LCPSWolf
-
Posts
106 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
News
20th
EduGeek EDIT Conference
Blogs
Everything posted by LCPSWolf
-
We recently adopted a new SIS based on Oracle. While we did not write the coding for the database, we are allowed to add in features...but no one in our department knows Oracle. Basically, I'm looking for a self service password reset that I can create and post via our web server. Any tips on good Oracle coding books or thoughts as to how realistic this goal is would be great. I realized today, on my 15th password reset due to lockout, that this was something I needed to change. (Our password policy is 3 tries, lockout, no timeout. And no, without giving full admin rights to the database, password resets cannot be delegated. We already asked I'd love some ideas! Thanks as always - you guys are all awesome.
-
Hey all, Here's more of a non-technical question... What is the ideal setup of a k-12 tech department? We're in a situation where we can make some major revisions in how our department is ran...and I'm wondering what changes would make it better. Our top priority is, of course, to support instruction. What works well for you all? What doesn't? This could cover anything from staffing to procedures to helpdesk setup, response times, etc. Or, to perhaps put this another way, what works well at your job? Thanks, as always!
-
Hey all: Issue I ran into yesterday relating to our new set of HP 6735b laptops (and likely other new SATA equipment)... Basically, I was attempting to reformat the systems with our XP Pro CD, and the systems would BSOD with a 7b error code. Tried multiple systems, multiple CD's, same issue. Called HP - these laptops are shipping with a BIOS setting that is not compatible with XP install CD's (as I understood the rep). To check / change: Boot, F10 (bios) Select System Config > Device Config > Sata Device Mode Our laptops are set to AHCI; in order to boot off an XP cd, had to change to IDE. For what it's worth, I can still use the image I had already configured, even though when changing these settings the BIOS warns you may need to reinstall your OS. Apparently AHCI is used with Vista, per wikipedia [ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Host_Controller_Interface:[/ame] Hope it helps! I'll post back in once I find out if I can image an IDE-set laptop to an AHCI-set laptop. My apologies if I'm wrong on any of the AHCI info - it's all new to me! I did try to slipstream some AHCI drivers onto my XP install CD, but didn't have any luck.
- 2 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- hp 6735b
- stop error 7b
- (and 1 more)
-
Ben, Ah, good point - I should have seen that. Thanks.
-
Mac Shinobi, Great idea! Thanks. In the past few minutes, I was able to get a repair install going that appears to have kept my programs (etc) installed, but I'll try your method on another laptop as well - I'd prefer the regedit one if I ever need it in the future.
-
So far I haven't had any luck with this process. I follow the steps do the repair, and the XP Pro CD faithfully reinstalls my OS - all the changes I have made to the image are basically gone (my programs are still on the c: drive, but all icons, customizations, user accounts, etc, are gone). Ah well. *** After trying again, a repair install did solve this issue and keep my installed programs, etc. I did have to reinstall SP3 however, having used XP Sp2 slipstream to do the repair ***
-
I was about to post a thread on this, but found this one instead... I had this same issue myself and found this answer here: http://www.compdigitec.com/labs/2009/07/01/switch-windows-xp-licensing-type-with-cd/ I'm hoping this does work, as I recently spent hours configuring an image from a base laptop that my boss gave me - next I'm I'll reformat it myself with our VLK media! I'll post back in Monday to let you know if this does work in our case.
-
Hey all, Finally a tip and not a question! I was recently making an image for a system on our (new) MS network, and found that when I logged in as a limited user, some of my shortcuts in the start menu had the "default" icon and no longer functioned. Going to Properties showed these to be invalid shortcuts. In creating my default user setup, I had pulled some shortcuts into the All Users Start Menu - and somehow these icons did not have the local "Users" added into the Security Tab. Hence, admins could run the shortcuts, but limited users could not. If interested, I'll post some screenshots of the problem if this isn't clear. Hope it helps someone!
-
Hello, Our school district currently has SIF (school interop framework) running between our student info system and various other databases. I want to know if it's possible to write one for our library automation system, as to purchase one would cost us thousands initially. Looking on the web, I found this: uva-core - Google Code Uva Software And plan to play around with it; however, I'm wondering if anyone else uses SIF or has had any experience doing what I'm trying to do. Thanks!
-
Here's a situation that's been bugging me in our district: we have teachers that have an Exchange email account, a network account (now AD thankfully - in progress away from Novell this summer), and a phone extension via Cisco call manager. They each have a phone in their room with their extension tied to it. When teachers change rooms, they are instructed to move their phone with them so that the phone doesn't have to be reconfigured. This practice seems strange to me. Does anyone else that uses Cisco Call Manager run into this same issue? If so, how do you get around it? And I guess on a related side note, new teachers need an Exchange account, network account, and phone extension created and to be assigned to their phone. Does anyone know of a way to better automate all of these steps? We just got a product that will do the Exchange and AD accounts together ....can't think of the name right now, but we had it with Novell as well. The whole process seems a bit too time consuming - duplication of information and all. Any ideas? Thanks!
-
Cools, If I'm following you: no, we can image systems all day and have no network issues. If you're asking can we reimage the system and still have the problem? Sometimes. =) Michael, I see your point about Java and agree with you. I should check with their support and see what the restriction is related to - if it's their Oracle DB or servers, perhaps we can update it all the way around. I've seen the Java updater - it should be disabled on our current load but I'll check. Also, the FF updater has already been an issue, though I have a version of the ADM and plan to turn off that setting domain-wide, else like you said, we'll have tons of FF version 3.0.xx's out there. If it turns out that FF or the updates are the issue I will definitely see about going back to IE for this software. You're right, it is more managable. localzuk, I'm trying to load Cacti on a testing Win2008 server box and am having issues getting mySQL to start as a service - just wanted to let you know I'm working with it though. I'll check through their support pages / google for tips.
-
Michael, Good point about the Java version; however, we stayed with IE7. Our SIS company recommends using Firefox which is the default when opening the web links to the application. Unfortunately, they also specify Java version 6 update 7 - other versions can cause stability problems (we did our own testing and found this to be the case as well). Thanks for the 6 update 10 and 11 point - I'll try to avoid those in other areas as well.
-
We're running Cisco switches - most areas have powered 3550's. I'm sure we run some version of the Cisco IOS on them; I can find out the actual version if it helps. I'm going to take a look at that software - thanks for the suggestion!
-
Well, I have another issue I'd like ideas on: Our new student information system (Star Student) has been recently installed and runs on Oracle, using 3 different servers. We access the system through a web browser, though the servers are hosted in our network. (They can be accessed from outside the school system as well). The system uses the Java plugin and requires no higher build than 6 update 7 (of the JRE I believe). To make a long story somewhat shorter, the program locks up at various times of the day, for various users. I have Star's support team looking at the server logs to see if there is anything noted on that end of things. We recently rolled out new XP machines to admin staff, and some of these users are noticing this lock up issue; however, not all users of Star with these new computers are experiencing it. I'm very weak in the network troubleshooting area (as is the rest of our staff) and would love any advice on how to troubleshoot this area. I either need to pinpoint the problem or be able to conclusively rule this out as a problem; many higher-up staff believe this to be a network problem as we have had sporadic network issues in the past. Alternatively, I may be able to run to Java console logger to see if the program is throwing any Java errors. The users don't report any errors coming up; the program simply freezes. Aside from whatever the servers may suggest (and any Oracle troubleshooting ideas couldn't hurt), what else can I do? Would a packet sniffer (like Snort?) be an idea? Thanks as always.
-
How do I sysprep and image Adobe Creative Suite 3?
LCPSWolf replied to link470's topic in O/S Deployment
Michael, I stumbled across this post on a Google search - I ran into this issue with Sophos today ... we're converting into a MS domain. You saved me hours of work and headaches with the Sophos info. Thank you so much! Damian -
Hey again, I'm being directed to block all types of video to our remote schools, and have limited tools to do this with. Here's what I'm playing with: In the elementary schools (we have 3), I have core Cisco switches and a Cisco router. Internet traffic then goes over lines to our main site, (in through our Cisco router), and is in turn sent back out to the internet, through our Fortigate web filter. Elementary schools are currently connected to the main site via two T1 lines (3 Mb total) and an additional T1 that's reserved for voice traffic. Our main site has a sufficient connection to the web that we're not concerned with rate limiting yet. The goal is to limited bandwidth used by the remote schools, while allowing access to certain critical software (student information system, food services, library automation, etc), and provide web access, but nothing bandwidth-intensive. Short of blacklisting video streaming sites, what's the most effective way to do this? Block port #'s that carry streaming video? Use rate limiting (?) on the Cisco equipment to restrict how much bandwidth a specific port can use? Is QOS an option in the Cisco equipment to prioritize certain traffic? If so, are there resources I can research on how to set this up and verify that it's working? Our web filter, the Fortigate, claims to be able to be able to reserve bandwidth for certain connections but doesn't appear to have worked in the past. I'm relatively weak in the switch / router configuration department, so there may be more out there that I'm unaware of. Hopefully that is a start...any ideas?
-
Marvin, We pretty much stick with HP's for laser printers due to their reliability (at least that we've seen) so I can't help you much with other recommendations. We had been using some of the Xerox Phaser line but can't say that the toner would be much cheaper. Our high school here has realized that they don't need color lasers in all locations and have been swapping down to a black and white networked laser - cuts costs for toner significantly. I didn't know if that would be an option for you or not, but if so it's the way to go. Best of luck. I'd love to find a cheaper solution than HP that's still solid.
-
For what it's worth, after playing with the above system some more, the issue continued. I swapped systems again and the issue cleared up, so I'm thinking I have at least 1 system with a bad integrated video. Though regardless I'm still not using the Catalyst CC. Thanks again.
-
We solve that issue by putting the barcodes on the sides of the PC's. Out of general sight, but still scanable with relative ease. I agree though, putting them on the bottom would be tough, especially for locations where you have monitors on top. Alternatively, if you're worried about sticker removal, you could write the barcode on the PC in an obscure location (say the bottom) w/ perm. marker and put the sticker in plain sight. If the barcode is removed, reference the written on # and reprint. Annoying, sure, but you're covered either way.
-
Hey all, I wasn't able to find posts on this topic, and honestly, I'm not sure it's possible. Here's what I'm looking to do: Our helpdesk is ran from an externally hosted website @ http://www.myschoolbuilding.com I have contacted SchoolDude (our helpdesk provider) and was told I cannot accomplish what I'm trying to do via any tool that they have. Once the org. code is entered, users type in their email address, fill in general information (name, location, problem from a combo box, etc) and submit their request. I'm trying to make the process easier in our computer labs for them to enter work orders for lab issues, yet still use our already-in-place work order form online. I'd like for the email, user info, and problem type pages to be automated. I am familiar with C++, Java, and Python, and feel that within at least one of these this is possible. I'm love a push in the right direction, or to be told it's not an option so I can at least stop looking. =) For more detail, feel free to look at the work order system itself: The below link is the first page our requestors see, asking them to enter their email. SchoolDude - ToolBox Login Next, the page asks for additional information. I've attached a screenshot. At the bottom of the page is a Submit button. Hopefully what I'm looking to do is clear - if not please ask. Thanks!
-
FN-GM et al, They're running Windows 2003 Server Enterprise and Oracle. One is a database of our student information system and can be accessed directly. A second is a "Portal" server, running the same config that gives a different interface to the data for different users and maintains who can access the database server from the web and from the portal. A third server provides the web interface to the database (with limited access to the data). Those that use it are using Apache for web services. I see what many have said about using Raid 0 for that OS and 5 for data - that would make me feel much better. If I had the ability to wipe and reinstall the servers I'd prefer to set it up like that. Let me go into a little more info about what I'm shooting for, as I don't know if I'm being clear. We have the data from the database server being backed up to different servers via nightly routines (soon to also be in two different physical locations). The data, while important, seems OK - we could lose the database server and have the data to restore. The backup I'm looking for now will mainly be for the OS - or more accurately, the Oracle install. The company that configured all 3 servers will charge us to reinstall Oracle correctly if it becomes corrupted - that's the portion of the server that I really need to protect. Thankfully the servers aren't running AD or any other services of that sort..does that change anything? I know our network tech has looked at Backup Exec - that may be the way we end up going. Thanks so much for all the suggestions!
-
We use an Inventory piece built into our helpdesk application, ITDirect (SchoolDude - Home) which works well for tracking inventory. However, it won't allow you to use a barcode scanner to truly "run" an inventory, so we're looking at switching. Right now we're planning to go to an inventory piece from Follett, the same company that does our library automation. It will provide a barcode-scanable inventory, allow us to track where items are, etc. I've got spiceworks running too, but it's only of so much value to me. True, it will track anything on the network, but won't do cables, monitors, etc. I *love* it for the software tracking side of it however.
-
Hey again, My network guy is having issues coming up with a backup plan for a couple RAID 5 servers. Is this possible aside from going out and buying an expensive backup software? I figure if it can be done, someone else in the education field has done it Basically we have 2 of our primary student information system servers running RAID 5, so if a drive dies we're OK - however we'd love an image of the entire server for worst-case scenario issues. Any thoughts? ..thanks as always!
-
Batman, Thanks for the suggestion. I just pulled down the ATI driver off the HP site and left out the Catalyst Control Center as you suggested and only installed the display driver and the Hydravision (multiple monitor support and tricks). So far, so good. Many thanks
-
Hey all, My district just about ~300 HP dc5850's that have onboard ATI Radeon 3100's. Nice, but I'm noticing as I use one of the test systems that the video driver will hang intermittantly. Now, true, the video driver will recover, but it freezes the system for about 10 seconds and the screen blanks out. Most users will be very disturbed. I've tried reloading the most recent Catalyst driver (it's the same version as the one installed). I've had this happen on multiple dc5850's, so hardware is not likely the issue. This has also happened with the out-of-the-box software load as well as a fresh XP load. Ideas? Specs: XP Pro SP3, 4 GB ram, onboard video (as above). I'll be glad to fill in any more info that you need.
