palmer_eldritch

Thanks again, everyone - have now returned to Moodle 1.9.5 with its older versions of Apache, PHP and mySQL from a backup. Deep breath, lessons learned and all that.

Thanks everyone - this is certainly more help than I'm getting from the moodle.org community at present! config.php has all the old site info as it should be. There's a new password for the mySQL user but config.php has that as well. I'm going to try sticking Moodle 1.9.5 back on and see if it works with the new mySQL/PHP/Apache setup. Wish me luck (or laugh cynically, whatever floats your boat).

Hello everyone, I hope someone can help with my current Moodle problem. . . I upgraded from Moodle 1.9.5 to 1.9.9 using the moodle.org package. This also upgraded my server's PHP, Apache and mySQL, of course. I now find I cannot use my previous 1.9.5 database or moodledata folder. The best I can manage is a completely new and empty install of Moodle 1.9.9, using the default database and moodledata folder. Any attempts to 'point' Moodle 1.9.9 at the 1.9.5 database and/or moodledata folder result in the dreaded 'Database connection failed. It is possible that the database is overloaded or otherwise not running properly' error. mySQL can see the 1.9.5 database and run commands on it. Running mysqlcheck shows several tables as corrupt with the error 'Incorrect key file'. Using mysqlcheck's '--auto-repair --optimize' and mysql's 'repair' doesn't change this. I should probably say I am running this on a Windows Server 2003 machine, which may surprise none of you. Please don't shout at me, I had nothing to do with that decision - I am merely the poor sap who has a broken Moodle just before the start of a new academic year. Finally, apologies if the solution is elsewhere on here or t'internet in general. Trust me, I have looked, but as time has gone on and my brain has become ever more fried I may have missed it.

Thanks guys. Anyone else, who maybe works in the 6th form/FE sector, willing to tell me how they deal with their new students' qualifications on entry?

I work at a 6th-form college with a yearly intake of approximately 1,000 students. The powers that be want to fully computerise the entry of new students' GCSE-level results into the College database (currently this is a paper-based exercise during the enrolment process and grades are then manually entered later by a member of support staff). Does anybody out there do this already? If so, how? Does it work well, or is it a monumental pain?

It's £4.99 this week.

I have looked at the 'similar threads' (nice feature) but I think my particular nugget is new... I have a laptop which really likes my office. So much so, that it won't accept mains power from anywhere else. Outside my office, it'll only boot up if you're on battery. Plug the mains in and it just constantly restarts. In my office, though, it's fine. The only way I've found to get it to accept mains power outside my office is to do the following; 1) Boot up on battery power. 2) Insert DVD 3) Launch Windows Media Player or whatever 4) Play the DVD 5) Insert mains power plug 6) Minimise DVD window 7) Laptop now accepts mains power Stop the DVD and it immediately shuts down and restarts continuously. And yet it's fine in my office. Elsewhere in the College it won't have mains. Outside the College it won't have mains. Is it haunted? Seriously, though, I've never come across this sort of behaviour - has anyone else?

Currently having problems with this - our wireless system stores a certificate on each allowed computer. Anybody have an idea where it might be stored on an iMac?

Just got more AoC spam touting a conference, with the following statement - A new wave of learners is about to hit your college: born in the digital age, fluent in the language of technology, and eager to use it in all parts of their lives. Now I don't know about you, but I've yet to see these 'digital natives'. The students generally seem as clueless as the staff when it comes to common sense and IT. Oh they know how to use MySpace et. al. and they can find umpteen copies of Super Mario online but 'digital natives' ? Bit optimistic. Discuss. Or not!

So, my place of work is investing in Macs and I have been tasked with looking after the 'project'. I have an iMac, X server and Pro to mess about with. They're on the (Windows) network. Before I start feeling too smug, though, there are a couple of things I'd like to get set up and can't find much info about them... 1) Email - users logging on with their Windows credentials have to enter the server name / username / password manually. 2) Firefox - doesn't take proxy settings from system prefs like what Safari does... I could also mention printers but I think the above two are enough for now. I think what I'm looking at is some sort of login script but like I say, I haven't had much luck finding any help with it. As you've probably worked out if you've read this far, the lovely white and shiny world of Jobs is a new one on me. Anyone in / been in this situation and managed to sort it?

Yeah, quite! I thought about giving him his own private Moodle but decided against it!

Anyone else had one of these requests from a teaching colleague? I've just been asked if Moodle can be set to enter 'editing mode' by default. Because obviously clicking that pesky 'turn editing on' button is really tedious...

Something tells me they make these prices up on the spot...

Just been quoted the following price for a firewall from Sophos - £666.60 Well, I thought it was funny

We've tested this with a hub and it works - with a switch it doesn't, but with a hub it does. The authorised computer gets you on, then you can plug anything into your hub and it'll have access - even if the device has a different MAC and/or IP, as the port has been enabled and the individual packets are not checked.

Thanks for the prompt replies! 802.1x was another possibility but the Microsoft site mentions quite a glaring vulnerability in that, apparently, you can plug a hub between an acceptable machine and the network which then gets authenticated, allowing anything on which plugs into that hub. Obviously nothing's going to be 100%, I suppose it depends on how 'risk averse' your senior bod is! Anyway, will investigate packetfence and thanks once again for the replies. Any more very gratefully received!

I'm not after any institution's security secrets, just a 'you might want to look at...' sort of answer. Our resident 'power user' amongst the staff recently plugged in a machine of his own onto the network here and caused multiple duplicate IP warnings all over the place. This has lead to a senior bod querying the 'security' of our network vis a vis 'rogue devices'. So, how do other places deal with this particular nugget? Managed switches tied to MAC addresses? Encrypting all network traffic? Is there a 'keep the senior bod happy' box I could buy and plug into the network? Any advice very gratefully received, as usual.

Just had the sales pitch by a young chap from Northumbria Education, who sell turnitin in Europe. Apparently 85% of UK universities use it and 40 colleges. That's '40', not '40%'. My overall impression was that signing up to a service like turnitin is a bit like having an anti-virus or anti-spam system - you have a system to deal with a problem and without it, certain important people connected with your yearly income are going to ask questions come audit / inspection time. I would think these questions have already been asked at HE level - perhaps for FE it is only a matter of time?

Yes, tried that - didn't work. I'll have another go at it later today and see what happens.

http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20070125.html

It's here - http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?d=13&rid=82 Installing on Linux has a brief guide but the intimation is 'Do this and it'll work'. Installation on Windows is headed 'Ham-Fisted Installation' and just says 'unpack the archive and copy the relevant folders into the root of your Moodle installation'. Unfortunately, it is not immediately obvious which folders go where...

Anyone got this to work on a Windows machine? Documentation is practically non-existent on moodle.org and the included 'install howto' file makes it very clear the writers of the block don't like the idea of their lovely Linux work being sullied by nasty Microsoft boxes. Doesn't help the poor techs like me who have been asked to install the block though and do not have the option of using the wonderful world of Linux. Any help very gratefully received - anyone posting 'just install Linux' will be ignored ...

Interesting stuff, grumbledook. I'm not going near the job - after eight years' teaching which ended some time ago, I've had enough of the job to last me a lifetime! Still find it hilarious that they pile on the 'responsibilities' with no clear idea about how they'll be addressed. Mind you, if the job spec was written by masochistic workaholic, then...

Oh, forget to say that the person spec also says - • Commitment to the Christian values of the Academy Nice and vague, I thought.

The advertised salary is c26K, which for the job as described made me laugh even more.