Frequently Asked Questions

If you are unclear about one of these questions, the attendant can help you.

General Questions

Windows Cluster Questions

Printing Questions

UNIX Cluster Questions

 

Macintosh Cluster Questions

General

Where is ______?
The bathroom? Go past the elevators, take a right, on the right. Mens’ on 1st floor, ladies’ on second.
A computer, printer or peripheral? See if the lab map can help.  If you are looking for a particular device, the cluster lists will tell you what machine has it, then find it on the map.  The same goes for a software package.
Paper?  Printer paper is at the north end of the lab, underneath the printout bins.
Phone? There are campus phones out in the main N-S hall.
If I left something in the lab, where would it be?
First check the machine you were using, it may still be there.  Next, take a look in the lost and found storage, at the north end of the lab.  The attendant keeps any valuables left in the lab (or turned in) locked in the cabinets.  Remember, the lab is a high-traffic area.  You shouldn't leave stuff sitting out, any more than you would in a public restaurant.
How can I use the lab after hours?
The lab itself is always open, but the Steel building is locked after hours. You can get a key to the south entrance of Steele specifically for using the lab. See the lab manager during business hours with a valid current ID, and then take the completed form to the key shop to get a key. The keyshop is only open until 4:00 weekdays, so plan ahead!
How can I work as a lab attendant?
Our budget isn't always predictable but we do try to have lab attendants here Monday through Friday, from 9:00 am until 10:00 pm and for a few hours on the weekends.  If you are good with people, know your way around computers, and are willing to work after hours, we might want you to work for ITS.  We try to keep good attendants from year to year, so there aren't always openings, but if you're interested, send the manager an email. If something comes up, we'll get in touch with you.
Can I reserve the lab?
Generally no. On rare occasions during low-traffic periods (usually the summer), ITS has dedicated the lab to a single temporary class or program. The lab is not configured to be a teaching environment - there is no lecture space, the machines are not truly standardized and they face different directions. Caltech's HR department does maintain computer training facilities and the Institute offers a complete course of study in computer science, of course. If you believe there is no better resource for your Caltech computing event, please contact the lab manager to discuss your needs.
(top)

Windows Cluster Questions

How do I log in?
You need to set up an ITS account. If you had an account prior to 3/29/03, you need to migrate your account to Active Directory. follow these instructions, and connect with username@its for your username and your new, approved, password.
What are the restrictions on the lab Windows cluster?
To keep the cluster relatively functional and useful, we have to enforce some policies on them.  First and foremost, the C: drive is not writable.  That prevents many program installers from working.  If you need local storage, you can use the D: drive, but please don't install programs that are licensed in any way - ITS is liable for software piracy in this case.  For long-term storage, don't use the D: drive.  That's what Occupant is for.   User profiles are limited to 20 MB - that means that your desktop and Personal folders should be kept small.  The profiles are copied back and forth from Occupant, and we must reduce the load on that machine.  You won't be able to change many of the Control Panel settings, either.   If you need to change something, ask the attendant.
What's wrong with Gmail?
Gmail (Google's webmail site) is pretty sophisticated. If you log in to your Gmail account with Internet Explorer on the default security settings, the application crashes quite spectacularly. You can use another browser instead (Netscape 7, for example, is known to work just fine), or you can change the security options for ActiveX (details).
What if the mouse works, but the keyboard doesn't type any more?
Scary problem, easy solution. Unplug the keyboard and plug it back in.
The keyboard is typing the wrong letters
This usually means that the keyboard has been changed to the U.S. Dvorak layout.  Dvorak is a different mapping of letters to keys that speeds up typing (if you know Dvorak).  To change it back, click the icon labelled "EN" in the lower right-hand corner of the desktop and select English (United States).
An application or process has hung.
Usually, you'd use the Task Manager to end your process, but security concerns have required us to disable Task Manager on the lab machines. You can end a stuck or suspended application using the command line though. Under the Start menu, choose run and type cmd. In the black-and-white text window that oppens, run tasklist. A list of all running processes scrolls by, with ID numbers identifying each one. Run taskkill /pid process number to end something by number. If you continue to have trouble and can't log out, find the lab attendant.
How do I disconnect a shared drive?
Don't leave disk shares open if you are walking away from a computer.  Any security we have emplaced is null and void.  To disconnect everything quickly and easily, just log out. You can also disconnect any one drive by right-clicking on "My Computer" in the Start Menu and selecting "disconnect network drive."
How do I log out?
Hit Ctrl+Alt+Del and click the Log Off... button - not the Lock Computer button, please! It takes awhile for the station to log out, but you don't have to stay and watch. It's a nice idea to log out when you're done, instead of hoping the attendant does it, or another user sits down to use a station with your account.
(top)

UNIX Cluster Questions

Nothing happens when I click a link
This is one of those times UNIX capablities don't match Windows capabilities, and confusion reigns.  Netscape has a preferences field (under Navigator/Applications) that specifies the helper application used, and often the application called has no visual cue of launch.  Most commonly, the application is lp %s which means the file has been sent to the user default printer.  If a link gives you trouble, click on it with the right button.  You'll get a menu of options including "Save Link As."  Use it to deal with the non-HTML file correctly.
How do I use a floppy or CD on a UNIX station?
Insert your disk and type "volcheck."  The disk should now be mounted off the home directory.  Change directory into the disk by "cd /floppy/name" or "cd /cdrom/name."  The disk is a directory named for the disk label, or called "no_name" if it's an unlabelled disk.  You can do all the usual things with files as if they were in the UNIX filing system, including make directories, read and write files (of course, you can't write to a CD).  When you are finished, change directory out of the disk (cd home) and type eject floppy or  eject cdrom.  
How can I connect to Occupant?
While it's easy to reach your UNIX directory from a Windows machine, going the other way is much harder.  You need to use FTP (file transfer protocol) to move UNIX files to Occupant while on a Sun station.  If you're on a Windows box, you can use SAMBA to mount your UNIX directory.  
How can I  increase my quota?
The disk quota for UNIX home directories is 60 MB. Users can request a quota increase from the UNIX sysadmins.  Requests for critical academic use or webpage hosting may be granted on a case-by-case basis.
My account is OK, but I can't log in on the lab stations.
The first thing to check is the account's space - log in with SSH and type itsquota. That will return the space available. If the account is full (60MB), you need to delete some stuff before you can use the Sun stations. If the account has plenty of space, then run itsconfig and restore the appropriate login files, this catches another 80% of UNIX login problems. Neither of these commands will run outside of the C-shell (type csh to go to the C-shell).
How do I log out?
Click the "Log Out" button in the upper right-hand corner of the desktop. Typing logout only works when using a terminal client like SSH or Telnet.
(top)

Macintosh Cluster Questions

How do I eject a disk or CD ?
Close any programs using the files on the disk (even if you closed the file itself) and drag the desktop icon to the trashcan.  This does not erase any data (and, if you have deleted stuff off the disk, it won't eject until you empty the trash).
How do I disconnect a shared drive?
See above, close everything and drag it to the trashcan.
What are the restrictions on the lab Macs?
To keep the Macs relatively functional and useful, we have to enforce some policies on them.  To do this, we use a feature of MacOS9 called "Multiple Users."  As "macuser," you can only write new files to the Macuser folder.  That prevents many program installers from working.  For long-term storage, don't use the macuser folder but put the files on Occupant2 or the ITS Mac File Server) instead.   You won't be able to change many of the Control Panel settings, either.   If you need to change something, ask the attendant.
How do I share files?
File sharing is disabled on the lab Macs.  This is done primarily because the drive space they could share is unsecured - we don't want people to have access to each other's data.  You need to put your files into your secure Occupant folder, or your ITS UNIX directory to provide security.  Of course, Occupant is not writable from the Mac cluster.  We'd really like to fix that.
How can I quit a frozen application?
Hit the Apple key + Option + Esc together. A Force Quit dialogue box pops up with the current applications listed. This is a safe procedure (though work-in-progress on the crashed app won't be saved) much like kill on a UNIX system. 
(top)