eean

As it's fresh install, there hasn't been a chance for that kind of build up. I've just found 500mb in c:\windows\softwaredistribution\download which is, apprently, safe to delete (junk from windows update). (It's like cleaning up after a child!) Just another 2.5 gb to go!

Completely fresh install, using a CD that has Service Pack 2 integrated. After installing all the updates (including IE7) but with no other software Windows has eaten up 4.45GB 8O - System restore is OFF. - I've deleted all the update uninstall files from c:\windows - I've deleted driver files that I put on. I'm sure it wasn't that bad before, but I can't really recall. How much space is IE7 supposed to take? According to Microsoft Windows XP, with SP2 needs just over 1GB. This approximately 400% wrong! You start noticing inaccuracies like this when your hard drives are only 7GB (bloody RM!). Any ideas where I can get about 3 GB back from?

The other thing they can do is: Hold down SHIFT and rh click on the Power Options icon (or install program etc...) They can then click 'Run As' and type in their local admin password. This would be preferential to giving local admin rights because it means they can't do things by accident!

There must be a local company you could use that would be able to come in and hack in to the network for you, should this extreme event happen. If you found a suitable company now you could put it in the plan. Alternatively, how about give the passwords to an off-site approved person e.g. the chair of governers. If you only gave them the domain recovery password, they would need local access to the servers for them to be any good.

I can't see how you'd be breaking the Data Protection act - it's not really for that kind of thing. A similar scenario is companies scanning users' emails, which they ARE allowed to do, so long as they have a specific business purpose for doing so. (See Here). In your case you DO have a specific business purpose. However, I would say that it is polite to make people aware that, in their absence, other people would access their home drive. I wouldn't use home drives for storing 'work' in the first place. It would probably be better placed on a shared network drive with a hierarchical access policy. That’s what networks are for – the Support services manager should be able to access the files they need without having to go to you. Home drives are just really temporary storage or for personal things (done in lunch hour, of course).

Wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. I ONLY buy site licences or, if I have to, concurrent user licences that still allows the software to be installed on all machines. (begrudgingly with the exception of M$ software). From a staff point of view: Software is available on all machines, including staff laptops. In a primary school, this is essential - all children and staff use the ICT suites, laptops. In class, older children may use software designed for younger children. Staff like the fact that they know it will work everywhere, including their laptops. If they can't use it at home, they can't plan to use it, so it doesn't get used = a waste of money. From an technical point of view: I only install software that is 100% silent. Even if it kills me (like Digiblue!). This means that if anything goes wrong with a computer, I can whack in a generic build cd and it will reinstall everything, with little or no prompting. If we get given or buy an odd machine, I don't want to have to phone up 20 different software companies to buy one more licence for it. Solution: Sell site licences based on the number of pupils on role. This way they can charge more for larger schools whilst still making it affordable for small schools. Give a licence key that has the school name encoded in it. When the software starts up, it will say "Licenced to: XYZ School" in large letters. Schools don't generally steal software and they know that even the doziest of Ofsted inspectors will spot that!

We use http://www.firestreamer.com - it is a cheep application $30us or something - and it works with NT backup. It mounts as a virtual tape drive, then you can use your usb drive as if it were a large tape drive. Or you can backup to files, but it will sort out naming them for you and can delete files after they are x many days old. Also handy because you can encrypt AND compress the files - something nt backup can't do. Does email alerts etc.. aswell.

All ELC software is listed here: http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk

See my post here: http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=69726#69726 Basicaly, I automate the wireless setup wizard inside windows. In normal operation, it copies an exe and a text file to a USB pen drive. This exe will only run from the root of a drive letter not a folder, so I use the subst command to fake this (but you could map a drive to a network location). Then, I use autoit to press all the OKs etc... Although it sounds like a problematic method, it has never failed once! (yet).

Thanks for all your comments so far. I think Contink's idea is sort of what I was getting at in my original post - basically to give teachers a curric (day to day) password and an admin (secure data) password. However, what I'm thinking is to log on as a curric user then map a drive to to the admin network (requiring the user to enter their ADMIN password because the curriculum user won't have access) when, and only when, they need enhanced access. I could probably make a script that will introduce a screensaver time out etc... So: what's the best way to achieve this? - Simply, have 2 domains, same IP range. or - VPN? - probably a bit overkill? Are there any other problems you can think of with this model?

Thanks for all your comments so far. I think Contink's idea is sort of what I was getting at in my original post - basically to give teachers a curric (day to day) password and an admin (secure data) password. However, what I'm thinking is to log on as a curric user then map a drive to to the admin network (requiring the user to enter their ADMIN password because the curriculum user won't have access) when, and only when, they need enhanced access. I could probably make a script that will introduce a screensaver time out etc... So: what's the best way to achieve this? - Simply, have 2 domains, same IP range. or - VPN? - probably a bit overkill? Are there any other problems you can think of with this model?

Thanks, but not really going to solve my problem. I'm not looking to have 2 domains so that I can enable complex passwords for some users. What I'm trying to do is add an extra layer of security above the teacher's standard logon. Windows won't let you connect to the same server with 2 different usernames, so it's going to have to be cross domain.

Thanks for your replies so far. I think we'd need it accessable everywhere but via an extra password ontop of the normal windows password. Anyone else got some ideas on this one?

I know this one has come up before but I have a slightly spin on the age old problem: Primary School Current setup: Admin Network - Server 2003. Set up with DIRE security (by a 3rd party company who STILL haven't managed to get the backup working ) Curric network - Server 2000. Set up by me (so is utterly brilliant ). Me: I'm just the ICT coordinator so none if this is really my business but it's so cr*p I feel that I ought to do something! They are not directly joined at all, they share the same router for the Internet but have different subnets. Aim: I would like some connection between the 2 networks. In the future I'd like to put in email or something in. I'd like the head to access planning etc.. on the curric network. It would also be handy for curric network to be able to print to admin machines via the wireless network. Extra spin: I'm joining staff laptops to the curric network with files stored on the server and made available offline via synchronisation. Hopefully, I can set up a VPN for this to be done over from home. Problem is that some staff keep sensitive files (eg staff performance management) on their laptops or pen drives(!) and they are rubbish at locking computers and having good passwords. That ain't going to change and it isn't practical to ask them - pc's drive the whiteboards and staff will inevitably leave them logged on all day. So, hows about: 1. Join the networks. What's the best way? Just put them all on the same IP range? (I would quite like to keep them separate, mainly so the curric network doesn't get 'blamed' for causing problems on the admin network.) How does this work with handing out dhcp addresses? Or something better/more secure. then 2. Give staff a username on the admin network (with complex password requirement). Can I then make it so they connect to the admin server from the curric network but are prompted for their admin password on the (rare) occasions they want to access admin files? Can they also keep the admin files offline on their laptops? How will that work when you sync back up - will it prompt for the password? Can I make it so that the admin password CANT be saved by ticking the box? I would quite like to enable encryption for the admin files. If I log onto the curric network then map a drive to the admin (using an admin password) will windows be able to decrypt the files? i.e. will it use the share password for the key or the windows password? (If it is the latter, can it be made that the admin and curric usernames can both decrypt the files?). Or, just KISS and use some sort of 3rd party folder protection for sensitive files - recommendations? I know there's a lot of issues here. Thanks for reading!

Don't see why not. USB hard drives are seen by windows as the same as normal hard drives.

That behaviour sounds quite normal to me. When you logon offline the logon script won't run. Unless you have mandantory profiles or you have asked the drives not to be persistant, the drive mappings should be saved with the profile - I think that's how it works here because all drives are in my computer even when offline. A quick workaround would be to create a shortcut to your logon script - double click on that to reconnect the drives.

I have had lots of complaints about media player 11 crashing, although it only effects specific machines. I think (because I haven't tested it properly) this wasn't a problem with media player 9. It installed itself via wsus, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered. I'm probably going to remove it.

What are the errors?

If you do end up with widescreen this little tool might help you with the changing resolution problem http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Miscellaneous/Ant-QuickRes.shtml Lets you change the resolution from the command line, so you could stick a shortcut on the desktop.

That's how we work it too. If you have got your laptops networked and synced using offline files, staff can switch on their laptop to sync it all upto the network (or do it from home if you have a VPN). Then they just log onto the permanant PC in the classroom. It saves all the faffing with wires and aligning the board, chaning monitor output, worrying about do you switch the computer on first or the projector. Because everything is 'just there' I think the smartboards get used more often.

To quote myself: Yep. Definitely said off network IIRC it happens both when you are off the network and when you first go into work and first connect to the network. If you then work online, restart the computer back online again, you don't have this problem. Sorry, I should have made this clearer. I think it must be searching through so it can get the information for the bit that says 'Unavailable for reconnect 15 modified files'. Why it needs to search for this information I don't know! I started off with the GP settings as default but then I found that even if you said 'include sub folders' when you manually asked an item to be available off line, if a new sub folder on the network was created it wouldn't include it. So I changed the GP settings to always include sub folders. Now, it would be nice if I could manually un-check some sub folders, but the option is greyed out - so I'm guessing it's impossible?

On the whole, I find they work quite well. We use them on our teacher's laptops - I find it particularly useful for our planning folders (which are on a shared drive). I can do planning on home and it'll appear on the network automatically and my year group partner can do the same and it'll work it's way back down to my laptop at home through syncing. It's like a vpn, only cheeper. (and not quite as good!). The only problems I've had are: - this one. - where a teacher went on a course and copied 3 DVD's worth of data then tried to sync it (it didn't work because she had completely filled up her hd). - where someone has asked it to sync too much data and it fills up the HD (you'd think it'd stop when it gets down to 100mb free ) On the whole, I think it's a good idea but it would be nice if it worked very slightly better!

OK, but what the hell is it doing in this time? Looking through it all to see what has changed so it can be synced up - but WHY? The network isn't there, so it's not going to be able to copy it anyway. I'm sure it could be more efficient! If I was a computer, I’d check to see if the network was there first before bothering to do anything. If it was, then, I’d check in the file allocation table or an special index for files that changed since the last sync. Surely it doesn’t scan every file, windows search style? Not an issue. This happens while you are off the network. Thanks anyway, at least I’ve found out that it is a problem I can’t solve!

Hi, we use offline files. From logon screen to windows, off network, takes 10 seconds but from there the computer is very busy (like you can't do much) for 1 minute while windows faffs about with offline files. My computer is 1.6 dual core with 512mb ram. About 3GB are offline files. After 1 minute the offline files balloon appears and all is fine. Is there anyway to speed this up a bit? Do you notice a similar problem? I notice that if you log off again and log on, it doesn't take any time. I've tried disabling McAfee Virusscan, not much effect (5 secs, possibly).

Continuous Ink System - networked inkjets with dummy cartridges linked to big pots of ink. We've had it since March - few teething troubles to begin with but means that I no longer care how much people print and I can use colour printing to actually improve learning (giving 6 year olds a colour picture to stick in their book as a stimulus for descriptive writing is much better than a photocopy). Since we got it, it has printed 12000 sheets and has cost us about £70 in ink. Summer will be the big test, if it survives the heat we'll roll them out around the school. contink (on this forum) is the man to speak to about this.