thom

@Plexer: They have all done a site survey @Paul: Thanks for the info. I think I prefer the idea of an IP based system because if we want to add a camera after the initial batch it should be relatively simple. Presumably you would need to run cables to the analogue cams so how is that different to running new Cat5e?

We already use seperate VLANs for IP management, admin, curriculum and IP phones so presumably we can add a CCTV VLAN

We have been looking into getting CCTV for a while now and the SMT finally want to go ahead with it. Does anyone have any useful tips on what kind of system/cameras we should go for? And any hidden/unexpected costs? I have got 4 quotes so far. I don't know how many cameras we will need as it is quite an open site, so I asked the people quoting to give me their recommendations. Here are the basics of the quotes Link CCTV: 21 cameras (Axis) @ £35 750 CSE: 20 cameras (Axis & Mobotix) @ £16 838 MISCO: 5 cameras @ £15 071 IC2: 15 camera's (Panasonic) @ £21 990 In reality we only want to start with the recording system and about 5 cameras but we may want to build on it at a later date. One thing that confused my opinion was whether to go for camera's on our LAN or a dedicated network. The IC2 people use a special recording system that can only connect 16 cameras, if you want more you have to buy another one. I am having a meeting on Thursday (28th Sept 2006) with SMT to make a final decision on what cameras we want so any input would be really useful

But does this let me use an interactive table of contents?

I read this on http://www.securityzero.com/2006/09/microsoft-opens-network-monitor-3-beta.html Can network monitor sort out my speed woes? We have a very slow network even though all the hardware is good cisco switches with a fibre backbone. I want to find out where things are going slow or if there is a large amount of traffic. I tried using version 2 in Server 2003 but didn't get much info back from it that seemed useful. If not can anyone suggest something free that i can install, click the button that says "Find out what is slowing down my network", and tells me how to fix the problem in an understandable way.

I have just been handed the 200 page School Improvement & policy manual which the head wants on the school website. His secretary has given me a copy of about 15 different word docs that made up the report. I wanted to create a single PDF that will contain a merge of all the documents and include a table of contents. I know you can convert word docs to PDF a number of ways but i have a feeling this is something we may need to edit in the future and need it to be an accurate conversion so it doesn't waste too much time. What I need to know is, which programme do we need to buy/download. I know there is Adobe Acrobat (standard and Pro), Adobe Reader Elements, numerous PDF printers, Adobe Distiller?!?

OK, i never have experienced the on-site warranty service as we send back faulty stuff. I would love to use HP or Dell for everything but it costs too much for my school

I have only ever had POSITIVE experiences with NS Optimum. My account manager is Rob Smith. It seems whenever we go to get a big order like our recent laptop trolleys or 2 new dual-core ICT suites they always come out on top. Not only do they build very reliable kit under their own brand but they can also source out great deals from other manufacturers like HP etc. To the other people who have posted here, it would have been nice if any of you gave a reason for your unhappiness. I suggest if people do not want to be contacted by a company they just phone them and asked to be removed from the contacts database. @ Muppet: I recommend you go with them and experience their service first hand. I'm sure you will be impressed with their service and after sales support and they normally throw in a free PC or laptop or a good long warranty with all my large orders.

Thanks Brad P & Norphy. I just got a student to test that in a classroom and it worked perfectly! I will just have to monitor it and see if it works in other rooms but it looks promising. Just to recap the solution for others, (following my guide on previous page) 13) I created a script called DefaultPrinterLibrary.vbs containing Set objNetwork = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Network") objNetwork.SetDefaultPrinter "\\SERVER\Library-Laser" 14) I then Created a new GPO called "Printers - Library Default" 15) I added the script to the starup and logon sections in the GP Editor 16) I set the order of the GPO's in the Library OU to 1, Push client, 2, Push Printer 3, Library default

Should this be a logon or startup script or doesn't it matter?

thanks, i'll give that a try. What is con2prt? I have never heard of it. oh look, 100 posts!

Any chance of posting your vbs script for setting the default printer. I can't get mine to work.

Thanks, I'll give it a try and let you know how I get on

THanks for that. So when I restore the image to a new pc can I set up the partitions through the ghost (dos) interface or will it know automatically from the image I created?

I have 8 fancy media PCs and I have just finished setting up the reference PC ready to ghost. My only concern is that I have two partitions on the computer. They are both on the same disk (see diagram attached) C is 40GB and D is 110GB. The D partition is virtually empty, it just has a few empty folders and documents on it. What I don't want to do is create a 150GB image! I normally run sysprep, reboot, then ghost (v8) to the network. How can I ghost both partitions and restore them as the same partions on a new blank 160GB hard disk? This may not be worth the bother for the D drive as I can copy the content over manually. If so, can I ghost just the C: partition and when I restore it can it just restore as a partion as oppossed to taking up the whole drive? I only have limited knowledge of Ghost so the solution may be obvious, please be gentle with me

I've updated the source link above - http://media.wiley.com/product_ancillary/82/07821429/DOWNLOAD/4298Web1.pdf

That works, thanks meastlaugh1. At first I wasn't impressed with sharepoint but knowing simple things likes this makes it more appealing all the time. I've seen loads of sharepoint demos but never been to formal training or a workshop. Thanks again.

SOLUTION: I still couldn't get this working but today I found a great guide on creating custom ADM Templates (source). I followed this guide to make a "Configure Font Smoothing" template. OK, so I should have been configuring the new Media PCs but you know how easy it is to get sidetracked After about 5 hours I think I have it perfect! I will only really be able to tell when the new term starts. I have attached it so everyone else can use it. If you can see a way of improving it in any way then let me know (you can open up the file in NotePad to see what I have done). ADM ectensions aren't allowed here so I will upload it as text and you just need to give the file a .adm extension Installation Instructions ;;;This script modifies the "User Configuration" ;;;To install in the GPO Editor right-click "Administrative Templates" ;;;Choose "Add/Remove Templates" ;;;Click "Add" ;;;Browse to where this ADM file is saved and click "Open" ;;;Click "Close" ;;;To enable the setiing... ;;;Open the "View" Menu and choose "Filtering..." ;;;Un-check the box marked "Only Show Policy Settings that can be Fully Managed" ;;;Click "OK" ;;;Go to User Configuration>Administrative Templates>Control Panel>Display ;;;In the right-hand pane double-Click "Configure Font Smoothing" ;;;Set the preferences as desired fontsmoothing.txt

OK, i worked out how to get all the parts of sharepoint that I wanted but it has brought up a few more problems. Mainly in, for example, the Room Booking template, when you go to choose what kind of resource it is it gives you to options, i.e. Auditorium & Conference. How do I add "Classroom" to that list? Do I need to edit a database in access? If so where do I find it?

Download from here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=82E86A1D-C818-496B-8AD4-818AAF1C2FED&displaylang=en or browse all the MS templates here http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sppt/wssapps/default.mspx

We are trying to implement it here. I have just installed it from the Windows Server 2003 R2 "Configure Your Server Wizard". Now what!?! Does anyone know of an idiots guide? We want to use it for the following purposes + Shared internal calendar (link to Outlook 2003) + Shared internal contatcs (link to Outlook 2003) + ICT Helpdesk (MS do a free template) + Room/Resource booking (MS do a free template)

Thanks, I already have flashpaper printer installed on 250 PCs Is there a way to delete them through a log on script (In fact, I would like all local printers to be deleted so the network has complete control)

I used to use the Windows PrintUI.dll built-in method to add network printers but it was still quite manual and caused lots of headaches. I have been trying to get the PMC working since the the R2 beta started... and it is finally working! Here's what I did. 1) Upgraded Windows 2003 Server SP1 to R2 (including the Schema update). 2) Upgraded the Server Roles to include the PMC. 3) Right-Clicked a printer in the console and selected "Deploy with Group Policy". 4) Used the interface to create a new GPO in the OU containing the Library PCs called "Printers-Library" 5) Selected the per machine setting 6) Clicked "Add" (this is very easy to forget!) 7) Create a new "Push Printer" GPO and assigned it to the Library OU 8) Copied the pushprinterconnections.exe file to \\Server\Shared share 9) Added a startup script to the "Push Printer" GPO. This was a batch file containing only "\\Server\Shared\pushprinterconnections.exe" 10) Using the Group Policy Management Console (downloaded from Microsoft) I moved the Push Printer GPO above the Printers-Library GPO. 11) On a library PC I ran "GPUpdate /force" and rebooted. 12) It appeared the next time I logged on although the FlashPaper printer was still the default. I didn't understand the earlier post about how to solve this so if someone could re-explain that would be great. To find out this info I searched "Print Management Console" on TechNet and it came up with two step by step guides which were quite useful. http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/312b10cb-73ec-40c7-a4df-63dd7248d93d1033.mspx?mfr=true

Thanks for that. I hate to rub it in but you could have paid £55 less for the same laptop at http://www.theitindex.co.uk I discovered while browsing (source http://www.screentekinc.com/acer-crystalbrite-lcd-screens.shtml) Hope that helps some more recommendations, especially for Pentium/AMD 64 CPUs

I need to get a laptop for a fussy teacher that has a shiny screen. I have seen Acer do CrystalBrite displays, that is the kind of thing she is after. Does anyone know of another brand. I think Sony do them too but we only have a £600 budget