Category Archives: Ask J.D.

Intel.com driver site down with 500 error

While setting up an Intel NUC today, I discovered the entire driver portion of Intel’s website is down. The site only lists a “500:Server Error [20-0004]” error message. This is quite a bummer as Windows 7 lacks some of the basic drivers for the NUC’s Ethernet adapter etc. 🙁 This type of outage is why I often keep a mirror of drivers. Hopefully Intel will get their site working again soon!

New tankless hot water heater

I am looking forward to a visit from Martin Plumbing this morning to install a new tankless hot water heater! Our old hot water heater has performed well for over a decade, but there are some nice new models out today and I am excited to be trying one out. My family lives off the grid and a tankless (or ‘on demand’) hot water heater is a great match for an energy efficient home. 🙂

Replace keyboard on ASUS Q200E/S200E/X202E

A nice reader recently asked for help on how to replace the keyboard on an ASUS X202E notebook. While I have some photos on the initial disassembly process, I did not have photos of the rest of the process. A significant amount of searching did not yield a complete guide to the process 🙁 However, I did find some good instructions for similar ASUS models so I am compiling that information here: Laptop replacement keyboard (without frame) for ASUS Q200

ASRock AM1H-ITX DC power and discrete video card?

The ASRock AM1H-ITX is a nice little motherboard with the bonus versatility of having a DC power jack for 19V external power supplies -or- the standard 24 pin ATX power connector. Having DC input (barrel connector) as a power option begs the question of just how much power input is supported (i.e. how many watts, or amps at 19V)? As an aside, a NUC power supply is compatible and we know they do not put out much power. Most small

SQL Server database and table listing

I generally work with MySQL, not MS SQL Server. So when I needed some basic automated info about a SQL Server’s database/table layout I was thankful for the following two pages: Get list of databases from Sql Server – Stack Overflowhttp://stackoverflow.com/questions/147659/get-list-of-databases-from-sql-serverHow can I get the list of available databases on a SQL server instance? I’m planning to make a list of them in a combo box in vb.net. Get a list of all database on a SQL Server: SELECT name

New cool app: f.lux (auto-adjust your monitor to be easy on your eyes)

Screenshot of the f.lux settings screen

New cool app: f.lux automatically warms up your computer’s screen colors at sunset and returns them to normal at sunrise. You can change colors, location, and other settings from the f.lux menu. The f.lux menu is always located to the left of your system clock. via Thank you for installing f.lux. f.lux (auto-adjust your monitor to be easy on your eyes)

Does AMD’s AM1 platform support triple monitors natively? No.

Kabini only supports two simultaneous displays If you plan on using AMD new’s AM1 platform with a Kabini Athlon or Sempron, be aware that triple display output is not supported. I tried it on my MSI AM1I motherboard just to make sure and sadly only two outputs were usable at a time 🙁 So even if your motherboard has DVI + HDMI + VGA, like mine does, you can only utilize TWO of those outputs at once. Not three. Kind of

Upgrade X220/X230 wifi, WWAN blue/red cables usable?

If you are upgrading the wifi card on your Lenovo X220 or X230 ThinkPad, you may only have two antennas (black and white) pre-wired for wifi. If you have a wifi card with three antenna connectors, you may think you are out of luck 🙁 Actually, if your X220 or X220 has an unused red & blue antenna connector (originally for WWAN cellular card) you can use one of those for your upgraded wifi card! 🙂 Please note that the