Questions tagged [operating-system]

199 questions
113
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8 answers

Best practice: Should I always install a fresh OS for new employees?

I had an argument with a superior about this. Though at first glance the prior user of a laptop only did work in his own documents-folders, should I always install a new OS for the next user or is deleting the old profile enough? The software that…
ExNought
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63
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5 answers

Which OS is running in my Docker container?

Most of the time, using one of these two, I can tell which OS is running in my Docker container (alpine, centOS, etc) But this time, I can't tell: bash-4.2$ uname -a Linux 6fe5c6d1451c 2.6.32-504.23.4.el6.x86_64 #1 SMP Tue Jun 9 20:57:37 UTC…
Bob Yoplait
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58
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11 answers

Good reasons to keep 32-bit Microsoft Windows desktop OSes

This question is from 2012. If you are reading this in 2019 or later, then the answer really is: No. There is no good reason in 2019 to be maintaining 32-bit desktop operating systems. Original question below: Server software has been 64-bit only…
Mark Henderson
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19
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27 answers

What's The Worst Server Configuration/Setup That You Have Ever 'Inherited'

You start a job or worked as a consultant for a company and 'inherit' a poorly configured server(s). What is the worst configuration mistake that you have ever witnessesed?
NoahD
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19
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2 answers

What is a Process Handle?

What is a process handle and what can we know about a running process through the "handle count" property in a task explorer?
BlueGene
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18
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What prevents you from upgrading to newer operating system versions?

What's the top the reason you're unable - or unwilling - to upgrade to the latest available operating system verions?
Jon Galloway
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15
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1 answer

x86, i386, i686, amd64, i5, i7, archtecture, processor confusion

I noticed those items x86, i386, i686, amd64, i5, i7, archtecture, processor from the web, from my own notebook, from book readings. But I am really confused by those terminologies. I try my best to elaborate my confusion, though you might…
11
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2 answers

How would you interpret the following vmstat output?

Consider the following five machines (named c, h, j, s and u) and their respective vmstat 1 outputs. Given the information from the vmstat output: Which machines would you consider being in a good shape? Why? What's your reasoning? Which machines…
knorv
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10
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2 answers

Mount Point Does Not Exist, Despite Creating It

I'm trying to install Arch on a Virtualbox VM. I'm following along this guide, and this video. Not sure if relevant, but the VDI file is on an external hard drive. I've created 3 partitions as per the video: /dev/sda1 linux-swap (~5 GB) /dev/sda2…
Martin
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8
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3 answers

How to learn Linux system internals

Recently I tried to apply for some DevOps Engineering positions, but I got scared about a specific requirement that was present in almost every job description: Experience with Linux internals and administration. I am working with Linux servers and…
Ricardo Silva
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8
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13 answers

What OS would you use for a simple fileserver and why?

Im looking to set up a simple fileserver: 5 - 7 clients - Mixed Windows, Linux, Mac OSX - connecting over wireless and wired Serving ~200GB content - Photos, MP3's, ISO's etc What OS would you recommend for this fileserver? I understand XP limits…
barfoon
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8
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1 answer

What Command(s) List a User's System Permissions in Linux?

QUESTION: What Command(s) List a User's System Permissions in Linux? CURRENT_OS: CentOS-5.X MORE_INFO/QUESTIONS: Looking for commands that will NOT be seen as aggressive or change the system, meaning that I attempt to change the system OR access…
6
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3 answers

Up-to-date distros supporting 32-bit i586/non-PAE, specifically for ALIX boards (AMD Geode)

I have several ALIX systems (powered by the AMD Geode LX processor without PAE support) that are still running on Ubuntu 12.04, the last Ubuntu-Release to supports non-PAE kernels (i.e. compiled for the i586 architecture). I use them as low-profile,…
code_onkel
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6
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How do I unmount one of two devices mounted to the same mount point?

I accidentally left two different devices mounted on /opt: /dev/xvdf on /opt type ext4 (rw,relatime,seclabel,data=ordered) /dev/md0 on /opt type ext4 (rw,relatime,seclabel,stripe=256,data=ordered) It would be a problem to umount /dev/md0, and…
Some Linux Nerd
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6
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Is it possible to "roughly" approximate the amount of time chkdsk will take on Windows Server 2003?

I know there are a number of variables at play with this question... so I'm just looking for an approximation. Is it possible to calculate the amount of time a 'chkdsk' will take for a Windows Server 2003 platform? In this specific case I'm using a…
Matt Cummings
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