duncane

The kids are good enough for both XP and Windows 7. If it was a typo and you were meaning whether the workstations were good enough for Windows 7, then probably not. We'd also need to upgrade the servers on the site to 2008 from 2003 too. If I'd known the site was going to be open for three years and I'd had a budget and control in the first year I'd probably have pressed for a different approach.

We're going to continue with around 80 actively in-use next year because our second site is being kept open for an additional year (there'll be around the same number of students on the site). I'm hoping to keep around 60 workstations from the blocked off section of the building in reserve as spares, so we can swap them out quickly. I'd have loved to give them the benefits of Windows 7 like our other site, but with the site doomed to closure it just wasn't possible. :-(

Hi Im hoping someone can help me with a very weird issue. Since yesterday, when users whose homeshares are on a particular fileserver, access them, they're itermittantly given the message "location is unavailable". Sometimes they can access it later on, but it tends to happen again. It makes no difference whether they've logged off or rebooted the machine either. We've eliminated it being an issue with DFS, as we've set the path directly to the server, and it made no difference as to whether the problem occurred or not. The only thing we did yesterday on the server, was set a quota on a subfolder on that server - we can't see why that would have had any effect (and we've since removed it, but it didn't make any difference). We've restarted the server - again this hasn't helped. We've checked the virus log - nothing. We're running out of ideas - can anyone suggest anything? Cheers.

Windows 7 Pro (32-bit + SP1) clients in a non-virtualised Windows Server 2008 R2 environment. While we have a Windows Server 2003 file server on our network for serving media files, all other files are served from Windows Server 2008. (We've had the problem since we switched over from a Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 environment.)

Hi, we've found that Windows 7 isn't unzipping all of the content of various zip files (there's no pattern) when you use "Extract All" - at least not when the zip file is on the network. Strangely, if you drag the files out, they're all extracted correctly. Has anyone come across this before, and did you find a solution to the problem? Thanks.

Thanks - I'd gotten in touch with them shortly after they announced cancellation, and got an email about the promotion - I received my £310 back last week.

Thanks everyone - I'll try and get the other cables done at the same time (they'll all need to follow the same route anyway). This will be one of the few times we can do it - the buildings being decomissioned in a couple of years time. (Luckily I got new servers... admittedly that's because the old one's were flood damaged... but there's always a silver lining!)

'Fraid not - it just looks like the standard grey cable we use to route internally. It's many, many, years old.

I'll prefix this by saying that I inherited this... We have some network cables that run out through a window frame, along an external wall (NOT in any form of conduit), and back in through another window frame. How robust are network cables? I'd have thought there would be water penetration over time, which, again, I'd expect to have a negative impact on the connection. I'm going to have another cable routed from the same area, but hopefully internally - I'm trying to see if I can justify asking for the other cables to rerouted too. (If I'm jumping to the wrong conclusion, I obviously don't want to waste money on that.)

While troubleshooting I remembered a story about how the finance database had to be moved between servers because it kept losing a connection in that room and it would 'drop out'. I'm going to try moving the PC to another room to rule out network issues.

We've already swapped them between rooms - we've run out of candidates now. Replacements are an issue because our site will be decommissioned within two years (with vastly reduced student levels next year).

This is a bit confusing to describe. We recently moved to Windows 7 on a 2008 domain. We're finding that when we open a new tab in IE8 for an authenticated website (eg Moodle, or Outlook Web App) it prompts us reenter the username and password - sometimes very quickly after logging in (i.e. Not a normal timeout). Accessing the same websites from home on a Windows 7 machine has no such issues. It doesn't seem to be a consistent amount of time - sometimes it happens almost instantly, sometimes it doesn't seem to happen at all. I appreciate this is a little vague (I've no idea how to google-fu it), but does anyone have any ideas?

Yes, I swapped the controller board with a known good one - no luck. That's why I'm satisfied I've tried everything logical now.

The boards are SB580s, and use a (Smartboard branded) usb to serial port. I've tried different USB cables from different boards (that worked) and it didn't resolve the issue. The light goes green on the board. I haven't updated the firmware - I did try to after the fault developed to see if that would make any difference. The smart firmware updated didn't see the board, even though the normal software does. That said, I'm not sure if the 500-series can have its firmware updated, it's quite old, so it may not have that feature. The smart board usb cable is the only thing plugged into the USB sockets (I've just unplugged the mouse and keyboard to make absolutely sure). The software and drivers are up-to-date. (I don't seem to be able to update the firmware.) The driver isn't corrupt - I've tried different machines, and I've swapped a board in and connected to the original PC, and that works fine. "I know these will be silly questions but here goes" - Nope, it's useful because it's getting to the stage where I can be fairly satisfied I've done all the troubleshooting I can do, and we'll need to see if we can fund replacements. I've been in contact with support, and done all of their tests too, so unless a miracle happens, it looks like we have two dead boards.

Thanks - I missed your reply... but I'd come back to this topic because we've just had another board (of the same age) die with the same symptoms (I've even swapped the controller board out with another working one, and it didn't help.) Contents of diagnostics: 1: (10/5 15:21:19.647) - Starting SMART Board software service 05/10/2011 15:21 (Version 10.8.210.0 20:09:55 Jun 16 2011). 2: (10/5 15:21:19.662) - SBSDK: Port number 1389. 3: (10/5 15:21:19.818) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): STATUS CHANGE from BOARD_CLOSED to BOARD_ANALYZING_DATA 4: (10/5 15:21:19.818) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): SMART USB Adapter Version Number - 3.0.0 (0x2303). 5: (10/5 15:21:19.818) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): USB cable serial number:00027355 6: (10/5 15:21:19.818) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Using baud rate from previous connection... 7: (10/5 15:21:19.818) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Setting baud rate to 9600:8N1 8: (10/5 15:21:19.834) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Frame mode is CSL_DATA_CSH (Checksum). 9: (10/5 15:21:19.834) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Electrode Measurement YP (Y Plus) = 4079. 10: (10/5 15:21:19.834) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Tool change to: ERASER, tool source 0, mid stream 0, contact index 0, force send tool change 1. 11: (10/5 15:21:19.834) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Interactive whiteboard size is 72: DIP switches 2 and 3 12: (10/5 15:21:19.834) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Electrode Measurement XP (X Plus) = 4000. 13: (10/5 15:21:19.834) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Voltage VA is good at 4.99 V (Range 4.75 - 5.25). 14: (10/5 15:21:19.834) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Voltage VD is good at 4.98 V (Range 4.75 - 5.25). 15: (10/5 15:21:19.834) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Voltage VS is good at 5.98 V (Range 5.70 - 6.30). 16: (10/5 15:21:19.834) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Voltage VP is good at 5.08 V (Range 4.20 - 18.00). 17: (10/5 15:21:19.834) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Electrode Measurement XM (X Minus) = 272. 18: (10/5 15:21:19.834) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Electrode Measurement YM (Y Minus) = 112. 19: (10/5 15:21:19.834) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): STATUS CHANGE from BOARD_ANALYZING_DATA to BOARD_OPEN 20: (10/5 15:21:19.850) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Firmware version: 7.29. 21: (10/5 15:21:19.850) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): LED 10 on. (Eraser) 22: (10/5 15:21:19.990) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Hardware Model: 133/6 (SB500 (SC7)). 23: (10/5 15:21:20.006) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Baud rate change confirmation to 9600 8N1. 24: (10/5 15:21:21.193) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): SCX Mode change confirmation to SC6 Mode. 25: (10/5 15:21:22.490) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Checksum - 0x664b. 26: (10/5 15:21:23.896) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Hardware version - SC7d3. 27: (10/5 15:21:27.912) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Points per second rate value at 2 (Range 2 - 9, Default 2). 28: (10/5 15:21:29.240) - SMART Board (0x2303) - on USB (1): Sample delay value at 0 (Range 0 - 25, Default 0). Any messages about missing erasers etc are because I've taken them out while I'm looking at repairing things.

My school closed at the end of August, and the building is now part of another school. Some of our staff now have to use SIMS remotely via terminal services (the rest have to use SLG). We want to be able to use redirected drives so that they can upload data into SIMS that's stored on our servers. The drives are redirected, but SIMS will (more than) occasionally lock up when you try and access them (on a semi-random basis). The redirected drives are drives that are mapped on our local network. (The lock occurs when you click on a button to browse.) This is making our Data Manager's job very difficult. We've replaced her machine, it's faster, with a new install, and fully updated, just in case the issue was caused by a software conflict on her old machine. One thing I've noticed is that if we log into the remote desktop (normally we just run the SIMS app itself remotely) then we only see the local drive we've expressly set to be redirected. When SIMS works at browsing a file to upload, it sees *all* the local drives. I think I'm going to try removing some of the mapped drives, and just leaving the data one, and see if that helps. (Thinking while I'm typing - could it be that its having trouble seeing one of our local drives, so it's hanging... but why would SIMS be looking at all those drives anyway - I've not redirected them.) Anyone got any ideas, or come across something similar? Thanks, Duncan.

We have a smartboard that's stopped working. No matter where you touch, the cursor doesn't move. The cursor isn't stuck - moving the mouse makes the cursor move, so it's not like the board is reporting the cursor position as being in a fixed location (e.g. due to damage). I've run the diagnostics and it doesn't flag up any faults. It's well out of warranty. I did try and update the firmware (after the fault developed - just in case - and it didn't find the board. The act of looking seemed to disconnect it - searching for the board again normally re-discovered it, it's just the firmware update part that can't find it.) Any clues, because I'm a bit stumped. (Not helped by the heavy work-load and that I'm now running the site by myself. Yes, I'm wallowing in self-pity ;-) [edited: and the cold... don't forget the cold!] Cheers, Duncan.

Yes... In fact I did - I'm creating this reply on it. I want to support the operating environment - I think it has amazing potential.

Okay, I admit, I'm my own unique snowflake! I've decided to go with a HP TouchPad (it's on pre-order) - I've experience with WebOS (on a Palm Pixi) and love it. Yes, I know there's very few apps yet - I know it's a risk - but I love the interface. I guess this is just a shout out to the universe - we HP TouchPad users are ready to pick up the baton! YAY! (Ahem)

We're fickle - we've decided going with 1.9 is the best option. We don't want a situation to arise where staff can't do something in 2.0 on the shiney new VLE that they couldn't do on the old one. If we do decide to migrate from 1.9 to 2.0 in the future there should be a growing body of people who have done it already, who can make us aware of any potential pitfalls and minimize any disruption. Thanks, Duncan.

They've expressed a preference for 2.0 because it will be set up from scratch on a new server, and be in for the "long haul" - about 5-years. Basically, I think if they can be re-assured that 1.9 support is going to be around for quite some time, that would go a long way to affecting their decision. Thanks.

Does anyone know anyone in the West Yorkshire/Kirklees area who specialise in setting up Moodle servers? We're looking to set up a Linux-based Moodle 2.0 server, themed to our school's websites look-and-feel. We've set up Moodle for a smaller school in the past, but we're looking for someone to set up the whole system for us (due to time pressures).

Okay, we're (soon to be) two sites, one of which will be closing in a couple of years time. There's currently a 10Mb/s internet connection, soon to be updated to 100Mb/s link, to the town hall, then back to the other school (a round trip of between 0.5-1 miles). The site that's remaining open will host the SIMS server, VLE and OWA email server. It's envisaged that each site will keep its own fileserver, and any shared resources would be on the VLE. There's already a hosted SLG service, which it's envisaged will be used for most staff instead of SIMS. (A few power users will access the full SIMS via a terminal server on the remote site.) Now, we'd like staff to be able to authenticate from the closing site on the VLE and OWA servers. I've vague notions of inter-forests trusts (in that I've heard of them) - basically I think there's a desire to have the minimum of changes on either side. By trying to keep the sites separated, are we really just making things harder for ourselves? Would a 100MB/s link be fast enough to handle normal day-to-day internet traffic, SIMS and downloading resources from the far site? (I suspect not.) I'm just trying to get it clear in my mind, and I'm open to suggestions. Cheers.

I've been a bit busy (playing with the new servers - yay!). I'd just like to give a shout out to Garsham Robertson at JosKos. He went above and beyond the call of duty, researching a solution, and offering us a price break down that allowed me to make a more informed decision. (I went for a slightly different solution, which I'm very happy with - if I hadn't had the prices I wouldn't have thought I'd be able to afford the specification.) I had to do the obligatory three quotes, and found myself crossing my fingers that JosKos wouldn't be massively undercut, because I wanted to reward them for their help. I needed have worried - they were the significantly lowest quote I received. I was well impressed! Thanks, Duncan.

We are covered. The servers were of varying ages / specification, so I came up with a rough estimate based on their mean cost. I was thinking that I might be able to get something better by reducing the number of replacement servers, but increasing their specification. This may not be the right way to think about it, in which case I welcome your advice.