Student Computing Help
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What accounts do I have and how do I change their passwords?
3.How can I shorten the time it takes to login to a lab computer?
4. 4. Is there any other storage service that I could use?
5. My zip disk is stuck and won't come out of the drive. What should I do?
7. Which Unix computers are available for remote access?
9. How can I check my print quota?
10. How do I check my data space quota?
11. How do I change my password?
12. My print job does not appear on the release terminal, what is wrong?
13. My print quota has finished. How can I print more pages?
14. Is there a color printer that is available? Is there a plotter available?
15. What is Bearcat On-Line? What is my email address?
16. Why do I lose my email? Where does my email go when I have read it?
18. Can I do a remote login to the lab machines using VPN client?
19. Will OCC install software on my personal laptop?
20. 'Engineering domain not available' error message on Login?
21. Does OCC lend laptops to students for academic use?
22. A particular software is not running properly on my profile, what should I do?
23. I lost something in the OCC labs, where do I go and ask?
1. What accounts do I have and how do I change their passwords?
You have two different accounts, one for the PC systems (Windows XP password) and the other one for your Unix account. Your username for both accounts is the same.
When you login for the first time in the PC labs, you will be required to change your Windows XP password. This process only changes the password for the Windows PC systems. If you would like to change this password again, simply press the CTRL + ALT + DEL keys and tab to the "Change Password" button. You must be logged in to change your password on the PC systems.
To change your Unix password, you will need to be logged into a Unix system. You can use the SSH client (Internet Utilities folder) from a lab PC to remotely log in to a Unix computer. Once you have authenticated properly, you can type yppasswd at the prompt and change your Unix password
[top]Unless you have changed it using the yppasswd command, it should be your student ID number.
[top]3.How can I shorten the time it takes to login to a lab computer?
There are some basic things students can do for themselves to improve their login time. To help students understand how to deal with this issue the Office of College Computing has published detailed information about managing "roaming profiles" in our new Tips for Using Lab Computers section. [top]UC provides an online file storage service through which you can access your files anywhere. It provides a storage space of 1GB. For accessing UCFileSpace you simply need to logon to http://ucfilespace.uc.edu. UCFileSpace also provides additional features such as publishing personal webpage and Unix access. The website provides comprehensive information about the same.
[top]5. My zip disk is stuck and won't come out of the drive. What should I do?
Close all programs and log out. Try to eject the disk after you have logged out. If it still doesn't work, contact the consultant on duty.
[top]Every user gets a separate Unix account. The username for your Unix account is the same as your PC account. The password is initially set to your UC ID Number without hyphens which you can change later. You can connect to a Unix machine remotely using SSH. (You can get SSH from http://www.ssh.com/support/downloads/secureshellwks/non-commercial.html) To connect remotely from a PC system, you can use the ssh client provided in the 'Internet Utilities folder'.
7. Which Unix computers are available for remote access?
The computers currently available for remote access can be found at the bottom of the table on the following page:
Currently there is only one uceng.uc.edu.
All lab computers are set up with a default printer. However, if you wish to print to another location, select the appropriate printer from the list of printers for getting the printout.
Each printer has a release terminal that will queue each print job. After you have sent your print job, you should walk to the release workstation next to the printer. Using the mouse, find your job, highlight the filename and click the print button to release the job from the queue to the printer. Jobs are deleted from the queue after printing or if they have been queued for too long.
Every user is allocated 600 pages of printing per quarter. Only printing for class work is supported in the labs. As each print job is released to the printer, a quota management system automatically deducts the number of pages printed. On the release terminal there is a button that can be used to see how many pages of the user's quota is available. It is necessary to highlight a print job before pressing the quota button.
[top]9. How can I check my print quota?
Each user is allocated 600 pages for printing per quarter. The following URL can be used to check the status your print quota.
http://www.eng.uc.edu/printservices/quota/
You will be asked to enter a username and a password when you access the URL. The username is the same username you use for the Windows and Unix systems and use your UNIX password.
[top]10. How do I check my data space quota?
Your total data space quota on the PC system is 100 MB. To find out how much of your data space quota you have used and how much is unused, first double click on the 'My Computer' icon on the desktop. Right click on the N: drive and select 'Properties' from the pull-down menu. Click on the 'General' tab to get a report of how much space is used and how much is free.
Your total data space quota on the Unix system is 100 MB. To find out how much of your quota you have used, type quota -v at the prompt of any OCC Unix system
In the Unix systems, type 'quota -v' at the command line.
11. How do I change my password?
In Windows hit CRT+ALT+DEL in Unix type ypasswd.
12. My print job does not appear on the release terminal, what is wrong?
This error can be due to either of the following reasons :a network problem or the printer selection on your computer may not be configured properly. Make sure that the software program you are printing from has the printer in your present lab selected in the printing window or print properties.
If it still doesn't work contact the consultant on duty.
[top]13. My print quota has finished. How can I print more pages?
You have a 600 page quota allotted for every quarter. Try to manage to stay within these 600 pages. If you still use all 600 pages before the quarter is over and need additional prints, then your advisor will need to email Jack Krebs, Director, OCC explaining the need for additional pages.
[top]14. Is there a color printer that is available? Is there a plotter available?
There is a color laser printer available at 636 ERC. It can be used for printing Student Thesis and Projects. This quota is not related to the 600 page limit print quota mentioned above. Students need to come to 636 ERC to request this service. The students may also choose to have their reports thermally bound. Details are available in 636 ERC.
A Canon plotter available in 617 ERC. Plotters are for use only if faculty require students to produce color plots for class projects. In order to allow students to use the inkjet plotters, faculty will have to provide a class list to the College Computing office so that plotting can be enabled for the students on the class list.
[top]15. What is Bearcat On-Line? What is my email address?
Email services are provided for all students through the University. The server providing these services is called Bearcat On-Line. You may access this mail server from Eudora, Netscape, or any other mail client which uses POP. The following URL will take you to the web site detailing the services provided by Bearcat On-Line.
The Account Activation menu option on the web page listed above is the choice you need to select to initially create your account. Students should print and keep the page showing their account name and initial passwords.
[top]16. Why do I lose my email? Where does my email go when I have read it?
When you POP to get email from the Bearcat On-Line server, the new email is removed from the server and written to your IN mailbox which is stored on your data space (the 'My Documents' folder on the PCs). If you have exceeded, or are close to exceeding, your data space quota (100 MB) when the email program attempts to write the new mail to the IN box, there will be no space for the new email and it will be lost. It is very important to make sure you have adequate disk space available before checking for new mail.
Most email programs do have an option that can be selected to keep a copy of the email on the server. However, since the account on the email server has a quota, keeping a copy of the email on the server could result in the email account quota being exceeded. The account would then become locked and new incoming mail would be returned to the sender.
[top]The default setting in Thunderbird is to empty the trash when you exit the program. It may also be necessary to move all of the old messages from the out mailbox to the trash as well. Even after doing this, you may find that your data space usage is still close to the maximum of your quota. Attached files to your emails can sometimes take up a lot of space so be sure to check that. If you are not able to find any deletable files or emails, back up your data in a safe way (duplicate floppy disks and/or zip disks) and proceed to delete the files from the 'My Documents' folder that you have backed up.
[top]18. Can I do a remote login to the lab machines using VPN client?
No, you cannot access the OCC lab machines using the VPN client. You can only access the documents stored in your 'My Documents' folder. Instructions for this can be found at: Accessing OCC Data
[top]19. Will OCC install software on my personal laptop?
No, software licenses allow them to be installed only on college owned systems. However Solidedge and Solidworks will be installed on student laptops if a course that they have registered for requires the same.
[top]20. 'Engineering domain not available' error message on Login?
When you are unable to login and the message 'Engineering domain not available' appears, inform the consultant and log on to another machine.
[top]21. Does OCC lend laptops to students for academic use?
No, the OCC no longer lends out laptops to students.
[top]22. A particular software is not running properly on my profile, what should I do?
Go to 628 ERC and ask for your profile to be refreshed.
[top]22. I lost something in the OCC labs, where do I go and ask?
The OCC Office at 636 ERC has a lost and found where you can go and check if the article you lost has been brought in.
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