H1b computer support specialist duties

Not sure if this is related or unrelated but does anyone know what a Social Emotional support specialist does? Can you become one with RBT experience?

The X.Org Foundation supports and oversees the development and maintenance of X11, a protocol or set of rules and standards governing graphics-related tasks. This includes displaying desktop environments, file managers, terminal emulators, web browsers, and other graphical elements on the monitor. X11 serves as a set of instructions, essentially acting as a translator between your computer and the screen, enabling the display of graphical content.

A few years ago, I had a dog named Bear. A bit on the nose for a Newfoundland, I know, but the day I found him wandering around the street, I was more concerned with helping him than coming up with something clever. As such, the name started out as a joke, but when I was sure that I was gonna officially adopt him and the time came to actually give him a name, I had been using it so consistently that he responded to it. So, Bear it was.
He was a good dog. I never figured out how old he actually was - he didn’t look very big when I found him, but I’m not privy to dogs, especially ones this big, so I never could pin down an age. He was certainly a character - he barely ever barked, would sleep on my floor instead of the expensive bed that I bought him (just my luck), and would randomly get explosive bursts of energy that transformed him from a dog into a battering ram. He alternated between being afraid of his own shadow and being willing to die for me, all over a squirrel that scurried in front of us while we were out on a walk. I bought him a red collar that just barely fit him, and he made it his mission to try and discard it in the funniest ways possible, like rubbing his neck against walls and scratching at it with his hind legs. Despite his quirks, I loved him, and he certainly loved me.
If you really gave it some thought, he was odd in other ways than just his personality. I mean, on the day I found him, what was a Newfie doing in the middle of a toll road in the forests of California? I’d just assumed he was a puppy from a mill that got out, but it was cooler to imagine some crazy backstory for him. Bear, the vampire dog, who prowled the Six Rivers National Forest as its apex predator, was tamed one day by half a ham sandwich. It gave me a good laugh, if nothing else.
It was a couple of years after I got Bear that I started dating a girl I’d met at a coffee shop a few miles away. We’d hit it off to the point that we were staying at each other’s houses, and life was good. Bear seemed to like her, and since she had his seal of approval, she had mine. That’s just how it worked.
One day, I left her in charge of watching Bear while I ran errands. Given that he’d chewed through the bottom of a door the day prior (we were working on it), I couldn’t leave him by himself, and since the grocery store was a few miles away from my house, I thought she shouldn’t have any trouble with him. She was a vet tech, after all, and had given me plenty of pointers on how to deal with him.
I got back an hour later and found my date on the couch where I left her, watching the next episode of the show we were binging. I was a bit pissed that she went on without me, but was more concerned with where Bear was. When I’d left, he was at her feet, sound asleep. Now, though, he was absent. I searched the upstairs first, in hopes that he was actually using the dog bed for once, but to no avail. I walked back downstairs and into the kitchen, hoping that he was lying on the air vent that he liked. He wasn’t there, but I did find something that no pet owner wants to see. The chain on the back door was dangling, ripped out of the wall, and the door was pushed open. My stomach sank as I realized what happened, and I just sat there for a moment before my date walked into the kitchen and covered her mouth.
She profusely apologized, and I wasn’t really angry at her - sure, she should have been paying more attention, but I was sure that he didn’t get very far. I’d assumed that he had seen a squirrel through the backdoor and broke out to try to get after it, and hoped he’d tired himself out and was lying in the shade under one of the trees in the backyard. Still, I wanted to do more than just hope, so I grabbed the flashlights I kept in the utility drawer, and we walked out into the backyard, hoping to find him.
I lived on the edge of the aforementioned national forest, and Bear and I often went on walks through there, so if he wasn’t out back, he was certainly in the woods. I knew the area well, but it was still a lot of ground to cover, and we didn’t have a lot of time before it was pitch black. We searched for a few hours, and while I wanted to keep going, she was tired, and regrettably, I was too. We decided that he’d probably be fine for the night, and went back inside, intent on starting a new search bright and early.
We spent all of the next day searching. We spent all of the next week searching. Hell, it almost came up on a month, and I was starting to recognize the lichen patterns on specific trees before I had to face it. Bear was gone. I had put up flyers with reward money and scoured every area of the woods from top to bottom. I was heartbroken, to say the least.
I kind of shut myself off from the world a little bit after that. I stopped talking to the girl I was seeing - I didn’t really blame her, but I couldn’t build a relationship on a complete disaster like that. I started working from home instead of making the commute to the office, as even driving down the forested roads that I had spent hot afternoons frantically searching made me a bit queasy. I was a mess, and I didn’t get over it for a long time.
This all happened a little over three years ago, and I was mostly over it by this point. I’d since met and married my wife, and we were expecting our first child in a few months. We were still living in the same house - even if it had some sad memories attached to it, it was still a nice place, and I wasn’t willing to give up on it. I had hope that my new life with my family would help drown out some of the sadness that still stained the place. Part of me still wished that Bear was there to see it with me.
Ideally, that would’ve been the end of the story, or better yet, I wouldn’t even be writing this right now, but three weeks ago, everything changed. I woke up earlier than I usually would to get breakfast started, as it was a bit of a tradition between my wife and I to make pancakes every Saturday, and it was my turn that week. I was finishing up when I heard it, loud as day - a bark from the backyard. This scared the shit out of me, as it wasn’t something I’d heard from the backyard in years. I moved the pancakes to a plate, shut the stove off, and peeked out the window as I was transporting them to the dining table.
It sounds cliché, but I nearly dropped the plate onto the floor when I saw where the bark came from. It was Bear, standing in the middle of the yard. He looked remarkably clean, and it looked like he had finally managed to get the collar off. I started freaking out instantly, and yanked the back door open before running outside in just my bathrobe and slippers. I expected some fairy tale-esque reunion, with him jumping into my arms and knocking me down because of how heavy he was. I was ecstatic to see him, and I was expecting him to feel that same way.
Instead of running towards me, he turned and ran towards the tree line, growling. He turned around and got into an aggressive stance, his tail still and his eyes narrowed. I was stunned, but I figured that he had been in the woods for so long that he was probably scared to death by seeing me again. Regrettably, he might have also felt that I’d abandoned him, but that was a possibility I didn’t want to consider at that moment. He just needed some TLC, and he’d be my dog again just like that. I ran inside and grabbed the half-empty package of bacon from inside the fridge. I threw it on the stove and went back to the window, watching as Bear laid down in the yard. Oddly enough, he didn’t lie in the shade under the trees, like he usually would have, but right in the sun. Three years was a long time to be lost, so maybe his habits had been turned upside down by learning to survive.
I put the bacon in a paper bowl and walked outside. I shook the bowl, calling his name from the concrete porch. He didn’t budge, still lying in the middle of the yard. I figured I’d leave it sitting out, and he’d come get it when he felt more comfortable. My wife was up by this point, justifiably confused by me calling my lost dog’s name from the back of the house. I excitedly showed her that he’d returned, but she seemed less enthusiastic than me. She smiled upon seeing him, but she didn’t have the same connection to him that I did, so I couldn’t blame her for her diluted reaction.
I went to the store right away to grab new dog food, water and food bowls, and most importantly, parts for a doggy door. We lived in a safe enough area that I could install one without fear of a break in, and I wanted to ease Bear back into our house by letting him come in at his own pace. I spent the whole day installing it, glancing over my shoulder every few seconds to make sure he wasn’t getting into trouble. He just laid in the sun, presumably napping.
The next morning, I walked into the kitchen to see if there were any signs that Bear had been in the house. Sure enough, there was a clump of black fur stuck in the corner of the doggy door, and the dry food I’d put in the bowl looked to be partially eaten. I told my wife as such when she got up, and she wasn’t fazed by it, instead grabbing my hand and leading me upstairs back into our bedroom. I hadn’t noticed when I got up, but one of the dog bones I’d left on the back patio was on our bedroom carpet, implying that he’d been in there last night, probably guarding us while we slept. My wife seemed a bit disturbed by this, but I was thrilled. To me, this just served as proof that part of my old Bear was still in him - he used to do that all the time, after all.
I sat down with my wife that night and started to discuss how we could make Bear feel more comfortable in our home, but she stopped me. She tried to reason that he had spent years presumably lost in the woods, and had probably become feral and unpredictable. As much as I wanted to cast those doubts aside and override her, she had a valid point; you don’t just spend years stranded and come back the same, human, dog, or otherwise. We met in the middle; if Bear was still hanging around the house in a month and showed signs of improved friendliness, we could try and reincorporate him into our lives. I would do anything to have him back, but I did have a pregnant wife to worry about, so I agreed. In the meantime, we agreed that I’d install a lock on the doggy door so that he or anything else couldn’t get inside. I made a mental note to go to the hardware store sometime next week, as the next day was a national holiday and it was closed.
I abruptly woke up at around 2 in the morning, and wasn’t sure what woke me at first. I thought that I might need water, so I started to head downstairs to get some from the tap. When I got into the kitchen, I started to retrieve a glass when I heard what sounded like scratching on the siding of the house. It was loud and rapid, as if something was trying to claw its way through the wall. Puzzled, I turned to look out the window, and almost choked on my water when I saw Bear’s head looking through the kitchen window. As soon as I saw him, the scratching immediately stopped. He wasn’t panting or anything, despite the fact that it sounded like he was trying to dig through the wall moments prior. He was just sitting at the window, staring at me. Admittedly, in the moonlight, he looked kind of creepy - just looking at me, motionless.
Before I could say his name to see if he would respond with a bark or any other noise, his head quickly sank below the window, in one fluid motion. Usually, when dogs dismount from a surface they’re looking over while standing on their hind legs, there’s a moment where they remove their first front paw and sort of stumble under their weight before moving the other one. That didn’t happen here, though - he just vanished without a sound. I was really creeped out by this point, but figured that he was just surveying the house to see if he felt more comfortable inside. I chalked his weird disappearance up to me being exhausted and it being too dark to fully see him moving.
The next morning, I told my wife that I thought Bear was getting more comfortable around us, and recounted the events of last night. She seemed a bit unsettled, and switched the subject to the doggy door, but I was too excited to take that into account. I told her I was going for a walk in the preserve, put on my running shoes, and left the house.
I was about two miles into the woods when I came across an open area that I hadn’t seen before. Odd, because I knew these woods like the back of my hand, but maybe some campers had come and illegally set up for the night. Several small trees in the area were snapped at the base, possibly in an attempt to free up space for a tent. Maybe this had been here and I just hadn’t noticed it?
That was the theory I was operating on at first, until I looked down at my feet and noticed what was going on. There were white objects poking out of the dirt, which I thought were just pebbles when I arrived. Now that I had actually stopped to look around, though, I noticed that they weren’t rocks at all, but little animal bones. I wasn’t really fazed upon seeing this - animals die in the woods all the time, and I’d probably just stumbled across a mountain lion’s work. That would have made sense, except for a few things.
For one, the bones seemed to be arranged in some sort of pattern. It didn’t look like any symbol in particular, just a set of interlocking circles. There was no way that an animal would arrange the bones of their prey like this, so I was already weirded out, but then I noticed that as the circles grew larger, so did the bones, to the point that some of them were bigger than my arm. I was sufficiently freaked out now, so I turned and went back the way I came, calling the park services helpline on my way home. They told me that I’d probably come across an area frequented by deer, and subsequently predators looking for a quick meal, and that it probably wasn’t anything to be concerned about. After I badgered them for a bit and explained the whole pattern thing, they agreed to send someone out to take a look at it, just in case. I was satisfied with that, so I continued home and tried not to think about it.
I caught glimpses of Bear in the backyard for a few weeks, but didn’t see him for a prolonged period of time until yesterday. I was sitting outside by our fire pit, reading, when I noticed his head poke out from behind one of the trees lining the path of the preserve. I couldn’t see the rest of his body, and that confused me, considering that his head was six feet above the ground. Given that my kitchen window was about the same height, I figured that he was once again standing on his hind legs, probably after some critter in the tree, and I couldn’t see his body because of the angle. That explanation made sense to me, so I didn’t really pay him any mind - if I chose to ignore him, maybe he’d feel like I wasn’t a threat, and would be more comfortable around me. At this point, I’d try anything.
I looked up again two minutes later, and he wasn’t at the tree anymore. I figured that whatever he was after jumped out of the tree and he’d hightailed it after them, so I went back to reading. The snap of a twig moments later grabbed my attention again, and I looked up to see his head poking out from behind another tree fifty feet away. He was at a different angle now, but I still couldn’t see his body, which should’ve been impossible considering how fluffy he was. I couldn’t tell from the newly increased distance, but I swore I saw a single one of his paws wrapped around the tree, almost like how a person would put their hand around a door frame for stability. I wasn’t sure if I was just seeing things, but I wasn’t in the mood to read anymore, so I went inside.
It hurt me to admit this, but at this point, I think I was accepting that Bear was too far gone, and I couldn’t really blame him for that. He was an animal who had been thrust into the cold, dark wilderness, and to expect him to be unchanged by that would be unfair. Still, I was building a family, and it was my duty to protect them. The next day, I got my opportunity to do just that when I spotted Bear once again lying in the center of the back lawn. I grabbed two baking sheets and walked outside, slapping them together and yelling. This loud display apparently worked, as he shot up and darted towards the tree line. I felt like absolute shit after doing this, but it was what needed to be done.
I thought that would be the end of it. I spooked him away, and now I could focus on getting our lives back to normal. Today was a Saturday morning, and instead of making pancakes, I intended on surprising my wife with breakfast from her favorite local donut shop, as she told me that she’d been craving them the night prior. I’m no dummy when it comes to hints, so I hopped into the car and peeled out onto the road, hoping I’d get there before all her favorite flavors sold out.
As I was speeding down the road, I saw it. Or, at least, I thought I did. Under one of the trees on the side of the road, I saw Bear. He was standing on his hind legs, with no support. He didn’t move his head to look at the car, or even show any kind of reaction to me passing him. He just sat there, doing nothing. I slammed on the brakes, and thank god there weren’t any other cars on the road at this time of day, because I would’ve caused an accident. I looked into the rearview mirror, and saw nothing under the tree. I jumped out of the car, looking around like a madman, and saw nothing. The woods were silent, save for the sound of wind and twigs snapping in the distance.
I got back into the car and took a moment before driving again. What I’d just seen, I wasn’t sure, and I was having a full-blown panic attack as a result. After I took some deep breaths, reason returned to me, and I figured that I was seeing things that weren’t there, in dark places in the light of dawn. I resumed driving, albeit at a much slower pace than before. I couldn’t exactly focus my full attention on the road.
When I got to the donut shop, I was met with a pleasant surprise - in line in front of me was the vet tech that I’d been seeing years ago. Even though we’d stopped seeing each other, we ended on fine terms, and didn’t harbor any bad feelings toward each other, as evidenced by the smile and hug we greeted each other with. She asked to grab a couple of coffees and donuts to catch up for a little bit before I returned home, and I agreed, wanting to get my mind off of things. She had done well for herself - she was a full blown vet now, and had been for some time. She was married and had a son, and gave me a bunch of jokey warnings about parenthood. The subject turned to pets, and even though I didn’t want to sour feelings between us, I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut about Bear.
I told her everything that happened, save for what I’d just seen fifteen minutes ago - I wasn’t even sure if I’d actually seen it. She looked concerned while I talked, and tried to interject a few times, but I just kept spilling my feelings. When the floor was finally hers, she hesitated for a second, and then spoke.
“That’s… impossible.”
“What?”
“I really didn’t wanna tell you this, because I didn’t wanna hurt you more, but a few months after we stopped talking, someone brought Bear into our office. He was hit by a car, and we did everything we could… but there was nothing we could do. I didn’t call you about it, because I didn’t think you wanted to hear that your dog was dead.”
I asked her how she was so sure. It couldn’t be. I’d seen my dog alive.
“His collar. He had his collar on when he came into the office. The red one with his name tag on it.”
I left the shop after that. I didn’t leave the parking lot, though. Not because I was afraid to go home, even if I was.
But because I was ashamed. I’m a bad husband. I forgot to get a lock for the doggy door.

I keep getting crashes mid-game, about 25% of the time. Can you tell anything based on Windows Event viewer?
Log Name: Application
Source: Application Error
Date: 6/9/2024 8:28:52 PM
Event ID: 1000
Task Category: Application Crashing Events
Level: Error
Keywords:
User: XXXXX
Computer: XXXXX
Description:
Faulting application name: cod.exe, version: 2.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x66457d8f
Faulting module name: cod.exe, version: 2.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x66457d8f
Exception code: 0xc0000409
Fault offset: 0x00000000089aad41
Faulting process id: 0x0x6F10
Faulting application start time: 0x0x1DABAC955240845
Faulting application path: F:\My Games\Call of Duty\_retail_\cod.exe
Faulting module path: F:\My Games\Call of Duty\_retail_\cod.exe
Report Id: XXXXX
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:
Event Xml:



1000
0
2
100
0
0x8000000000000000

17140


Application
XXXXX>



cod.exe
2.0.0.0
66457d8f
cod.exe
2.0.0.0
66457d8f
c0000409
00000000089aad41
0x6f10
0x1dabac955240845
F:\My Games\Call of Duty\_retail_\cod.exe
F:\My Games\Call of Duty\_retail_\cod.exe
0d64d163-e97f-4074-ae89-4e47d385782d

Will be very disappointed if persistent workspaces is not announced tomorrow @ wwdc. but if not, are there any apps that support it via computer screen share window management? Immersed claims to but reviews are mixed.

So, ive had this problem for a while now. So sometimes when i plug my PC the lights in the mobo will turn on and it will also power the other stuff it has connected turns on like the speaker. But when i press the power button it just wont turn on, i got to wait a couple hours for it to finally turn on when i press the button, even sometimes when its plugged in way too much time it wont turn on either and someties it turn on by itself i send it to tech support twice and the guys there say its just static, but ive done what they told me to do (unplug everything like keyboards, mouses and disconnect the compuiter from power, press the powert button for a minute) and it should turn on, but i doesnt the second time it gave it to them they tried it in their own wall outlet and their own cable and after a couple of days of them trying (like lil less than a week) it turn on like nothing, i even tried turning off the S4+S5 option in my bios settings (which btw removes power from the peripherals while the computer is off and still nothing. I think it could be because of the cable or the wobbly wall connector that needs to be changed, but idk if it is that.

Dear Mr. XXXX,
As an employee of an institution of higher education, I have few very basic expectations. Chief among these is that my direct superiors have an intellect that ranges above the common ground squirrel. After your consistent and annoying harassment of my co-workers and me during our commission of duties, I can only surmise that you are one of the few true genetic wastes of our time.
Asking me, a network administrator, to explain every nuance of everything I do each time you happen to stroll into my office is not only a waste of time, but also a waste of precious oxygen. I was hired because I know how to network computer systems, and you were apparently hired to provide amusement to your employees, who watch you vainly attempt to understand the concept of “cut and paste” as it is explained to you for the hundredth time.
You will never understand computers. Something as incredibly simple as binary still gives you too many options. You will also never understand why people hate you, but I am going to try and explain it to you, even though I am sure this will be just as effective as telling you what an IP is. Your shiny new iMac has more personality than you ever will.
You wander around the building all day, shiftlessly seeking fault in others. You have a sharp dressed, useless look about you that may have worked for your interview, but now that you actually have responsibility, you pawn it off on overworked staff, hoping their talent will cover for your glaring ineptitude. In a world of managerial evolution, you are the blue-green algae that everyone else eats and laughs at. Managers like you are a sad proof of the Dilbert principle.
Seeing as this situation is unlikely to change without you getting a full frontal lobotomy reversal, I am forced to tender my resignation; however, I have a few parting thoughts:
When someone calls you in reference to employment, it is illegal for you to give me a bad recommendation as I have consisted performed my duties and even more. The most you can say to hurt me is, “I prefer not to comment.” To keep you honest, I will have friends randomly call you over the next couple of years, because I know you would be unable to do it on your own.
I have all the passwords to every account on the system and I know every password you have used for the last five years. If you decide to get cute, I will publish your “Favorites,” which I conveniently saved when you made me “back up” your useless files. I do believe that terms like “Lolita” are not viewed favorably by the university administrations.
When you borrowed the digital camera to “take pictures of your mother’s b-day,” you neglected to mention that you were going to take nude pictures of yourself in the mirror. Then, like the techno-moron you are, you forgot to erase them. Suffice it to say, I have never seen such odd acts with a ketchup bottle. I assure you that those photos are being kept in safe places pending your authoring of a glowing letter of recommendation. (And, for once, would you please try to use spellcheck? I hate correcting your mistakes.)
I expect the letter of recommendation on my desk by 8:00 am tomorrow. One word of this to anybody and all of your twisted little repugnant obsessions will become public knowledge. Never f*ck with your systems administrator, Mr. Baker! They know what you do with all that free time!
Sincerely
David
Network Administrator

Inherited a Datacentre with NSX-T (4.1.something) on a Enhanced link mode VCSA deployment. So far all hosts have had NSX removed either through the UI or by force, after some vCenter issues VMware couldn't fix.
I am now left with a NSX deployment that is impossible to remove anything, computer managers, nope one wants the managers deleted, one wants the edge VMs removed the other still thinks it's active (that vCenter & cluster doesn't even exist anymore). Same goes for profiles, nodes, any configuration just fails because a dependency somewhere still exists, a never ending rabbit hole!
I have had it with this deployment, after finally fixing all the vCenter issues I would like to know if now all hosts are NSX vacant, can I just delete the NSX manager and edge VM's and start from scratch.
Workplace wants to get some contractors in to fix it (as VMware support hasn't been very responsive recently), but I'm honestly not sure they know what they are getting into.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

I ignored my degree for about 4 years now because I was too afraid I suck.
Pretty much story is: I got a Bachelor from a University in Computer Science. I got a job as a Software Engineer for 3 months before I got laid off due to "budget issues" but I believed that they were just too nice to say "you suck and you are a waste of money" combine this with not being able to find any other Software Engineer jobs for a while, the imposter syndrome took hold and I strayed away from anything Computer Science related.
Fast forward ~4 years later I've been doing odd jobs here and there, none of them had to do with coding at all. Right now I am working at a small company as a team leader, I manage a team of ~10 people. I get requirements for projects from clients, figure out what needs to be done and hand it to my team. Watch over production, quality etc. I do performance management but I don't do any real project or team management, so things like KPIs etc would be the person above myself's duties.
Anyhow, I think I am finally ready to revisit my degree. I want to believe that I have a passion for Video Games so ideally I'd love to start a career in Game Development but I assume anything coding-related should be a good start. My issue right now is I don't know where to start. There is definitely a lot of resources out there to learn and practice and build portfolio etc but I am wondering if there are any resources out there that I can reach out to that would help me make a concrete plan to going back to Computer Science stuff. For example would career centers help? University counselor? I am unsure.
Thank you in advance!

First Previous
It would have taken four hours to reach the East Gate flying through the void, but the jumpdrive got them there in just over a minute. It took another minute to speak with the Enterprise and get docking clearance, and a third minute to land inside the Federation flagship. Three minutes. Yvian spent the time watching Federation ships pour into the sector.
The humans were pulling out all the stops. Cruisers and Destroyers swarmed into the sector, forming the core of strike wings ten thousand strong. Frigates acted as escorts, and carriers launched wave after wave of lethal Gladiator class fighters. Klusters were still appearing here and there, but the human ships left them for the Peacekeeper Queens to deal with, too focused on organizing their invasion to bother with stragglers. Three minutes, and over a thousand strike wings were already making their way towards Aldara. A similar number of human ships were spreading out from the other three Gates, eager to scour the Klaath from their home system.
The Random Encounter set down in one of the Enterprise's smaller docking bays. Yvian noticed it was the only bay that was empty. A trio of gladiators floated nearby, no doubt evicted to make room for Mims' ship. The moment the Encounter set down, Mims repressurized the ship. Then he stood and walked briskly off the bridge.
Yvian and the rest of the crew followed. She thought they'd go straight to the cargo bay, but the Captain had them stop at the armory first. He handed out BR24 Plasma Rifles and Nanoblade Katanas without a word. Then they all marched down to the bay.
Mims activated the door control. The cargo bay door raised. The ramp lowered. The Enterprise's docking bay came into view. A large door leading into the flagship had just finished opening, and a frightening number of armored humans were flooding into the docking bay, weapons drawn. Yvian put a hand on her rifle, but stopped short of drawing it. Captain Mims walked casually up to the ramp, looking down at the other humans with his hands clasped behind his back.
The humans took up positions all around the Encounter. Yvian tried to count them all, but gave up and estimated there were about a hundred of them. After nearly a minute of running around with their guns out, the soldiers formed up in neat lines, rifles held diagonally across their chests. They formed a corridor between the Encounter and the docking bay door.
Three more figures entered the bay. A tall man, a short man, and a woman of medium height. Like the other soldiers, these three wore white armor, and the visors of their helmets were gold. Like the other soldiers, these three were armed with plasma rifles, blaster pistols, and swords that looked an awful lot like the one Mims had given to Yvian. Unlike the other soldiers, these three kept their weapons in their sheaths.
The three came to the bottom of the Encounter's ramp. They stopped. The tall man in the middle spoke with a booming voice. "Permission to board, Mims?" It was the High Commander.
"You know you don't need an escort," Mims boomed back. "If we were planning to kill you we wouldn't have docked at all."
"They're not here for me," General Young explained. "They're here to keep any wayward personnel from getting wild ideas. Aldara remembers, Mims."
"Yeah. I guess it does." Yvian could hear the Captain's grimace. "Permission granted."
High Commander Young turned to the man on his left. The man's body went rigid as he snapped a salute. General Young stood straight and stiff as he returned it. The man stepped away. General Young and the woman on his right both took out their rifles, handing them over to a pair of soldiers. They did the same with their swords. General Young looked up at Mims. "Mind if we keep our sidearms?"
Mims called back, "Doesn't matter."
The General gave a gracious nod and climbed the ramp. The woman followed, staying to his right and half a step behind. Mims went back to the control panel as they boarded. The Encounter's ramp retracted. The cargo bay door sealed shut.
The High Commander removed his helmet. He looked much as Yvian remembered. His skin was a deep, dark brown. His head was shaved and smooth and shiny. He had the complexion of a young man, but his eyes were grim and his expression could have been carved from stone. Yvian was sure he was old. As old as the Captain, if not older. Most likely he'd undergone rejuvenation in an Oluken med-pod just like Mims.
The woman took her helmet off as well. Blonde hair and sharp cheekbones. Eyes that reminded Yvian of green grass on a summer day. Expressive lips set in a serious expression. And curves Yvian was trying hard not to notice. Yvian remembered this woman. "Hamilton?"
The woman blinked, then smiled. "I'm surprised you remember."
A grin forced its way past Yvian's desire to appear professional. "How could I forget?"
Mims ignored the exchange, turning to the High Commander. "Before anything else, I need to hear you say it again."
"Say what again?" The High Commander asked.
"That you had nothing to do with it."
General Young frowned, but nodded. "Neither I nor any of my people set off the device that called the Klaath. I didn't know we had such a thing at the time."
Mims kept his gaze focused on the man. "Kilroy?"
"The meatbag is not lying," said the machine.
The High Commander glanced at the Peacekeeper unit. His eyes widened, then narrowed.
"Fair enough. Second question." Mims kept his eyes on the General. "When did we get our hands on that tech? Was it at Aldara?" His tone was businesslike, but there was an intensity he couldn't keep off his face. "The first time?"
General Young held the Captain's gaze for a pregnant moment. Then he shook his head. "I don't know."
The Captain went deathly quiet. "You don't know."
"I don't know." The High Commander spoke firmly. "And if I can't find out, no one can." He folded his arms. "There's no record of when that technology was invented. I know it's ours. We found another device. But someone went through a lot of trouble to make sure we'd never find out where it came from."
Mims composed himself. "I see."
"No you don't," said the General. "I tried to find some people to ask about it. People that might know what kind of science was being done in Aldara when it all went down. Do you know what I found? A trail of bodies." A hint of fury flashed across his face. "Three research stations, all at Aldara, with no record of what they were studying. And every single person that was on those stations died. All of them. All within five years of the incident." His jaw clenched. "That tells me something all by itself, but there's no records and no proof. We'll never know for sure."
Mims stared at the man a moment longer, then nodded slowly. He turned to Kilroy. "Where are we at with Klaath?"
"The Vrrl Starfang Empire is defending Tendril Sector," said the Peacekeeper. "This unit calculates they will be sufficient. This unit calculates the meatbags will be sufficient in this sector, as well. Peacekeeper Unit Admiral Ender Zhukov states it is unable to calculate the outcome in New Pixa Sector. Peacekeeper Unit Admiral Ender Zhukov also states there is nothing this ship can do to affect that outcome at this time."
"New Pixa's under attack?" asked the General.
"We think they're after the Queens," Mims explained. He tilted his head slightly, coming to a decision. "You want a beer?"
General Young blinked. "You have beer?"
Everyone moved to the kitchen. Mims dug some beers out of the fridge. He handed one to Lissa and one to General Young, keeping the third for himself. Yvian followed his fine example, grabbing a bottle for herself and one for the General's Assistant. Hamilton opened her mouth to protest, then closed it, frowning at the beer in her hand.
"It's alright Hamilton," the High Commander told her. "Soldiers don't drink on duty, but we're not soldiers right now. We're diplomats, and diplomats drink." He twisted the cap off of his bottle. "You can consider it an order if it makes you feel better."
"Yes sir." Hamilton popped her beer open and took a sip. She gave the bottle a considering look, and then took a much longer swig.
"That's good beer," said the High Commander.
"The most popular drink in the Technocracy," Yvian said proudly.
"Haven't had one in a while," the General confided. "I got the entire human race crammed ass to elbow in every station we could move, and we're missing about two planets worth of food production. We can't afford to spend resources on luxuries like booze."
Yvian eyed the two of them. Had the High Commander lost weight? She couldn't tell. He'd been a mass of muscle when she met the man, and he still was. She started to size up Hamilton, but quickly changed her mind. She was dangerously close to ogling the woman as it was.
Still, if they couldn't get beer, it was likely the humans had been forced to eat whatever could be grown in bulk on the quick. Crunch, they might have been living on protein paste. Yvian's taste buds cried out in sympathy. The thought of that poor, beautiful woman suffering like that...
"Mims?" Yvian asked. "Is there any way we could make breakfast?"
The Captain's eyes flicked from Yvian to Hamilton and back. He looked down at his wrist console. "Might as well. It's technically morning, I guess." He stood, heading for the fridge.
"You want some help?" General Young offered.
"Sure," said Mims. "You can dice the potatoes."
"I suppose I'll eat as well," Scarrend rumbled. He went to the corner of the kitchen, where his personal larder had been set up. He pulled out a leg.
"Uh, Scarrend?" Lissa spoke up. "Maybe you should have fish for breakfast."
"Hmm?" The Vrrl rumbled. Then he caught her look. He put the leg back and pulled out a salmon.
"Was that a human leg?" Hamilton asked. She looked concerned.
"Yes," said Scarrend.
"Don't worry," Yvian reassured her. "It's Mims' leg. We cloned it."
"...Why?"
"It turns out the Vrrl don't eat people just for fun," Lissa explained. "If they go too long without eating sapient flesh they'll lose their minds. Go feral." She grimaced. "It's not pretty, and it's not reversible."
"What?" Hamilton's frown deepened. "How does that work? Some kind of enzyme deficiency?"
"It's psychosomatic," Lissa told her, "but it's hardwired into their DNA. Just like their worship of the Varma."
"That," the High Commander stopped cutting potatoes as he spoke, "is deeply fucked up."
"We are as the gods have made us," Scarrend said simply.
Lissa engaged Hamilton in small talk while the men cooked. Yvian joined in where she could, but she'd never been good at talking to new people. Especially pretty ones. Mims and the General worked in companionable silence, aside from a single exchange.
"I didn't know you cooked," the General had remarked.
"Someone has to," Mims had replied. "The girls baked me a cake once. I thought they were trying to kill me."
"That was one time," Lissa had protested.
Breakfast was simple but plentiful. Bacon and eggs. Pancakes and fried potatoes. Yvian and Lissa got more beer. The humans drank orange juice or milk. By unspoken agreement, conversation was abandoned as everyone ate. Yvian had thought the Captain cooked more than they needed, but after General Young and Hamilton each helped themselves to a third plateful she wondered if he'd made enough.
"Oh my god," Hamilton leaned back after swallowing one last bit of pancake. "I forgot how good it can be to eat real food."
"That was a real kindness," the High Commander agreed. He smiled at the pixens. "Good to see you girls haven't changed."
"It's good to see you, Bart," said Lissa. She smiled back.
Mims offered more beer. Hamilton declined, but the General accepted. Lissa took one, too. The Captain sat down, frowned, then got up to get another bottle for himself. "Alright. I guess we should get down to business."
"I guess we should," General Young agreed. "It's been a hell of a year, hasn't it?"
"I've had worse," said the Captain. "But not many."
"Tell me about it." The High Commander grimaced. "I thought last year was bad, what with the Vore and the Xill, but last year's got nothing on this. Most of the government got assassinated, half our stations got shot up, and then humanity's greatest enemies all formed a coalition and came after us." He swigged his beer. "Now my whole fucking species is hiding out with a bunch of pacifist squid people."
"Yeah, how are the Taa'Oor?" Lissa took a drink of her own. "I don't know much about them."
"They're sweethearts," said the General. "Weird, but sweet. Kinda hard to talk to, though. They communicate by changing the color of splotches on their bodies, and each one uses different patterns. It's like you have to learn a new language for each individual, and it's played hell with our translators."
"The Taa'Oor have been very helpful," Hamilton added. "They seem really happy to be dealing with us instead of the Oluken."
"I don't blame them," said Lissa.
"I should probably feel bad for dragging them into this," General Young admitted, "but we didn't have much of a choice. Between the Vrrl and those goddamned Klaath Queenships we can't win a straight up fight." He gestured with his bottle. "How the hell did you find a way to control those things, anyway? The Klaath fuse their ships to their nervous systems. I didn't think anyone else could use them."
"Xill technology," Lissa told him. "An artificial nervous system linked to a Peacekeeper unit."
The General grunted. "Anyway, moving to Wet Sector took us from certain defeat to a stalemate. We don't got the forces to take New Pixa, but you can't get to us, either. You try and we'll just cut the Gate. The Taa'Oor won't even mind." He shrugged a shoulder. "They'd rather live simple on their homeworld, anyway."
"Stalemate might be a bit optimistic," Mims told him. "You've lost both your planets, and you've got more people then you've got space for, let alone food. You can't keep hiding much longer."
"We can," the High Commander disagreed, "but I don't want to. This war's cost us too many people already. I don't want starvation to add to the toll."
"Surrender then," Mims suggested. "Take the ceasefire. We didn't want a war in the first place."
"This unit did," Kilroy objected.
"And the Empire as well," said Scarrend. "But we're willing to consider your surrender. If we kill you all now, there will be no humans to hunt later."
The General gave Scarrend a considering look. "Are you able to speak for the Vrrl?" he asked. "Negotiate on their behalf?"
"No," said Scarrend. "A negotiation will require all three Warmasters, and the proposal will have to be approved by the Emperor."
"Damn." The High Commander took another drink. "I was hoping we could get this done today."
"We can still lay the groundwork," said Lissa. "You've got our initial proposal."
"A proposal we can't accept," said the General. "We already lost Dorado to the Vore. I can't give up another planet."
"You've already given up your planets," Scarrend pointed out. "The ceasefire would let you get one of them back."
"Can't do it," General Young repeated.
"We know you don't really expect us to give up Aldara," Hamilton cut in. "You're starting high so we'll have to bargain you back down."
"No," said Scarrend. "We're telling you the price of survival."
"Uh... Scarrend?" Yvian interrupted. "Hamilton's right. We weren't going to take Aldara."
"Yvian!" Lissa snapped at her.
"What?" Yvian met her sister's outraged eyes. "That's what you said, isn't it?"
"Yeah." Lissa let out an exasperated breath. "But you're not supposed to tell them that."
"It doesn't matter," Mims decided. "We can't do peace talks until the Warmasters are available, anyway." He leaned forward. "We've got something more important to talk about."
The High Commander eyed the Captain, then set his beer down. He gave a single, grave nod. "Reba."
"A ceasefire won't mean shit," said Mims, "as long as she's running the Federation."
"There isn't a Federation," the General told him. "Not anymore. It died two months ago, when some asshole overthrew the government in a Military coup."
"There was no choice, sir," Hamilton reassured him. "The selection process was compromised."
"All the candidates were in Reba's pocket," the General explained.
"And you're not," Mims guessed.
"If you heard the orders President Boyd tried to give..." He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. It's done." He picked his beer back up. "The worst part wasn't the war, you know. Wasn't even that we're losing. The worst part was finding out humanity's been manipulated by a goddamned computer program for six hundred years. A program," he added, "that doesn't care about keeping us alive anymore."
"Does that mean you kicked her out?" Yvian asked.
"We did a lot more than that," said the High Commander. "Pulling everyone to Wet Sector wasn't just a way to keep you from conquering us sector by sector. Reba was in control of the Nexus. I had to get everyone in one place, where we could communicate without Nodes. And I needed to get my hands on every ship, station, and computer capable of holding a Synthetic Intelligence."
"The Connor Protocol," Mims breathed. "You actually did it?"
"What's the Connor Protocol?" asked Lissa.
"A failsafe invented after the Singularity War," General Young explained. "A plan. You already know we don't allow remote controlled anything. Even our beam towers are manned. But there's all kinds of shit an SI can do without direct control, and they can download themselves into anything with enough processing power. If an SI like Reba infiltrates the Nexus, there's only one thing we can do."
"Shut down the Nexus completely," Hamilton elaborated, "and scour every single computer one by one."
"Then we had to search our planets for hidden servers along with every asteroid we could get to," the General continued. "That's what my people were doing on Terra Nova when you showed up." He grimaced. "I thought we got her until she set off those Klaath beacons."
"You couldn't have got her anyway," Yvian told him. "She's in Xill space, trying to take them over."
The General stared at Yvian, then swore. "If she takes over the Xill we're all fucked."
"We know," said Mims. "Exodus is trying to stop her."
"Never thought I'd see the day I rooted for Exodus the Genocide." The High Commander shook his head. "Does he think he can do it?"
"No," Mims admitted. "I think he's just buying time."
The General swore again.
"Do you have a plan?" Hamilton asked. "In case she comes after you with the Xill?"
"We're working on it," said Mims.
"So no, then," the General's rigid posture slumped. For just a moment, he looked very, very tired. "I need a vacation."
"It will be alright, sir," said Hamilton. "We'll find a way."
"Of course we will." The General pulled himself back together. "I'm just a little tired is all." He drained the last of his beer. "I'm a Military man. I never signed up to run a country or..." He gestured with the empty bottle. "all of this."
"Welcome to my world," said Mims.
The High Commander grunted.
"So..." Yvian frowned. A thought that had been niggling her for most of the conversation finally climbed to the surface. "I guess this means you're not getting Blingy."
"Blingy?" The General raised an eyebrow.
"The Lucendian ship we gave to the Xill," Lissa explained. "After Myrsa defected, we assumed you'd use her to get it."
"We figured Reba would hand you the ship," Mims added. "We didn't know you started the Connor Protocol."
"I don't think Reba's gonna be handing us much of anything," said the General. His brows furrowed. "Why'd you want us to get our hands on a Lucendian ship?"
"So we could take it from you," said Kilroy.
General Young grunted. "Figures."
"Wait." Hamilton frowned. "If you thought... Why take her back?"
Mims glanced sharply at the General's Assistant. "What?"
"Why take her back?" Hamilton repeated. "Why recapture Myrsa if you thought she's doing what you wanted?"
"We didn't," said Mims.
"Someone did," the High Commander told him. "Someone who doesn't show up on sensors. Someone who slaughtered their way to Station Control in under a minute." He fixed a grim eye on Kilroy. "It was Peacekeeper work. I'm sure of it."
"Negative," said Kilroy. "All Peacekeeper units are accounted for. No Peacekeeper units have entered Wet Sector."
"No one else could have done it," the General insisted. "We were sure it was you."
"Negative," the Peacekeeper denied again.
"It wasn't us." Mims agreed.
"Then who?" The General asked. "Because it wasn't anybody human."
The Captain's eyes narrowed. Then they went wide. "When did this happen?"
"About an hour after the Klaath showed up," said the General.
"Kilroy." Mims stood, pulling out his helmet. "How long would it take to get us to Hub 14? "
"Six hours," said the Peacekeeper unit, "forty seven minutes."
"Sorry, General." Mims donned his helmet. "But we're gonna have to cut this short."
"It's a set up." The High Commander stood. "Isn't it?"
"Don't know yet," said the Captain. "But better safe than sorry."

This is the second time this has happened to me with a Gigabyte board, and I am starting to worry if this is common or not, or if it's even common across multiple motherboard manufacturers and not just Gigabyte.
I built a system for my friend back in 2019 with a Gigabyte X570 Aorus Master board, it worked fine but had an apparent GPU failure about two years ago that he needed me to fix. To make sure it wasn't a compatibility issue I updated the BIOS to the latest at the time (F36f) and started having all sorts of crazy BSOD errors that would disappear. Eventually I realized that was happening was that the board was failing to POST due to a RAM issue, then switching to the second BIOS which was a much much older version F4. I disabled the switching and then I finally understood what was happening, the RAM would fail if XMP was enabled. It wasn't rare, it was so bad Windows could not even boot. Downgrading to anything below F35 would work. Gigabyte support just said I should try setting the RAM timings manually, ignoring that their BIOS update broke XMP.
And yesterday I updated my Z490 Aorus Pro AX motherboard from F20 to F23, and started having the same issues. The board worked once, then after that would not even try to boot my OS, it kept giving me a warning that the previous boot attempt failed and to choose to reset BIOS settings or adjust them myself. I also noticed that my RAM timing was listed as 2800 or so even though XMP was enabled and it should have been running at 3600. SO FAR downgrading to F22 seems to have worked, but now I am weary it's going to happen again just like F23 at first worked. And unlike my friend's case, Gigabyte says I cannot downgrade below F21 because they introduced some new "capsule" style of BIOS, whatever that means (The capsule version was also the one that was giving my friend's X570 board issues, but that one had no warning about being unable to downgrade). Going to have to do some further testing but I think having Secure Boot and/or TPM enabled causes the issue on F22 too.
So is this a common thing with Gigabyte boards? So far I have a sample size of two, but I am not exactly a computer shop that can have dozens or hundreds of boards to test out something like this. Where XMP breaks with a BIOS update? Is it just Gigabyte boards or is this common for other brands too? When I tried Googling about BIOS updates breaking XMP I was getting a lot of links to people talking about it happening to their Gigabyte board.

21, female. i’ve been without diagnosis since i was pretty young. various issues that have only gotten worse as i’ve gotten older. doctors don’t believe me, won’t look at my symptoms as a whole, or stop when basic tests come back negative, despite obvious signs something is wrong. i’ve never been tested for more than food allergies and crohn’s. i don’t know if what i have is autoimmune or not, just looking for supportive community right now. i made a post in another subreddit describing my symptoms, just asking if anyone else had been through something similar because i feel so alone and clueless. but my post was removed because it was viewed as seeking a diagnosis. i feel so embarrassed when something like that happens lmao. i’m aware that no one but a doctor can diagnose me, i’m currently in the months long process of trying to see a specialist. sometimes it just feels like i’m the only person in the world going through what i am, but i know that can’t be true. it’s rough out here ya’ll

With the recent malicious plugin news I thought it might be helpful for everyone to write a guide to help people install ComfyUI inside of a Docker container. Docker can be used to run a very stripped down version of Linux on your Windows machine that makes it much harder for malicious plugins to access your private information in Windows. It will make you "safer" but not "safe", you should still be careful when installing plugins.
Doing this can be a bit intimidating, but I will try and break things down as simply as I can, but if something isn't clear, please ask. If you're confused at some point I'm sure others are too. I'm doing this because making this user base as "unexploitable" as possible benefits all of us. The more careful we all are the less appealing it is for people to try, and they can find some other easy target. But, if you're someone who has been willing to learn how to install and use ComfyUI, I'm sure you have the skills to do this as well.
If you are someone who is more technically inclined, I'd appreciate you sanity checking this and helping less technically inclined users out.
Some disclaimers:

1. I am a terrible writer, sorry.
2. Docker has had vulnerabilities before that allowed an exploit in a container that allowed access to Windows. They very actively try and prevent this, but, it can and has happened. I can't guarantee anything. It is very important that you open the docker app and make sure you are up to date frequently. They make updating Docker very easy. (The bottom right of the app when opened will show a black checkmark if you are up to date and the version you are on)
3. I'm not an expert in this, especially when it comes to Window's security. I am an expert in an adjacent field, but, it is still very possible I am not accounting for something massive, this is a genuine attempt to help but I'm not perfect. If anyone sees any part of this that feels wrong or like a mistake, please point it out.
4. The majority of my experience is with Linux, where servers typically have very similar architecture. While I have this working on my Windows machine, I imagine there will be some machines that have quirks that I will not have any idea how to solve, but I will try!
5. This will come with a slight hit to your speed. For me it adds around 5-10% to image generation time, but, you might be worse. (I did ask ChatGPT once if there were things I could do to reduce that penalty, and it said yes, but I've never tried it's suggestions and it might have been hallucinating. If a 5-10% increase isn't worth it to you, look into dual booting instead) - It also adds a pretty significant amount of time to the checkpoint load time. Once the checkpoint loads, you're good, but, if you swap checkpoints a lot, you'll notice it.
6. I anticipate that some of you will run into issues I can't anticipate, you're all effectively guinea pigs. I ran this through myself on a computer I hadn't yet used for ComfyUI, but, that's the only test I have been able to do.
7. I have changed the default port for ComfyUI in this to 8189 from 8188. If you still want 8188, edit both "ComfyUI.Dockerfile" (Line 36) and "Mounted/Scripts/StartComfyUI.sh" (Line 7) in a Linux friendly text editor (Sublime or Notepad++) after step 4. If you use the regular notepad on Windows to edit StartComfyUI.sh you are likely to run into problems.

Thanks for bearing with me through that, let's get started!
You need to have either Windows 10 or Windows 11 for these instructions... it's probably possible on Mac, but, I don't know any of the particulars.
STEP 1: Enable virtualization options in your BIOS
This is going to be different for different motherboards and is going to be one of the trickiest steps to explain. I would assume that any system able to run Stable Diffusion already will have support for it, but I might be wrong and you might have a system that can't do this... luckily if it can't, you should know on Step one! (There are some additional instructions you can look at for this here - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/enable-virtualization-on-windows-11-pcs-c5578302-6e43-4b4b-a449-8ced115f58e1 - including links to some manufacturer specific instructions)

• Getting into the BIOS can be a pain in the butt. The most reliable method I've found is to hold the shift key down while restarting your computer from the start menu. Do not let it go until you're presented with a new menu. From there click "Troubleshoot" then "UEFI Firmware Options". This video shows you how in 7 quick seconds - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCjEDjvniJU - this should restart your computer into your BIOS menu.
• If that doesn't work for you for some reason, you can also try repeatedly alternating hitting f2, f10, f12, delete, and escape while restarting your computer, typically one of those keys will be captured and the bios menu will show up, but it might take several tries.
• Once in the BIOS, look for settings related to CPU, Advanced CPU Configuration, or similar terms. Look for an option that might be listed as VT-x, Intel Virtualization Technology, AMD-V, SVM Mode, or something similar. The exact name can vary depending on whether your CPU is from Intel or AMD. You might have to go through many menus to find it, or you can look it up on YouTube for your particular motherboard. Once you find it, enable it. (If it is already enabled, great!) - If you can't find it, do not change settings in here at whim, you can cause very difficult to fix problems. (For me, it was under a tab titled "M.I.T." -> "Advanced Frequency Settings" -> "Advanced CPU Core Settings" -> "SVM Mode" - see how easy they make it? /s)
• Save your changes and exit the BIOS. This is usually done via "Save & Exit" in the menu or by pressing the F10 key and then confirming your choice to save and restart. The computer will restart with virtualization enabled.

STEP 2: Download and install Docker Desktop for Windows

• Go here: https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/
• Select download for Windows
• Go to your downloads folder and find "Docker Desktop Installer.exe", run it
• During installation you will be presented with a configuration page, make sure "Enable WSL 2 Windows Features" is enabled - alternatively it might say "Use WSL 2 instead of Hyper-V (recommended)" - enable that (Unless you know what you're doing and want Hyper-V, but you probably don't need this tutorial if that's the case)
• Installation will take 5-10 minutes, good time for a restroom break. At the end it will ask you to restart your computer, do it

STEP 3: Docker First Start

• It will ask you to Accept the Docker Subscription Service Agreement (free for small businesses (fewer than 250 employees and less than 10 million in annual revenue), personal use, education, and non-commercial open source projects, otherwise you need a still very reasonably cheap subscription fee) - Accept them
• Use "Recommended Settings" - you will get a "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?" Popup, Click yes.
• As long as you aren't using this for non-commercial purposes you can click "Continue without signing in" - either option is fine though if you'd prefer to set up an account. You might be asked to restart again at this step, if so, do so. (If you have ever used something else for virtualization before, you might hit an error at this step, hopefully just restarting your computer will handle it, if not, let me know and I will try and help you through it, no promises though)

STEP 4. Downloading setup files

• Download this zip file - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L2icIuOpH8ZvLGTp_IMybGuA_i5Lghs7/view?usp=sharing Extract it to C:\ComfyUIDocker - unless you are willing to edit the files in the zip file it has to be in this location. If I wasn't trying to get this all out today I'd probably make it a lot less finicky but, I'm trying to do this very quickly so, that's where it needs to be put now. If you have some reason you do not want it there, let me know and I will walk you through putting it elsewhere.
• I left comments in each file so you can see what each line does, I'd encourage you to look it over and feel free pasting the files into ChatGPT or whatever LLM you'd prefer and asking if they're doing what I say they're doing. I am just another random person on the internet after all. I detail the contents of the Zip file at the end of this post.

STEP 5: Running InitialStep.bat

• Run the file in C:\ComfyUIDocker named "InitialStep.bat" - It will take a while to run (and seem "stuck" for a while for a couple times) - it will require you to press Y to confirm you do want to run it at the start, and then will pause at various points so that IF something goes wrong you can read what went wrong, you must press a key to continue when it pauses.
• Assuming this runs you should only need to run it once - After it has been run once, running it again is destructive! It will attempt to backup your ComfyUI directory, but, if that fails, it will still likely go ahead and overwrite your existing ComfyUI directory. It will remove any existing Docker containers that this script has created before, so, BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO RUN IT ON ACCIDENT. You can however try running it to get a completely clean install - but you might run into new errors! I should be able to help with any you run into though.

STEP 6: Running Run.bat

• Run the file in C:\ComfyUIDocker named "Run.bat" - this is the file you will use to start ComfyUI in the future. ComfyUI will not be at "http://127.0.0.1:8188" like you're used to, it will be at "http://127.0.0.1:8189" instead now. (I used a different port to avoid errors for anyone that still has ComfyUI running in Windows.)

Your created images will show up in C:\ComfyUIDocker\Mounted\Outputs - it will not exist until you create your first image.
I put a Models folder in the zip that you can use to put your checkpoints, loras, etc. I did this so if anyone does want to be able to go back to a clean slate they don't have to worry about it deleting their checkpoints, loras, etc. Because of this, you have to edit the extra_model_paths.yaml in C:\ComfyUIDockeMounted instead of in the normal ComfyUI folder if you want custom paths. You are still able to use the model/* folders inside the normal ComfyUI folder however if you'd like.
Hopefully you've made it here and everything is working. If so, congratulations! You should be able to breathe a lot easier now and you should be able to install plugins normally. Just make sure you use the "Run.bat" file going forward whenever you want to use ComfyUI. You should be able to just close the window that it opens up to shut ComfyUI down.
If you have any questions, at any point, feel free to message me. I cannot promise I will always be able to help, but I'm happy to try.
Zip File Contents
Every file can be opened with a text editor, eg: Sublime or Notepad++

• ComfyUI.Dockerfile - This is a text file with a set of instructions for Docker for installing Linux and installing some necessary programs for ComfyUI (eg: Python)
• InitialStep.bat - bat files are text files that contain a list of commands that Windows will execute in order. This one sets up the initial Docker container
• Run.bat - This file starts up the Docker container created by InitialStep.bat, the container will keep the changes you make to it (eg: installing plugins)
• Mounted folder: This folder will be read/write accessible to ComfyUI and it's plugins, your Output folder will be in here for images, as well as the ComfyUI installation - other than image files, do not open any executable files in this folder from Windows! (Though you can still open the files in a text editor in Windows, just don't run anything)
• Mounted/extra_model_paths.yaml - This is a file ComfyUI will reads to know where to look for model files (in addition to it's defaults)
• Mounted/HFCache folder: Some plugins download files from HuggingFace, they can be easily lost if not in a shared folder, so they will be saved here. Unless you know what you're doing, you should ignore it.
• Mounted/Models folder: I put this here so you can put checkpoints, loras, embeddings, etc, here, so you can always wipe away your ComfyUI install if you want to start over. You can ignore it if you'd prefer.
• Mounted/Scripts folder: I am putting the two Linux scripts that will run in here
• Mounted/Scripts/Initial.sh: This will be started by InitialStep.bat - it downloads ComfyUI and ComfyUI-Manager from github, and installs some requirements for ComfyUI. You can open it in any text editor and review it.
• Mounted/Scripts/StartComfyUI.sh: This file starts ComfyUI and runs every time Run.bat is run.

1. What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games (ex: resolution, FPS, settings) or programs you will be using.

Playing fps/esports games (ex:Fortnite) and aaa titles on 1080p with the most frames as possible. Potentially 1440p in the future.

1. What is your maximum PRE-TAX budget before rebates and shipping?

Around $1500 but can stretch a little bit

1. When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

Immediately

1. What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ex: toweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

Everything but cpu, motherboard and ram. Factor this into the $1500, https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=&item_id=256369

1. If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? How old are they? Brands and models are appreciated.

N/A

1. Will you be overclocking (ex: CPU/GPU/RAM)? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line?

No

1. Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSDs, mass HDDs, Wi-Fi / Bluetooth, VR, VirtualLink, tensor cores, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support,

Use the Canada computer bundle

1. Do you have any specific case preferences (ex: mITX/mATX/mid-towefull-tower sizes, styles, colours, window or not, LED lighting, etc.), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

No

1. Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? Note: some post-secondary students can get Windows 10 for free at OnTheHub or through their school's IT software distribution department.

No

1. Will you be upgrading this PC in the future (ie: will you swap out better parts later on or will you build an entirely new tower later)? If so, when?

Yes, in a few years

1. Do you have a brand preference? (ex: AMD/Intel for CPUs, AMD/NVIDIA for video cards, etc.)

AMD cpu form the bundle, no preference really on gpu

1. What are the specs of your old PC / laptop? Do you want to see if it can be upgraded instead? If so, paste its build from PCPartPicker here.

N/A

1. Extra info or particulars:

N/A

I’ll try to be as brief as possible, forgive me if I don’t.
Back in 2007-2010, I was employed as the HR dept, you know payroll, workers comp, hiring, etc for a steel mfg plant (specializing in crane buckets for large mining rigs) of 100+ employees, I was in an office next to the plant floor (very convenient) for the employees to see me.
In the later part of 2008 there were many personnel changes, two of which were in the front office handling phones and paperwork. The “president” decided to move me into that office space, inconvenient for the plant workers as they had to walk through the offices to see me. I had one of the departments split my door in half so that I can keep people out (bottom half) and still engage me (top half).
Anyway, I somehow was now responsible for answering the phones and processing the sales orders (okay?). At that time I was working with the state labor department, implementing a new hiring process. *please note I have associate degrees in business administration, computer networking and a licensed insurance agent *
By 2010 I was wearing lots of hats (HR, assistant to the safety guy, receptionist, IT, office manager) working long hours to stay on top of my workload (I was hourly).
Enter an Australian mining company, they wanted our plant to hire industry specialists. One of these guys had a major attitude towards me (at his beck and call).
Shortly before the Australians arrival things were getting “toxic”. The president had a major cussing screaming match with one of department heads, I should have stepped in but didn’t.
It was at this time I kept getting calls from our 401k agent saying that they weren’t getting the funds collected from payroll. Numerous times I asked our accountant why? After all the employees contributed their money into it, as did the president, accountant and me (WTF?). You’re stealing!
By this time I was starting to have a meltdown, how was I to approach the Australians about what was really going on?
Hindsight I should have.
So the guy I kept bumping heads with came to my door and “told me” I had a new project that he wants me to do. I lost it. “How in the hell can you assign me to a project without f**** consulting with me first?!” I could no longer handle the pressure.
Okay. Our recently hired “nurse” heard my outburst as did the president and one of the reps from Australia. They stared at me while I repeated why I wasn’t included in the conversation to increase my already significant workload without a much deserved raise…
So at some point the nurse called for an ambulance seeing that I was in full meltdown, psych ward here I come.
Now here I am in the psych ward hopefully to decompress. Boy was I mistaken, my first full day was interrupted by a phone call, not once but three times. “They” had no clue how to do my job, like duh.
By the third day of my stay “they” called me, one of my coworkers wanted to know how to enter their increased wages now that she’s the office manager, whatever.
During my stay “they” were calling me 3-4 times a day. I’m like hello? I’m in the psych ward for a meltdown… leave me the f*** alone!!
After my stay I went to visit my mom to recover, which of course didn’t stop the phone calls. Finally, after two days at my mom’s I get “a call”, that was it I’m done, I told them I was not coming back except to get my stuff.
The plant closed 2011, guess I bailed at the right time.
Sorry my story is so long, I’ve been harboring resentment, obliviously.