speckytecky

I'd so love to go for this. Sadly though the payscale doesn't make a move from my PT NM job viable.

Reckon this is the way this beastie is going to go as well.

Did you manage to resolve this one @burgemaster I currently have a lone Lenovo ThinkCentre M1578 that refuses to apply either Security Updates KB2984972, KB2992611, KB3003743 & KB3011780 and IE11. No error message andevery time we go to switch the PC off it appears to install the Security updates but on reboot they are listed as failed. MS Mr Fixit tool doesn't fix it either!

Thanks @lmgtfy - well worthy of the thank you @RichCowell and several others have awarded you.

It will be interesting to hear if you find someone who can repair the damage you describe. Sadly it doesn't sond very repairable.

Thanks @davidacland the iMac is now on the domain and bound to both the AD and mini mac server. The sister machine was an iMac sitting next to it and tracing through the settings there was one setting for the Mini Mac Server that hadn't been mirrord. The only issue remaining with it now is for the local set up profile and my own domain profile that I logged on with the flipping thing won't connect to th Internet. Any other staff or student log on is ok?

This sounds like the sort of happening where it would pay Sophos to send some of their technical people into your establishment and make a case study of sorting the problem out for you. It would enhance their reputation no end if they achieved that and be resources well deployed.

Bumpety, bumpety, bump! Reckon I posted the OP at a bad time of the day as so far no feedback - which is most unusual for Edugeek or else my question is completely numpty?

Got an irritating 21 inch iMac that's bound to the AD domain but doesn't seem to want to bind to the Mini Mac Server - sees the network but won't pick up Internet. Comparing it with a sister machine sat next to it all the various settings seem the same - Grr! Can't say I'm keen on Macs!!

Doubt you will get through @tech_guy their phones seem to be down currently to add to their woes.

Sorry to hear of your woes @Sirbendy And I hope things will be on an upward curve for you moving on. I'm a tad concerned how your IT job vanished and the school then offered you your new job. We're you effectively tuped? Seems that despite all the various employment rules in place nowadays the management and governors are very much able to shuffle us minions around as they like.

Always worth giving both SIMS and Sophos support a call I would suggest. I know my school pays for our support from both (and receives exceptional value for what we pay I feel) but in the past I've found certain companies have been been brilliant in digging me out of trouble even on out of warranty kit.

I can't say that this, yet another foul up, on the SIMS updates does anything to bolster my fast reducing impression of the mighty CAPITA. My school has traditionally bought in their support on SIMS and we were pestered to allow this release to be applied. It duly was. The new SOLUS 3 interface came as the first huge surprise - why change what was a great looking interface and replace it unexplained with one that is SO difficult to find your way around? This all takes me back to attending training when I was in the Royal Air Force when the instructor started by asking if anyone in the class had heard of the six P's. Surprisingly no one had and he went on to explain that: Prior, Planning Prevents, Piss, Poor, Performance! In this particular case the Planning without a doubt needs to involve extremely rigorous testing. This certainly seems to be a lesson applying in the case of some MIS operators doesn't it!

Fraid so. I haven't tried the Server Edition.

It is pretty easy to run - just boot with it in the DVD drive and follow the onscreen instructions.

Thanks duly given @davidacland apart from the external HD boot up I have now tried all your suggestions - to no avail. Aren't machines running Windows lovely to work with!

Naive question perhaps but how do I set about installing OS X on an external drive?

Thanks duly given to @pooley for the lone response. Nothing external connected. Wireless mouse and keyboard. Tried a reinstall in school but that didn't want to play because of the flipping proxy setting. Took the Mac home and carried out a disk check - that all said it was ok. Next tried a re-install of OS X. Infuriatingly, it looked like it was going ok, took about 2 hours then restarted and carried on for a further 50 minute session - when I took the dog for a walk. On my return there was the dark grey screen with the live cursor and a live keyboard but sadly no OS! Giving it another go now. Oh, boy, do I hate Macs!!

iMac starts, then has white apple screen with the spinning wheel thing for about 2 minutes, then it goes to black / grey screen with active mouse. What's going on?

Me too please Lee.

Thanks @Arthur yes heatsink looked ok. Cleaned and fresh thermal paste applied. Would it be an idea to pop it out again I wonder and check under the CPU, or would it be best to not disturb the CPU?

Latest update - I swapped out the PSU with a Corsair CX430M. All connections seemed pretty logical and when comnpleted I switched the PC on. Straight away I noticed a difference and it sougt a restart then completed off the install on the new WD HD I'd installed and run up with the 4 recovery DVDs previously. I did have the old HD in an external caaddy wondering if it would try and restore from the restore partition that was still present on that. Anyhow, on restart it sought Country etc and allowed set up using the owner's e-mail. Ran up to the desktop and connected to the wifi. Everything looked good to go. Next I safely ejected the external caddy and then removed the usb connector. That done, the computer switched itself off! It wouldn't come back on again either. I'm thinking this all seems to be time / heat related. I b'd if I have a clue what to try next. Going by the way things have gone doing this favour one thing I'm sure of though and that's the fact that I'm unlikely to buy any HP kit in the future!

Thanks @Devontechie it's running just about every IT service we have in the school everything apart from MIS and the bits the MiniMac server runs. We have a second DC which is the same sort of tin but running 2008 R2 64 bit and that machine backs up to a removable HD it also serves as a print server for various machines that the first DC isn't picking up.

We will be replacing our 6 Year old Server 2008 Standard 32 bit tower server which is running a .local domain that was imported from Server 2003 over the summer of 2015. I'm a lone tech on a weekly contract of under 30 HPW in the school. KS3/4 Special for unde 100 behaviourally challenged / emotionally disturbed boys. I'm looking for recommendations on the way to go - especially toward training for myself. Our clients are currently Windows 7 Pro and some Macs.

http://http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30111575