altecsole

We got fed up with svchost hogging all the cpu so we've disabled Windows updates on all our curriculum machines (we have our own WSUS server that still updates laptops and office machines). We disabled updates via Group Policy. We then have the option to apply another group policy at half-term to re-enable updates, allow updates to install, and then disable them again.

You can use group policy to do this: Computer Configuration -> Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Registry Add the key and then set security. You'll need to do this on a machine with the software already installed.

I chose the computer setup and scenario because they cover the majority of the quick fixes we come across all the time: computer off at the socket, network cable not plugged in, monitor brightness turned down etc. You want a rounded person with good communication skills and the ability to get on with people. If they're working as part of a team then these qualities are far more important that technical ability.

Computer: 1. Plugged in but not switched on at the mains (plug not in plain site) 2. Network cable not fully engaged 3. Monitor brightness and contrast turned right down 4. Keyboard and mouse plugged into wrong ports (PS2) 5. Sound card disabled Scenario: A teacher says that the sound was not working on the computer and a couple of pupils said that they could fix it. They seemed to be messing around for ages and now nothing works. Can you have a look and see what's wrong? Leave a set of tools next to the computer, along with a spare monitor and sound card. If they're methodical and thinking clearly they should sort out the problems. If they go straight to taking the case off you know you've got problems.

Have a look at: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/Miscellaneous/Autologon.mspx It's a sysinteranls program. The advantage if this is that it doesn't seem to store the password details in the registry - not that I can see anyway. You can use the command line too.

I had a similar problem and found that it was linked to Windows Update. The machine was fine for the first couple of minutes after startup, but then svchost maxed out the CPU for ages. I think (as far as I can remember) that I'd changed the default behaviour of windows update to not download updates, but it was spending ages looking for them. Try changing the settings and see if it helps.

Try logging on to a workstation and then browse to the share where the msi is and double click it to see if it installs. If it fails it should give you some clue about the problem. By the way. Give serious consideration to setting up a virtual machine for software deployment testing. The ability to revert to a snapshot of a clean machine is definitely worth it.

The CDServe I used to have worked like this: "C:\Program Files\Avantis\CDserve Client\Cdmapw32.exe" /Q /M D: #18 /E "C:\Program Files\Wb99issa\wb99issa.exe" where #18 is the number of the CD on the server. In the example above D: is the drive letter to map.

Our SIMS setup is slightly awkward as we have to change a setting in the host file (don't ask). I used AutoIT3 to create a unattended install that ticks all the boxes etc and then reboots the machine at the end. I created an executable and placed a shortcut to it in a folder in our teachers admin area. We plan on allowing teachers to use this to install SIMS on their laptops - they are all local admins on their own machines. At the moment only domain admins are allowed to access the folder - during testing we've had no problems with SIMS installs. With 150+ installs to do, the time spent doing the initial script setup was definately worth it.

We have had a number of students bringing their own laptops into school and plugging them into our network. What policy's do others have in place with regard to this? What measures do you have in place to restrict access? We're looking at using IPSec to secure the network. Does anyone else do this? Thanks for reading and replying.

I'd leave the network cable in and stop replication. You can use the command: repadmin /options +DISABLE_OUTBOUND_REPL Once it's all working okay you can re-enable replication using: repadmin /options -DISABLE_OUTBOUND_REPL

How about this? Create a global group on the server called Software (or similar) and add the computers to it that you want to install the software on. Then, change the security setting on the GPO so that it only applies to the Software group? I've never done this, but in theory it should work (assuming the software is assigned to computers, and not users).

Thanks for all the replies. Just out of interest; has anyone used SonaSafe? We need a better solution for backing up Exchange and this caught my eye. We currently use NTBackup to backup the infostore, but this means we can only restore the whole infostore, not individual mailboxes or email - no ideal! Veritas looks good, but it also looks very expensive. Our plan is to backup to a network location and then use a USB external drive for off site storage. Thanks for all the input, it's appreciated.

We are considering our backup process and it would be interesting to see how some others do things. At the moment our data is copied (using RoboCopy) across the network to a backup PC (Windows XP machine with a big drive). Once there it is compressed (using 7-Zip) to save space. With this method we can keep about 2 weeks worth of backups, but we would like more. We do a normal backup on a Friday (starting at 6pm) and incremental backups each week night (Mon - Thur) at 6pm. Typical user data for a normal backup is just over 100 GB. A normal backup with this much data takes 3 days - not good! Obviously compressing the data on the server before copying it across the network would improve things, but we would like to consider other methods too. Non user data is copied to a second backup machine in a similar way. Any thoughts please on the best way forward for this. We will be happy to go with a commercial product. Ease of user data restores is also an issue. At the moment we have to reset permission on user folders when data is restored to them - no big deal, but a nusiance non the less. Thanks for reading and replying.

We have a Kyocera FS-C5020N (colour laser) printer. Within the last few days there has been a problem with prints being too dark. I've checked print settings and they seem to be okay, anyone any suggestions of a way to fix this? Thanks.

How about this? Save your data into Access (or similar) and then run a query for those who have printed more than 200 pages. Use the query as your data source for the merge.

Microsoft OneNote is great for this, but of course it's not free. I use it all the time for note taking and you can set it to remain on top. I got a copy free with my Toshiba laptop and I'd hate to lose it.

Is this any good?

God knows! I've tried making a fresh MSI without it installing Quicktime 4.1, but it doesn't like it. I'll have to do some further testing I guess.

We have a science program called Forces and Motion that I am having a problem with. The support site is http://www.anglia.co.uk, but that doesn't exist anymore. The problem is with sound. The program is run from a network location, but there is no sound and a window keeps popping up which says 'can't play' (that's all). The program is quite old and I think the problem may be to do with Quicktime. When we first got it, it worked with Quicktime 4, and I think that upgrading Quicktime may have broken it. Can anyone offer any help/advice? Thanks.

VMWare it is then. Thanks to everyone who replied.

I'm looking to setup a machine with some VM software installed for testing etc. Has anyone got any preference between VMWare and Virtual PC? I'll be looking to run Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Pro and Windows 2000 Pro. I want to be able to do test software installs on VM workstations and some work with AD and GPs on the VM Server, with VM workstations logging on to the VM Server. The base machine spec will be P4, 2GB RAM, 80 GB HDD. Does this sound reasonable? Thanks for taking the time to read and reply.

Many thanks for that Kev. The wonders and depths of GP - about time I read a book on it I think!

I've never noticed this in GP before. Where and how do you do this? Thanks.

This is almost perfect, except for the fact that it allows them to open explorer on their My Documents folder, which gives them access to the server. It would be great if there was something that you could set a path in, so that it just showed a view of their My Documents folder, and no more. Thanks for taking the time to reply.