pantscat

Is it happening to PCs across the site? Or just one particular area? I'd unplug all the network segments from your core and then plug them in one by one to see if/where the problem occurs.

What switches have you got throughout your site? are they managed? If so - look at the port stats/counters for all the switches and see if there are any that are showing any particularly unusual spikes of activity - especially "errors rx". Get loop-protect up and running on the core switch, also - what are you pinging from the core switch that means you get a response time of 30ms? You should be getting 1ms or less if it's directly connected. More than likely a network loop or a duff device spamming out crap.

Nothing should break really, if it's all been setup properly. But... check scheduled tasks, check what accounts services are set to run as, and check what credentials your backup systems use. All of these things should use dedicated accounts...

Happens to us all! No worries!

Roaming profiles? Exclude the folder from the profile?

Hi Mike, I've since moved on from that job - but I think I did it using workgroup manager and redirected ~\Library to \Tmp. If that doesn't work let me know and I'll ask my old network manager who's still there! Cheers, Ant

You should be able to mount the VHD file in Disk Management on your new server - then you can grab the old DHCP database (which will restore your DHCP settings), and also any other files you need.

Restore it to a VM running on a PC then simply move the files over to the new server when it arrives and continue to run it as a VM.

Was this a restore attempt on the b*ggered server? It's definitely worth trying it out on a different machine.

What did you use to create your backup? My only suggestion at this stage would be to install Hyper-V on a decent spec PC and then restore the backup to a VM.

Have you got a recent system state backup? and a decent-ish spec PC?

DOCSTORAGE contains all your documents that are linked to pupil records in SIMS... so yes, deleting things from here would break things.

Yep, when I was a BOFH, I'd use WinDirStat and then output the contents of "Dir *.filextensions /s" to a text file and use that to shame people. Thinking about it, you could probably use the "cleanups" function in WinDirStat to automate this...

WinDirStat... this is great.

The things that'll get you far in the workplace in my experience are: 1. Always be polite, calm and patient with people. Even if they're incredibly annoying. 2. Be honest. 3. Document everything. You won't remember that obscure registry fix in two weeks time. 4. Try to specialise in something you enjoy. There's nothing better than being paid to do something you find interesting. (Although a lot of us are still working on this!) 5. Don't be afraid to do something, and also don't be afraid to say that you don't know how to do something. If you don't know - say so, but say that you'll look into it. And ask for help when you need it. 6. Remember names. 7. Trying to get a problem fixed with a 3rd party? Don't be aggressive. Explain the issues clearly and ask for their help. You're more likely to get a swift resolution by being reasonable. 8. Never belittle someone's IT problem - it might seem minor to you, but it could be enough to send them to a meltdown and ruin their whole day/week/month. 9. Always try to think of the bigger picture. A quick fix is great, but no good if it's going to create a lot of work further down the road. Do it properly the first time. 10. Never underestimate the benefit from having a break. It'll clear your head and make you more effective. 11. Being approachable is important. Try not to be an IT-hobbit living in a dungeon that no one dares visit. Walk around - say hi to people.

Can what? Haven't had a coffee yet... am I being slow?

If you've got really slow storage and it takes an age to copy you might want to move the roles to the physical DC.

ACLs you'd generally use to stop certain types of traffic going between VLANs... whereas you'd use the Sophos UTM to stop traffic getting out/in to the whole network. EDIT TO ADD: unless of course you're using the Sophos UTM to do the routing between the VLANs...

Soz - It might have been NT4... Well, it depends how fast your storage is - I'd probably be more comfy transferring the FSMO roles prior to copying it.

I think that's only 2012R2...

Is it on shared storage? If so, then there's no problem - just go ahead and migrate to the new host. If you're copying it from local storage on one host to the other, then you may want to move the FSMO roles to your physical DC depending on how long you think the copy will take. Unless of course you're running NT4 and you really do have a PDC...

Don't worry - I didn't take it that way! I'm pretty thick skinned anyway... working in schools tends to do that to you! It's mostly "because shiny". I'm guilty of that... in the job I'm doing now I have two laptops - an old Lenovo x201 which I take to most customer meetings, and a Macbook Air that I use for customers at the higher end.

That's absolutely fine - I just thought it was pretty tricky to find something comparable.

I don't necessarily agree that they should dip into their own pockets to buy equipment that they need to do their job - certainly wouldn't happen in any other position for someone who isn't self-employed. The pay should be appropriate for the work that they are doing - responsibilities, hours, pressure and the knowledge and expertise that they bring to the role. The headteacher may want an uber device - and if necessary then they're ultimately responsible and so, in my view, it's fine that they decide what they want to spend funds on. There's a lot of reasons they might want a Macbook Air, they're pretty much unparalleled for the battery life, build quality, size and weight - not to mention that they're viewed as being a premium 'luxury' device - it might be appropriate to have something like that in meetings. Besides... I've seen loads of IT staff buying kit that they don't really need.

Have a look at this - might help: Exchange 2010 Edge Transport Server: Configuring IP Block List Providers