Drobo Pro - Can't Access Files After it is detected by Windows 7 and not detected by Drobo Dashboard - What a Nightmare!!

Story - What a Nightmare!!
I initiated a large folder copy, and move operation to backup a folder on my C:\ drive to my Z:\ drive (Drobo Pro backup).  Windows popped open the normal copy window with the normal calculation... message.  I waited, and waited, and waited, about 10-20 minutes, and the window had still not finished calculating, and still didn't start copying/moving the files.  I decided to wait another 30min-1 hr (forgot exactly how long), when I came back, windows still didn't start moving the files!  Okay, now I'm getting really impatient!!  I decide to cancel the move operation, and windows opened it's cancel window, but nothing happened... waited again, and still nothing happened, already having lost my patience, I decided to force Windows Explorer to shutdown.  It stopped responding, and wouldn't shutdown.  I tried to end the task via 'Task Manager', and it still wouldn't shutdown.  The only thing I saw happen was that the windows task bar disspeared, and everything was frozen on my computer.

Next, I decided to shutdown my computer via the windows key on my keyboard since I lost access to the windows taskbar.  No response.

Last resort, I held down the computer power button until my computer powered off.  I turned it back on after waiting 30 seconds.  I can't remember if Drobo turned off or not at this point.  Anyways, the computer booted back up, but now the Drobo volumes could not be accessed even with 'Drobo Dashboard' displaying the drive, and 2 volumes.

I took off the cover plate on my 'Drobo Pro', and the 2 lights were solid green.  I waited for the 'Activity' light to turn off, but it never did, and I wasn't copying anything to the drive after the reboot, and there were no other flashing LED lights for each drive, so now that I can't access the drive, and I've determined it's not busy, I use the power button on the back of the device to power it off.

Next, I power it back on after it had powered off.  It came back on, but strangely the number of blue lights had reduced from 4 LEDs to 3 LEDs.  This scared me a bit, thinking it could only mean that there was data loss!  This started a slow panic.  I still wasn't sure if the data was lost or not, so I tried to keep my cool.

Next, windows detected my drive, but strangely 'Drobo Dashboard' did not.  Uh, oh, now what?  I clicked on the Y:\ volume, and it displayed the content.  Then I clicked on the other volume Z:\ and explorer stopped responding.  I wasn't able to access my files, uh oh!!
* Now I'm really considering that I've lost all my files, I start to panic!!

Google
I head onto Google to do a search to see if anyone has ever had this problem.  I don't come across any postings that list a crash after a failed copy command, with the drives no longer responding, and Drobo Dashboard no longer detecting 'Drobo Pro'.
* I did multiple searches, and even followed the directions on the following 3 drobo forum pages, but it didn't work:

http://support.drobo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/621
http://support.drobo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/445/session/L2F2LzEvdGltZS8xMzg4MzcxOTMwL3NpZC9Za0NUdzRKbA%3D%3D
http://support.drobo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/161

I didn't call tech support, as I no longer have the free support.  I think my unit is 3-4 years old, so it's long expired.  Though, I was highly considering the call.

I felt like I was having a nightmare, and started thinking of all the data that would be lost if I couldn't get the Drobo to come back; Photos, files, videos, going back to who knows when that I've never burned up on disc.  Oh boy, I was really regretting not doing that now!  My thought now was, if I get this to start working again, I'm going to buy everything onto DVDs!

I spent the next hour or so, rebooting my computer after it froze from trying to access Drobo, and rebooting Drobo each time as well.  I must have tried this 3 times before deciding it wasn't a problem that could be fixed with a fresh 'shutdown/reboot' of both my computer, and the 'Drobo Pro Unit'.
* now what??

Solution
* Perform at your own risk, I will not be responsible for anything that goes wrong!!  I only know that the following is what I tried, and what worked for me.  Be very careful when removing your Hard Disk Drives that Drobo is off, otherwise it will think the drive failed, and attempt to rebuild, or even fail and you may lose all your data
1. Running on desperation, I decided to do something I wouldn't dare do, but that I read about a long time ago about how you can move your drives from one drobo unit to another.  And from something I had just read from one of the forum pages about what a normal Drobo boot looks like, I decided do the following because I want to see if my Drobo Unit is still good or not.  I also know that removing all my drives with Drobo turned off is okay, as long as they are all reinserted with the power off, before the power is switched back on (as if moving from one unit to another):
i) I shutdown my drobo unit with no activity lights on, using the switch at the back of drobo
ii) After it turned off fully, I popped out every drive that I had in the unit, far enough so that none of them would be detected in the unit
iii) I rebooted my computer - for safety measures (probably not needed, but I did it anyways)
iv) After my computer booted up fully, I turned on 'Drobo', and without any drives installed, it booted very quickly, and lit up one drive LED in red (I didn't take note of what the other LED colours were)
* you may want to remove the power cord for safe measures, to make sure Drobo is fully off
* this seemed normal, so I concluded that there was nothing wrong with my unit
v) Next, I used the power button on Drobo to power it back off
vi) With the 'Drobo Unit' fully off, I reinsert all drives into the Drobo Unit, making sure they all drives are fully inserted
* you may want to remove the power cord for safe measures, to make sure Drobo is fully off
vii) Next, I power on the 'Drobo Unit', and wait it boot
viii) It powers on successfully, but I notice that there are still only 3 LED blue lights instead of 4, but in Windows 7, I'm able to access the files on each of the 2 volumes in my Drobo ... relief at last!!
* knowing this, I suspect the 4th blue LED light is off because the Dual Redundancy checkbox must have been unchecked by the issue at some point
* I check the Drobo Dashboard menu, Drobo Settings > General, and what do you know, the 'Dual Redundancy' was unchecked, so I rechecked it, and clicked 'OK' to save my change
* the lights blue lights changed from 3 to 4
ix) The array appears to need to rebuild itself, estimating 4 hours

Closing Comments
So relieved!!  I can't even believe that the random (thought) removal of the drives, and reinserting them was what fixed the issue, but Boy! am I happy it did!!  I felt like my heart was going to stop for a moment there when I thought all my data was lost!
* so glad I didn't have to call tech support too as I've read many bad reviews on the support provided

To Do List
1. Burn all files in my Drobo Pro to disc - JUST IN CASE!!  :0)

(Please leave your questions, and comments, I'd like to hear if this helped anyone else.)

Setting up my 2nd Drobo 5N

Note: Second Drobo 5N Device Configuration Story
* This is a continuation of my first posting.  This is an update on how my 2nd Drobo 5N setup went.

Story
Even though I knew that a 'Reset' of the Drobo settings would probably make this Drobo recognize the drives, I wanted to see if I could capture the error messages that I didn't capture in the first Drobo 5N setup.  Drobo behaved differently, possibly due to me already attempting to set it up previously but failing to do so.  Yes, so this is actually my 2nd attempt to setup this Drobo 5N.

Here's what happened with this unit.

1. I decided to follow the quick start guide this time.  I put the 2 hard drives (2 TB) into the top 2 slots as shown in the quick start guide.
2. Having already updated the Dashboard software on my computer, I connected the Network cable to the device and the other end was connected to the router.  I connected the power cable, and then turned the device on.
3. Strangely, it only detected the drive in the 2nd slot down , and then it entered data protection mode, and took 1 hour to run, even though there was no data in the drives
* it's like it detected the top most drive, but couldn't recognize it, and saw the 2nd drive, and was able to install it, so it might of thought that drive 1 just died or something along those lines

Below is a screen capture of what I saw in the Dashboard.  It says to add a drive to the top bay, but I had a good working drive already in that slot.

4. Next, I decided to do a full reboot of the Drobo 5N device to see if it picks up the top drive.  When it finished rebooting, the lights on the unit were solid red.  Here's the error messages I got next from the Dashboard:

Error Message - Drobo Dashboard
You may have removed or replaced too many hard drives from your Drobo at the same time. Re-insert the hard drives you removed. Important! When removing or replacing hard drives, make sure you remove or replace them one at a time. Never remove a drive when the drive bay indicators are blanking green and yellow.

Error Message - Error Popup Window (bottom corner)
Drobo doesn't recognize some of the drives you have installed in the data bays. They may have been previously formatted by Drobo or are from another Drobo. To troubleshoot, please consult the User's Guide or visit http://www.drobo.com/support.

 

5. Seeing how I could not get the exact same error messages from my first Drobo 5N setup, and seeing how Drobo 5N wasn't able to detect my hard drives even though they are good drives that should work in the device, I decided to apply my solution that I found from my first Drobo 5N configuration, i.e. Reset the device to factory defaults from the Drobo Dashboard

Solution

6.  Reset the device to factory defaults from the Drobo Dashboard

* Drobo Dashboard > Tools > Drobo Reset > 'Drobo Reset'

7. When the Reset of the Drobo 5N completed, the hard drive lights were all green, and the device was ready to go!!

Hope this helps those of you out there that have encountered this error, and like me spent hours trying to solve it!  

If you found this posting helpful, please leave me a comment!

Thank you for visiting!  Hope you have a good day!

Drobo 5N - Initial Setup Issues - It doesn't recognize my Computer Hard Drives!!

Story
I bought 2 brand new Drobo 5N's recently from TigerDirect.ca for Christmas presents for my sisters.  They were on sale at a good price, good for Drobos anyways. Still high, but it was within the range I was willing to pay for them. It took only 3 days to receive them, not counting the weekend.  I ordered them Friday, and they came Wednesday, today.

I was so excited to open them up, and setup them up with the 2 TB hard drives that I pulled out of my unit.  I had 4 of them ready to go.  I didn't think it would take so long to get the unit up and working, so I started working on it at 10pm. To my surprise, I had so much problems with it that I stayed up until 12:30am on a work night! Yikes! I'm the kind of person that has to solve problems with my computer once I've encounter it, so I got stuck working on it until I fixed it around 12:00am.

Anyways, I should continue with my story.  I opened up the first box, and it was nicely packaged.  I took the unit out. It was smaller than expected, which was nice, since my sister's don't like the big and bulky electronics.  Since having the DroboPro, I decided to not follow the instructions exactly, since it's a pretty smart unit, and it just auto-detects hard drives when they are inserted.  So, here's what I did.

1. I plugged in the network cable
2. I plugged in the power (with no hard drives installed yet)
3. I started my dashboard, but it didn't see my Drobo
* forgot that I had turned off 'auto-discovery', so I turned it back on
* you can access the 'Drobo Discovery Settings' from the 'All Drobos' tab
4. After I turned it on, it found the Drobo 5N which was connected to my router
* though, it showed the Drobo 5N as a 4 Drive Bay Drobo 
4. So, with the Drobo still connected, I visited their website,
    http://www.drobo.com/start/drobo-5n-start.php
and downloaded the latest software version 2.5.2 for windows.
5. After it finished downloading, I ran the install without uninstalling the previous version
* it did ask me if it could have permission to shutdown, and restart the Drobo Windows Service, and Dashboard when it finishes the install.  I clicked OK
6. It completed the installation successfully without issues

Next Issue: Drobo Requires Initialization
1. It reported that 'Drobo requires Initialization'
2. I didn't know what that meant, so I searched google, and found nothing... that wasn't helpful
3. Running on a hunch, I took the drives out, and put them into my StarTech.com Hard Drive dock, and found that 2 of the drives had not been initialized, and the others needed to be formatted
* I stuck one drive into the drive dock at a time, and had the 'Computer Disk Manager' open
** in windows 7, you can get to it if you click on the Windows Button > Right Click 'Computer', and Select 'Manage', then from the list on the left, under 'Storage', select 'Disk Management'
4. With this window open, when I put in the drives that required initialization, it immediately popped up a window asking if I wanted to initialize the drive
* for the first one, I didn't know if it was the correct drive, so I clicked 'no'
* I scrolled down to the drive, and where it lists the title 'Disk #', if you right click there, you can choose to initialize the drive, and then I chose MBR (i.e. Master Boot Record)
* After I initialized it, I did a quick format
* I repeated for all drives

5. I turned Drobo 5N off, then I put the drives back into the Drobo 5N unit, then after I put the drives in, I turned it back on
* I had found an article on the internet that said Barracuda drives can take up to 20 minutes to initialize (Drobo Forum), so I was patient and I waited, and waited.  When it was done, all lights were solid red, and it said it didn't recognize the drives I had installed.  It said I should get the latest firmware updates.
* I followed the instructions, and found out that I had the latest firmware already, so I didn't need the update, but what that appeared to mean was that my hard drives won't work in this unit, that I would have to go out to buy brand new ones - I definitely could not afford to spend anymore money on these Christmas Presents... so... as a last resort, I tried the following.  See 'My Solution' below.

My Solution
I was so fed up at this point that I was willing to try anything.  I was looking through the 'Tools' menu, and thought that maybe a 'Reset' of the 'Drobo' back to factory default setting might do the trick.  And low and behold, it worked!!!
* I reset my unit with the hard drives installed, with the Drobo dashboard reporting that it can't recognize the drives installed
* After the reset, all lights turned green, and the unit was ready to go!!
** I was sooo happy at this point, that I had to write about it!! :0)

Man! The unit had me worried for a very long time. I thought I would have to return it. Instead of an easy 10 minute setup, I spent 2-2.5 hours debugging, trying different things with my hard drives.  I even pull another one out of my DroboPro to see if it would work in the 5N before the reset, and it didn't.  Now I've got to wait for my DroboPro to rebuild itself... uurrrgghhh!!  It estimates 14 hours!  Darn it!

Here's how the dashboard looked after the Reset completed:

Well, I guess the best thing is that I now know what to do to setup the other Drobo 5N.  Start with the 'Tools' > Reset > Erase'.  Hopefully that setup will go a lot more smoothly.

Drobo's Solution
I later found this on Google, but it was after I had already found the solution myself.  I reviewed it, and I think it says to perform more steps than needed, probably to be safe.  My solution worked with just the Reset.  I didn't even have to reboot my computer.  See link below:
1. http://support.drobo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/683/kw/drive


Hope this article helps you out!  If it does, let me know.  It helps motivate me to write about more issues I've encountered, and solutions I've come up with. :0)

Alienware - Door Controller has stopped working

Issue
After installing the latest Alienware Command Centre I encountered this strange error on booting into windows. The lights on my Alienware Case stopped working, and it stopped reporting internal temperature, fan speed, and all that jazz.

Though, like a lot of things, it didn't bother me too much at first, but after a 3 weeks of seeing this error, I decided to look into what it could be.  It seems the latest version that I updated to has some sort of bug in it.

Looking for the Alienware Commend Centre Software
- NOTE: This didn't work, don't follow it, see section below named Solution: Found Alienware Command Centre - using Good Old Google!:

I didn't know where to get the Alienware Command Centre, so:
1. I looked to see if I had the CD that came with my Alienware desktop computer, but I didn't see any disk that included it.
2. Next, I went to the Support.Alienware.com website, strangely it redirected me to Alienware's home page instead of taking me to their support page.  That irritated me.  Nonetheless, I hovered the mouse over "Support" and clicked on "Device Drivers and Downloads" from the dropdown menu.

Next I selected the following from the dropdown lists:
* http://support.alienware.com/Support_Pages/Restricted_Pages/driver_downloads.aspx

1. Select an Operating System: Windows 7 x64 (you should choose your own OS)
2. Select a Component: Desktop Systems
3. Select a Manufacturer: Alienware(TM) Corporation
4. Select an item: <Select the desktop you purchased>

Click Search 

Clicked on Drivers and Downloads, and it took me to Dell's general support website...  
* GRRR, what the heck are they doing????

Oh my goodness!  Can they make it any more harder to find!?

Solution

Found Alienware Command Centre (using Good Old Google!)
1. From here, I decided to use google to search for the Alienware Command Centre
* typed into google:  alienware command center download

2. Then I clicked on the 2nd link as it showed a newer version of the Command Centre 2.7.25.0
http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/driverdetails?driverid=39XW1

3. Click 'Download File'

4. Uninstall Current Version of Alienware Command Center
1. Windows 7 > Windows Button (Start) > Control Panel > Programs and Features
* Alienware Command Center, click to select it from the list
* Click Uninstall button (above)
* Click to 'Remove All'
* Click Next until it starts, and finishes

2. When it was done, I rebooted my computer for good measure

3. I found the 'Alienware Command Center 2.7.25.0" (.exe) file that I downloaded from the Dell's website, and double clicked it to run it (where ever you saved it)
* follow the prompts, and click next until it starts installation
* at the end, it will reboot your computer

4. When Windows is finished rebooting the 'Door Controller..." Error will come up again.
* at this point, I thought "OMG", but then I tried to "Repair" the installation
* go into Control Panel > Programs and Features > Alienware Command Center, click to select it from the list
* Click Uninstall button (above), but this time, Select the option to repair/reinstall the program
* Click Next until it starts, and finishes

5. When it's done repairing, it will reboot the computer

6. For me, when it came back into Windows, everything was working again!
* No stupid "Door Controller..." error, and my lights worked again, and all the other monitoring systems in the 'Alienware Command Center' worked again.

Time Wasted
It took me 1.5 hours, but I tried the repair option with my first install without uninstalling it fully, and in that instance, it didn't work.  The problem only went away after a full uninstall, and reinstall, followed by the repair.  Weird if you ask me.  They really should fix their installer!!

Okay, hope this helps those of you out there that have encountered this problem!

Have a good day!


Dieu

Looking for a taskbar for Multiple Monitors?

Story
This ones going to be short, as I just want to share my findings.  This short posting is about the 3 Multiple Monitor taskbar programs I've tried.

Short Reviews

Multi-Monitor (Free Version)

* they have a free version, and it use to look good back when the main windows task bar wasn't translucent, but now, it looks dull, old and boring
* this is the first program I used which a fellow colleague at work referred me to way back when.  It was free at the time.  I think they didn't have the paid version yet.
* If you like dull and boring, this ones for you

Here's the link to their website:
* http://www.mediachance.com/free/multimon.htm

To Download
Click the download tab, scroll down a bit, and choose which version you want.  I'm not into paying for things, and so I tried only the free version

Actual Multiple Monitors
* this one has only a trial version for 30 days or so, and by the halfway point a dialog will open up each time windows boots up, and ask you to buy, enter your code, or continue.  I found this most annoying!
* this is one of the best task bars I've tried.  It has the nice windows 7 look and feel, and it also has the Windows Start button on it, so if you want to get at the Start Menu, you don't have to move your mouse back to the main monitor to get at it
* big downside is that there is no free version
* by day 22, I uninstalled it and looked for a free version

Here's the link in case your are interested, and possibly interested in buying it:
http://www.actualtools.com/multiplemonitors/download/

To Download
1. Scroll down the the 'Current Version' table, and click the link under file name to start downloading

Dual Monitor (Open Source) - *** RECOMMENDED!!
* I found this free Windows taskbar today that I never knew was freely available, so I got excited, and wanted to share it, hence this posting. 
* what this program does is extend your current task bar onto other monitors that you have extended your desktop to. It doesn't have the 'Windows Start Button', but it does have the nice Windows 7 look and feel which is important to me
* most importantly, it's FREE!

If you are interested in getting a taskbar that works, looks good, and your don't have to pay for, here's the link:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/dualmonitortb/

It says they've tested it with: Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7.  I currently have it installed on my machine which runs Windows 7.  If you don't have either one of these, then try it at your own risk.

To Download
Click the big green download button

Conclusion / Recommendations
I guess now-a-days, with the internet, and Open-Source, everyone should really look long and hard for free Open-Source tools, testing them out to see if they suite your needs, before paying a cent for Software. 

I recommend you trying out the "Dual Monitor" open source product.  It might just be what you've been looking for and need.

Though, maybe if you have so many monitors that moving your mouse back to the main one to get at the start button, and you don't have a Windows key on your keyboard, it may be worth your time to check out the "Actual Multiple Monitor" software product.

Hope this posting was helpful! :0)

Shopping for a Streaming Media Box Player

(I meant to post this earlier on this year, when I did the research, but never got around to it.  I still feel that what I found, and would buy to still be the same, so I decided to finish the posting, and post it)
 
Here's my Story
Last year 2012, during boxing day shopping I helped my older sister pick out a new Media Box with very limited knowledge of them, and their capabilities. I had read only a bit on the Roku XS, XD version, and I know my brother-in-law a different device that plays files only.  Other than that, I didn't know very much about them.  I ended up telling my sister that she should buy the 'Roku XS', and if that doesn't work, she can return it to get the 'Boxee'.

We tried out the 'Roku' after she purchased it, and it worked to play the media files that she bought the device to play.  I decided at that time that it probably wasn't worth looking any further into it, to see what other media files it can play.  Boy! was that a mistake!  I found out later that it only plays 2 formats, or something like that.  It's great at streaming as a lot of articles I read say, but it isn't so good at playing files or different formats.

Leading to Conclusion
After looking and comparing Roku, Sony, WD Media Player, and some other media devices, I can't remember the names of the others, but there were a lot I looked at, I think the 'Boxee' has the best mix of apps, media streaming, and file compatibility, and price.  Though it's actually one of the more expensive ones.  At the time I compared, Sony was the only one selling for more.  Still $200 CA isn't bad I don't think for the functionality and features that you get with the device.

Conclusion/Recommendations
Well, if I were to buy a media device, I would go out and buy the Boxee, the version that plays nearly all the media type files.  I think they have a new one coming out at some point that may not be able to play as many media file types, so I wouldn't get that one, and I read that you may have to pay monthly for some sort of service.  I'm not a fan of paying monthly for anything, we all have enough expenses as is.

So, for me, Boxee wins, it's my choice for media players, and the one I would buy if I wanted to own one.

Research Results for Helping my Friend Find a Good Laptop around $530 CA in London, Ontario, Canada

I'm posting my email that I composed to my friend where I did some research to compare laptop offerings from the 3 major stores in London. I'm posting it just in case anyone else is looking for a laptop similar in criteria to what my friend was looking for.  I did some comparisons between the 3 major stores in London, Ontario, and the following are my findings.

Criteria First

* Around $530.97

* 14" if possible, 15" otherwise

* Processor around 2.7 GHz (2 core)

* 4 GB RAM, or more

* 500 GB HD, or more

* Video Card, doesn't matter, mostly word processing

* Sound Card, doesn't matter

* other inputs/outputs, doesn't matter

Hey Friend,

I was looking at some laptops in your price range for you, and I'd recommend these

But first, you said price-wise, you want to spend only $600 (includes taxes, and enviro fee)

$600 / 1.13 (taxes) = $530.97

* [I'm not going to subtract Enviro fee, because I don't know how much it would be for a laptop]

Also Note that they do charge a premium for 14" laptops because they are smaller, and more convenient.  It might also have something to do with smaller electronics in it, that cause the price to be higher, which is why going with the mainstream size of 15" is better.  Battery life on 15.4" seems to all be averaging 4.5-5 hours.

Futureshop Offerings

1. Toshiba Satallite 17.3" Laptop $529.99 - Refurbished

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/toshiba-toshiba-satellite-17-3-laptop-silver-intel-core-i3-2328m-640gb-hdd-6gb-ram-windows-8-refurb-pskflc-00n007/10248744.aspx?path=c6f7e23b8134201cfee8c09f056a7b4cen02&SearchPageIndex=1

Notes

* I know this one has a big screen which you may not want

* battery only lasts up to 4 hours

* refurbished, but honestly, I would buy refurbished.  My ipod is refurbished, and it works fine

* everything else checks out

2. Lenovo IdeaPad 15.6" Laptop $529.99 - Refurbished

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/lenovo-lenovo-ideapad-z580-15-6-laptop-grey-intel-core-i3-2370m-750gb-hdd-4gb-ram-english-refurb-z580/10234982.aspx?path=1871a020c8b16bdfbdce6aeb36aed446en02&SearchPageIndex=1

Notes

* Up to 5 hours on battery

* everything else checks out

3. Lenovo Ideapad 15.6" Laptop 2.5 GHz 750GB HD 6GB Ram $549.99 - Refurbished

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/lenovo-lenovo-ideapad-15-6-laptop-grey-intel-core-i5-3210m-750gb-hdd-6gb-ram-english-refurbished-p580/10232141.aspx?path=e195f6284d3c9cc9fcb8cf7426966349en02&SearchPageIndex=1

3. HP Pavilion 15.6" Laptop 2.4 GHz $549.99  

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/hewlett-packard-hp-pavilion-15-6-laptop-silver-intel-core-i3-3110m-750gb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-8-g6-2235ca/10242259.aspx?path=d0a59630434d160aeabfcddcf4f73017en02&SearchPageIndex=1

* If you don't want Refurbished this would be the best choice from Futureshop

3. Asus 15.6" Laptop 2.4 GHz $549 - Web Only

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/asus-asus-15-6-laptop-black-intel-core-i3-3110m-500gb-hdd-6gb-ram-windows-8-english-k55a-dh31-ca/10235667.aspx?path=9d696d6171076d73f7753e5e087bc187en02&SearchPageIndex=1

Notes

* Up to 5 hours on battery

* everything else checks out

14" Laptop

4. Toshiba 14" Laptop 2.4 GHz $649.99

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/toshiba-toshiba-satellite-pro-14-laptop-black-intel-core-i3-3120m-4gb-ram-320gb-hdd-windows-8-english-c840-003/10241759.aspx?path=32da5017722d3aac1b28473b2109fda9en02&SearchPageIndex=1

Notes

* has the 14" screen you want

* Up to 4 hours on battery

* over budget

* everything else checks out

Staples Offerings

I just looked at Staples, and found 2 good contenders.  The speed of the processors isn't as fast as I specified (2.7 GHz), but for you, maybe it could be fast enough since you don't need too much speed.  Staples has some good refurbished ones too, but I'm not going to write them up, because I don't think you want refurbished. See below:

*1. Acer Aspire 15.6" Laptop 2.5 GHz Intel Core i3-3120M, 4GB Ram, 500 GB HDD, $399.93 - OUT OF STOCK
* on sale until 7/23/2013 - that price is discounted $100
http://www.staples.ca/en/Acer-Aspire-156-Laptop-25GHz-Intel-Core-i3-3120M-4GB-RAM-500GB/product_169408_2-CA_1_20001

Notes
* Bad thing is it is out of stock
* but if you don't need the laptop right away, and if they give out rain checks, I'd buy this one.  It's way below your budget, and it looks like it would be a pretty good laptop!
* good bang for your buck!

*2. Toshiba 15.6" Laptop, 2.2GHz 2nd Generation Intel Core i3-2328M, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD $449.98 (on sale $50 off until 7/23/2013)
http://www.staples.ca/en/Toshiba-156-Laptop-22GHz-2nd-Generation-Intel-Core-i3-2328M-8GB-RAM/product_100171_2-CA_1_20001

Notes
* This one's in stock according to the website (as of 7/19/2013 @ 8:33 pm est)
* everything else checks out
* and it's under your budget

3. Toshiba 15.6" Laptop, 2.40GHz Intel Core i3-3110M, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD $549
http://www.staples.ca/en/Toshiba-156-Laptop-240GHz-Intel-Core-i3-3110M-8GB-RAM-500GB-HDD/product_75524_2-CA_1_20001
* this one's comparable to the ones at the same price at futureshop, except this one has 8 GB RAM (more), but less Hard Drive space 500 HDD

TigerDirect Offerings

**!BEST Match!**
1. Acer TravelMate TMP243-M-6456 Notebook PC - 3rd generation Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5GHz, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, 14 in. Display, Windows 8 64-bit $549 - $20 coupon XND95647 (7/21/2013) = $529.99
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7980799&CatId=4935
* best match for my friend
* small at 14"
* fast 2.5 GHz, 2 core
* enough ram
* 500 GB HDD - 7200 rpm - faster than the usual

!Fastest Processor of the Bunch of 15"!
2. Lenovo IdeaPad Z500 Notebook PC - 3rd generation Intel Core i5-3230M 2.6GHz, 6GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, DVDRW, 15.6" Display, Windows 8 (59361311) $549
* fastest processor of the bunch!!
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7787088&CatId=4935
* fastest processor in all the 15" laptops I looked at

3. Acer TravelMate TMP453-M-6863 Notebook PC - 3rd generation Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5GHz, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, 15.6 in. Display, Windows 8 $549
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7980800&CatId=4935
* comparable to the other 15" laptops at the other stores

Summary

From TigerDirect

Limited time offer!! only until 7/21/2013

* 1. Acer TravelMate TMP243-M-6456 Notebook PC - 3rd generation Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5GHz, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, DVDRW, 14 in. Display, Windows 8 64-bit $529.99 [$20 coupon XND95647 (7/21/2013)]
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7980799&CatId=4935

* I think this one meets what you were looking for, small laptop 14", good processor, fast HDD, enough memory!

!Fastest Processor of the Bunch!
2. Lenovo IdeaPad Z500 Notebook PC - 3rd generation Intel Core i5-3230M 2.6GHz, 6GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, DVDRW, 15.6" Display, Windows 8 (59361311) $549 (fastest processor of the bunch)
 http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7787088&CatId=4935

OR

From Staples
* If you want to stay on budget, and can wait for stock, I'd recommend buying from Staples if they offer a rain check

*1. Acer Aspire 15.6" Laptop 2.5 GHz Intel Core i3-3120M, 4GB Ram, 500 GB HDD, $399.93 (on sale until 7/23/2013 - that price is discounted $100) - Out of stock
http://www.staples.ca/en/Acer-Aspire-156-Laptop-25GHz-Intel-Core-i3-3120M-4GB-RAM-500GB/product_169408_2-CA_1_20001

Or if you want to get one under budget, and don't mind it being slightly slower:
*2. Toshiba 15.6" Laptop, 2.2GHz 2nd Generation Intel Core i3-2328M, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD $449.98 (on sale $50 off until 7/23/2013)http://www.staples.ca/en/Toshiba-156-Laptop-22GHz-2nd-Generation-Intel-Core-i3-2328M-8GB-RAM/product_100171_2-CA_1_20001


From Futureshop

* 3. HP Pavilion 15.6" Laptop 2.4 GHz $549.99 (If you prefer not to buy refurbished)

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/hewlett-packard-hp-pavilion-15-6-laptop-silver-intel-core-i3-3110m-750gb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-8-g6-2235ca

If Refurbished is okay, any of the 15.4" or the 17.3" above would be good choices listed above.

If you want the smaller laptop 14", the one I mentioned above would be a great choice from TigerDirect, the one from staples is more expensive.  Many of the others that are 14" have really slow processors in them, which is why their costs is lower, and why they last longer on battery.  If you have patience for a slower machine, then consider it, but I honestly think it would be a waste of money. 

* I recommend getting the one from TigerDirect for 14" before the deal ends on Sunday (only 2 days from now - today being 7/19/2013)
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7980799&CatId=4935

I hope this helps!  Those are the 3 major competitor stores.  If you are willing to buy online, DELL usually has good deals, and they sometimes have more bang for your buck.