apply

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Google Docs Export to PDF are HUGE now?!

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UPDATE: as of late March 2024, the file sizes have returned to a reasonable size 👍👍 The original blog entry describing the (now fixed) issue can be found below: Recently when exporting Google Docs pages to a PDF my file sizes have increased from 2-3mb to 20+mb 🙁 It seems to be related to including photos in the Doc but there do not appear to be any solutions from Google. They made some server size change because the EXACT same

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SOOSPY wifi camera, default username and password

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The default WiFi SSID is the same as what is printed on the QR code sticker. The default IP address is: 192.168.10.1 (connect to its wifi network and DHCP will give you an address like 192.168.10.10 The default username is: admin The default password is: [BLANK] (no password, do not enter password) More details and an old Amazon review: Decent clear picture and reasonably discreet as advertised. The BVCAM software for IOS did work, though can be mildly confusing what they

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Something went wrong… when resetting Samsung phone [SOLVED]

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Summary: make sure you are connected to the internet with a good data connection and that your phone’s date and time are up to date 👍👍 Details: I encountered an unusual issue recently while trying to factory reset my wife’s phone. Specifically, every time I would try to reset it or remove the Samsung account, it gave me an error “Something went wrong…” Finally I realized that my wife’s phone was not showing any internet access over the WIFI connection.

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