Department of Computer Science : Help desk

I am automatically logged off Windows when I try to log in. How do I solve this?

Every time you log in to Windows, this information is recorded in a database. For security reasons, this record prevents you from logging in to more than one PC simultaneously.

If you do not log out of a PC correctly or if the machine crashes preventing a proper log-off, the database will still show that you are logged in. The next time you try to log in to Windows, you will be logged off again immediately without accessing the desktop.

To resolve this, you must log off from the last PC you were using.

If the PC is at a log-in prompt, e.g., it crashed and you restarted it to a login prompt, you should log in. This will log you in and automatically log you off (as per the original problem) but it will also clear your record in the database. You should then be able to log in again successfully.

In some cases, this is not possible, e.g., you cannot remember the PC or the operation does not work for you. If so, please call to the CS Helpdesk (room G22 on the ground floor of the Kane Building). Opening Hours: 11:00am - 12:30pm (Mon-Fri)& 2:30pm - 4:30pm (Mon-Thurs).

I have forgotten my password or I cannot log on. Who do I contact?

Please call to the CS HelpDesk (room G22 on the ground floor of the Kane Building).

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 12:30pm (Mon-Fri)& 2:30pm - 4:30pm (Mon-Thurs).

You will be required to produce your Student ID card.

Why should we use ssh instead of telnet?

ssh/Secure shell is seen to be much more secure than telnet as it provides protection /encryption of your passwords from potential hackers on connecting to servers.

It is also more user friendly and so should be used for all server connections instead of telnet.

SSH is availble on windows under Start...Programs...SSH secure Shell....ssh client.

Enter the hostname/servername and your username you will then be asked for your password

On linux,from the command line simply type ssh server-name ( ie ocean wisdom etc)

When I log on to Windows, I am told my account is locked out or disabled. Who do I contact?

When I log out, what happens to my Windows Desktop, Favourites, etc.?

Your Desktop/Favourites and other settings are saved to your home directory. They are contained within a directory called winprofile which is used each time you log on.

You should not store any large files on your Desktop because these will be saved to your home directory and may bring you over quota.

Use webmail.ucc.ie or Squirrelmail for all email applications.

Why should I log off when I am finished with a PC? Why should I not log others on?

You are responsible for any work done as part of your log-in session so you should always log out after completing a session.

Do not give your account details to others.

If you do not log out or you allow others to use your log-in details, then you are still responsible for any content / actions that may be done by a third party.

It is also possible that your files may be compromised or deleted, so please protect yourself and others by logging out.

How do I log an online call with the CS Helpdesk?

Please email help@cs.ucc.ie stating:

* your username and email (please ensure that your email address is correct),
* the pc number or lab number as applicable, and
* the problem including as much detail possible.

I am repeating a year but still receiving mail for the previous year......

Log an online call to the CS Helpdesk by emailing help@cs.ucc.ie.

State your user id, the problem including what year you are in now. Please tell us a time when you will not be logged on and we will resolve it for you.

How do I apply for a swipe card (to access the CS Labs)?

Please call to the CS Helpdesk (room G22 on the ground floor of the Kane Building). Opening Hours: 11:00am - 12:30pm (Mon-Fri)& 2:30pm - 4:30pm (Mon-Thurs).

You will be required to produce your Student ID card. Also, there is a €10 deposit payable on swipe cards. This deposit will be refunded when you return the swipe card on completion of your studies.

When I try to log on in Linux, the screen goes black and I am returned to the log-on screen.......

To access command line Linux from the login screen, press Ctl-Alt-F1 and log in as normal.

Delete any files with .x* or .X* extensions.

Press Alt-F7 to return to KDE and log in again.

If the problem recurs, please call to the CS Helpdesk (room G22 on the ground floor of the Kane Building). Opening Hours: 11:00am - 12:30pm (Mon-Fri)& 2:30pm - 4:30pm (Mon-Thurs).

How do I increase my print quota?

There is a coin receiver located outside the CS Helpdesk on the ground floor of the Kane Building. It accepts €2, €1, 50c, 20c and 10c coins but no change will be given. The current print charge is 4c per page.

Log in to the coin receiver using your Windows username and password. Then add coins and your print quota will be increased immediately.

There is an option to link your lab swipe card or Student ID card to your username. To do this, swipe your card first then enter your username and password, and add coins. Your card is mapped to your username for future use.

The next time you wish to increase your print quota, swipe your card and your username should automatically appear.

If you lose your card, you can still use the keyboard to enter your username and password. Alternatively, you can map another card to your username.

If you are unable to use the coin receiver, e.g. you have notes instead of coins, please call to the CS Helpdesk to top-up your print account. Opening Hours: 11:00am - 12:30pm (Mon-Fri)& 2:30pm - 4:30pm (Mon-Thurs).

Do I need to backup any data I have on my Multimedia dedicated PC?

Yes, you do!

While your network home directory /users// is backed up every night, local PCs are not.

It is your responsibility to copy any data from your local machine to your home directory on a regular basis to ensure that it can be backed up.

When I log out of Windows, it takes forever to sync / very slow to exit:.....

This problem is usually caused by being near quota and/or stored files on your Desktop.

You should remove these files. If they still appear after you login, you are probably near quota so your changes are not being updated correctly.

As your desktop files are stored in a sub-directory of your home directory (/winprofile/Desktop ), you can delete them through a Unix shell, as follows:

1. Log on to cosmos with your user name and password
2. cd /winprofile/Desktop
3. rm

How can you recover lost files from your home directory using the online snapshots?

If you delete a file from your home directory, it is possible to restore it using an online snapshot utility.

N.B. THESE INSTRUCTIONS ARE BEING GIVEN TO YOU SO THAT YOU CAN RESTORE FILES OUT OF HOURS, OR WHEN HELPDESK IS NOT AVAILABLE TO ASSIST.

There are three available snapshots on the system.

HOURLY SNAPSHOTS: There are two hourly snapshots - hourly.0 and hourly.1 These are taken at 12:00pm and 4:00pm. The most recent one is always hourly.0, and hourly.1 is the one preceding this ( i.e. if you want to delete a file at 6:00pm then the last snapshot taken would be at 4:00pm and this is hourly.

NIGHTLY SNAPSHOTS: There are two nightly snapshots nightly.0 ( last night) and nightly.1 ( the night before last ). These snapshots happen at 12:00 midnight.

WEEKLY SNAPSHOTS: There is one snapshot called weekly.0. This is taken on midnight every Sunday night/Monday morning.

I have included a few examples from the various snapshot options to assist you in restoring files.

NB IF YOU ARE NOT SURE OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS IN ANY WAY PLEASE EMAIL HELP@CS.UCC.IE GIVING YOUR USERNAME , THE NAME AND LOCATION OF THE FILES, AND DATE OF DELETION, AND WE WILL TRY TO RESTORE FOR YOU ONCE HELPDESK HOURS RESUME

*****EXAMPLE ONE ( RESTORING FROM LAST NIGHTS SNAPSHOT)*****
In this example we are restoring a file called index.html in directory public_html from last nights snapshot
cd to your home directory
cd /users/2004/joebloggs
make a directory to restore your files to NB THIS IS IMPORTANT AS IT S POSSIBLE TO OVERWRITE YOUR EXISTING FILES IN ERROR
mkdir restoredjoebloggs
Now go to the directory where your files resided ( in this example its public_html)
cd public_html
now go to the snapshot directory
cd .snapshot/nightly. ( this will bring you to the snapshot directory for last nights backup)
cp index.html /users/2004/joeblogs/restoredjoebloggs
The restored file should now be in /users/2004/joebloggs, and you can subsequently copy or move this to the correct location at your leisure.
Similiary if you wanted to recoved from the night before lasts backup, you can follow the above instructions , using nightly.1 directory instead of nightly.

*****EXAMPLE TWO ( RESTORING FROM THE MOST RECENT HOURLY SNAPSHOT)*****

In this example we are restoring a file called index.html in directory public_html from from the most recent hourly snapshot
Remember, the hourly snapshots are taken at 12:pm and 4:pm. hourly is always the most recent one, ie if you want to restore at 8:00pm one evening, hourly will get you back to 4:00pm, and hourly.1 would get you back to 12:00pm. Likewise, If you want to restore at 2pm then hourly.0 will get you back to 12pm, and hourly.1 would get you back to 4:00pm the previous day )

cd to your home directory
cd /users/2004/joebloggs
make a directory to restore your files to NB THIS IS IMPORTANT AS IT S POSSIBLE TO OVERWRITE YOUR EXISTING FILES IN ERROR
mkdir restoredjoebloggs

Now go to the directory where your files resided ( in this example its public_html)
cd public_html
now go to the snapshot directory

cd .snapshot/hourly.
cp index.html /users/2004/joeblogs/restoredjoebloggs
The restored file should now be in /users/2004/joebloggs, and you can subsequently copy or move this to the correct location at your leisure.

*****EXAMPLE THREE ( RESTORING FROM LAST SUNDAY NIGHTS SNAPSHOT)*****

You may need to use this utility if you want to restore a file back to previous Sunday night. NB IF YOU WANT TO GO BACK FURTHER THAN THIS YOU NEED TO REQUEST A TAPE RESTORE FROM help@cs.ucc.ie, giving your username, directory and filenames needing restore, and date of deletion.
in this example we are restoring a file called index.html in directory public_html from last Sunday nights snapshot
cd to your home directory
cd /users/2004/joebloggs
make a directory to restore your files to NB THIS IS IMPORTANT AS ITS POSSIBLE TO OVERWRITE YOUR EXISTING FILES IN ERROR
mkdir restoredjoebloggs
Now go to the directory where your files resided ( in this example its public_html)
cd public_html
cd .snapshot/weekly.0 ( this will bring you to the snapshot directory )
cp index.html /users/2004/joeblogs/restoredjoebloggs
The restored file should now be in /users/2004/joebloggs, and you can subsequently copy or move this to the correct location at your leisure.

Problem Logging on to Windows (error : cannot create profile due to disk space)

This may occur if you are over quota. Errors you receive as try to log in:

"Windows cannot locate the server copy of your roaming profile and is attempting to log you on with your local profile. Changes to the profile will not be copied to the server when you logoff. Possible causes of this error include network problems or insufficient security rights. If this problem persists, contact your network administrator."

DETAIL - "There is not enough space on the disk. "

A second message may then appear:

"Windows cannot find the local profile and is logging you on with a temporary profile. Changes you make to this profile will be lost when you log off."

****IMPORTANT****

As outlined in the warning message, any changes you make to settings will not be saved. This also includes the Desktop so if you save something to the desktop it will be lost when you log out.

Despite the error messages, you can still access your home directory while logged in. You should, therefore, delete unnecessary files to bring your directory below quota. You may then log off and log in again.

If you encounter problems, please email help@cs.ucc.ie or call to the CS HelpDesk (room G22 on the ground floor of the Kane Building). Opening Hours: 11:00am - 12:30pm (Mon-Fri)& 2:30pm - 4:30pm (Mon-Thurs).

If I save data to the hard disk (C drive ) of a Lab PC, is it backed up?

No! You should save data to your home directory.

Only your home directory is backed up (Z:, /users///).

Anything saved to the C: drive can be lost or overwritten at any time.

Also, you should not save vital any data directly to your Windows desktop, as this data could be overwritten if you are near quota.

My mail is not working in squirrelmail, and the bar graph on left hand side is showing as 100% full in red?

When you log in to Squirrelmail (www.cs.ucc.ie/squirrelmail), the graph on the left-hand side indicates how much space you have remaining in your home directory.

If the bar graph is over 90%, then you need to clear some data out of your home directory because this may impact your logging on to your PC and receiving mail.

How do I log on to Windows / Linux?

* Enter your username and password (as per your CS account details)
* Enter the CS-domain if using Windows to connect to network
* Enter KDE if using Linux to use the kde2 shell

If you encounter problems, please contact the CS Helpdesk by emailing help@cs.ucc.ie. Alternatively, you may call to the Helpdesk (room G22 on the ground floor of the Kane Building). Opening Hours: 11:00am - 12:30pm (Mon-Fri)& 2:30pm - 4:30pm (Mon-Thurs).

What happens when I reach the limit of my disk quota?

Each student is allocated a limited amount of space on their home-directory(Unix) or Z drive(Windows). If you exceed your quota, you cannot write any more data until you have deleted some of your old files.

Even if you have not yet exceeded your quota but you are close to quota, you could lose valuable files. For example, if you are working on a critical assignment and exceed your quota, you will not be able to save the file. Alternatively, it may save with a size of zero meaning that you have lost the file.

To prevent this from happening, check your quota regularly. The procedure for checking your quota is detailed below.

ssh to cosmos and log in with your Unix password

At the prompt, type:

/usr/bin/quota

The output of this command details your quota and usage. The blocks column tells you how much quota you have used.

You should then go to your home directory by typing:

cd

At the prompt, type:

du -k |sort -n

The output of this command is a list of all the files in your directory and the size of each. This should aid you in deleting large files. You may delete any files with .DCOP or .kss<> or .x* or .X* file extensions. You should also delete any unnecessary files that you have saved.

N.B. You should NOT delete any of the following files:

.kde2, .mozilla, your mozilla mail inbox file, etc.

To delete a file, type:

rm

If you are unable to reduce your quota and you have access to email, please help@cs.ucc.ie stating your username and the problem. Otherwise, please call to the CS Helpdesk (room G22 on the ground floor of the Kane Building). Opening Hours: 11:00am - 12:30pm (Mon-Fri)& 2:30pm - 4:30pm (Mon-Thurs).

Why am I constantly at or over quota on Linux and what can I do about it?

In most cases, quotas are filled up on Linux because Mozilla Mail builds up.

Messages with attachments can quickly use up your quota if they not properly managed. You should delete unnecessary messages as soon as you have read them. Also, please remember to regularly empty Trash in Mozilla Mail.

Your browser cache should also be cleared on a regular basis. To do this, go to the Menu Bar and Select Tools -> Options. Click the Advanced Tab, then the Network Tab and, in the Cache area, click the "Clear Now" button.

If I am over quota, is there a way of getting into Linux ?

If I exceed my quota, are there any files I can or cannot delete?

You may delete any files with .DCOP or .kss<> or .x* or .X* file extensions.

You should also delete any unnecessary files that you have saved.

You should NOT delete any of the following files:
.kde2, .mozilla, your mozilla mail inbox file, etc.

How do I check what quota I have or analyse what are the biggest files?

ssh to cosmos and log in with your Unix password.

At the prompt, type:

/usr/bin/quota

The output of this command details your quota and usage. The blocks column tells you how much quota you have used.

You should then go to your home directory by typing:

cd

At the prompt, type:

du -k |sort -n

The output of this command is a list of all the files in your directory and the size of each. This should aid you in deleting large files.

To delete a file, type:

rm

N.B. You should not delete your Mail Inbox through the rm command

I am under quota but the system says I have reached quota limit...

You may have hit the Number of Files Limit which is 10,000. When you run the quota command it also displays number of files used, e.g.,

exodus:~ # quota
Filesystem blocks quota limit grace files quota limit grace
vol/vol0/dir 8752 1024000 1024000 10,006 200000 200000
vol/vol0/system 8752 1024000 1024000 10,006 200000 200000
vol/vol0/users 8752 1024000 1024000 10,006 200000 200000

If this happens, the CS Helpdesk can increase the limit for you. Please email help@cs.ucc.ie or call to the CS Helpdesk (room G22 on the ground floor of the Kane Building). Opening Hours: 11:00am - 12:30pm (Mon-Fri)& 2:30pm - 4:30pm (Mon-Thurs).

Problem Logging on to Windows (error : cannot create profile due to disk space)

If I do not check my quota regularly, what could happen to my account?

If you are close to quota, it is possible you could lose valuable files.

For example, if you are working on a critical assignment and exceed your quota, you will not be able to save the file. Alternatively, it may save with a size of zero meaning that you have lost the file.

To prevent this from happening, check your quota regularly. The procedure for checking your quota is detailed below.

ssh to cosmos and log in with your Unix password.

At the prompt, type:

/usr/bin/quota

The output of this command details your quota and usage. The blocks column tells you how much quota you have used.

You should then go to your home directory by typing:

cd

At the prompt, type:

du -k |sort -n

The output of this command is a list of all the files in your directory and the size of each. This should aid you in deleting large files. You may delete any files with .DCOP or .kss<> or .x* or .X* file extensions. You should also delete any unnecessary files that you have saved.

N.B. You should NOT delete any of the following files:

.kde2, .mozilla, your mozilla mail inbox file, etc.

To delete a file, type:

rm

General FAQ

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Quotas

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