How to monitor progress of a dd operation
By default dd doesn’t display any status information while performing its operation. Newer versions include a status parameter which can be used to activate progress output.
How to pre-configure Raspberry PI for remote SSH and Wifi
Many Raspberry PI projects are used headless (with no display device attached or if a display device exists, it’s not connected to the default HDMI or analog outputs).
In these instances it’s time consuming to connect the PI to a monitor and keyboard just to configure remote SSH access and wireless connection details (and in rare occasions it may even not be possible).
Luckily, the good folk developing Raspbian implemented shortcuts and workarounds that allow things to be pre-configured even before booting the PI.
How to backup hard disk removed from RAID volume
After migrating a RAID volume to new disks it’s handy to keep a full partition backup around.
For this we can use partclone, a handy smart backup utility which is capable of recognizing multiple filesystem structures and then save only used data.
How to disable/remove unwanted apps from Android (no root)
Some manufacturers bundle a lot of unnecessary and sometimes even suspicious apps with their devices. Some can still be uninstalled or disabled, but for those specific apps that the manufacturarer wants to force on the user these actions are not available.
With a rooted device there’s no limit on what you do on the device you paid for, but in case you’re stuck with a non-rootable device there’s still a chance you may force disable or remove apps.
How to adjust TLER value on hard disk (for data recovery)
In case the hard disk itself is taking too long to respond, some operations will fail and can cause the controller (software or hardware) to drop the disk out of the RAID.
Even when no RAID is used, the hard disk itself can still spend too much time retrying a (failing) read, causing unwanted delays and possible further damage.
To alleviate this, you can try to use a feature called TLER (Time Limited Error Recovery) or CCTL (Command Completion Time Limit).
How to install CentOS remotely using VNC
Installing an operating system remotely comes handy when you don’t want to spend all the time required for the install process next to the physical machine or want to give someone else access to perform the procedure.
CentOS is one of the OSes which supports remote installation using the VNC protocol.