ALAN testing nightmare........................!

[Kyle]

Just successfuly sat 40 kids through this this morning.

All worked fine after installing it on the server.

[Quackers]

Originally Posted by plexer

Quackers: What did you use to create the msi?

WinInstall LE, the one thats on the Windows 2000 Server CD.

[plexer]

Tried that and didn't get a successful capture.

Ben

[plexer]

Ok found another way someone mentioned they couldn't create an answer file for this.

You can you need to run the following command:

\\eserver01\esm_test_centre$\Updates\AdmSetup.exe /a /r

This will create a setup.iss file in the c:\windows directory on the machine you run it on. This is because it's in package for the web format.

To install it using your answer file copy that file to esm_test_centre$ share and run:

\\eserver01\esm_test_centre$\Updates\AdmSetup.exe /s /a /s /sms

For a complete silent install.

Ben

[plexer]

Or you can pull out the files from the temp directory and just use those to record from and install from.

If you've recorded an answer file from the pftw you can use it with the setup.exe you'll find in temp directory by using:

setup.exe /s /sms

Ben

[Oops_my_bad]

I just can't believe they expect you to install the program with a share that needs full permissions granting to everyone - talk about suicidal

[Quackers]

For everyone else who is unhappy with the peice of junk, i just ran into another issue, where i had to manually verify 100+ students when the exam was due to start there and then, when i phoned up support at the end i said this software is junk i need exambase back, he said i need to contact

onscreentesting@edexcel.org.uk and make it for the attention of Emma Vann , so intend on e-mailing her today and complaining like mad. Hope you lot will do the same to show that there are some unhappy people.

[plexer]

Well after much playing with this as I couldn't get a msi to create I now have a vbscript that does 3 things.

1st checks to see if the prmissor folder exists and is therefore probably installed.

2nd calls an encrypted runas script which runs the install with admin priveleges.

3rd calls and encrypted runas script which uses xcacls.vbs to set the local folder permissions.

This can be run as a student or anyone else.

I'm going to set it as the login script for the user the kids login as to do the test.

Ben

[Kyle]

where i had to manually verify 100+ students

I had to do this with 40 odd kids today as well. Bloody nightmare that you cant do all at once.

[rogerblue]

I'ts american crap, and the testing screen looks like it's designed in ASCII !

And the reason the schools like the alan tests is a pass for a pupil in level 2 for both Numeracy and Literacy gets pupils an equivalent to 'B' gade gcse pass, and if only a level 1 pass still the school gets to claim every child left with a qualification.

I will not go into how abused the system is to get these passes lets just say my dog could pass! how can you need a 'reader' for a literacy exam??????

[matt40k]

I created two new users,

one with administrator rights, when it logs on it runs the install

the other is exams (password exams) which has 1 new (and only 1) gp applied which only done:

> load custom gui application: the administrator.exe program thing they use to do the test

> proxy server

> disabled task manager, change password

> Set c:\program files\whatever it's called with full control


Worked a treat, only installed it on 30 new machines. Only people we had was the students wasn't treating it as a test. The fact straight after the test you can submit it and find out the results helped. We split the two tests in two so they at least tried ALOT harder on the second. We then offered free resets to a large number of students. Anyone who just missed it by a few marks or pass one but failed the other. Otherwise we charged.

[broc]

We have had nothing but trouble with this software since it was refreshed last July followed by our summer holiday WSUS updates.

I have given up trying to figure out why the tests appear to work at random even using an account with local admin rights on the client PCs. It crashes, or the tests fail to display properly. you cannot test the problem without scheduling a proper 'test'.

I am in the process or re-imaging all of our PCs in our library to try and fix it, if successful I have another 4x ICT suites with 30 PCs to repeat the exercise.

In any case, is it is only the bean-counters at school who see any benefit; the qualification (if you can call it that) is not accepted by some local further education establishments, we have had students rejected for failing to meet their entry qualifications even though they do so in theory with ALAN passes.

Nevertheless, it is my topmost 'top' priority from SMT to resolve

[Kyle]

We have 30 test planned for tomorrow. I had to re-install the software onthe server as the july update borked it up. Luckily we had just re-iamged all the pc's we use for Alan test so it was a matter of just installing the admin software on them.

I'll let you know how we get on,

[Gatt]

Trying to get this setup here
Server was already done - jsut needed to be added to new Domain

But..

When i try to install the "Administrator" (\\server\esm_share\updates\admsetup.exe) it tells me that that file cannot be used for a full installation?

[Linfit]

We had this problem. The setup file on the server is an upgrade only, and needs the older version of the administrator software on the workstation.

I found the full installer on the Promissor web site, but this has now been re-jigged and combined with the PearsonVUE site, and the username and password for my server does not appear to work on the new site as it did on the old one. Best bet might be to contact the Edexcel support people; if you can get through I have found them helpful: 0844 576 0024 - Select option 1

Of course, on the 12 identical brand new workstations on which we run the tests, it is pure pot luck which ones work and which ones don't - all have admin rights, all logged on with same user name, all have same software base but at least one will randomly not display the graphics every time we run a test.

One of the worst pieces of software I have ever come across.