Andie

I've noted the correction to the eulaAccepted (and edited it in above). Can I just dump this command into a domain startup script as it is? I assume I'll have to work out a way for it to check for the file first.....? I've got a script somewhere that we used for upgrading Sophos across the domain. I'll have a look at that, but would be grateful for any help to point me in the right direction.

Ok, thanks. I've applied for the AIR distribution licence. However, I still have the problem with Scratch. It comes as an AIR package. Any ideas??? Also, I can't work out how to extract an MSI from an EXE. Looked at WinRAR trial website, but it doesn't list EXE as a package it can extract from. Sorry - I need more basic help with this one.....

I need to install Scratch 2.0 offline editor onto 98 domain laptops. It's a .air installer. Currently there is no .msi available. It also needs Adobe AIR installed to make it run. Adobe AIR also currently has no .msi. Is there a clever way to throw this out to all the laptops without needing an .msi? Or do I just have to go to each one...? And I know there is a web based version of Scratch 2.0, but headteacher doesn't want to use this as encourages pupils to sign up for an online account and ours are all under 13. Server is Windows Server 2013, but these laptops are currently XP. In the process of updating to Win 7 but need a fastish solution if possible to get Scratch out there now they've had the training.

We have a MacBook Pro with Apple Configurator set up to deploy to two trolleys of iPads. I am ploughing through VPP setup, and looking at how that works with paid for apps. Can someone tell me which purchase option in VPP I should choose to deploy with Configurator? The devices managed by Configurator are all supervised.

OK, I think I have worked out what I was doing wrong, but I still maintain that Apple have made this very confusing. In the VPP getting started window, you have to choose iOS apps and search in the box next to this to find the apps. Not the search box in the top right corner of the screen. However, I have just put in a support email to ask how to purchase VPP credits with a school purchase order. I can find of lots of links to redeeming VPP credit, but nothing telling me how to buy VPP credit. And somewhere along the line, things went badly wrong and I got forced into resetting one of the admin passwords..... This has been the kind of day which makes me question my choice of job....

This is now officially a real headache, to the point where I am wondering if we will ever get this to work. I have tried logging in as one of the other admins. Needed to go through the whole My Apple ID and two step verification process again for this ID. But got an agreement to accept for the VPP, so looked promising. But once I get to the point of entering a search for an app, I am getting a blank search result every time. I have checked that the app exists in that name by going straight to the ordinary app store, but I can't get that app up on the VPP search. At some point, I got prompted to try a different store which just threw me into iTunes and the Apple ID from VPP won't work in iTunes!!!!!!!!!! Has anyone in Edugeek actually got as far as purchasing apps in the VPP recently??? Help!

I'm still having problems. I appear in the admins section of VPP and can add other admins. But if I'm logged in on the VPP and go to the Education Store all I get is the iTunes store for music and books - not the app store. Quite frankly, this is driving me mad! Apple, if you are reading this, the VPP program is NOT simple! It is over complicated and confusing... I guess I'll have to send another request to apple support. I've also been trying to find out how you can buy Apple VPP credit with a purchase order, as lots of places on the web keep telling me I can do. But all the Apple pages just tell me I can do it and don't tell me how!

I've managed to get this set up. The two step verification thing was the sticking point, as I had misunderstood what it meant and involved and I'd missed the part to set this up as I wasn't inputting the answers to my security questions. You will need a mobile phone that can receive SMS messages and ideally one of the school's Apple devices as well, with Find My iPhone enabled. The section on My Apple ID for setting this up is easy to miss - you need to look for the blue Getting Started link under Two step Verification in the Password and Security part after you have entered the answers to your security questions. Anyway, Apple Support sent me these instructions which actually do work if you follow them carefully (I was very sceptical!): "From my understanding, you were inquiring regarding establishing new Admin (Program Facilitator) accounts. I would be happy to assist. To manage and create Admin accounts, please navigate to the following website: http://deploy.apple.com You should see “Deployment Programs” after the site loads. If you look below this text and to the right, there should be a place to enter your Agent ID and password. Please input this information, and select “Sign In”. Once signed in, to add an Admin account, click “Admins" From here you should be able to create Admins for your account. If you are still unable to create these accounts, please navigate to: http://appleid.apple.com Select “Manage your Apple ID”. Please sign in with your Agent (Program Manager) ID. Please insure there is a valid address and phone number present on this account. Please select “Password and Security”, and input the answers to your security questions. We will now need to initiate the Two-Step Verification option for this account. This is required in order to ensure that your account is entirely secure. Under Two-Step Verification, please choose “Get Started”. Follow the required steps, and remember to retain your account security information. For additional information on this security measure, please review the following article: Apple ID: Frequently asked questions about two-step verification for Apple ID: Frequently asked questions about two-step verification for Apple ID Once the steps have been completed, you can navigate to the following address: http://deploy.apple.com Please sign in with this ID, and choose the “Admins” option. You will then be able to create new Admin accounts for your institution. For more information on the VPP, please see our step-by-step guide at: Volume Purchase Program PDF Step-by-step Guide http://images.apple.com/education/docs/VPP_Education_Guide_EN_Feb14.pdf" I am now set up and have been able to add further admin accounts.

I have been going round in circle with this for days! The VPP site linked above just keeps throwing me onto two step verification. But the My Apple ID site either is down or, when it is up, shows me as having done the verification. To add insult to injury, emailing Apple support generates an automatic reply telling me that Apple VPP is the easy way to deploy apps.....!

Don't have any policies at our end. All filtering is controlled by our Internet Provider. So possibly I'm back where I started. But I'll go back to them and tell them what is happening elsewhere so that they can look again at the issue. Thanks.

I've just checked the How Stuff Works site that gave us the original problem, and you're right. It is now OK. However, I'm still getting an issue with some supplier sites. See attached and annotated screenshot from Misco. The section near the bottom of the screen that is surrounded by the oval appears when I hover over the section in the middle of the page also marked (where the block appears). It seems to indicate a Facebook plugin. So possibly there were two separate issues, one of which has been sorted. Screenshot Facebook plugin issue 20140312.pdf

Problem: increasing number of websites that seem to have some link to Facebook on which gets blocked by the LA Internet Provider, as Facebook is blocked here. This block obscures a good chunk of the page. It does disappear after about 30 seconds or so, but in the meantime a teacher is trying to use the page on a SMARTboard or I'm left waiting to print out a price from a supplier website. Our Internet Provider has offered to unblock Facebook, but that isn't something they want done here (primary school). The alternative solution offered is to set all staff laptops to a fixed IP address so they can just unblock Facebook on those to get over the issue while using the laptop for presenting to a class. So folks, is there any other way to tackle this? (I expect I'm opening up a can of worms on the filtering Facebook front, but I'm really after any possible technical solutions...)

We have tried the ground loop isolator with limited success. Still background noise.

I've done a quick search, but can't find any examples of a primary school data protection policy on here. Does anyone have a good sample policy they would be willing to share? Our office manager has asked me to look at this. I've found the Becta guidance docs on National Archives, but nothing else (short of going to as many school websites as I can think of....).

Did the ground loop isolator help the issue? We're also getting this, although it disappears when the power is unplugged from the laptop (as suggested above). Worst offenders seem to be Samsung laptops, but also some noise when using HP and Toshiba.

We purchased two Samsung printers (CLP-620 and 670) from Tandem through our secondary school IT support, who still speak well of them. They are both out of warranty now. The oldest was purchased January 2012. We went for an outright purchase rather than a contract and buy Samsung original toner from a local stationers. The oldest developed a fault last month, with colours badly out of line. Tandem have not been at all helpful in advising us how to get a repair, even with our secondary school support contacting them for us. (I also had issues getting info from them about resetting the counter for the replacement roller they supplied - I found the info myself using Google faster than with them getting back to me.) I got a bit further with Samsung UK support direct, but they still managed to book the fault to the wrong printer. Issue still not resolved as we have gone to a printer repairer that we used before for HP stuff and it seems the Samsungs are a whole new ball game! Our old HPs had always been very reliable and a lot of the time you could fix them yourself with a maintenance option in the menu. I doubt I'll be buying Samsung printers again. I can't rate Tandem very highly for after sales service, I'm afraid.

Can anyone recommend a printer repairer within reach of the Peterborough area? I am currently using one that is sending guys out from Essex, which is a long drive. We don't need anyone that often but it would be good to have a couple of options to try next time we need someone. We have HP and Samsung printers.

Engineer called But thanks for all your help. At least I know I tried what I could.

Is anyone using DocuPro software with a networked photocopier (to manage printing etc). We are currently getting quotes for new photocopiers, and this software is being bundled with one that we have looked at. I am told we can integrate with AD on our server 2012. It would be useful to know if anyone has this running already. We will pay for setup and support with the contract, so in theory it shouldn't be a headache.....but.....

Thanks, folks. I did have a dig around in the Tech Menu. Managed to print the Manual Registration page, which seems to show that the colours are out of line. It looks like you can manually put the colours back into line, but I found it rather confusing to work out what offset was needed. Now I have the manual from @Oaktech, I'll check this out a bit more. Otherwise it's a call to an engineer.

Sadly, this didn't work. Tried whole sequence twice as wasn't sure I hadn't waited long enough for printer to whirr through things the first time. But still no good.

OK, thanks. Will give it a go in five minutes when the room is free and let you know.

Has anyone had this issue with the printout (see attached photos) from a Samsung CLP-620ND Colour laser (out of warranty)? We are using original toner and there are no error messages or red lights on the printer display. I have taken all of the toners out and replaced them, but still no good. There is nothing in the manuals or menus for aligning the heads or anything similar. Samsung just said to clean the printer, but it isn't dirty and the printout isn't smudged - it's out of line. Anyway, if anyone has any ideas or has fixed this exact issue.....

Unfortunately, that's how I normally do it, obviously not carefully enough. It seems most of the time I fix one issue to find that something else is broken.

Our teachers have a morning or afternoon doing planning a week. They only have laptops to work on, and no designated area to work in. This means they are normally in the staff room hunched over laptops for about 3 hours. I also only have a laptop to work on, though I do have a proper desk and adjustable chair. My longest day at work is 8.30am to 4pm with a half hour break. Pupils are not employees, so, as someone rightly said earlier, I was wrong to include them from a legal point of view. Yes, we will probably challenge this. Yes, it isn't my job to enforce this, just orgainise buying what is needed. But I will certainly be looking at making some changes to my workstation to avoid damage to myself. It's just annoying when officials come in and say things like this without leaving us with the relevant documentation as proof of a legal requirement.