I found this solution in the Q&A
section of Microsoft Learn. Credit goes to the original author.
This process will involve creatating an .rdp file, and editing it in notepad and adding a flag which will prompt the
user to enter their password.
Get the ipaddress of the machine that is stuck in the Please Wait state.
ping [server] -4 -4 flag ensures that IPv4 address is used.
Open Remote Desktop Connection application.
Start -> Remote Desktop Connection or Start -> mstsc
Enter the IP address of the machine noted in the above step.
Click on the Show Options button.
Click on Save As and save the configuration to a file.
Navigate to the directory where the rdp configuration file is saved. Right click on the file, and open the
configuration file with Notepad.
Add the following to the bottom of the file and save it. This option will turn off the Network Level
Authentication therefore the user will be prompted to enter the password up on connecting to the server.
enablecredsspsupport:i:0
Once the file is saved, double click on it, so launch Remote Desktop Connection and click on Connect.
Click Yes on the next dialog box to connect despite certificate errors.
This should show a Windows login page, and up on logging in, will get past the Please Wait screen.
Reset Session
Another way to resolve this issue is resetting the session. It is important to note that doing this will log off the
user, therefore any running processes will be terminated.
Open Powershell in Administrator mode on another computer
This should reset the session and allow logging into the server via remote desktop.
In addition to this, I was having an issue when using Remote Desktop Connection Manager the session
would get stuck in a Please Wait state. I was not having this issue when using native Windows RDP.
My plan was to self host my blog using PIA VPN's static IP feature. My website is currently on Blogger, and I get the
feeling that Blogger has been abandoned by Google, and won't be around for much longer. Also, this will be some much
needed experience with some basic frontend web development, and I could create my own CI/CD process etc.
I did not want to host the website on my main server, so I decided to provision a Windows 11 VM (my Linux skills are
subpar, and also I get to play with Windows 11, which I haven't a chance yet) and create my first prototype website.
I did the necessary networking in VMWare Player 17; I created a bridged connection so that I could RDP into the VM
if I needed to.
Having installed the PIA VPN client, I noticed that my connection was extremely unstable. Running the following
command would result in Request timed out.
ping cloudflare.com -t
At first I thought there was something wrong with the VPN service. I disabled the firewall, tried a combination of
VPN related settings, and nothing seemed to help. I began searching for any reported outages etc., but there didn't
seem to be any. NOTE: I have not yet purchased the static IP. I was only testing the viability of using a VPN
to host a website and if I couldn't even get a stable connection, there is no point in self hosting.
After many hours of troubleshooting over a course of few weeks, I gave up on the idea until yesterday when I decided
to give it another go. As a part of troubleshooting process, I installed PIA VPN (with default settings) on the main
home server, and noticed the same issue. Whenever I am connected to VPN, I had a ton of packet loss. I realized that
there was something else going on here, and its not just the VM or PIA service that was having issues.
I decided to connect to PIA VPN (with the settings shown) from my main gaming machine, and monitored ping to
cloudflare.com at the same time from both the main server and gaming machine, and I noticed that the gaming
machine
had no packet loss whatsoever. This obviously rules out PIA VPN.
At this point, it dawned on me that the gaming machine is connected directly to the cable modem, whereas the main
server is connected via the TP-LINK switch. I started exploring the settings of the switch itself through the web
interface and changing them did not help. As a last ditch effort, I decided to upgrade the firmware. The existing
firmware was from 2021 version. Unfortunately, I did not take a note of the exact firmware version. I attempted to
update to TL-SG108E(UN)_V6_1.0.0 Build 20230218. This was unsuccessful. I downloaded the next latest version,
which was from 2022, TL-SG108E(UN)_V6_1.0.0 Build 20220930.
Updating to this version was successful...sort of. Once I kicked off the upgrade process, the switch rebooted, but
the Easy Smart Configuration Utility would show that the update was still at 84%, however, this might just be the UI
not updating, because closing an reopening the utility showed that the upgrade was successful.
Following the upgrade to TL-SG108E(UN)_V6_1.0.0 Build 20220930, I am no longer getting the packet loss.
Hopefully, this will help someone out there looking to resolve connectivity issues, especially when using a VPN
service.
I was unable to enable virtualization on my Windows 10 VM on a Windows 10 host. I did have virtualization enabled in
the BIOS, but that didn't seem to help. When I check the box to enable this feature, Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or
AMD-V/RVI, I would get an error.
I want this feature enabled to run Docker in my VM.
I know my computer is more than capable of running a VM with virtulization. I found several
powershell commands out there, and running them did not help. I did some digging and found that certain windows features need to be disabled for virtulization to work in a VM.
I resolved this problem by doing this:
Open Turn Windows features on or off.
Turn off the following features:
Hyper-V
Virtual Machine Platform
Windows Hypervisor Platform
Windows Sandbox
Windows Subsystem for Linux
Save and restart the computer.
Open VMWare Player
Select the VM and edit the VM settings
Enable Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI
Once the virtual machine is up and running, install Docker. This will require installing WSL2 in the VM. If
everything is done right, Docker should start successfully.
I recently started playing Assassin's Creed Unity after briefly watching Whitelight's video on this game. I had this
game in my library for a long time, but I just haven't gotten around to it. I finished Black Flag and Rogue earlier
this year, and those are the only two AC games I finished to date. After playing other games for a while, the time
felt right to get back into an Assassin's Creed
game.
When I first started this game, my impressions were not great. It felt less polished than Black Flag (which is
understandable given its launch). However, once I scaled up the Notre-Dame cathedral my view on this game changed
for the better. The game looks beautiful. Climbing up to the top of the cathedral and scanning the vista was done
very well. I get the feeling that there is something very special about this game. Whether or not it lives up to its
potential remains to be seen. As with all UbiSoft open world games, there is a lot of bloat in terms of
collectibles, missions, etc.
I wonder if this is the largest Assassins's Creed in terms of map size at this point. The crowd density was a talking
point, and I have mixed feelings about it. The crowd AI is nowhere near as sophisticated as the trailer suggested.
Some of the animations can be very clunky.
There are also technical issues with the game. I was able to get the game running running fine at 3440x1440
resolution. I had to run this in a borderless window mode to prevent the game from resizing all the other windows I
have open in my secondary display. In addition to this, recording videos at 60FPS in ShadowPlay causes jittering in
the video files. I had to reduce the video capture frame rate to 30FPS to get stable recordings.
I haven't formed a strong opinion on the rest of the game, but so far, I am enjoying it. Unlikely as it might be, my
hope is that this game will surpass Black Flag as the best Assassin's Creed game.
DICE released their latest Battlefield 2042 briefing. It was underwhelming and disappointing. They repeatedly insist that they are listening to feedback from the community, yet they continue to persist with the awful specialist system. To add insult to injury, there is only one map in the season 1 update. The only new content we are going to get until then are weapon skins (which are not that great to begin with).
DICE, in their infinite wisdom, decided that the problem with the specialist system was that they were too clean looking, and proceeded to add some smudges to their face.
This is someone's idea of improving specialists in Battlefield 2042
I am at loss for words here. Its sad to see a beloved series, a truly one of a kind franchise suffer this way due to the incompetence of the studio. I decided that I am going to take a break from Battlefield 2042. So what are my options? I could play an older Battlefield game, but I spent approximately 4200 hours in Battlefield 3, Battlefield 4 and Battlefield 1 combined. I want something new.
I started scouring for a new shooter. I know that Call of Duty Warzone is very popular. I played the beta of Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019), and to me it felt like a bad budget clone of Battlefield 4.
I remember thinking there was a decent game underneath the obnoxious interface, the constant radio chatter, the kill streaks and every other bad decision the designers made to break immersion.
This was 3 years ago. Call of Duty has come a long way since then with the release of Warzone, which is a free to play title. So I decided to give it a try. I was prepared to have to play Battle Royale, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there are other modes as well. I am playing the large scale TDM to get a feel for the game, and I will jump in Battle Royale at some point. Maybe.
Technical Details
After an 80GB+ download, I started the game, and it did not like my ultra wide monitor. It launched at a 16:9 resolution and after attempting to install shaders (which it does when you start the game for the first time), it crashed. After a few times of doing this, I started the game, and left it for a while, and it successfully finished installing shaders.
At this point, I was able to customize the graphics settings. When I set the resolution to the native value of 3440x1440, the game would around move all the windows that I have open on my secondary displays. This happens every time I started the game. It was quite annoying. Do developers not realize that most PC gamers have more than one monitor? Its the current year, and its disappointing to see modern games still struggle to work right with a multi monitor setup. In addition to this, any change to the graphics settings would make the game window flicker, and all the other windows I have open would go on a little adventure. Some would disappear entirely, and I would have to use the Move option in Windows to bring them back into view.
The fix was easy enough. Running the game in borderless window mode solved all the problems. I was hesitant to run the game in this mode because Battlefield 2042 had performance issues when running in anything but fullscreen mode. I was impressed with number of graphics options in this game. There are so many ways to tweak the game, and if I had to guess, it will run fine on mid to lower end machines. At the highest settings, the framerates are quite good. I was getting anywhere between 115 - 120 FPS. I did not notice any drops in performance even when there was a lot going on.
The Interface
This game has by far the most obnoxious UI ever. There are almost no options to customize it. I cannot disable any pop ups. There is so much information on the screen at one point, I have no idea how anyone can make any sense out of it. What actionable information is the UI presenting to me, when the screen so cluttered? I have trouble identifying enemies when there is so much on-screen litter.
I was complaining endlessly about how the UI in BF2042 was not good (and I standby that), but in comparison, even at its worst, its not as bad as Warzone.
The awful banner...I could not find a way to disable it.
Everything about the UI is garish. The ads when the game is started, the in game UI and prompts, the music cues, the player characters...it never ends. Its an all out assault on the senses. The developers seemed to have never heard of the concept of subtlety. All this would be alleviated if they simply gave players the options to customize their experience. Something as basic as disabling in game messages is not available.
Even the audio is annoying. The menu music, the screams of Godzill and King Kong in the background, the irritating in game voice over...it just never stops. Of course, its not as bad as Battlefield 2 can be at times.
If I paid full price for this game, I would be livid. I cannot play for more than a couple of rounds because of the overload. I have new found respect for those that I can play this game for hours on end. Maybe I am getting old? Sometimes, I get the feeling that I am in the minority when it comes to wanting a clean, minimalist UI. Often times, I see Battlefield videos where every single UI option is enabled with 100% opacity. I am so thankful that Battlefield allows UI customization.
What is the point of creating a beautiful game, if the UI is constantly distracting and breaking the immersion?
Closing Thoughts
Its not all terrible. Notwithstanding my objections with the game, there are certain things that Call of Duty is doing right. Weapon customization is fantastic. Battlefield can learn a thing or two from this.
There is definitely some fun to be had, but this is not a game that I can take seriously. While it is possible that I missing something here, and I am not getting how this game is supposed to be played. I will play this game until the Season 1 update for Battlefield 2042 is released. I will try to discover as much as I can, and see if there is something I am missing. That said, in an ideal world, I will never resort to installing a Call of Duty game, but the sheer incompetence of DICE made me have to look for another multiplayer shooter.
As much as I am disappointed with Battlefield 2042, I am glad it exists. I shudder to think of a world where Call of Duty is the only viable alternative for me.
I purchased this monitor on Amazon for $699. Then the price of monitor went down by $10 while the package was enroute. I
decided to contact the seller and asked them if they could give me a discount, and they responded shortly, and gave
me a $10 refund. Very generous of them.
The monitor is a renewed model. I did not notice any issues with the monitor, cosmetic or otherwise. I got all the
accessories, like display port, HDMI, USB-C cables etc. The price of the new model is $799 as of this writing
(5/13/2022).
Setting up the monitor is very simple. Its just a matter of assembling the base, and mounting the display onto it.
Once the monitor was assembled, I connected to the PC via a display port cable. At startup, the monitor has a
refresh rate of 144Hz. I went into the monitor menu and overclocked it to 180Hz. The process is quite easy and it
takes effect immediately.
Needless to say to run games at 3440x1440 resolution, and at such a high refresh rate, a powerful GPU is needed. I am
currently running an MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12GB Gaming X Trio. I would not recommend upgrading to this monitor
unless there is a capable GPU powering the machine. I think a 1080Ti or an AMD equivalent is probably a minimum for
a 1440p ultrawide monitor.
Games look absolutely fantastic on this monitor. Prior to the upgrade, I was playing on ASUS ROG Swift, which
was a great monitor for its time. Its a WQHD monitor running at 144Hz, and it was a dream for most gamers. However,
we now have IPS panels with the same specifications as TN panels, and upgrading from a 16:9 TN panel to a 21:9 IPS
panel is significant.
The first game I tried with the ultrawide is Cyberpunk 2077. I put off playing this game till now because I was
waiting for it to be updated. I was fairly confident that CD Project would fix the game over time. With the release
of Update 1.52, it felt like it was the right time to play this game, but I didn't just want to play this game, I
wanted to play it with all the bells and whistles, at a high resolution, on ultra settings with RTX enabled at a
good framerate. With the purchase of this monitor, my machine was complete.
As shown in the benchmark video below, the results are fantastic. The game runs at an average framerate of ~60FPS.
Without RTX, I get around 100FPS. For me the sacrifice in framerate for graphics fidelity is worth it.
Getting older games to work right on ultrawide resolutions is always a challenge. Assassin's Creed Rogue had a lot of
issues out of the box. I found a patch that enabled higher resolutions, but the game just didn't look and feel
right. So I switched back to playing at 1920x1080 in borderless windowed mode.
I was very surprised to discover that Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, a game released in 2003 worked fine with
a widescreen patch. Of course, this is less to do with the monitor itself, and more to do with software support for
older games.
I was willing to put up with playing older games in either a windowed mode or on the second display, if I could play
the latest games at ultrawide resolution with all settings at ultra, and RTX enabled. I definitely feel gaming at
ultrawide resolution is very immersive, much more so than a regular widescreen resolution. This was the reason why I
decided against getting a 4k monitor, because 21:9 aspect ratio just feels right.
For someone looking to upgrade to an ultrawide, I would thoroughly recommend this monitor. It is a bit expensive, but
assuming its within the budget, there is a lot of fun to be had here.
EDIT - I added another monitor to my setup. They were giving away old monitors at work, so I took one home.
