tarquel

AD is very nearly all you need to lock the system down I would say. The 2003 AD & XP SP2 combo works well I use a few other tools for stuff but generally GP on the AD is all Save the £££ and either do a course on Group Policy, or just learn (like some of us) as you tinker with it and put the money saved by not buying ranger on new server hardware or networking gear Cheers N

ahh i see Shame lol N.

How do ya do that? I've been looking to do it for ages but never got around to learning how to do it lol Nath

Bit of everything really ... - Using a custom UA XP CD if theres only one of that model in the school (when I have more storage space I'll store images of them lol) - Imaging with Ghost and then Ghostcasting them out when needed - I use the Sysprep method which works for me - Have been using the Restore CD on one or two of them and updating after its finished (on the ones that are unattended and "decent") With all of the above - whether it be 98 or XP, I usually have some manner of updating software via batch scripts I run Office is installed either in the GHST images first or manually after depending on the machine in question. The licenses vary depending on what was bought at the time. Its (currently) easier for me to manually start the install (which is UA of course via a MST using a simple batch command). Not installing anything via GP yet, but will look into it some time. Right....think that was long winded enough. Cheers Nath

lmao but at least they make education-specific PC's and TFT's (I hear) Nath

Didn't i see somewhere a option to make it machine-based over user based? (probably in my imagination but so what else is new lol) Nath

LMAO lol Good 'un

Thats what I've been doing today You shouldda seen the HDD i hit with a hammer today. Managed to hit it so hard that it popped open like a book lol Cheers Nath

gotcha - cool [u never said MS knew about it or i wouldn't have mentioned it ] Welcome to the forum Nath

Indeed - tho they would send the stuff back if I sent them what I chucked in the skip lol Cheers N

Small point but if you have a problem with a MS Service Pack, you can call for free support on the situation. I dont know whether this is only relevent for OS SP's - XP, 2003, etc... and not Application Server SP's - but as you're on about Server 2003 SP1, you should call MS, explain the situation, and ask for support on it. They should give u it for free Cheers guys Nath

hmmmm..... a) 17" TFT's - glass screen then? b) PC cables and connections locked so kids cant fiddle with them? Not investigated Dell machines due to them having you over a barrel after the warranty is up (i.e. non-standard fitting parts etc - in the past - so I'm led to believe) but it sounds good. I'm happy with HP tho (if it aint broke...) Cheers Nath

Dunno lol I dont have anywhere to recycle them to. Look up my town on Google earth and ye shall see lol (Mark - you know of any places?) Nath

bah! not got the keys to the school eh? :P Nath

Recycle what I was chucking I doubt think would be use to anyone lol - a few Cyrix 486 PC' - a few AMD K6 333hmz - dead pretty much - a few Intel celeron based toshiba ones that refused to allow me to do anything to fix them. They were only 433 mhz as well - various old HDD's and stuff problem here is that I cant donate or recycle them. There's a yard down the road but not driving and wouldnt be given the money for the petrol either (stingy git I am lol - not really) plus more time spent doing that while I've plenty to entertain myself with as it is this hol.... /rant over lol Anyone else? Nath

Oh the joy of GP Nath

[moved] Cheers, Nath

Hi all Just wondering what everyone does with old hardware? i.e. do ya bin it, recycle it, donate it, etc. Like for example I have a load of ancient pc's which i've just stripped, held on to any good bits, and then smashed the hell out of the old HDD's and skip'ed. I have a Netgear EN524 (24 porth 10M switch with BNC connector) just lying in the back. Just wondering if I should bother keeping it or not. Maybe as a backup switch if one decides to snuff it lol What does everyone else do with their old unused/faulty stuff? Cheers Nath

the link was good - thanks - comparison tables are handy indeed No, thats not far off my monthly wage lol and 'til my girlfriend gets a job, I'm skint lol MSDN library looks good but the "exclusive msdn support" doesn't appear to be specific as to what that is exactly :S So unless you're making software etc., there no real support benefit!? Better to be a MS SB and get the SB's subscription thing lol - way cheaper and you get a load more products too I just wonder though, with MSDN you'll get the long awaited longhorn beta(s) coming soon, but I wonder whether you would with the SB's subscription..... *thinks about calling MS* Cheers Nath

Good start to the thread DB. As we dont live very long as humans, I wont post on this just yet ;) Hell... there is plenty of people that think Office is a part of windows i.e. you get office with XP lol Its a slight digression but we see that a lot in the shop i help out. Probably coz they might be teachers who are used to it being on the machines at work and just dont know the difference. (or parents of kids and the parents dont realise what the child is talking about properly) I said to the owner - "we really should put a sign up saying "Office (Word, Excel, etc... isn't part of Windows - Its a seperate product which you must buy" lol sorry - digression over Nath

*steps up to the mic for mark* They were county defined in the school's by Powys before his time and possibly before my time too (cant remember that long ago ) The ranges he was refering to, do start with 172 btw - its common in powys to refer to the 3rd bit as that range is the one that is different in each school. Best not say anymore on that. With my two ranges, they are seperate ranges as it has been the way for as long as I remember it, and here its one range admin and one range curriculum. Powys control the ACL's but i can request changes to it. In the process of getting a VPN/Firewall (as you know i think) for the obvious reason of being able to tunnel in and work on stuff. I'm trialling a few to try and find the best one - particularly one that can do 3 or more IP ranges specifically assigned to a certain port.... Hope that clear it up a little Nath

How much is a MSDN subscription by the way guys? I've always thought about getting one (no the school wouldnt pay for it lol) but never knew what it is exactly. Can anyone explain it? (without linking to MS site or just copy 'n' pasting jargon lol) Cheers Nath

No - what is it? (Bronze Certificate of Sleeping?) but seriously, I've never heard of it - apart from here. Nath

http://uk.insight.com/apps/productpresentation/index.php?product_id=HP1320 is what I've put on a old JetDirect 300X (see down the linked page for the item - lol its still available and its a 3 pack for that price i believe lol) and all i had to do was buy the PSU for the jetdirect 300X as ours was powered by the hp 2000C that we got it with about 6-ish years ago I think we have the buisness inkjet you are on about but not the full blown one, tho it did cost alot but its a nice machine tho naturally, its been abused alot since we had it - furthest point away from me Attached to the local machine (only as there's not enough network ports in that room and they couldnt afford to buy anything more expensive) but will be (I hope) adding it to the new pc suite we are planning for the humanities block. Should complement the HP laser printer in the block already very nicely then when its networked As you can tell, like Ric - I luv HP stuff - not just printers in my case desktops and servers too @DB: Yet another gem of edugeek shines thru... http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314105 Thanks for that (even tho i havent opened it yet - i intend to give it a whirl too. So glad you've mentioned it. Not that printing is that much of a prob, but it may improve things when large print jobs are sent Cheers Nath

Just ordered mine - how long was it til you got it? It says "within 28 days" - was it quicker than this? Nath