Archive
How to check for “lost trust” issues on LRC PCs before classes
- We experience computers that fail allowing students to log in, thus disrupting face-to-face classes in the LRC.
- We have found no diagnostic tool working, other than attempting to log into the machine.
- Current workaround is manually removing and adding them back to the domain, when students experience login issues – which is time consuming, certainly too time-consuming during classes.
- Suggested workaround Checklist, to be run before any class in the LRC (check calendar):
- Student staff
- logs in on each individual computer and notes failures (
- this could be accelerated by using mstsc, especially with remote desktop connection manager and lrc.rdg) on the reception desk computers
- do we have automated (scriptable) login options?
- Coordinator
- from Deepfreeze-console, unfreezes computers in question
- from Symantec Ghost Console
- puts computers in question into domain-issues folder
- runs tasks against this folder
- “remove from domain”
- “add to Domain&AD”
- from Deepfreeze-console, freezes computers in question
- Student staff
More ways of making minor changes to a domain-joined, deepfrozen computer lab image
- Re-imaging a domain-joined, deep-frozen Windows XP language lab using Symantec Ghost and Deepfreeze can be a drawn-out process.
- 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:
-
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")
- and alters it before freezing the lab again. Here are some examples of such fixes:
- change the default keyboard (after users logs in):
oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Setting US-International as Default Keyboard Layout",LogTypeInfoRegPath = "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",LogTypeErrorZTIProcess=60
Exit Function
End If
- change visibility of the developer tab in the ribbon of MS-Word:
oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Setting MS-Word Developer Toolbar to show",LogTypeInfoRegPath = "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",LogTypeErrorZTIProcess=40
Exit Function
End If
- change the SDL-Trados licensing server IP:
oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Setting Default User Trados license server",LogTypeInfoRegPath = "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",LogTypeErrorZTIProcess=35
Exit Function
End If
oLogging.CreateEntry sSName & ": Setting Default User Screensaver timeout settings",LogTypeInfoRegPath = "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",LogTypeErrorZTIProcess=30
Exit Function
End If
- change the default keyboard (after users logs in):
- On Ghost:
- We create a Ghost file task that points to the wsf file with the current changes we want to implement:
To apply other changes, just change the filename of your script , e.g.: 
- to apply to other computers, just change the target in the ghost task.
- Output:
- These scripts use the ZTIUtility.vbs from the MDT.
- You may have to update the location: <script language="VBScript" src="ZTIUtility.vbs"/>.
- 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:
. - Read the logs with TRACE32, part of the SMS 2003 Toolkit 2.
- 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:
How to query lab computers for new IPs after network reconfiguration using Symantec Ghost
Protected: How to boot to thawed or frozen, using Symantec-Ghost file action or Deepfreeze proper
Failure due to timeouts when capturing image from Symantec-Ghost
- do not thin I Have not seen that before: image capture starts successfully, but client times out in the middle; happens repeatedly both during the day and at night?
- What else to try?
- Solution/workaround: inconclusive. First try w/o Deepfreeze installed and with high compression worked. But third try without any changes had also finally succeeded (although deploying that image was not tested).
Streaming Problems with Realmedia via RTSP from ereserves with VLC Player (and Internet Explorer. And NetOp School)
- VLC-player
- version 1.1.9, but also currently newest 1.1.11 as well on Windows CXP SP 3
- opens from IE8 and Firefox 3.6
- but is not able to play files (tested even multi) through. Rather, it nicely falls on its face, with the audio stream simply appearing to stop, mid-sentence, after 2:38 (pretty consistently – a buffering bug? A great way to slip through pre-testing).
- In the LRC, I could hardly bring the taskswitcher up, let alone (15 minutes of waiting) the task manager, to even find that vlc.exe is the culprit, with a CPU utilization of 99% solid (Ouch!).
- Not quite so bad in the office computer where it hovered slightly above 25%, maybe busying only one CPU core.
- My Google searches do not find anything quite similar.
- RealPlayer 14 to the rescue?
- In IE8, RealPlayer does not open when clicking on the web page link with the RM file which causes a dialogue to open if VLC-player is the default player, rather a strange unplayable content error..
- In Firefox, RealPlayer open and plays (and pre-buffers) the stream completely.
- Note that ereserves “download as zip” cannot serve as a workaround: gives you only the links like http://dlib4.uncc.edu/streaming/media_play.php?file=9364cb66b9e1cae26aed0f471e9eab5b, which require you to re-authenticate, even if in the same browser session, and do not redirect to the resource, neither audio nor web page form which you could launch the audio (in short, I do not get what this download as zip is good for)
- Next Problem: This may work on my office computer. In the lab we have NetOp School installed. That adds another layer of NetOp School problems which look like they can be resolved
next time the lab is reimaged. For now, use instead audio from Moodle metacourses where possible.next time I get around to design and run a Symantec-Ghost Software and File Action on the computers (all LRC lab PCs) and test the result (on PC10) which was now.
Implementing a Deepfreeze upgrade via Symantec-Ghost file operations instead of
• To upgrade from novell to AD I need to implement a deepfreeze maintenance thaw window, to allow updating of the domain machine password on the normally frozen client.
• If you have no other than built-in/FOSS means, you can probably achieve this with RunOnce, AutoAdminLogon, AutoAdminLogonCount, and reading out the client @computername DefaultDomainName with AutoIt. I rather try using Ghost:
• Put files on headless to be able to ghostcast them without access to fileshares
• ghosttask: df6 boot thawed (I need to unfreeze, w/o deepfreeze clients connected to deepfreeze server)
• ghosttask: df6 uninstall:
o ghostcast transfer deepfreeze 7 and 6 installer to c:\
o C:\df6wks.exe /uninstall
o Reboot
• Ghosttask: df7 install
o ghostcast transfer deepfreeze installer to c:\
o C:\dfwks7726.exe /install\
o reboot
o Should be safe to have the installer lie around: While Deepfreeze 6 uninstall does not require a password, it will be history; also, to permanently uninstall, you first need to unfreeze, which requires a password
• ghosttask: df7: boot thawed : Dfc.exe [installs into path] pwd /bootthawed
• ghosttask: winsockreset
o netsh winsock reset or cmd /c netsh winsock reset
• ghosttask:
o ghostcast transfer schliessnicht.exe into C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup to keep Sanako alive for oral exams (permanently, this should be enabled using this TBA:extension method to do advanced remote control of Sanako study1200 student clients; where is the delete option? can only think of overwriting with an empty file of the same file name)
• ghosttask: df7: boot frozen: Dfc.exe [installs into path] pwd /bootfrozen
• as long as I do not make changes to the default user and to user settings (like what app rm is associated with), I do not need to reimage – BUT: to run acrobat, flash, windows updates, without reimaging, instead of task, I would need to automate gui interaction after autoadminlogon as labadmn, which means
o ghosttask: ghostcast transfer 1 autoit that rewrites registry and reboots to autoadminlogon
o then startup autoit to automate gui interaction with nal?
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Other ways to find help
If you cannot find it here, look there: 5,500 Language-Learning Links and Programs for learning or teaching 150 languages
Shortcuts:Our Lists, Our Maps, LRC Staff Moodle Site,LRC Project Moodle Site, 49erexpress, UNCC Moodle, Student Recordings: s:claslcslrcsanakostudent
Learning usage samples: Sanako oral exam, Kaltura webcam presentation, Dictation with speech recognition, Sanako written exam, Chinese and Japanese interactive stroke-order practice
Test the Sanako Installer, Webbrowser Popup Konfigurator for XP, or Windows7, faster LRC TeacherPC Log-in Let MS facilitate diacritics writing by installing for you US-International keyboard layout
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