Stuart_C

I soooo wish I'd thought to do that! Personally It's a bit dull here, I use SRV[server Role].

I would strongly advise against this as it will lead to kids breaking computers! (Plus it's a lot of work as you need to go to each computer.) A couple of questions. 1: Are their only specific groups of students who access these programs 2: Are the programs only on specifc set of computers. Basicslly what you need to do is create a GPO that has the correct settings to make the programs run. Exactly where you place this will depend on the answers to the above questions as some settings may effect the computers some effecting the users. However with carefull positioning and application through security groups (i.e. remove the "authenticated user" /Apply group policy in the GPO security and replace it with "Security group"/Apply group policy) you should be able to sort it without giving the pupils admin rights to the machines. If you can answer my questions I'll try and be a bit more specific.

We have just started adding in the AM/PM registers into SIMS and I was wondering how to actually report on this information. The attendence reports are on a different sub menu from the main reporting engine and I couldn't figure out how to create custom reports. Does anyone have any advice how to go about it? Documentation or any help would be appreciated.

SOLUS3! IFit does everything as advertised then you can WOL all your machines at 6am, force SIMS updates onto the machines and voila everything automatically installed and raring to go before the teahers even turn up. Apparently it will also inform you which machines failed, also install missing components such as .net 2 if not present and a number of other exciting, if boringly technical, things. Was told when it was due for release, forgotten now. Want to say back end of this year for testing early next for general relase.

built in Windows 2003 server command, dsmod! Plus some hevpfullness via excel to create the script itself.

Same here...

Changing the name of your source folder in your DFS root whilst mid copy thus meaning the source no longer exists you mean?

I just used /COPYALL and /E. Actually didn't take that long to do 62Gb so I didn't get to nap! Helped of course by the fact that there's no other traffic on the network particulalry appart from me so no-one trying to use the network or files.

Running SIMS on an SQL 2005 server and I actually use both. Acronis TrueImage Echo Server takes a snapshot of the C: Partition and the partition with SIMS/SQL on this is then backed up onto tape using BackupExec (11d) with the SQL agent along with a second copy of the data and the rest of the data on that server. Each of my server backs up the C:drive through Aconis and the rest of the data throuhg BE. Acronis means that I don't have to install Windows and BE if I need to restore a server. Belt and Braces my son! I would also suggest that you might not going to get BackupExec and the SQL agent for less that £400. The expensive bit is the SQL add on. If you can backup the database to file first or can live with some MIS downtime you won't need it. I personally think it's easier to have the SQL agent back up the DB every day.

Cheers for that. I've started Robocopying... so time for a nap!

Currently I'm trying to move a large part of my user data from one server to another to give more space to various groups. Unfortunately I've just realised that my source server had an Ultrium 2 drive and the destination has an Ultrium 3 drive Unfortunately I'm a little pushed for time and systems to experiment on so I thought I'd go through my options and hope that someone can let me know what will work and what wont. All destination servers have BackupExec 11d and Ultrium 3 drives and True Image Echo/True Image Server 9.1, the source server has BackupExec 10.0 and an Ultrium 2 drive and Acronis TrueImage Server 9.1. I need to bring through all the file security and file ownership info (for quotaing) 1: Ultrium 3 drives will read Ultrium 2 tapes. Use Backupexec on destination server to inventry backup from source server tape. Restore to new location. (Prefered but wishfull thinking?) 2: Install Backupexec remote agent from Source server. Restore through BackupExec (agent older version than BackupExec on destination server, problems?). 3: Install BackupExec agent from destination server onto source server. Create backup of data then restore locally (a bit messy and only works if the remote agent is part of the standard version of Backupexec 11d, otherwise I don't have it) 4: Do a file backup with Acronis. Restore on other server. (Not sure if it will bring through all the security/owner information) 5: Some other free software to move the file between serves whilst maintaining the security information.

Yes it's a specific GPO for deployment of this software package. I'm just tidying up. I take it I should be ok to move the same GPO. Though not 100%... It's just if it does a re-install it creates a massive ammount of work for me if it rests the software. Second time round When I had to delpoy some software to computers slowly (as I needed to verify deployment) I created a GPO at the top level and then a group of computer for that GPO to applied to. As I went round the site I added more computers to that group until I had finished. Unfortunately that was SECOND time round....

Currently I have a fairly organised Tree structure for my AD. I have a computer OU and then beneath it OU's for all the departments. When I was installing some software via GPO it rquired me to install it then make some config changes to the machines so I did each department individually applying the GPO to the sub OU. Now I'm looking at tidying up. If I remove the software install GPO from all my Sub-OU's and apply it to the top OU are the clients going to try uninstalling the software and re-installing it? Just re-installing it? or not care? Any ideas?

Anyone know any good PC Diagnostic software? I'm looking for something that will do memory tests in the main but something that will test memory, CPU Hard Disk etc etc would be nice. Cheers

You can delete staff using Routines ==> Staff ==> Delete staff. It checks to see that they are not connected to anything and then deletes them. Usefull if someone creates the staff with no start date so when I search for them, don't find them in "Current" staff and so create them and end up with dupicates.

My sims backups are full daily backups on a two week cycle. This backup includes the file backups of SIMS created by the upgrade process and manually by me when I patch the DB. These only go back to easter as that's when I put the new server in. I have all of them on the old server that I will archive when I decommissionthe old machine.

there's a windows command "Subinacl" which will definately help with the setting of security on multiple files. (If you've not seen it)

You can diable those windows hotkeys in a GPO too if you have 2003 server. User setting > Windows Components > Windows Explorer > Turn off windows+X Hotkeys

Here I use first 4 letters of surname and then initials of Christian names. So John S Smith would be johnss. Occasionally I hit duplicate usernames but very rarely (there are about 2 students with an additional x in their username). I includes the students year of entry in their description which makes student deletion much easier. I export all my new students from SIMS then run them through the Excel spreadsheet I have for user creation. It creates me text for the batch files I run to create a users account, home directory and set the permissions on it. Deletion is much the same. I move the accounts of the leavers to a seperate OU get a list of the accounts and import it onto excel. That then lets me create batch files to remove their home directories and mail directories. (Excel is my friend! )

SQL 2005, Win 2K3, 420 students and the only other thing currently on the server is the AV Sfotware. (Sorry it's brief meeting to get to)

@ Mcshammer_dj - Because I didn't know you could script the Running of Solus. Wouldn't W2K3 Servers tendency to to ask me if I am absolutely definately sure I want to run that exe file when it runs all the upgrade files be a problem? @ matt40k - Doubt it. It ran the backup I manually created 5 minutes before hand fine. Plus it's a Quad Core XEON with 4Gb Ram and about 65GB of spare disk space. Not betting on a lack or resources. Might just have to keep an eye on it and run a full disk scan over the half term... It's just a bit irritating.

No updates to apply - I tend to do them manually over the holidays. Possibly the hardware though this is the first time it's ever "randomly" re-set itself. Just seemd a suspicious time to do it.

Anyone ever had their SIMS server restart during an update of SIMS? I was applying the December update, it started creating the backup, I looked away whist that ran, I turned back a little while later and the machine was restarting. DB Version is OK, Software version is OK, Data seems accessable, workstation upgrades run. Nothing obvious in Event Manager and according to the information I got from Capita when I ran a couple of checks there were no problems. I however don't like random server restarts and I was wondering if anyone had had that happen to them.

Unfortunately due to cost and loaction the best internet we can currently get is ADSL Max. This has a bit of a rubbish upload speed which isnt helpfull when the staff complain about the time it takes to uplaod stuff to the VLE. Whilst the Baulk Import Tagging Tool helps it can still take time. What I was thinking of it some way for the staff to create their import files, save them in a shared area and then script the upload to run late at night. Anyone managed anything similar? Or Even know if it's possible?

Hmm... The problem that i had is that I have no list of what effect changing each of the security keys has or the reverse and which keys to enable to effect certain things. The example was when I took my custom, cut down, group and wanted to give our housemasters access to pupils reports (assessment manager marksheets). I found the key to enable the link but every time I clicked on it as a housemaster it crashed. I had to use trial and error to work out waht other key to enable get the feature to work properly. That tool a while