Sharepoint 2013 RTM standalone installation issue

I am installing SP 2013 standalone on a Dev VM. It failed at Create Sample Data step

Exception: System.ArgumentException: The SDDL string contains an invalid sid or a sid that cannot be translated.

Resolution:
Step 1 - Go to this folder, create a share, give "everyone" access.
C:\Program Files\Windows SharePoint Services\15.0\Data\Analytics_someGUID
This is my local Dev VM, so I am not too concern about security best practices here :-)

Step 2 - Run the Config Wizard again. No more error – setup was successful.

My thanks to this post
http://kbdump.com/sharepoint2013-standalone-config-error-create-sample-data/

Ping Azure VM

By default, Ping, tracert are disabled in Windows Azure VM. There are a few posts over the Internet on how to enable Ping by configuring Firewall rules on your VM and/or EndPoint configuration.

The simpler way to test connectivity to your VM is to use tcping.exe

http://www.elifulkerson.com/projects/tcping.php
tcping.exe is a small console application that operates similarly to 'ping', however it works over a tcp port. 

Example Output:
D:\tcping-devel>tcping www.reddit.com
Probing 72.14.204.104:80/tcp - Port is open - time=23.285ms
Probing 72.14.204.104:80/tcp - Port is open - time=21.651ms
Probing 72.14.204.104:80/tcp - Port is open - time=21.899ms
Probing 72.14.204.104:80/tcp - Port is open - time=21.789ms
Ping statistics for 72.14.204.104:80
     4 probes sent.
     4 successful, 0 failed.
Approximate trip times in milli-seconds:
     Minimum = 21.651ms, Maximum = 23.285ms, Average = 22.156ms

Here is the Ping to my Azure VM (from Vietnam to VM hosted in East Asia Region)

D:\MyPrograms\Apps>tcping hostname.cloudapp.net 3389
Probing 168.33.150.175:3389/tcp - Port is open - time=66.740ms
Probing 168.33.150.175:3389/tcp - Port is open - time=64.787ms
Probing 168.33.150.175:3389/tcp - Port is open - time=65.805ms
Probing 168.33.150.175:3389/tcp - Port is open - time=69.730ms
Ping statistics for 168.33.250.175:3389
     4 probes sent.
     4 successful, 0 failed.
Approximate trip times in milli-seconds:
     Minimum = 64.787ms, Maximum = 69.730ms, Average = 66.765ms

Windows 8 Color Scheme

A handy table for color codes using in Windows 8 / Windows Phone 8 New UI Design

Magenta - #FF0097	Purple - #A200FF	Teal - #00ABA9	Lime - #8CBF26	Brown - #A05000
Pink - #E671B8	Orange - #F09609	Blue - #1BA1E2	Red - #E51400	Green - #339933

Magenta - #FF0097 | 255,0,151
Purple - #A200FF | 162,0,255
Teal - #00ABA9 | 0,171,169
Lime - #8CBF26 | 140,191,38
Brown - #A05000 | 160,80,0
Pink - #E671B8 | 230,113,184
Orange - #F09609 | 240,150,9
Blue - #1BA1E2 | 27,161,226
Red - #E51400 | 229,20,0
Green - #339933 | 51,153,51

And another table for light colors

Light Blue - #00B4F0	Orange: #FF8100	Green: #B2D306	Red: #E81123	Gray: #999999