Moving SharePoint 2007 to Another Server

Man, I’m really starting to hate SharePoint.

It’s cool and all… in a Marquis de Sade sort of way.  But, it can really make you pull your hair out.

Let me just say this:  If you ever want to move a SharePoint installation from an old, slow server to a newer, faster server – you better make sure that the new server is setup exactly the way the old server was.

I didn’t originally set up our first SharePoint server.  I just built the site.  The person who did set it up created the Shared Service Provider in the same web application where the main site itself resided.  This works, of course, but it isn’t really the ideal way to do it.  It is better if the SSP is setup in it’s own application.  But, if you’re going to move an environment already set up that way – you have to set up the new environment exactly the same way.  Otherwise, you’ll be spinning your wheels when you try to move the site.

To move it, you can use the stsadm.exe command:

stsadm.exe -o backup -url http://server_name/ -filename c:\backups\backup.dat

To backup the old server.  Then copy the backup.dat file to the new server and run the restore command with the overwrite option:

stsadm.exe -o restore -url http://new_server_name/ -filename c:\backups\backup.dat -overwrite

That works well enough… but, if you really want to do it right - restore EVERYTHING - you need a 3rd-party tool.  If you don’t know what I mean by EVERYTHING, then don’t sweat it… you’re probably still scratching your head about the word “SharePoint.”  I used DocAve by AvePoint software.  It’s pricey… but, well worth the green.  It’ll do things that you can’t even think about doing with stsadm.

Convert HD-DVD to Blu-Ray

Wired Wiki has a nice little how-to for converting HD-DVD to Blu-Ray format.  Might be something worth looking into if you’re one of the less-than-visionary people who thought Blu-Ray was going to crap out and HD-DVD would be king.

I think Blu-Ray won out over HD-DVD ’cause the name is just soooo much cooler.  JM2C.

Tell Me How You Really Feel

I’m surprised at how many people call themselves a Liberal or a Conservative when often their core beliefs don’t line-up with their self-proclaimed affiliation.  Here are some quick questions I’ve asked friends when they claim one or the other:

Do you believe abortion should be used as a method of birth control?

Do you believe non-felons should have the right to own and keep a handgun in their home for protection?

Do you believe that Socialism is a viable form of government?

Do you believe that Capitalism is evil?

I’m not going to bother to tell you what you are based on how you answered the above questions… If you’re intellectually honest, you should already be looking at both sides of every issue.  That being the case, you should be able to figure it out for yourself.  Since, however, most people can’t be bothered with such things and only make decisions based on feelings – or how something looks on television – I’m content to let you wallow in self-doubt and confusion.

P.S.  Alan Keyes for President.

The Irrational Atheist

Vox Day’s new book, The Irrational Athiest, is now available as a free download.  Vox is a writer of excellent Christian action/fantasy books (The Wrath of Angels, The War in Heaven, amoung others) and a weekly columnists for WorldNetDaily.com.  He also has a very active blog - unlike mine – with postings that will either really piss you off or make you stop and go “Hmmmm…”

Vox’s book takes on the self-important grumblings of book-writing atheists Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens with logic, reason and real-world facts without reciting verses from the Bible.  Oh, the irony!

To quote from the Preface:

“This is not a theological work.  The text contains no arguments for the existence of God and the supernatural, nor is it concerned with evolution, creationism, the age of Earth, or intelligent design.  It contains no arguments from Scripture; in attacking the arguments, assertions, and conclusions of the New Atheists, my only weapons are the purely secular ones of reason, logic, and historically documented, independently verifiable fact.  This is not a book about God, it is about those who seek to replace Him.”

Read it and weep, heathens!

With all respect, of course.