Apparently regmon now crashes Windows Server 2003 systems that are patched with the latest Microsoft updates. I left regmon running unattended for about 30 minutes and the system suddenly stopped responding to all network connections with the error:
"Not enough server storage is available to process this command."

The System event log was filled with messages like this:
"Event Type: Error
Event Source: Application Popup
Event Category: None
Event ID: 333
Date: 10/31/2007
Time: 5:04:45 PM
User: N/A
Computer: DRSERV1
Description:
An I/O operation initiated by the Registry failed unrecoverably. The Registry could not read in, or write out, or flush, one of the files that contain the system's image of the Registry."

 I finally bought a used Xbox, ripped it apart, replaced the 10GB drive with a 320GB drive, upgraded that god-awful fan that comes with it, popped/soldered in a mod-chip, replaced the ATA cabling, added an LCD panel with USB ports plus mod-chip push-button controls and loaded up XBMC on it. Now it's basically a home theater PC (HTPC) that also plays Xbox titles. (Yes, the USB ports allow for wireless keyboards, mice, thumb drives and so on.)

Thanks to Warwick for the nudging toward checking out XBMC, which totally p0wns, no questions. I would have never done any of this if it weren't for his regular ramblings and extollings of the open source project that really should just complete its port to the PC.

How did it go? Painfully. Man, I don't care what anyone tells you, modding an Xbox can be a real pain in the rear, among other things.

For example, putting this LCD panel:
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8692.JPG.html

...on this case:
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8695.JPG.html

...resulted in this (photo taken after the initial clean-up):
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8732.JPG.html

By far, the two biggest pains were the front panel disassembly and re-assembly, and the dremelling/grinding/sanding/snipping/chopping of case parts to make everything fit. And there was a lot of that (much more than I revealed in my photo gallery, because taking all the photos would have really slowed the process). Thankfully, making square pegs fit round holes is my specialty:
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8755.JPG.html

Of course, I love it when I do a perfect soldering job exactly as my installation instructions show:
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8768.JPG.html
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8758.JPG.html

...only to find out that they labeled the *wrong* points on the motherboard as places to solder. :P

Thankfully my de-soldering went as smoothly as my soldering, though at one point my back cramp I've been suffering through decided to give me a massive spasm of pain right when I was about to touch the soldering pen to the board. It took all my concentration not to fling the damned thing while my body wrenched in agony, but that's another story.

So, how many components come in an Xbox? Well here's a pic of everything that was and would be:
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8773.JPG.html

Where are all these cables supposed to go anyway?
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8790.JPG.html

Here's the Xbox trial run without the drives:
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8798.JPG.html

With the drives, but no lid:
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8802.JPG.html

The LCD didn't come out well in this lights-out photo (and I'm sure the protective shipping plastic that I didn't bother to remove doesn't help), but you get the idea of how pretty this thing looks now in the dark here. Also you can see my ugly yellow ATA166 cable that I replaced the Xbox ATA133 cable with for a noticeable performance boost:
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8890.JPG.html
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8891small.jpg.html

I found that the RF shielding from the original case was not necessary for RF shielding, but was necessary to prevent grounding problems. There was a large amount of video interference/distortion until I put the shielding into the new case. I used some metal snips to chop out a good deal of the shielding that tended to get in the way of working with or wiring the Xbox. The original configuration is unbelievable painful to try to work inside. My new RF shielding now looks like so:
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8889.JPG.html

The finished product (glowing like this in the sunlight no less!):
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8949.JPG.html
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8939.JPG.html
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8954.JPG.html
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8952.JPG.html
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8955.JPG.html
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8961.JPG.html
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8942small.jpg.html
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/DSCN8940small.jpg.html

Or, see the whole gallery here:
http://www.analogduck.com/gallery/v/xbox/

I tried a variety of dashboard replacements, but eventually determined that XBMC (Xbox Media Center) is unparalleled.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/xbmc
http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/

The dash essentially looks like this and can launch just about any media file under the sun in addition to launching Xbox executables. See lots of XBMC screen caps here to get an idea of what the dash has to offer.

One of the older skins can be viewed here, though this is not nearly as polished as the current default skin:
http://www.xboxmediacenter.com/info_screens.htm

I can launch files locally (DVDs, CDs, hard drive files- AVIs, MPGs, Real Media, QuickTime movies, etc.), across the LAN from my system shares, FTP, etc., or even the Internet. It plays Shoutcast streams, from RSS feeds, YouTube FLVs, whatever. I've got all my Xbox titles loaded on the hard drive, along with a ton of movies/anime/etc. I have my server shares mapped so I can browse music, movies, pics or whatever from the XBMC. So I haven't had to pop in a single disc since I performed the mods. I have the weather and time servers configured. I've totally tailored the XBMC menu layout and system config to my needs (mostly XML files, in case you're curious), and about the only thing I haven't done yet is configure the Xlink stuff to play online, multiplayer games with the free service.
http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/

Was it worth it all? Definitely. It r0xx0rs. Was it fun? Yes. In a masochistic manner of speaking. However, if I didn't also want an Xbox to play with, I would opt for a PC/Mac based media center solution by far. I hate the Xbox case (cooling is horrible, upgrading it is beyond difficult, and working inside it is less than desirable), and the Xbox components are already getting rare to find, so maintenance is sure to be a pain. I figure on just buying another Xbox and stashing it for spare parts. The power supplies and DVD drives are usually the first to go, and they're already difficult and expensive to find. (The third-party knock-offs are supposedly very shabby.)

AnalogDuck.com has a shiny new look, and just around the corner are a navigation makeover and a theme selecter, including an option for a minimal, handheld-friendly layout.

What tripped me up about this procedure is that I had incorrectly assumed that it was a one-time operation when in fact it must be done each time Hyena is launched. Right-click the domain in question in the tree pane. Select "Set source Domain Controller". If this is your first time, you *may* have to enter the FQDNs of your DCs here. They always show up in my dialog automagically though and I simply click Okay as soon as the dialog pops up. That's all there is to it. Now expand the tree and see all the goodies.

SonicWall firewall units (often? always?) have a hidden administration web page at http(s)://hostname/Diag.html. There you will find many extra items to tweak.

For those who are curious what's happening with our wedding...

We're having the ceremony @ Cataract Falls and our honeymoon stay will be @ Rose Court Cottage in Arcata. See more pictures of Rose Court Cottage here and here.

We plan on getting in a lot of hiking during our stay in northern California.  We'll be trekking in the  Redwood National Forest and/or Prairie Creek State Park hopefully, and may do the Avenue of the Giants drive (though the weather might make this less appealing).  Of course we'll be stopping by the city forest and the marsh as well, as they are nice and close.

• You can schedule appointments with their Online Appointment System.
• You can renew your driver's license online with their Driver License Internet Renewal. (See the Driver License Internet Renewal FAQ for details.)
  

Teleconferencing services

I actually had difficulty getting phone numbers in a timely manner for a couple of the major carriers, so I resorted to dialing PIC/CIC codes + 0 so I could ask an operator of the carrier in question.

I've listed the rates here for the major carriers, because I researched them, but I've decided to use GlobalConference.com The rates were very good, the online management console thought out well, and the line-quality was good. A one hour conference with 7 people cost me $20.

 
GlobalConference
http://www.globalconference.com/

Services
Toll-free line fee: $.10/min per person
Non-toll-free line fees: $.10/min per person
No additional fees.
 

AT&T / SBC
1010288 + 0

Business hours:
Toll-free line fee: $0.71 per minute per line + $15 setup charge.
Non-toll-free line fees: $0.40 per minute per line + $15 setup charge.

Outside of business hours:
Toll-free line fee: $0.44 per minute per line + $10 setup charge.
non-toll-free line fees: $0.27 per minute per line + $10 setup charge.

Dial out:
$0.71 per minute per line + 4$ per port set up charge.


Sprint
1010018 + 0 for information

Sprint Conference Center
800-366-2663

Note: Held for more than five minutes before someone answered.
Non-business hours (I wasn't yet aware that there were different rates for business hours)
Toll-free line fee: $0.44 per minute per line + $3 setup charge.
non-toll-free line fees: $0.26 per minute per line + $3 setup charge


Verizon
Verizon Conference Connections
888-561-9405
Only open weekdays, business hours.

Here's all you need to know to set up a conference call...
 
Have the following ready:
Date of the call
Time of call
How many lines
Approximate duration of the call

When you have all that ready, call Verizon conference call center at 800-483-9999.


Review-Zone.com
Conference calls @ review-zone.com

There's a lot of providers listed here.

A very good article on how the MBR works can be found here.

Historically, in Microsoft-land, the MBR has been repaired using a DOS boot floppy and the command fdisk. However, the command fdisk is incompatible-with-Windows NT/2000/XP.

In walks "MBR Fix". It's free and it works from Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 command prompt, and so is perfectly suited for use in removable operating systems (ERD Commander, BartPE, WinPE, etc.) You can download it here.