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Archive for the ‘service-is-testing-troubleshooting-debugging’ Category

How to switch the input language in Respondus Lockdown browser, e.g. to Arabic

  1. Short answer:
    1. Right-click the Language bar on the taskbar and choose “Restore the  Language bar”, like so:
    2. language-bar-restore
    3. This makes the language bar a floating toolbar on top of the screen, like here: image. This floating toolbar you can still access when in Lockdown browser.
    4. The language bar can be temperamental, you may need to bring it up again, try switching back and forth between input fields.
  2. Long Answer:
    1. Respondus Lockdown browser blocks many functionalities, including the shortcut combination to change input languages (usually LEFT ALT + SHIFT) and access to the Language bar on the task bar.
    2. This is not an issue when your quiz is in a western language and you have US- international keyboard layout configured as your default (which lets you type most Western diacritics without need for keys blocked by Respondus Lockdown browser )
    3. It is an issue with e.g. Arabic. You cannot even temporarily set Arabic to your default input language before starting lockdown browser, since then you cannot log in (with MS Maren IME, you can override the Arabic default to enter your username in western characters, but not the password. Respondus Lockdown Browser is built on Internet Explorer, but it does not share the cookies, so being logged into your LMS in Internet Explorer does not carry over to your Lockdown Browser session).
    4. Workaround: See above.

STM Crash

Oops? Haven’t seen that one before, and the Sanako Study 1200 has been stable. Networking issues again? (availability of file share S-drive?) See similar crash of licensing service recently.

System.MissingMethodException error when installing recorder standalone light

Do we know why? – Still not, but looking into whether all prerequisites are fulfilled (this looks like a .Net error, but the my framework check says higher than version 2 is installed on that faculty computer).

Replacing the Sanako Authoring Tool

2012/10/18 2 comments
  1. Problem: Oral exams with visual cues have been popular, but the Sanako Authoring Tool we used to create them has been faded out. How can we quickl replace it?
  2. Workaround:
    1. collect your files in my Word  template (left part of screenshot) like before (question/cue, repetitions, response pause time), including your images
    2. Save your MS-Word files as html.
    3. This will create a subfolder with media (right-side of screenshot). All your images are numbered sequentially in the order they appear in your template. Some are duplicated: select the first ones (the duplicate is a size reduction), plus the unique ones, and copy them to a new folder, e.g. “pictures”, on the Sanako teacher share, somewhere underneath your course folder where also your audio exam files resides.
    4. authoring-tool-replacing

  3. During the exam , you can display the pictures while playing the audio portion of your oral exam, from this folder sorted by name (= numbered sequentially) with the default teacher computer image viewer. No need even to fling out PowerPoint….

How to fix “no audio” on the computers with black Sanako headsets

  1. First, show the Sanako student application (e.g. from button:Start / Student).
  2. Is the Volume Control slider set to 0? Move it up where it says “Adjust volume”:image
  3. Still hear no audio playing on the black Sanako headsets? Then the volume slider was likely moved to 0 since the headset was not detected: On the rear of the computer, check the connection
    1. of the blue headset plug into the USB extension cord, and
    2. of the extension cord into the rear of the computer.

No audio on listening stations and group rooms, and workaround

  1. Symptom: Headsets work (test feedback by putting microphone near headset speakers), but audio files from internet do not play with sound. 
  2. Cause: having to support 2 different kinds of headsets (USB with built-in soundcard versus traditional analog) in one PC software image.
  3. The workaround
    1. for temp staff is to start / run / sndvol32.exe and up the low volume sliders here: 20120912_153937
    2. for permanent staff is to unfreeze any computers that have been missed previously20120912_154121 and put this script into the all users startup folder now: 20120912_154205
  4. The solution: standardize on USB headsets when you get a chance.

More ways of making minor changes to a domain-joined, deepfrozen computer lab image

  1. Re-imaging a domain-joined, deep-frozen Windows XP language lab using Symantec Ghost and Deepfreeze can be a drawn-out process.
  2. Minor fixes can be achieved by unfreezing and using a Symantec-Ghost file task and a script that loads  the default user registry hive – here is how:
  3. sTempHive = """HKEY_USERS\Test"""
    
    '//vista and up: sDefaultUserHive = """%USERPROFILE%\..\Default\NTUSER.DAT"""
    
    sDefaultUserHive = """%USERPROFILE%\..\Default User\NTUSER.DAT"""
    
    sSName = oUtility.ScriptName
    
    set oShell = WScript.CreateObject ("Wscript.Shell")
  4. and alters it before freezing the lab again. Here are some examples of such fixes:
    1. change the default keyboard (after users logs in):
      oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Setting US-International as Default Keyboard Layout",LogTypeInfo
      
      RegPath = "HKEY_USERS\Test\Keyboard Layout\Substitutes\"
      
      oshell.RegWrite Regpath & "00000409", "00020409", "REG_SZ"
      
      If Err<>0 Then 
      
        oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Failed to update Default Keyboard Layout setting",LogTypeError
      
        ZTIProcess=60
      
        Exit Function
      
      End If
      
      
      
    2. change visibility of the developer tab in the ribbon of MS-Word:
      oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Setting MS-Word Developer Toolbar to show",LogTypeInfo
      
      RegPath = "HKEY_USERS\Test\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Word\Options\"
      
      oshell.RegWrite Regpath & "DeveloperTools", "1", "REG_SZ"
      
      If Err<>0 Then 
      
        oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Failed to update S-word developer tools settings",LogTypeError
      
        ZTIProcess=40
      
        Exit Function
      
      End If
      
      
      
    3. change the SDL-Trados licensing server IP:
      oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Setting Default User Trados license server",LogTypeInfo
      
      RegPath = "HKEY_USERS\Test\Software\Trados\Shared\Licence"
      
      oshell.RegWrite Regpath & "Licence_file", "27000@10.18.189.231", "REG_SZ"
      
      If Err<>0 Then 
      
        oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Failed to update Default User Trados license server setting",LogTypeError
      
        ZTIProcess=35
      
        Exit Function
      
      End If
      
      
      
      oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Setting Default User Screensaver timeout settings",LogTypeInfo
      
      RegPath = "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\FLEXlm License Manager"
      
      oshell.RegWrite Regpath & "Trados_License_File", "27000@10.18.189.231;27000@xlcs4sbynj1www", "REG_SZ"
      
      If Err<>0 Then 
      
        oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Failed to update Screensaver to timeout settings",LogTypeError
      
        ZTIProcess=30
      
        Exit Function
      
      End If
      
      
      
  5. On Ghost:
    1. We create a Ghost file task that points to the wsf file with the current changes we want to implement:
    2. imageimage 
      1. image To apply other changes, just change the filename of your script , e.g.: clip_image001
    3. to apply to other computers, just change the target in the ghost task.
  6. Output:
    1. image
    2. These scripts use the ZTIUtility.vbs from the MDT.
      1. You may have to update the location: <script language="VBScript" src="ZTIUtility.vbs"/>.
      2. For a while, the logging success made me believe I I had accessed the ntuser.dat and had run into registry permission settings loading it. In fact, I just did not resolve to the XP path of the ntuser.dat. Take advantage of the the logging facilities that come with MDT: Here are your logs on the client: image.
      3. Read the logs with TRACE32, part of the SMS 2003 Toolkit 2.
  7. Result: Provided the client has been cleanly frozen, and the domain user has no profile created before on this machine, and his profile is based on the altered default user profile, his HKCU will inherit the changes: image image

Protected: Why does the autoaccept-agent not send messages from on-premise equipment mailboxes to students in the Office365/live@edu cloud?

2012/09/19 Enter your password to view comments.

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