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We couldn’t install Windows 10; 0x8007002C–0x4000D

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I was seeing the same damned error (“We couldn’t install Windows 10”; 0x8007002C–0x4000D The Installation failed in the SECOND_BOOT phase with an error during MIGRATE_DATA operation) on all four of my systems that I was trying to upgrade.

Microsoft may be changing a lot and trying to do better, but they’re NEVER going to succeed as long as they continue to maintain the mentality that error codes are a good thing.  I wouldn’t actually mind them if they provided a widely published and constantly updated database of what each and every Error code means.   But they don’t publish these codes widely, instead they only publish the one that a million people are complaining about.  And each new Error Code is as cryptic as the last.

Take the error code I mentioned previously:

WP_20150731_11_49_02_Pro“We couldn’t install Windows 10”
0x8007002C–0x4000D
The Installation failed in the SECOND_BOOT phase with an error during MIGRATE_DATA operation.

The error was noted while Upgrading Windows 7 Ultimate to Windows 10 Pro.  The upgrade process would get to somewhere in the 83% to 85% range and would then go to a blank screen, no warnings or errors.  It would sit there for approximately 50 minutes until the system would just spontaneously reboot, with subsequent boot screen messages indicating that Windows was reverting to the previous Operating System, or something to that extent.

It turns out that what they really mean is to do the following prior to beginning the process:

1.) Uninstall any third party Firewall/Security and AntiVirus/AntiMalware software you might be using.
2.) After removing software, reboot your computer to ensure a fresh start.

After removing AVAST Business Antivirus (it’s really a great A/V solution, can’t beat that it’s free!). AVAST had some additional cleanup that required a reboot, so I elected to “do the reboot later” and then I also removed Malwarebyte’s AntiMalware (also a really great A/M solution, and is also free!). 

I then restarted each computer and then restarted the Upgrade Process, and then went back to playing a game to kill time while it re-downloaded everything all over again. 

MediaCreationTool

Two other aspects that I should probably mention, as they could have some impact on your results:

1.) I was using the Microsoft Media Creation Tool to launch my upgrade process. 
2.) I started it by right-clicking on the file and selecting “Run as Administrator” just to be safe.

This time, each of the four systems ran to completion, and successfully installed Windows 10, so I can call this a success.  The fact that the error message never once spoke of this particular issue in all of my research proves that Microsoft really needs to start working on those error messages, for everyone’s sake (and sanity).

Best of luck in your Upgrading efforts!

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The topic of Net Neutrality revisited…

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I wanted to take the time to communicate to you the single most important action that you need to take to retain your existing rights to free speech, but may not even have know about until you read this article.

Currently in front of the FCC is a proposal for changing of the current definition of Net Neutrality.  The FCC has issued a 120 Day Comment period, which has been extended recently due to the incredible influx of community comments so far.  The new deadline is September 15th.

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When you can’t Connect HP Version Control Agent (VCA) to the Version Control Repository Manager (VCRM).

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As a self-taught Systems Administrator, I tend to learn by the process of trial and error.  And boy have I erred a lot recently.  I’ve been banging my head against this particular brick wall (not being able to connect the HP VCA to the HP VCRM) in earnest the last couple of weeks:

HP VCA Connect

It seemed that no matter how I input the info on the screen above, the two would never see each other.  Credentials were confirmed, permissions vetted, yet every time I filled out this screen and clicked “next”, I would inevitably get the message “The specified repository, servername.domainname.com, is invalid or not reachable.”. I was just going around and around, in a downward spiral that didn’t bode well for my sanity.

I was therefore EXTREMELY happy when I found this gem in the HP Systems Insight Manager Support forums in a post talking about an upgrade from version 7.2.2.0 to 7.3.0.0:

I’ve got answer form HP TS regarding HP VCA 7.2.2.0 working with HP VCRM 7.3.0.0

I did not got full answer of root cause of this issue but form provided command I suspect that it is is realted with SSL Cipher configuration.

For me these commands solved th issue.

Please try run follwing commands on server with HP VCRM 7.3.0.0:

C:\HP\hpsmh\bin>smhconfig.exe -Z ALL:!ADH:!EXPORT56:!EXPORT40:DES-CBC3-SHA:RC4-MD5:RC4-SHA:RC4+RSA:+HIGH:+MEDIUM:-SSLv2:+EXP:!LOW:!eNULL:!aNULL

C:\HP\hpsmh\bin>smhconfig.exe -r

For me these commands solved the issue.

 

Sadly, I wasn’t sure this would resolve my problems, since I had never been able to get VCA and VCRM to talk initially, therefore my problems obviously were not due to an upgrade like everyone else’s.  However, some of the connectivity issues mirrored those I was experiencing, so I applied the fix as a batch-file (copy/paste commands to text file to avoid fat-fingering any characters, saved as .BAT file, issued command line “run as administrator”), and voila!  Suddenly I can connect the two together!   

Sadly, I have no breakdown of the intimate details involved with what the commands do exactly, or how they accomplish the resolution, but it was made clear that the problem was due to an SSL Cipher configuration.  My take is that it appears that HP had actually removed some expected ciphers from 7.3.x.x of VCRM, which then prevented the communication from VCA Agents.

But, all good now!

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How to recover your Hacked WordPress Site (Part-3)

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Have you read How to recover your Hacked WordPress Site (Part-2) yet?

Stage 6: Getting back to (almost) business as usual.

The new Mindset: As mentioned above, before you are done with this clean-up process you will need to look at security in a whole new light.   Or at the very least, you had best respect the fact that your ability to keep hackers at bay rests on your ability to maintain a proper pro-security mindset.  So along those lines, let’s discuss a few quick topics pertaining to Security that you can mull over now that the immediate emergency is over.

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How to recover your Hacked WordPress Site (Part-2)

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Have you read How to recover your Hacked WordPress Site (Part-1) yet?

Stage 3: Let the Sanitizing begin.

Once you’ve identified the “vector” or angle that the hackers used to compromise your website, you can now get to work plugging the holes.  Wordfence keeps a massive Archive collection of every known WordPress Theme and Plugin.  For those legitimate configuration files that might have simply been compromised along the way, you can re-download a known-good version of the file from the Wordfence archives.  Delete the ones that don’t belong on your website.  Just keep fixing those files which are infected, and deleting those that don’t belong until your site is once again clean.  If your hacker wasn’t aware of your attempt to take back your Account and Website, they will probably begin to realize it soon.  Keep moving!

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How to recover your Hacked WordPress Site (Part-1)

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So, you think that your WP Site got hacked, what is the first thing you should do?

There are quite literally several dozen things that you should do, but each case is different.  I will try to highlight the most important points below.  The reason that there are so many steps is that there are so many different ways to approach this dilemma.  The most immediate decision for you is are you going to adopt a hands-off approach of hiring a security consultant to clean it for you, or are you going to go the DIY route like I chose to do.  Even then, there are so many different ways that people prefer to do things.  Overall, this process involves a lot of smaller steps, but there is one step to the whole process that is really big, regardless of whether you DIY or hire someone to do the cleanup.  It may be the single most important aspect of this entire process: and that is changing your mindset on about how you approach security.  And that folks, is a massive undertaking, because changing the way your mind operates may also be the single hardest step in this entire how-to guide.

The following are all recommendations on my part, suggestions that you need to discard or accept, but in my opinion they make up a fairly logical progression on how to deal with such issues should you ever find yourself in this situation.   You can of course choose to perform these steps in a different order, but I believe that they will be most effective in the order I present them.  I hope they will at least be a helpful aid to you in your time of need, allowing you to recover as much of your website as is possible.   Cleaning any hack is going to take some time and effort, so you really need to think about whether you want to tackle this on your own.   In the end, I think you’ll be happy that you chose to do it yourself.  As with any such DIY process, you assume all risk and responsibility for any and all actions and outcomes, and obviously your mileage may vary.  No matter which direction you decide to go, I’ll wish you the very best of luck in your cleaning endeavors!

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New (official) Chase Mobile Banking App is here!

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Chase Banking customers can certainly celebrate today!

Their official Banking app for Windows Phone just appeared in the Windows Phone Store yesterday (October 1st).

The Chase Mobile app appears to be as comprehensive as they come. I’m actually quite envious that my bank doesn’t have a WP7.5 Mobile Banking app.

Per Microsoft’s Michael Stroh: “The free app makes it easy to manage your Chase bank and credit card accounts and move money around—browse account balances and transactions, pay bills, transfer money, send wire transfers, find ATMs, and more. My favorite feature: The app lets me deposit checks using my phone camera, saving a trip to my local branch.” Download it now!

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Have an Unlimited 3G plan and 4G device?

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A couple of months ago I was lamenting a problem with my new Lumia 900, wherein I was unable to connect to free AT&T WiFi Hotspots automatically.

This turned-out to be due to the fact that I was still on an AT&T 3G Data Rate Plan, even though I was using an LTE device. This caused any AT&T WiFi Hotspot to query the AT&T Wireless side to confirm my eligibility to access the hotspot for free, essentially validating of my Rate Plan. The response from AT&T Wireless is that there is no Unlimited Rate Plan for my LTE device, which then caused the connection to fail.

So then I was faced with the prospect of having to give-up my Unlimited Data Plan and choose a tiered rate plan in order to correct this issue. This wasn’t really a worthwhile solution to fix a WiFi issue, so I decided to leave it alone.

Well, thankfully I held-out (and hopefully you did too!), because AT&T has apparently seen the light and created a new Rate Plan called “4G/LTE Unlimited” as of September 6th. I should mention that this obviously only applies to EXISTING GRANDFATHERED “Unlimited” Users.

So if you originally had an Unlimited 3G rate plan and are now using a 4G or LTE device, you should call the AT&T Wireless number listed on your bill and ask for the new 4G/LTE Unlimited Rate Plan! It should be the same price as your current 3G Unlimited Plan, and should also be no charge to change from one to the other!

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Using Speech in Windows Phone 7

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The use of speech recognition is fairly well implemented in WP7, being both powerful as a system function, and yet simple to use from a consumer/user perspective.

To access this feature, simply press and hold the Start button on the phone. You will in turn receive a distinct set of tones to indicate that the phone is ready to accept your voice command as input.

There are currently four basic categories for commands issued directly with the phone:

– Calling Someone from your contact list.
– Sending a Text Message
– Searching the web for keywords.
– Open an application.

List of Commands
– To Call someone from your contact list: “Call contact name” (where contact name is the name of someone in your contact list). If the person has only one phone number in your contact profile, the call will start. If he or she has multiple phone numbers, you’ll hear an option to choose one of them (usually “Mobile”, “Home”, or “Work”).

– To Call any phone number: “Call phone number” (where “phone number” is any phone number)

– To Call the last number dialed: Simply say “Redial”.

– To Call your voicemail: Simply say “Call voicemail”.

– To Send a text message: “Text contact name” (where contact name is the name of someone in your contact list). This will start a text message to that person. Then you can dictate and send the message-hands-free.

– To Open an application: “Open application” or “Start application” (where application is the name of any application on your phone, such as “Calendar,” “Maps,” or “Music”).

– To Search the web: “Find search term” or “Search for search term” (where search term is what you’re looking for). For example, if you say “Find local pizza”, Bing will bring up a map of nearby pizza
places.
You can also use Speech while you are already on a current call in order to use Additional commands.

Press and hold the Start button to start Speech while on the call, and then say one of the following:

– “Press number” (where number is a number from 0 to 9) to press a number on the numeric keypad. This allows you to navigate in voicemail or an IVR (interactive voice response) system.
– “Speaker phone” to toggle your speaker phone on or off.
– “Call name” (where name is the name of someone in your contact list) to put the current call on hold and then call someone else.

You can read more about these four functions at Microsoft’s How-To webpage here:
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-US/How-to/wp7/basics/use-speech-on-my-phone