Frequently Ask Questions for computing environment

This is a list of Frequently Asked Questions for the Computing systems in the Dept. of Geography and the Joint Center for Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis at the University of Cincinnati.

Please contact us if there are questions not seen here or you need more help.

We hope you find this resource informative and helpful. Please submit all comments using the contact information below.

Computer Support

• Who supports the computers here?
  

General Questions

• What computing resources are Joint Center and which are Geography?
  
• I didn't used to have to log into the NT systems. Why do I have to now?
  
• How do I get an account?
  
• How can I read email now?
  

NT Questions

• How do I change my password in NT?
  
• How do I add a printer, and what printers are available?
  
• What is the backup procedure for the NT machines?
  
• What do I do if I forget my password(s)?
  
• How do I map a network drive?
  
• Where can I store files on the NT systems? Is it true that the local hard drives of machines in the lab are erased each quarter?
  
• I am trying to use Netscape Communicator for the first time on an NT system. It is asking me all kinds of questions. What should I do?
  

Unix Questions

• How do I change my password in Unix?
  
• How do I access the GISSA Unix machines from GEOGRAPHY NT machines?
• No, I don't want direct login access; I want an easy way to access the files and data on the Unix boxes, and an easy way to copy data between NT and Unix. In addition, I want to get at the CAGIS data on Unix from NT. How can I do all of this?

Who supports the computers here?
The GISSA computers are supported by the graduate student assistants, under the supervision of GISSA faculty. Click here for contact information.
 

What computing resources are Joint Center and which are Geography?
There is only a thin line between the two. Right now, all the NT and Windows 95 systems physically located in the Dept. of Geography (this is the GEOGRAPHY NT domain) are considered Dept. of Geography resources.
All Unix machines in the Dept. of Geography, and selected Unix machines located in the Dept. of Planning are are considered Joint Center resources.
Some NT systems physically located in the Dept. of Planning (the GISSA NT domain) are also considered Joint Center resources.

I didn't used to have to log into the NT systems. Why do I have to now?
The NT systems are now under tighter administrative control. This was required, as there only only two part-time members of the support staff. In the past, the support staff spent most of its time "cleaning up" after problems that were created accidentally by users because there were no controls on what each users was permitted to do on the systems. Now, each users has his/her own area for file storage, his/her own desktop appearance (aka Profile), and has the ability to control the file permissions of all files under his/her ownership. This way, users can still share files, but need not worry about their files being clobbered by other users.
This is why it is imperative that you log off after using the systems! log off after using the systems!

How do I get an account?
All users must apply for an account, after thoroughly reading the Dept. of Geography and Joint Center Computing Policy.

How can I read email now?

Bearcat Online Email can be read using Netscape Messenger, which is part of the Netscape Communicator suite. Reading of email on other systems besides Bearcat Online is not support on the Geography and Joint Center systems.

How do I change my password in NT?
When logged into NT, simply press Control, Alt, and Delete (simultaneously) and pick 'Change Password'.

How do I add a printer, and what printers are available?

• Simply click on 'COMPUTER_NAME', 'Printers', 'Add Printer'
• . Click on 'Network Print Server'.
• Go to the host of the printer you want and pick the printer you want. (If you already know the name of the printer you can type it in directly (e.g. \\SERVER\PRINTER)).

• Dept. of Geography
• titian, an HP LaserJet 6MP, shared from EVEREST, located in Swift 701.
• picasso, an HP Deskjet 6000C/PS, shared from OLYMPUS, located in Swift 701.
• haring, an HP Deskjet 6600C, shared from TYURYU, located in Swift 710. This printer is for Researchers (e.g., graduate students) and Faculty only.

What is the backup procedure for the NT machines?
Sadly, we have no backup system in place on the NT systems at this time. We do not currently have the hardware to be able to back up the NT systems. However, we do have a redundant RAID (level 5) disk array on EVEREST. If one disk unit fails, we will have no loss of data and no down-time. Two separate disk units would each have to fail within one week of each other for data to be lost from EVEREST. Do note, however, that if you delete a file by accident from EVEREST, it is gone forever.

What do I do if I forget my password?
Contact a system administrator to have it reset. Please, be careful to remember your password as it can take up to two business days to have it reset.

How do I map a network drive?
In Windows NT, simply 'Right' mouse click on Network Neighborhood and click on 'Map Network Drive'. Then, navigate to the directory you want to map to. It will choose a drive for you or you can pick one.

In Windows 95, simply 'Right' mouse click on Network Neighborhood and click on 'Map Network Drive'. Then, type in the path of the directory you want to map to. (e.g., \\EVEREST\dfs\Users)

On the Windows NT systems, each time you log in, your home directory is automatically mapped to the Z: drive. So, when you sort files on NT, the easiest way to refer to them is through the Z: drive.

On Windows 95, you will need to click on 'Network Neighborhood', and follow links through EVEREST to your home directory.

As for storage space on the local hard drives, it is true that it is erased each quarter. It is also true that no user has particular "exclusive access" to those storage areas. However, they are provided for temporary work space for faster access, and extra space while you are working on something. Do not expect the data to be there when you come back later, though. This "scratch" space is the D: drive on the NT systems in the labs.

I am trying to use Netscape Communicator for the first time on an NT system. It is asking me all kinds of questions. What should I do?
First of all, if you see a message like "Error: The profile directory: Z:\SOMETHING_YOU_HAVE_NEVER_HEARD_OF doesn't exists.", don't worry. Just click 'OK' to run the Setup Wizard.

Once the Setup Wizard starts, Choose New Profile Setup and begin hitting 'Next' to go through the windows. There are a variety of options and questions. Please note that some of them are repeated. Below are the things you will be prompted for, and what you should put in for them.

Full Name

<YOUR NAME>

Email Address

<USERANME>@email.uc.edu

Profile Name

<USERNAME>

Your users settings (etc.) will be stored in the directory below. We recommend that you use the default directory that is already listed. YOU SHOULD NOT USE THAT DEFAULT. Use the following:

Z:\Netscape\<USERANME>

Outgoing mail SMTP server:

smtp.uc.edu

Incoming Mail server:

email.uc.edu

Mail server username

<USERANME>

(Note on above : this is your username for Bearcat online, which may be different than your NT username.)

Mail Server Type

IMAP

News Server

news.eng.uc.edu

Once you have been through the Setup Wizard, you will not have to do it again for that machine. You simply pick your username when you start up Netscape Communicator. Note that each machine is a different copy of Netscape. However, you need only fill out all those options once. In the future, you can just type a Profile Name, and your User settings directory, and leave everything else alone. Once you "Next" through the Setup Wizard, Communicator will inform you that it found data in your user settings directory. At that point, you can just click "OK" and continue. All your settings will remain in-tact, even though you did not type them again.

How do I change my password in Unix?
On the GISSA Unix machines, to change your password, you must type the command 'passwd' in at a shell prompt on the machine 'k2'. If you type 'passwd' on other machines, it will inform you that you are not on 'k2'. It will take at most one hour for your password to propagate to all machines on the GISSA Unix network.

Please note that you have two passwords. This is because you need one for standard login, and on for SMB access from NT. The standard 'passwd' command will change both of these. If you only want to change one of them, just hit 'return' through the prompts for the one you do not want to change.

How do I access the GISSA Unix machines from GEOGRAPHY NT machines?

First, log into the GEOGRAPHY NT as you normally would. From the Start Menu, choose LAN WorkPlace Pro, and choose X-server under that.

You should see a screen with three buttons. Choose the "BUILD" button. Then, follow to the menus to choose an xdm-style connection to the machine k2.gissa.uc.edu.

After you exit the build menu, you should now see k2.gissa.uc.edu on the menu. Double-click on that, and you should see the GISSA Unix login window.

Once you log in, the left mouse button will bring down a menu to start up applications, including a shell window.

Please note that there is a bug in LAN WorkPlace Pro that causes "trailers" to be left on the screen when windows are removed or moved around. To clear this out, please hit CTRL-ALT-DEL and then hit ESC. You will probably have to do this many times during your session.

No, I don't want direct login access; I want an easy way to access the files and data on the Unix boxes, and an easy way to copy data between NT and Unix. In addition, I want to get at the CAGIS data on Unix from NT. How can I do all of this?

To do this, you need to use a service under Unix called SAMBA. SAMBA allows you to access the data areas on a Unix machine as if it were a NT machine. This procedure works the same whether you are logged into GISSA or GEOGRAPHY NT domains.

To access GISSA Unix in this way, first click through the icons and windows in the following order:
Network Neighborhood -> Entire Network -> Microsoft Windows Network -> Gissa_Unix -> k2
At this point, you may get prompted with what is called a password challenge. At this "challenge", simply type in the username with which you use to log into GISSA Unix, and your GISSA Unix SMB password.

At this point, you should see a window with a few folders. The folders are as follows:

USERNAME

This is your home directory on GISSA Unix.a

cagis

This is the CAGIS research data.

giscity

This is the demo data from the book Inside Arc/Info.

One final note: Please note that if this the only way that you normally use the GISSA Unix machines, you should log directly into them at least once to change your passwordfrom the default you were given with your account.