SharePoint 2013 - Search Crawl Index Reset Error

I was working on the getting search set up and the crawl was not working. Doing a "Index Rest" would eventually time out and when I looked at the error using the ULS Viewer I found "Application error when access /_admin/search/searchreset.aspx, Error=No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it." In my case the problems were caused by the "SharePoint Search Host Controller" service being disabled.

SharePoint 2013 Site Settings URL

Working on migrating our SharePoint from 2010 to 2013. I did the upgrade of the content database but then I couldn't get to the site settings because of a file not found exception. What I found I could do is go directly to the settings URL "http://xxx/_layouts/15/settings.aspx". Once there I went to "Master page" under "Look and Feel" changed the Site Master Page and System Master Page to one of the standard pages.

Unit4 Agresso - No mail system profile exists error

Some of the Mail Integration settings in Agresso Management Console were corrupted, displaying a message stating that "No mail system profile exists":

The fix was to individualy disable and then enable the server processes:

Spring MVC - Basic Project

I've been learning Spring MVC and created a basic Spring project in Eclipse.
You can find the project here on Github.

Running vprtmupd.exe To Update Vertex

It took me a while to figure it out. I couldn't find any information on how to run this in the supplied documents. The image below shows how I ran this from the command prompt:

When I tried running this by just executing the exe, the command promt would open and after I entered the path for the data I would get an error saying "Unable to establish a connection with the Payroll Tax Database."

Fixed Dell Latitude Display Flickering

I was having problems with the external displays that I use with my Dell Latitude E7440. At work they would flicker, and at home one would flicker and the other would stop working after about two hours. I updated the video drivers and BIOS and the problem gone.

Dell makes it easy to update your drivers. Just go to the Dell support web site and you will find all of the latest drivers for your laptop.

Dell Laptop Runs Slow When Docked

My Dell 7440 work laptop ran great at work but it was running increasingly slower at home. It finally got to the point where the CPU usage was running at over 90% capacity. When I took the laptop off of the docking station and the CPU dropped to almost 10%. Putting the laptop back on the docking station, the CPU shot back up to over 90%. So I figured there was a problem with the docking station or maybe it couldn't handle the two large displays I had connected to the dock. I did some research on the Internet - a few people stated that they had a problem with the laptop running slow and that the problem was caused by the external power supply. I just happened to have a spare power supply so I swap the supply. Problem solved!