I was trying and failing to upgrade an Azure VM Windows Server 2019 using these instructions: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/windows-in-place-upgrade and running PS command .\setup.exe /auto upgrade /dynamicupdate disable and selecting Windows Server 2022 Datacentre as the version I wanted to install... read more

I’ve been making some systematic improvements to URLs in the Peter Tranchell website. This website is built using cloudscribe and in particular cloudscribe SimpleContentMost of the specific information about works of music and writing are published using the ‘blog’ tool, which lends itself to searching by categories, dates etc. In fact the site... read more

New PC… Windows 11… setting everything up… cannot access my NAS!! It’s a Netgear ReadyNas2, and I’m certainly not ready to consign it to the scrapheap just yet, thanks! (2.7TB of storage in a RAID configuration for safety). The admin page is accessed at an address like https://192.168.1.xxx/admin/ (often accessed by clicking the “Admin Page” ... read more

I recently switched to Plusnet’s “Unlimited Fibre” package, but as soon as the transfer took place I was disconnected. I’m using my own router instead of a PlusNet-supplied one. It’s a TP-LINK Archer VR600 “fully compatible with DSL connections, fibre/cable access and 3G/4G USB dongles”. I had already set the router to DSL Modulation Type = “VDSL” ... read more

I wanted to move an Orchard CMS site onto https, without paying £$. LetsEncrypt seemed the obvious solution. This is not the place to talk about how to use LetsEncrypt, but if you have a web server with only one external i.p. running multiple sites you have to certificate them all at the same time, and suffice it to say that one site on our... read more

When Lois gets back from her first term at Durham Uni she will probably sleep for two days, but then she wants to start offering tutoring for GSCE and A level students at schools in Brecon and the surrounding area (Crickhowell, Builth Wells etc). She designed a great poster which has gone up in the schools, but I reckon it's normally the parent... read more

Microsoft Word has also been able to function as a blogging tool for some time, so this is a test from Word 2016 with a picture of a Herdwick sheep. Figure 1: a sheep It's good, but not as good as OpenLiveWriter. For example, image handling isn't as easy (e.g. we cannot add alt text or title on the img element) and I've not found a way... read more

I saw with dismay that Windows Live Essentials is reaching end of support in Jan 2017 – dismay because it contains the fantastic Windows Live Writer. Also, on a PC I’m setting up for middle child, I cannot get the old installer to work. But now I’ve found that OpenLiveWriter is available for download. I’d heard that Microsoft were making it open... read more

We just got a Devolo Powerline dLAN 1200+ Starter Kit, with the intention of replacing the rather unreliable ethernet connection to our study. We had ethernet installed when we had the whole house re-wired, but JBW didn’t know what he was doing and this particular room has always suffered from dropouts and slower speeds. (Aside - this is actually... read more

I’m writing this as notes to self really, as I’ve developed a new workflow that seems to work OK, and I’ll forget it if I don’t write it down. It may be of interest to others, and please comment if you think anything can be made simpler. The topic is… how to manage all the photos we take with camera and phone, and how to share these with family... read more