Oct 27/28 - a tale of three upgrades

... two outta three ain't bad ? Rats. I was hoping for three out of three.

I've been avoiding upgrading my version of Ubuntu Linux because VMware Server is such a pain to install. Part of the problem is that Server is not really being upgraded any more and there's nowhere to go to get questions answered, other than on the Forums. They are, by the way, incredibly helpful but it's a dying product.

VMware Player, on the other hand, is a thriving product and it's also the same price as Server (free). Up until recently though, Player didn't allow you to create virtual machines, only ... well ... play them.

So, once I got my disk backed up onto a new disk, since the old one was failing, I then copied that new disk to another new disk (I like to have a backup) and physically disconnected the first new disk and started the Ubuntu upgrade. No longer will I have to see messages that the product version isn't supported any more.

The upgrade went like a charm. I then deleted VMware Server and installed Player. That too went like a charm. I'm running that environment right now and it seems to be very stable. I'll let this percolate for a couple of days and then back-load the other new disk, after appropriate backups all around. I may also reformat the disk that was giving me trouble and see if it's worth keeping. Which reminds me, I have to call Western Digital to get a replacement for the other disk that really, really did fail -- won't spin up -- that started this whole mess. The last thing that I need to do is then do some file compares across all the backups etc. to ensure that my copying of pictures went without a hitch.

That brings me to my third upgrade. I ordered new tires for the X5 hoping that would solve the humming problem. I needed new tires anyway before traveling north in December. I got the tires installed today and the hum hasn't gone away. I now have to go back to the tire shop, since they can probably do the next step in trouble shooting, and tell me what is causing the hum. I'm betting that it's a wheel bearing, but hey, I was wrong about the tires being the cause.

As for the tires, I got about 35k out of the last set. That's not too bad considering all the towing that I've done. If we were simply staying here and not going north, the old tires could have lasted another few k miles, perhaps 3-5, but I was practically down to the treadwear indicators.

What else ... well, for the last 48 hours I've dedicated a lot of time to the computer but that's almost over. There is some further upgrading that I'd like to do, enabling the new disk to be booted directly, vs the boot loader being on another disk which creates two points of failure. I'll get to that soon enough.

Oh yes, I've also been spending time on the Lost Channel Local Roads Board. Our secretary / treasurer, Erika Bradley, has resigned. Their house has been for sale and they got a short closing offer and they're moving effective December 1. Susan Allen, one of my fellow trustees, has accepted the additional role. I had to sort out what she would be paid, working with the MTO clerk. I think that's settled.

What else ... nothing comes to mind.

Onward ? Rain today and likely tomorrow too so I'm planning my 200k for Sunday.

That's it ...