crc-ict

I've had the problem of Epson C900 and Konica-Minolta 2300DLs (which seem to use the same engine) still thinking the waste toner bottle is full after it has been vacuumed completely empty. I find that if you unscrew the little round covers over the outlet spindles which go into the openings of the waste toner bottle (taking care with the springs!) and clean out around them with a brush, an air duster or just by blowing, then put it all back together the printer then stops moaning about the box being full. I guess the 'drains' get clogged and printer can detect that, an assumes the bottle is full?

Isn't she just gorgeous!

Well, out of nine schools, I have two really busy ones. In one, I have to rebuild ten machines in two hours a week before the summer, and the other everything is just manic. The other seven, however, are really quiet as we're winding down (still 4 weeks here too) so there's basically b***er all to do!

I don't think anyone has ever draped themselves over my desk...Ah, that would be because I don't earn £50k a year! Me neither - but then again, I don't even have a desk!

OK, guys. Thanks for the suggestions. Any tips on how to move Exchange from one server to another easily for someone who knows nothing about Exchange! Come to think of it, I'm not even sure we have an Exchange CD... Oh, how I love taking over someone else's pet projects...

Sorry guys, manic day at work so only just able to reply back now! And how utterly stupid of me to be so vague - I apologise The current server is running Server 2003 Standard Edition. It also runs Exchange for a shared calendar and some sort of dark arts with the office e-mail which was set up before my time and I know nothing about... It's currently serving about 45 PCs and laptops, some via Wireless (I know!) Potentially all machines in use at the same time. At an estimate, I would say there are about 200 user accounts on the system. Any suggestions gratefully received. Cheers

I've just started supporting a new (to me) school and have inherited a full domain-based network running from a single server. I have also inherited a plan and the parts to build a new server, which I have now done, but I'm now trying to decide on the best way to use it. We're having a few problems with people getting their profiles when they log-on and with slow log-ons, so I want to use the new server to try and reduce these issues. Any suggestions? The old server is almost full and is pretty slow now - I'm not quite sure what to do. Thanks Chris

I don't think I would - we've got enough crap already without risking buying more!! Not saying that all secondhand stuff is poor, but I personally wouldn't want to take the risk - I've been burned personally before with used and 'refurb' kit.

I should think not - don't start giving away our secrets to teachers and SMT!

Three of my schools (primaries) use trolley laptops, in three different ways, with three different outcomes. 1. Two trolleys of 16 basic Acer Windows XP Laptops, 1 HP Procurve AP, all linking to Vanilla 2003 server, with a very basic profile for each year group. This works OK - there are occasional problems with laptops losing the connection to the server, but I think this is related to needing another AP to manage demand. The newer machines with built in wireless are better than the older ones with PC Card Wireless adapters. Batteries are becoming problematic on some of the machines. 2. One trolley of 16 Viglen Dossier Laptops, 3Com APs linking to a Viglen server. Runs Classlink. Wireless causes us headaches here. Each child has their own roaming profile. Logon can be slow, machines lose the connection, AP disappear and have to be reset. These have also had battery issues, despite being only just about a year old. It's an acceptable solution, which does work, but it's not perfect. 3. One trolley of 15 iBooks with an Airport Extreme and One Trolley of 15 MacBooks with 2 Airport Express units. No servers. Flawless wireless connectivity. No problems whatsoever at anytime with connecting these to the network. The iBooks have given us no problems at all, the MacBooks have been a pain in the backside with regard to batteries - 5 have died on us in 6 months, although were replaced free. Printing to USB printers via the Airport stations is not very good - the queues hang for no apparent reason at times, and problems arise if several children print at the same time. Not having servers makes file management interesting, although teachers keep specific children on the same machine. They are very good, and even Reception use them. They've got a little bit tatty from the use, but the only machine that suffered damage was the teacher's one which somehow lost a key. Limited selection of software is the biggest gotcha - teachers are disappointed when their favourite software won't work. Overall verdict: Laptops are perfectly viable in primary. They are flexible, affordable and work well. Personally from a tech point of view, I don't like them much because they cause a lot of work for me, much more than desktops, but I find they are used much more than desktops used to be. From a teacher/educationalist point of view, they're excellent. And even the very smallest children manage to use them and look after them. Hope this helps, Chris.

I've had a teacher shut theirs with a pencil sharpener sat on the keyboard 8O And judging by the state of the screen afterwards, it must have been shut with some force!

In that instance, could you not buy the things that you intend to sell on separate orders then not claim the VAT back on those, and avoid the hassle of collecting and then paying VAT to Revenue & Customs?

I've got an HP RX3715 - the flashy media one with the camera etc. Most of the media stuff is quite crappy - streaming music from PC doesn't work with iTunes, camera is only 1.3 Megapixel without focus and saving camera movie clips to an SD card crashes the OS! The only media thing that's any good is the Nevo Home Control - basically an infinite universal remote - which is pretty cool. But the media stuff aside, it's great. Built-in WiFi combined with WiFiFoFum software is a godsend when wireless networks go up the wall! The screen is really bright and sharp and it connects to the internet via dial-up on my mobile - very slow (9.6kbps!) but it comes out of free minutes rather than paying O2 £4 a Mb to check mail!

All too often I think we do, mainly because a lot of the 'problems' brought to us have very simple solutions - like plugging the blasted thing in! I do get a smug satisfaction from fixing what looks like a huge problem with just a couple of keyboard shortcuts and handful of mouse clicks though! And if you can get in a couple of lines in a command window too all the better, as that just adds to the mystique!

Yup, one of my schools has these. I only started there about three weeks ago, and I already hate the desks! They're a great idea in principle, but a pain in the butt practically. The computer cupboards that are attached are too small for a lot of towers to fit in properly. When the keyboards and mice are fitted to the tray, the wires are pulled so tight that you can't get the tower out of the cupboard without the wires pinging out, and you can't reconnect them without slackening everything off at the top as there isn't enough length. I've also experienced problems with the lids catching and not wanting to open. There is also a huge potential for broken screens when someone decides to close the lid with the mouse sitting on top of the keyboard... :twisted:

If you don't know what the RAM is can you be sure it's the right stuff? If it's not compatible, that might be why the machine doesn't work. Also, have you checked there are no jumpers to set the CPU type - a FoxConn board I used was almost jumperless, except for one which needed to be set for particular models of CPU.

Cheers Geoff and Ric, I'll have a look into that next week. :drinkers: Chris

8O Wow - your classrooms are big enough to fit Airliners into!? I would think that using them in classrooms is likely to lead to widespread disruption across the school. :wav: Sorry, couldn't resist

Thanks for that alonebfg, sounds promising. @Geoff: There are different sorts of CALs? I didn't know that! I'll have to check out and see what sort we have.

I've just acquired a new school to my list, and with it, a plan and the parts to build and implement a second server on the system. We currently have one Windows 2003 server acting as DC on the network. The idea of the second server is to be used for storage - relieving the pressure on the first server by leaving it to do DC duties and then serving files off the second server. Now, I have never come across the idea of using 2 servers before, so here comes a stupid question! Will each workstation now need 2 CALs, one to access each server? Or does 1 CAL cover a machine to access as many servers as it likes? Cheers, Chris

Just don't underestimate how long these can take, especially if you choose one of the more paranoid (i.e. secure) wipe methods... Certainly not a job to start near the end of the day if you don't want to leave them on all night! Also, if you're going to sell them on, make sure you have the OS 9 disks to restore them to a usable condition before you wipe everything...

As a roving tech for 9 primaries, I'd have to echo the comments made by others here really, especially about not having a base. It can be a real pain and is a genuine problem. Having said that, the look of horror and wonderment on the faces of small children when they see you cracking the case of a computer in the corner of their classroom is quite amusing! If you are looking for a pure techy job, I'd be wary of this one. As Simon said, the vast majority of primarys could only fund a full-time IT person by combining an IT and TA role, and asking you to read to the children at the interview seems to back up that suspicion. Beware that they may be trying to get a technically-minded person to do their ICT teaching on the cheap. HTH, Chris.

Not to mention the unacceptably high risk of suffocation

You'd think that'd tell us something, wouldn't you?! Thank heavens it's half term next week, though. Sure, they'll be moaning tomorrow, and perhaps the rest of the week, but by the time we're back there'll be something else to be paranoid about!

If I'd realised about 7 years ago that I like flying, and had about £60k lying around, probably a pilot. As it was, I almost became a doctor, then almost became a teacher before ending up here. And it's not all bad really