Error : unarc.dll error code -11

January 21, 2025 Reading time: 38 minutes

If you are attempting to install a program, especially if its been compressed by a 3rd party, and get the error " unarc.dll error code -11", try the following easy fix...

Right click This PC in Windows/File Explorer

Select Properties, then select Advanced System Settings.

Click Settings under Performance.

In the new window, go to the Advanced tab and under the Virtual memory section, click on Change.

Click "Custom", and in the Initial Size enter a figure - I have 400 set there, and then under Maximum, enter a larger figure, I set mine to 16000. (400MB and 16GB)

Click OK a few times and restart your PC.

Once you are logged back in, try running the program setup file again and it should run.

Virus alert from a pirated/cracked game

January 17, 2025 Reading time: 2 minutes

So you've decided to join the infamous group of computer gaming users known as "pirates".

Hey, I've got nothing against piracy to a degree, not everyone has the $$ to hand out for new games. But I won't get into the politics of it all.

Now, you've downloaded a pirated/cracked game (note: crackers are not necessarily pirates themselves, but do tend to blend/work together a lot), and start the install process...... just to get an anti-virus warning pop up. Most users have grown up to take heed of these warnings and delete whatever it is causing the alert. But with cracked/pirated games, this is usually a false-positive. 

When games are cracked, certain files are edited, and other code injected to allow the crack to work, and this is what your AV program is detecting.

95% of the time, these alerts can be ignored with no issue at all (and remember to allow/remove from quarantine the file in question or else your game won't work).

The other 5% could very be an actual virus/malware package injected by a 3rd party. 

How to avoid this ?

Well, honestly you can't.

Best thing to do, is stick with a single supplier/group that you feel you can trust as much as a pirate can. Check around for popular scene/pirate/cracker groups, especially well established ones. If you can, get access to the "official" (aka private)  distribution sites/torrent trackers the group uses rather than 3rd party, where anyone can upload the game AFTER they've injected their own crap into it.

At the end of the day, you're dealing with pirated material and operating in the "underworld", and as with drug dealers, you never quite know what you're getting.....

Do I need new hardware for a home server ?

January 14, 2025 Reading time: ~1 minute

I see a LOT of people on Reddit asking if certain hardware is suitable for a basic first home server.

You can start a home server on almost anything.

My first home server was running on an Intel G3258 running Windows 7 with 8GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD. IT worked perfectly for what I wanted, which was a basic seedbox (torrents), file server (for home photos etc) and Plex (media streaming).

Eventually I upgraded to a I5-3470 obtained from a PC given to me by a friend who had built a newer system. Found I could run the above and a basic game server such as Minecraft.

So for basic stuff, you do not need anything flash.

My current server is an i5-6500, 16GB RAM, 1x 512MB SSD for the OS (Windows 10), and 2x 4TB for data storage.

It runs all the above stuff along with a VM running some other services via RunTipi (Linux hosting environment)

It happily handles 4 users streaming 1080p videos from me, and a few people playing Minecraft. 

So if you want a server and think that old 4th Gen i5 system is of no use, think again. You'll be surprised, and probably save a few bucks.