f21970

We're using Outlook 2003. Really good site you've referred me to though. Thanks - I'll have a good read through this and see if anything helps!

Have you all fallen out with me?

OK. Exchange 2007 is now installed, and all is working great through OWA. I'm now struggling with Exchange client - we're using 2003 here. My problems consist of: 1. I've installed on a PC, copied to default profile and allocated a PRF file, but the damn thing won't work because of the .pst file. I've tied down the C:\ drives on the PC's so users can't install anything to them, and I can't figure out how to stop exchange trying to create a .pst file. Even if I could create it somewhere else - e.g. their N:\ drive - that would be progress, and I installed the Outlook ADM into AD and set the location of the pst as N:\, but nothing. 2. Logged in as an administrator, when I try to configure the outlook client, it asks for a username/password. Whatever I give it, it won't authenticate. I've tried the username both with and without domain. Please help - I haven't installed Exchange since 5.5, and have never done it on a restricted network, only in a corporate environment, and am struggling!!!

Wow - every 6 years!!! Bet you spend more in man-hours keeping them going in the last 2 years than it would cost to replace them!!!!

Approx 1250 students - total budget this year including project budgets is £120k (what I mean is that this figure is not just for maintenance/sustainability. If you want a rough budgetary maintenance figure, take how many PC's you have and divide by 3. Multiply that by the cost of a PC. (that takes care of sustainability of ICT) Add to that the cost of replacing 10% of your projectors, and 50% of your projector bulbs. Add approximately 30% of the figures above added together for break/fix maintenance. The figures I am quoting do not include such things as printer consumables, which in our school are paid for by individual departments. I only pay for toner for the printer in my office.

Apparently it's a problem with a dodgy PXE stack in the SIS900 cards. With 400+ SFF PC's, replacing the ethernet cards would be a tad tricky, so just gotta try this Etherboot workaround. Will let you all know if it works.

Think I've answered my own question (if Google failed the world would end!). Theres a document about it on FOG's Wiki and it suggests using Etherboot - clicky here

Funnily enough, after I've checked, they are SIS900 cards. Does that mean that I'm unable to image these PC's?

Hi all - I'm setting up FOG and having a few problems getting PC's to PXE boot. I've got options 66 & 67 set on a Windows DHCP server to the FOG server's IP address and pxelinux.0 respectively. If I change a client to PXE boot in BIOS, I get the PC trying to DHCP, then (too quickly to see properly) a whole string of error messages. The client then just sits there with a black screen not doing very much at all. Can anyone help me?

I'd just buy Browsecontrol & use that. Then you can turn internet off and on when you need (or even better, delegate that function to teachers).

Shares in Server 2008 are best done using ABE (Access Based Enumeration) - this allows you to hide shares, etc. from users. This means that shares that users do not have permissions to view are hidden. You can also do this in 2003 SP1 but you need to download an extension. There's a good article on it here. Permissions in 2008 are very 'Vista' which I found a tad confusing at first!!!

I have a few Ricoh printers run under the YPO pay per print system - I've not heard of this 'click' system though. Does the 'click box' automatically notify Ricoh of the print volumes of each printer, or do they still send you an email asking for the information?

Good point Diello. 2008 not officially supported until later this year, but I have assumed that upgrades have worked on your test system before?

SIMS has a problem with locking the database at the moment, and it fails on the backup. To get around the problem you currently need to put the database into single user mode to perform upgrades. Capita have a fix available (I'm installing it tomorrow).

Cybernerd - having not restored a SIMS database into a 'blank' SQL database, I was not aware that it would recreate it's own table structure. So, my mistake on this point for which I apologise. Localzuk - I am a total fan of open source and don't generally regard it as insecure, and not all schools have an S: drive, or run their SIMS databases on a server (I'm not talking about my school here). Not all schools encrypt their data as they should. Not all schools have a local techie to police them, and fumble by on what little in-house or outsourced knowledge is available - this is predominantly in the primary sector, but I understand what you are saying. Again, if I am mistaken, I apologise.

So, the the application cannot be installed, with the database structure correct and it is not easier to import the data into it, thus rendering it more easily readable? If this is not the case, then I am mistaken and apologise for my comments.

Cybernerd - I'm not talking about Bectas guidelines or any other theoretical security which exists, or should exist. I'm talking about reality. Certainly, in my school, downloads from SIMS taken off site are encrypted, but this does not happen in all schools.

Thinking of the mass of data which is there on peoples laptops (thinking of a primary school who runs their SIMS database on a laptop, which I know the burser takes home every night ), an open source MIS would make that data a lot easier to read by any tom, dick or harry. If there's a SIMS backup sat somewhere it shouldn't be, at least at the moment it's more difficult to get at all the information - open source MIS would mean that anyone could read it.

When you click on 'Permissions' on a share, the 'Everyone' box should be ticked otherwise users can only read from the share. Where you want to look for 'actual' permissions is the 'Security' tab, where individuals and groups are named and given permissions as to what you want them to be able to do. So, for instance, if you want to set up a 'Shared' folder where staff can read and write, but students can only read: 1. Create folder and share it. Click on permissions and tick 'everyone'. 2. On the security tab, add the staff group (assuming you have one) and tick full permissions. 3. Then add the students group, and when permissions appear, deny the delete permission. I'm assuming you are running server 2k or 2k3, as 2k8 goes about things slightly differently. Microsoft have a reasonable technet article here. Ps. What are you using folder redirection for?

We originally issued all staff with laptops under the laptops for teachers scheme, but have within the past 12 months installed fixed PC's in every teaching room. Support requests for 'non-working' IWB's have plummeted, and staff now view the IT equipment as 'more reliable than 12 months ago'...it's all in the perception!! I'm now not buying replacement laptops; some teachers have complained about this stating that they need to do lesson preparation, reports, etc. at home, however we have made it school policy that it is the teachers choice as to whether they undertake these tasks at home or in school. PS. It has taken 12 months, but now NO staff disconnect their IWB from the PC to connect their laptop....the reason? Their laptop is 4 years old and runs like a dog, as maintenance is no longer being carried out on them :-) Their PC is only a year old & nice and quick. The new system has hidden benefits, primarily staff not storing documents locally on their laptop & waiting for it to fail ;-) - they now find it easier to store documents on the network, which we can back up.

Here's my list: - upgrade RAM in 120 PC's - reimage 140 PC's (a big power spike has made them a bit 'gimpy', so remedial measures!) - Implement Exchange server and migrate from linux mail to Exchange 2007 - Write staff training program & materials for Exchange - Implement SIMS Learning Gateway for access by staff and (allegedly) parents (though SMT not currently listening to advice re attendance registers & behaviour records, so reckon once the phone calls start this will be rolled back) - Roll out CS4 - Migrate the majority of the admin users to the curriculum network - Implement and configure Mahara - Implement a system in refurbed food tech so that demonstrations can be recorded and streamed to TV's located throughout the room - Implement (yet more) digital signage and link it up to MTV for lunchtime broadcasts - Tidy all wiring cabs - Tidy up the server room (it's a b****y mess!) All in all, a quieter summer than previous ones, which I'm happy about

There needs to be a two way trust between the domains (I seem to recall that Microsoft call it something else now, but that's effectively what it is) Are the clients timing out over the internet link? May have to tweak group policy - wait for network to be available etc. Do you need to 'apportion' a section of the internet link between the two schools with QOS via a router maybe? You don't want connections dropping coz some teacher thinks that video streaming for 30 kids is a great idea.

Think I've come across this thread pretty late....but interesting stuff! Here: 1250 students 150 teaching staff 90 Iwb's & projectors 2 mobile projectors 500+ workstations 200 laptops/netbooks Lots & lots & lots of kit for podcasting/green screen movie making/funky stuff Moodle, Exchange, Terminal servers, etc etc We have: 1 x FT NM (me) 1 x FT Tech 1 x FT Web dev (totally focussed on Moodle, website & other web based initiatives)

That would be my guess. Prob best to not add the ans file & see how it goes when you run through mini setup manually.

To be honest, I would probably charge per job. That way, the customer feels that they have got value for money if it takes longer than you estimated (this comes with experience) and don't feel ripped off if it takes you shorter than expected. I know that I am somewhat suspicious of 'charges per hour' as some IT folk are better than others, and what will take one an hour (because he's got the right tools/experience) will take others 3 or more. I'm probably over-cynical though