David Vielmetter

Adventures in stupid technology

  • Check size on individual large folders in Google Drive

    One common feature that’s simply not implemented in Google Drive is individual folder size properties. So if you’re trying to determine how large a specific folder in your Google Drive is, then that can be difficult. While it’s true that with Google File Stream, you can get info on a Google Drive folder to display…

  • Windows 10 VPN connection hangs at Connecting

    Windows 10 has had sporadic issues with its own implementation of the Microsoft (builtin) VPN client connecting L2TP IPSEC based VPN connections that utilize strongswan at the server end. This issue has affected builds 1709-1903. [problem] The VPN connection (when launched from the notification area) just says Connecting and never gets established. Eventually the following…

  • MFA in office 365 finally just works (mostly)

    Microsoft has finally managed to get modern authentication to work in the latest updated versions of Office products included with Office 365 (Except for Skype for Business – which is being discontinued anyway). Here’s a quick start guide on how to get it up and running: You’ll need an Office 365 subscription, a computer running…

  • Ubiquiti Unifi cloud key error generating backup file

    The other day I was helping a friend troubleshoot an issue with his Ubiquiti Cloud Key. At issue was the Unifi Controller itself and in his specific case it just happened to be running on a Cloud Key. [The problem] When attempting to generate and download a controller backup, the following error is displayed: There…

  • Windows 2016 Server Evaluation cannot be activated with a valid product key

    If you’re thinking you can simply activate your evaluation of Windows 2016 server at the end of the evaluation period using a key matching the edition of your eval server you’re about to have a stressful evening. Here’s what’ll happen if you try to activate an Evaluation of Windows 2016 Server Standard using a brand…

  • Redirected printers missing from control panel but show up in applications

    This has been bugging me for a long time. The story goes like this: Customer reports that for some users printers don’t appear to be redirecting but the issue is intermittent. After a lot of trials and tribulations I finally find a Windows 10 Pro systems which reproducibly fails to to redirect printers to both…

  • Windows 10 Remote Desktop Connection crashes seconds after being established

    [the problem] Establishing an Remote Desktop Connection via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to another system using Windows 10 build 1709 causes the session to crash shortly after being created. The error given is generic. The event log shows that the faulting application name mstsc.exe version 10.0.16299.15 crashed with an exception code of 0x0000409 and because…

  • QuickBooks Desktop with active subscription says it needs subscription

    So starting in June 2018 when I tried to install QuickBooks Enterprise 2017 on Windows 10, I observed a new error indicating that I needed a subscription. This error is in in error and here’s how to fix it: [the problem] Even with an active QuickBooks subscription, if a QuickBooks Desktop 2017 installer (QuickBooksSetup.exe file)…

  • Installing Ubuntu (dual boot) on a Dell Precision which already runs Windows 10

    Ubuntu is arguably one of the easiest Linux flavors to use and install. Getting it to install as an alternate (dual boot) operating system on a Dell Precision workstation certified for Linux that shipped with Windows 10 can be tricky though. [the goal] Install Ubuntu 18.04 alongside pre-installed Windows 10 Pro (dual boot) on a…