Automatically Map SMB Drives Per User at Login
Map SMB drives per user at login with AD, GPO, scripts, and Kerberos. Diagnose failures fast, avoid common traps, and keep drive mapping boring.
Kali Linux 2025.4 Install: The Safe Way (So You Don’t Brick Your Laptop)
A production-safe Kali Linux 2025.4 install guide: backups, UEFI/Secure Boot, disk layout, encryption, dual-boot, and fast recovery steps.
Void Linux Install: The Minimalist Distro That Feels Surprisingly Modern
Install Void Linux the SRE way: a minimal, modern system with runit, xbps, and sane defaults. Commands, diagnosis playbook, and pitfalls.
Batch Rename Files Safely: The Script That Won’t Trash Names
Rename thousands of files without collisions, data loss, or surprises. Practical bash, dry-run tactics, backups, and diagnostics from real ops pain.
SSH Keys in WSL: Secure Setup (and How Not to Leak Them)
A production-grade guide to generating, storing, using, and auditing SSH keys in WSL—without leaking secrets to Windows, backups, logs, or Git.
openSUSE Leap 15.6 Install: The ‘Stable Linux’ Setup You’ll Keep for Years
Install openSUSE Leap 15.6 for a calm, stable workstation or server: partitioning, Btrfs snapshots, updates, network, storage, and fast troubleshooting.
Fresh Install Checklist: 20 Minutes Now Saves 20 Hours Later
A hard-nosed fresh install checklist for Linux servers: storage, networking, security, observability, and backups—so you avoid slow, flaky, expensive rebuilds.
Windows Can’t See Other PCs: Make Network Discovery Actually Work
Fix Windows network discovery when PCs don’t show up: diagnose profiles, firewall rules, services, SMB settings, and name resolution with commands.
openSUSE Tumbleweed Install: Rolling Release Without Rolling Disasters
Install openSUSE Tumbleweed with safe partitions, snapshots, and rollback. Practical commands, failure modes, and a fast diagnosis playbook.
Bulk Install Apps with winget: A Clean Windows Setup in 5 Minutes
Use winget to bulk install Windows apps fast and repeatably. Build an install list, troubleshoot failures, and ship a clean setup in minutes.
Windows Keeps Reinstalling Bad Drivers: Stop It for Good
Windows Update can keep reinstalling broken drivers. Learn how to identify the source, block the update, pin a known-good version, and verify it stays put.
Linux Web Stack: Nginx vs Apache — The Decision That Actually Matters in 2026
A practical 2026 guide to choosing Nginx vs Apache: performance, TLS, HTTP/2/3, PHP, observability, failure modes, and a fast diagnosis playbook.
Proxmox Storage: Ceph vs ZFS — The Decision Tree Nobody Shows You
A real decision tree for choosing Ceph or ZFS in Proxmox: hardware, failure modes, performance tests, commands, and how to diagnose bottlenecks fast.
Wi‑Fi 6/6E Slow on Windows 11? Fix the Driver + Power Combo
Diagnose and fix slow Wi‑Fi 6/6E on Windows 11 by correcting drivers, power settings, and router features with fast tests and clear decisions.
GPU in WSL: The Real Requirements (and the Common Gotchas)
Run NVIDIA GPUs in WSL without drama: exact requirements, fast diagnosis, real commands, bottleneck checks, and fixes for the failures people actually hit.
Fix “No Internet, Secured” by Resetting the Right Network Adapter
A practical guide to fix “No Internet, secured” on Windows by resetting the correct adapter, verifying routes, DNS, DHCP, and drivers.
WSL Networking Explained: Why localhost Works (and Why It Sometimes Doesn’t)
A practical deep dive into WSL networking: localhost behavior, WSL2 NAT and mirroring, port proxies, VPN/Firewalls, and fast failure diagnosis.
Compare Two Folders: Detect Missing/Changed Files Instantly
Practical, production-grade ways to compare two folders: detect missing or changed files fast using hashes, mtimes, rsync, diff, and sane checklists.
Find What’s Eating Bandwidth in Windows (No Sketchy Apps)
Track down bandwidth hogs on Windows using built-in tools only: per-process traffic, services, updates, DNS issues, and enterprise gotchas.
Windows Defender Settings You Should Change Today (Without Breaking Anything)
Change these Windows Defender settings safely: reduce false positives, tame scan spikes, harden ransomware defenses, and avoid breaking dev tools.
SMB Share from Windows to Linux: The Compatibility Checklist
A production-ready checklist for SMB shares from Windows to Linux: auth, SMB dialects, permissions, performance, and fast failure diagnosis.
High RAM Usage ‘For No Reason’: What’s Normal and What’s Broken
Learn when high RAM usage is healthy caching vs a leak. Diagnose Linux memory fast with commands, outputs, and decisions for production systems.
WSL Path Traps: The ‘No such file or directory’ Fix Nobody Explains
Solve WSL’s “No such file or directory” by decoding path translation, mount options, line endings, and interop quirks with fast diagnostics.
How to Verify a File Isn’t Malware: Hashes, Signatures, and Reality
Learn practical ways to check if a file is malware using hashes, signatures, and OS tooling—plus pitfalls, playbooks, and real incident stories.
Asymmetric Routing: The Invisible Cause of “Random Drops”
Asymmetric routing causes “random” drops, broken TCP, and flaky apps. Learn fast diagnosis, commands, failure modes, and fixes for production networks.
Game Stutters on a Fast PC: DPC Latency Basics (and the Fix Path)
Learn what DPC latency is, why powerful PCs still stutter, how to measure it, and a practical fix path for drivers, BIOS, USB, audio, and storage.
Docker: The Compose Pattern That Prevents 90% of Production Outages
A production-grade Docker Compose pattern: healthchecks, dependency gates, immutable config, safe volumes, and predictable restarts to prevent outages.
“Access Denied” on Your Own Files After Reinstall: The Ownership Fix
After reinstalling Linux, old files can show “Access denied” because numeric UIDs/GIDs changed. Diagnose fast, fix ownership safely, and prevent repeats.
Reset This PC vs Clean Install: The Choice That Saves Your Files (or Deletes Them)
Reset This PC and clean install look similar until your data vanishes. Learn what each really does, how to check, and how to avoid wipes.
Intelligent App Control (IAC) Explained: Windows’ App Gatekeeper for Unknown Apps
Learn how Intelligent App Control blocks unknown Windows apps, how it differs from Defender, SmartScreen, WDAC and AppLocker, and how to troubleshoot it fast.
MariaDB vs Elasticsearch for Site Search: When the Search Cluster Is Mandatory
A production-grade guide to choosing MariaDB or Elasticsearch for site search, with failure modes, diagnostics, and when a search cluster is non-negotiable.
WooCommerce Cart Empties After Refresh: Sessions and Cache Fixes That Actually Work
Fix WooCommerce carts that empty on refresh by diagnosing sessions, cookies, cache, and storage. Commands, checklists, and real fixes that stick.
Email backups: The restore drill you must run (or your backups are fake)
A hard-nosed guide to email backup restore drills: verify chain of custody, validate data, rehearse RTO/RPO, and catch silent failures before audits.
ZFS for PostgreSQL: The Dataset and Sync Strategy That Works
A battle-tested ZFS dataset and sync strategy for PostgreSQL: safe defaults, practical commands, fast diagnosis, and failure modes you can avoid.
ZFS Corrupt Labels: Fixing Import Failures the Right Way
Diagnose and fix ZFS import failures caused by corrupt labels: safe commands, decision points, common traps, and step-by-step recovery playbooks.
How Not to Get Tricked by “Marketing FPS”: Simple Rules
Stop buying storage on inflated “FPS.” Learn what vendors omit, how to benchmark correctly, and the fast checks that find real bottlenecks.
Email: Too Many Recipients — Stop Abuse and Fix Legitimate Bulk Sends
Fix “too many recipients” email failures by stopping abuse, tuning MTAs, and designing safe bulk sending with clear limits, logs, and automation.
Email “message deferred”: decode why mail is stuck (and fix it)
Learn what “message deferred” really means in SMTP queues, how to pinpoint the bottleneck fast, and fix Postfix/Exim issues without guesswork.
Theme Switcher UI That Doesn’t Betray You: Button, Dropdown, and Remembered Preference
Build a theme switcher that works: button and dropdown, saves preference, supports system theme, avoids flicker, and stays reliable in production.
ZFS L2ARC: The SSD Cache That Helps… Until It Hurts
A production-minded guide to ZFS L2ARC: how it works, when it speeds reads, when it trashes RAM and latency, and how to diagnose it fast.
ZFS Recordsize + Compression: The Combo That Changes CPU and Disk Math
Recordsize and compression decide whether ZFS is IOPS-bound, bandwidth-bound, or CPU-bound. Learn tuning, diagnostics, and safe defaults for production.
MySQL vs SQLite: how far SQLite can go before it ruins your site
SQLite can run serious sites—until concurrency, latency spikes, or operational shortcuts turn it into your bottleneck. Here’s where it breaks and what to do.
Why Intel adopted AMD64 (and why it changed everything)
Intel embraced AMD64 after Itanium faltered, enabling practical 64-bit x86 at scale. Here’s what changed, and how to debug it today.
Debian 13: PostgreSQL feels “randomly slow” — the 8 checks that reveal the real bottleneck
Eight targeted checks on Debian 13 to pinpoint why PostgreSQL feels randomly slow: IO, CPU, locks, memory, WAL, autovacuum, and DNS.
ZFS SAS vs SATA timeouts: Why SAS Feels ‘More Stable’ Under Stress
Learn why SAS often rides out ZFS stress better than SATA: timeout behavior, error recovery, HBAs, queues, and a practical diagnosis playbook.
PostgreSQL vs Percona Server: scaling reads—replicas that work vs replicas that hurt
How to scale reads safely with PostgreSQL and Percona Server: spot replica bottlenecks, avoid lag traps, and use practical commands to decide fast.
Proxmox “pve-apt-hook failed”: why upgrades get blocked and how to unblock safely
Understand why Proxmox shows “pve-apt-hook failed”, what it protects, and how to unblock upgrades safely with checks, fixes, and rollback plans.
MySQL vs MariaDB: query killers in WordPress—how to fix without rewriting the site
Find and fix WordPress query killers on MySQL or MariaDB using real commands: slow logs, indexes, buffers, locking, and InnoDB tuning—no rewrite.
VMware ESXi licensing in 2026: what changed, what it costs, and the best alternatives (Proxmox included)
A practical 2026 guide to ESXi licensing changes, subscription costs, audit traps, and the best migration options including Proxmox and Hyper-V.
MySQL vs MariaDB Deadlocks: Which One Is Easier to Debug When the Site Is Burning
A production-first guide to deadlocks in MySQL and MariaDB: what logs to read, which commands to run, and how to decide fast under pressure.