My Diary

2007-05-31T10:25:00.000+01:00

I have been busy analysing the data and system backups carried out at the Tiscali data center to audit it and replan it according to the new starategy in place at workplace site.
We have been working at Tiscali for a few days to configure the hardware and carry out pre-requisites like labeling the tapes, diagnosting any issues and updating the backup server.
The Backup technology used at data center is of high spec and utilises Dell PowerVault 132T Auotloader attached to the SAN (Storage Area Network). The autoloader can hold upto 23 tapes altogether with storage capacity of 500GB on each tape with the aid of 2:1 compression by default.
In principle it means we can backup upto 12TB. I have started working on the ideal strategy considering the resources available.
Nigell garett, had problems with the outlook configuration. He tends to saty away from office at client sites and therefore works offline most of the time. the problem he is facing is that the when he configures an email while working offline, he can not send/recieve his emails. In principal, when the user works offline but is connected to some sort of network the outlook should send any new configured emails as usual which would be actually send when next time you go online. With Nigell, all the emails which he configures while offline but connected to the network go into the outbox and do not get out of there even on doing send/recieve (F9). After going through his local outlook settings I managed to find that under send/recieve properties there is an option with edit the settings under which his outook was not ticked for offline access.
Another issue was that on his laptop he could never manage to disable any network connection.
It used to come up with an error window saying that more than one network protocol has been initiated by administrator or any other user which does not allow plug and play properties.
On looking for it and carrying out various diagnostics I found that there was nothing wrong with his network drivers or the hardware infact it was that there is service known as Digital Line Detect in windows which was not running creatind all these problems.
Lisa Bentham had ordered 3 new Dell servers. Two Dell PowerEdge 1950 and one 2950 for supporting various clients. The 1950's have windows environment while 2950 is a red Hat Linux machine. I along with Chris had to get them up and working on the rack and configure it to be used via KVM across the network with real Ip addresses and remote control sessions. WIndows configuration was straight forward but Linx was was a bit interesting and had something to learn about since it was the first time I was configuring a Linux machine.

2007-05-22T17:46:00.000+01:00

Go live deadline for corporate email signature for all WorkPlace employees is tomorrow and many people have logged calls with inability of different sorts in editing their details using GALMod utility by Microsoft.
In order to resolve the issue, I managed to find a alternate way of allowing the end user to edit their personal details on the Active Directory. There are very few people who are aware of the free utility provided with Windows XP Professional called Address Book which can be accessed under Accessories. This allows you to view everyones details on the domain and by granting few of the privileges to the users through active directory it can even allow them to edit the details.
In the Active Directory, by going to the domain I could delegate control to the users to mange their personal information. this allowed the people having problems with GALMod utility to surpass the affect of the local outlook settings and edit their details.

Martin had received a 300MB zip file from a client (3GB after extraction) through FTP site and needed it to be unzipped. He could have unzipped locally from his machine but that would have meant that it would get extracted to temporary internet folders on his laptop first and thus create unwanted huge network traffic. So the idea was to extract it locally on the WEB Server. I gathered the connection details and using the Windows Server 2003 unzip tool did the extraction without affecting the network pipe.

2007-05-21T10:44:00.000+01:00

Stuart Love has always had problems with his demo laptop due to conflicting services and chunks of applications being hosted on single operating system (Windows Server 2003). To overcome critical issues related to crucial business machine we have come up with a plan to implement virtual machines on a new high spec laptop using Virtual Server 2005 R2 which is a microsoft solution for virtualisation of operating systems.
It enables us to install several operating systems on a single host operating system without affecting the resources of the host operating system (hard drive, memory and optical drives) and each virtual operating behaves as if a different laptop.
For successful implement we have brought a Dell Latitude D820 machine with Duo core processor, 160Gb hard drive with 7200rpm and 4GB memory to allow machine to cope with several operating systems at an instance. All the virtual machines are supposed to be isolated from the internet to avoid any virus problems since this machine would be hosting our bespoke software applications. However virtual machines need to talk among each other and with the host and vice versa.

Andrew Burgess could not access his sales folder on file share which had some critical work. On investigating I managed to find that its been deleted and the last time he accessed it was around 10 days ago. I logged into the file server and first of all did search for that folder on not being able to find it I had to goto the backups and restore it.

2007-05-04T12:17:00.000+01:00

The signature for development are now in pilot phase and it seems working fine till now.
In order to test the signatures the users need to write DISCLAIMER TESTING in the subject.

I am also auditing the phone lines across all our offices.

2007-05-01T16:03:00.000+01:00

The incremental backup for Monday night did not run. On logging into the backup server it prompted with a error message to insert correct media for the job. On having a look at the online media, the slot for monday's media was empty and even after running the scan/inventory did not get detected.
I had to physically go the server and have a look at it. the tape had got stuck for some reason and just on ejecting and inserting back in I could manage to do the backups.

2007-04-30T15:49:00.000+01:00

We have been working on migrating our WINS server onto a windows 2003 server. After migrating there have been problems.
One of the users claimed that he could not access the shares on some of servers and also could not see all the computers on the network. That meant that his machine is not pointing to the new wins server.
Now, to troubleshoot we had three options. One, that if the wins is locally set up on his laptop. Second, VPN is pushing out wrong wins or third that his laptop is connected to different domain which points to old wins server.
He was asked to run the command prompt and using ipconfig /all while logged in to vpn and find the wins ip adreess. As expected it was pointing to the wrong wins server.
It came out some changes be made on the vpn 3000 concentrator. I used webvpn to make the relevant changes. Under configuration>user management>groups>internal users group>genaral I changed the primary wins address to the new wins server and secondary to the old one.

To confirm it I connected to the vpn and did ipconfig to find the wins getting pointed out to the new ip address.

2007-04-24T16:45:00.000+01:00

In view of auditing the ports on the patch panel in the server room I had to audit a list for all the ground ports across the building to ensure easy allocation of ports (network and phone ) in future.

I first noted down all the ports on the patch panel and then manually found the ground port each one is connected to on the patch panel itself. Secondly I would need to go to each ground port and find out if they are active, if not then mark them as inactive in the audit.

2007-04-23T17:20:00.000+01:00

We are done with documenting the things to do for preparing for the new corporate signature. The software is now in test period. In the active directory a new group called Signature Test Group has been created and users been added to it for testing it.
The documentation has been kept as simple as possible to make it understandable for non IT departments as well. But still we were flocked with queries straight away by testers. Problems like Why can't I see my signature while composing email? That is because the signatures are added once the user sends the email and it goes to the exchange server where it gets the user credentials from the Global Address List in Active Directory.

2007-04-16T17:43:00.000+01:00

To standardize the email signatures for all employees we had configured our exchange server 2003. According to new settings each external email we would a prefix of a company logo and disclaimer.
but before implementing it we would have liked to make everybody aware of it and provide them with sufficient details to edit their present signatures.
I had been working on this and created a document for the same.

2007-04-10T11:57:00.000+01:00

Nigel is satisfied with the upgrades done to his desktop to fix the problem with outlook crashing. After discussions with people at Nouvveau ( our CRM team) it was decided to add some patches to the client software for CRM V3.0 provided by Microsoft.
He has now asked me to implement the same patch for his laptop as well. It is still on testing and if every thing goes fine then we would be looking at wider implementation for the department which uses CRM.
I had already received the media for Veritas backup Exec 11d last week but got the serial keys just today. I thought it to be straight forward as it used to be before to activate the product currently running on the trial key. Due to security changes made by Symantec we now had to login to a licensing portal at symantec website and then using unique customer number and order number track the softwares we bought. That was not enough, then I was supposed to create individual license catalogs for all the 6 different serial keys provided. At last the activation product keys are supplied at email address used to login to the portal.

2007-03-26T17:56:00.000+01:00

The backup server which I configured has been using a trial version of Symantec veritas backup exec 10d so I had to get it licensed.
I called the reseller and for a quote according to our requirement i.e. 1 x main backup software; 5 x remote agents; 1 x tape library software (autoloader).
Nigel Garett's outlook still has not been behaving itself and keeps on crashing. I had alook at it and due to irregular pattern for failure its actually difficult to diagnose the real route cause of it.
Meanwhile, I had to build a new demo machine for Stuart Love. He wanted this new demo laptop for future installations since he reckoned Demo2 was absolutely cluttered and would not be able to cope anymore further installations. Apart from standard server on his laptop he requires a demo tool kit called Business Objects which has very high prerequisites. I demands a web server and a database server for its complete functionality and is not very straight forward to install.
I have finished building the server on the laptop with all latest updates and anti virus console as of yet. Even installed Sequel server 2000 standard edition with SP 3a.

2007-03-20T16:53:00.000Z

I have been working on setting the tape library for carrying out the backups. I have eventually been able to resolve all the issues and getting it started.
After getting it replaced I had to decide which backup software to use on it for backups. Ended up installing the Veritas 10d and refering to the manuals to get my hold onto how to configure it.

Firstly I had to install the remote agents to the machine we wanted to back up. The remote could be pushed out using the add remove tool in the control panel. Select the Veritas software and click change. Now go through the wizard to do push out the remote agents to the required servers and desktops.

Second step is to create the device pools. It is a group of storage devices that can be targetted for backups. If you run the veritas software for backups and select the device tab you would find the tape library beeing used. If you load the tapes into the autoloader they would all be monitored in the device tab. Initially they don't have any name assigned to them so by right clicking onto each of them you have to first catalog(name) them appropriately.

Ater that, thirdly I had to create a media set. A media set is logical group of storage media for which you can specify how long data will be appended or over write protected. After creating media sets we can target backup jobs to it.

Backup jobs could then be created individually or by using policies. Policies contains the data selections we specify for backups and all the details like what when and how it will be backed up.
it can reflect the back strategy created and simply managing the large number of backup jobs. Backup jobs actually allow to associate a policy with a selection list.

Eventually after all I allows to monitor the running and scheduled back up jobs.

2007-03-13T10:42:00.000Z

Ryan and Jay had concerns with having to work again on the same corrupted hard drive though it has been fixed now. To convince them I had to run some diagnostic tools which writes and reads of the disk.
The dell diagnostics CD when used to boot the system uses a Windows 98 PXE and downloads all the drivers and enters a diagnostic utility. The custom tab can be used to test the hard drive comprehensively.

2007-03-09T13:34:00.000Z

We have a mission critical laptop called DEMO which is used to host all our application software's to the prospective clients. Due to fact that they all use different versions and configurations sometimes they clash and give blue screens of error. With the amount of services running on it it is next to impossible to analyse or diagnose the cause of the problem.
So just to be on the safe side because we can not afford to loose this machine it was advised to the consultant who the machine belongs to get it backed up.
The problem is that the machine has Windows Server 2003 on it and backing up windows has never been easy especially with this much amount of data on it.
I used Acronis Server Image 2003 to back it up across the network. But that was not the end of it. I was told that people in the past have managed to backup but in the last four years no body has been ever able to restore it. That means I now had to test restore it.
Now there are few restrictions when you restore a machine. I had to analyse that before going ahead but eventually I was able to restore it back onto another machine.

From yesterday as far as Dell Server 2003 is concerned using Winternals ERD Commander I could get all the data off the corrupted hard drive by putting that hard drive as secondary onto another system and just copied onto the hard drive of that system. But what happened eventually was that now I could not boot off that hard drive and hence not retrieve the server data files. I had to repair the Windows XP which already existed on the hard drive and then boot off that and access server files. It all worked well but to restore the Dell Server back we needed to get the 120GB corrupted hard drive right. So to achieve that we tried wipping off the hard drive using tool called DiskWipe.
After that I used the reinstallation CD for Dell server 2003 which comes along with the system to format the drive and do a fresh install of Windows Server 2003. the hard drive seemed to be working fine now. Next job would be to migrate the files recovered using ERD back to this reinstalled hard drive for doing that I had to dual boot the system using both the hard drives and then successfully migrated the stuff off it.

2007-03-08T17:40:00.000Z

Dell engineer has replaced the Autoloader but as far as making backup's is concerned that is still got to be tested. But at the moment we have made sure that the Autoloader works fine in terms of loading and unloading tapes to the tape drive.
Next step would have been to set up the Veritas software to do backup's but one of the mission critical servers broke down and we had to look at that as priority1.
This is Dell Server 2003 which is very crucial box as used to support one of the major clients. It failed to reboot. Martin identified the problem trying to connect to it remotely. When he couldn't he asked us to have a look at it. The system did not boot up and kept coming with the message Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to reboot and the problem continued.
We first tried booting of the utility partition and ran the diagnostics. It came with errors which seemed like those for the hard drive. Then after running the custom test for hard drive it was evident that it is the hard drive failure.
First attempt was to fix it. I first used Bart's PXE to fix the hard drive partition but not to much help. Then went on to using Knoppix which is recovery tool with Linux on a CD. The system boots of the CD and is said to be capable of fixing most of the problems though not in this case. Thought of why not swap the hard drive with another machine just to make sure that it is the hard drive and nothing else than that. Put the hard drive onto another PC and same problem existed.
Last option was to try and get as much data as possible off it onto another location.

2007-03-07T09:52:00.000Z

After several attempts and looking at all possible issues we have been struggling to get Autoloader Tape Drive up and working. We have a Dell Gold Support for it and hence logged a call with Dell yesterday.
Discussed the whole issue with dell support. The problem seemed to be much more serious than intended. He asked me to open up the top lid of the autoloader. On opening I found that one the tapes was stuck in the tape drive and failed to eject. Thre was nothing that he could do and ordered a replacement of tape drive. Now we are expecting a Dell installation engineer to come and replace the faulty tape drive.

2007-03-06T10:07:00.000Z

I have installed and configured the Varitas tape drive backup software.
We had a priority 1 call to set up Tom Preston's email account to redirect all emails to his google mail account since he had left the company and had requested for accessing his emails for couple of weeks.
In outlook 2003, select Rules and Alerts in Tools tab. Using this I could redirect all his emails to his googlemail account and also to Tony Knight, who's Tom's manager so that he is aware what all is being forwarded to him.
Matt Brown in Australia needed some software's urgently. We couldn't allow him to copy it across the network because that may slow down the pipe. I copied it onto the web server folder for for Australia and Matt could install it across the internet using FTP site address.
Craig's laptop desktop rotated at 90 degrees left by its own. He called us to resolve it. Generally it is under desktop properties to configure it but unfortunately it was not there. I had to find out the shortcut (keyboard) to resolve it................Ctrl+Del+Arrow keys allow you to change the angles of your desktop (only in case of Dell's).

2007-03-01T09:45:00.000Z

Working on setting up the PowerVault 122T LTO2 Autoloader for backup's. I faced quite afew problems. First I had to install a SCSI card in the server. Upgraded the drivers for it and then from dell website downloaded the drivers for autoloader and tape drive within it. the machine has detected the hardware change but can't get the autoloader up and working. Autoloader requires a Backup software for managing backup's so installed Varitas backup solution for the same.
Now that needs configuring.

2007-02-28T10:12:00.000Z

Our network provider wanted to provide us with some new client softwares related to better network connectivity and administration tools. The files are big and even due to security reasons not advisable to sent through emails.
The solution to this is either they ship CD's or we provide them with an access to our FTP site where they can upload and we can download straight away and its secure as well.
How it all works? We have a web server (meaning it can be accessed from around the world) and every web server has an ftp( file transfer protocol) site. To manage the ftp we have ftp secure server software. using this software we can configure he site and authenticate different users to access our web server as much as we want to. Every user is given a home drive on web server which they can access for uploads and downloads. So every time some files are to be exchanged customers can log into the ftp site using their provided username and password.

2007-02-27T15:57:00.000Z

James Thompson's machine was not fixed yet and I had a deadline to sort it before lunch. The problem was that the system used to freeze if you eject and load the DVD RW ROM. I tried everything out from replacing the dvd rom, IDE cable, BIOS settings, local settings of the machine, ran dell diagnostics but nothing helped. One thing was for sure that it was due to some driver or service running on his machine because when logged in safe mode (system only uses the drivers and services critical for running the machine) it seemed to get fixed.
After spending quite along time with it I realized to individually stop services one by one and check alternatively how does the rom react to it. I came across one service controlled by InCD.exe which created the problem. I disabled the service permanently and hence resolved the issue.
Hollywood wanted me to look into a P1 customer log which required a new ftp access setting up for the customer. I took the details down from him and logged into our web server. Using the FTP secure server I configured access for a new user and filled in the relevant details. There is a standard which is followed to configure a new user so that it becomes easier for anybody to troubleshoot in case ant thing goes wrong. Hence I had to go through the documentation meant for this purpose.
Kim needed a spare laptop for doing some work from home. We had a Compaq NX9010 machine which could be given away. Steve asked me if I could re-install the OS and configure it for her.
I formatted the hard drive and booted the system. It did not pick up the network drivers. Went to HP website and looked for the relevant driver but even after installing them I could manage to get it working.

2007-02-26T17:55:00.000Z

Its been quite long that we have been looking at making a backup strategy for some of the critical machines in MK. Eventually its been decided to configure a Dell PowerVault 122T LTO Autoloader tape drive on mkhqfile server for this purpose.
Steve has asked me to look into the installation and configuration of it onto our network. Hence I have been keeping busy studying manuals preparing successful strategy for the same.

2007-02-23T10:01:00.000Z

Steve has always been obsessed about not allowing people to copy huge data files over the network in cases where you tend to use those files pretty often since it traffics the network pipe. So we want to test with some alternatives for it. Ben has just had a new laptop and looking to migrate all the stuff from his old to new machine. We were eager to utilize cross over ethernet cable to transfer data files. Its a bit tchi stuff but cost effective.
You join the machines in parallel using an ethernet cable and create a sort of LAN between them with static IP addresses. It allows you to access the shared stuff on the other machines and because systems are connected together it doesn't bother the network at all.

2007-02-22T10:31:00.000Z

How to expire an Active Directory user account? I was delegated a task to expire some of the active directory user accounts from specific dates. These accounts were meant for some contractors and guests which leave on that date.
I log into the active directory server and goto active directory users and computers tool. Then select the user right click goto properties. Select account tab in the list and select expire account from the date as required.

2007-02-21T15:47:00.000Z

A call was logged to allow some of the employees to access support emails i.e support@workplacesystems.com. How to do it? It is configured using Active Directory. In Active Directory users and computers tool there are Incidental Mailboxes which contains support email. If you right click on that goto properties under Exchange Advanced you can find mailbox rights. Just enter the name of the person who you want to give access to and click check names. Provided the employee is the member of the Domain Users it would get authenticated and allow him to access the specified emails.
In Outlook 2003 the mailbox of the user can be configured by opening Email Accounts in control panel and then opt change email account hence more settings. Goto advanced tab and add mailbox you want to view i.e support in this case.

Then I needed to set up a new Incidental Mailbox called fogbugz@workplacesytems.com. The best way to do without any confusions is to copy one of the existing mailboxes and fill in the details. Then configure the properties as required.

2007-02-16T12:02:00.000Z

Tessa had accidently denied the Sbase software (used for customer services) when prompted by mcafee firewall. She was working from home at the moment using Cisco VPN and could not log in to Sbase. We had to reconfigure her mcafee to allow sbase. She had VNC o her machine and hence I took control of her machine.
To reconfigure McAfee Right click on the icon and click options. Goto firewall settings which shows all the available network connection and logs the locations you have been through. Under VPN connection click internet browser. I could find logged setting to deny Sbase simply right clicked on it and allowed.
Kate had asked me create an ftp site for a new client so that we could upload all softwares and patches for them. Remote desktop to our web server. We use a ftp file server software for administration and configuring our ftp site. With the aid of a document and wizard created a new client login and password.Allotes space to them on th server and copied couple of documents. Now using web browser opened the ftp site logged in as client to verify if I can see the files I have copied for them.
Jo had been experiencing problems with wireless at MK. According to her she could connect to the wireless in the office but it kept on dropping. Actually she's been using a BT broadband router at home and hence installed a BT adapter(device driver). Unfortunately the adapter doesn't seem to be working fine with our internal wireless network. So I had to uninstall her BT software and install the Intel Pro Set mini adapter. Added the work wireless profile and her home BT one as well.

2007-02-13T10:52:00.000Z

Alan Stephens, Sales Consultant, could not access all the folders under sales on share server. The properties of the sales folder gives full access to all of the sales department. He could get in the sales folder but could not see all the sub folders.

2007-02-09T10:17:00.000Z

I have now finished with creating new active directory and VPN accounts for the LSI people sitting in USA. A compiled document has been creating to assist with deployment procedure.
The consultants have been experiencing problems with wireless. So wehad decided to put up a repeater router around that area to boost the signal.
Steve had alloted me the task to configure and deploy it. It was not straight forward since to configure the repeater you need to know the configuration of the actual router. I had to first find out the configuration of wireless router and with aid of the instruction manual I managed to configure the repeater.

2007-02-02T10:44:00.000Z

I have been busy building Cerian's new laptop. Apart from the standard build comprising basic device drivers and some security softwares I had to configure Sequel Server 2000 Personal edition for handling databases, SnagIt 8 for documentation, PC Anywhere for supporting remote clients, Net Support Manager, Visio2000, Citrix, Aqua data Studio for analysing databases to name a few. Installed SBase, our internal call management system which uses oracle application forms.
I had the job of setting up VPN accounts for some colleagues working in LSI Consultants, North America. I had to log on to the VPN concentrator and create accounts with username and passwords which could allow them to access our network resources.
Further I added their credentials onto to Domain Controlller (Active Directory) which would give them complete access to our network.

2007-01-31T19:33:00.000Z

Since last weekend I have been working on preparing a next financial year budget for supporting infrastructure of company.
Steve gave me rough outline of what all needed to be done. The most important being the Microsoft Software Asset Management for the whole company including our branches in America and Australia. After critical analysis of Microsoft Licensing Method its been found that we are on the verge of getting Microsoft Gold Partner Certified. I have created a document explaining the effect on our free licenses entitlement in case we get Gold Certified.
The next stage would be to create a group policy in Active Directory to scan all the machines across our LAN and WAN to perform software auditing task.
We could use Microsoft Software Analyser to scan all the machines and further polish the document explaining if we need any further licenses.

2007-01-25T11:16:00.000Z

Dick McDonnielle had a scan meassage from McAfee Microsoft Outlook find vulnerability (925938). A buffer overflow message with description that a vulnerability exists in Miscrosoft Outlook that may allow for denial of service attack. A user would have to open a malicious e-mail attachment for an attack to occur. A successful attack would allow execution of code at the rights level of the victim's user account.
On following the recommendations I managed to download a update i.e. was KB924085. A microsoft office update and also updated his McAfee. I scaned his machine and that message did not occur again.

2007-01-24T17:39:00.000Z

We had a task to install a business intelligence application Business Objects Enterprise on demo machine. After going through prerequisites we found that it reqired a database server and web application server which required configuring before hand.
We installed SQL Server 2005 and Java Web Application servers. Going through notes I had to develop a new empty database with login id and password as required.
Started with the installation and immediately message that it could not execute some file. I had to copy the contents of the disk onto the C: drive and run the files from there. After installation we could not log in to the application. It was asking for server name, login id, password and authentication. After comprehensive study of the installation notes it was found out that during application a default administrator and user account are created. We used those credentials to log in now. Every thing seemed fine until Stuart came back that he could not do anything when not networked and because the laptop was meant for giving demonstrations it had to work without a network. Then after some difficulties we manged to find out what could be the problem.
The application used Java web application server which always requires an IP address. When the system is not networked it would not have an IP address. So we created a network connection called loopback which has a private IP address and allows to make your own mini network.

2007-01-23T17:46:00.000Z

We recieved the Dell PowerEdge SC440 server today which was supposed to be used to support Travelex applications. It was shipped without the operating system so the first task was to install OS on it. After successfull installation I noticed that the machine did not pick up the gigabit network controller driver so I had to put in the server installation CD and run the utility to update drivers only after going throught the installation instruction manual. The problem was resolved and I could now go to microsoft website and insatll all the security updates. Afterwards I installed the mcafee anti virus and joined it to domain. Then created a domain user account in the active directory and configured the machine for using that user account.

2007-01-16T12:20:00.000Z

Sarah had problems with her notebook's keyboard and mouse. the cursor would keep drifting towards left whenever she tried to write anything anywhere. Her mouse pad did not work fine either. I first tried to look at the settings but could not find anything. Then opened the keyboard and replaced with another one. It worked fine after replacement revealing the cause of fault.

James's Dell Optiplex GX620 did not recognize the Lite-On DVD ROM. Tried to first scan for any new installed hardware in contol panel. Then replaced that ROM with another one which did not help at all. I simply meant that computer did not recognize any ROM. Rebooted the system and went to the system setup or bios menu. The CD or DVD ROM device was disabled. I enabled that and the system now recognized the device.

2007-01-15T10:56:00.000Z

John Shouler had a couple of problems with his Dell Latitude D810. It did not allow him to write anything in the address bar. If he opens my computer and writes an address of some other location in the address bar there it does not allow him. Secondly the control panel kept on refreshing on its own. After looking at them I diagnosed it to be .net framework problem and after updating it I managed to resolve both the isues.
He even had an issue that there was message that popped up right hand bottom corner of the screen saying that wireless adaptor not installed. Actually he did not have his wireless adaptor enabled so I had to go to device manager and enable his wireless adaptor.
Later in the day we had a machine which had come down from Telford with some networking issues. It was not able to get an IP address from DHCP. On doing ipconfig it came with an IP address which was from outside our subnet mask. So I went to show all networks under start menu and on LAN connection went to properties. Selected tcp/ip option and found the properties to be set on specific IP address and DNS server settings. On resetting it to automatic the machine could manage to get an IP address.

2007-01-12T11:02:00.000Z

Yesterday after getting a static IP address for mkhqspap server I installed VNC on the machine and ran the server service so that anybody could log onto it remotely using VNC viewer. After that I was supposed to install Oracle 10g application server disks to its hard drive.
The SBASE server went wrong. It did not display on the screen. I logged a call with Dell technician and diagnosted it to be a motherboard fault.
Jo Rosser emailed that she could not edit an excel file in sales directory under mkfile. It prompted her for a password everytime and because Paul Joy had created it and set the password up she didn't know it and Paul had left the business. I found that excel was password protected and after going through microsoft technet it clearly said that there is no way to disable it if you don't remember the password. So I had to come out with away that Jo could actually be able to edit it.
I Logged on mkfile as an administrator which gave me full control. Now I created another excel document and copied all the contents from the excel document which Paul had created onto new one and gave it the same name and replaced it. Jo could now see the same file at same location and edit it.

2007-01-10T11:37:00.000Z

I was alone today in the department and there was quite alot to be done. To make things worse my PC went faulty. I had left it on last evening as usual but found it switched off in the morning. On turning it on I found that the screen was not displaying anything though the system was running. I tried changing the monitor first of all which did not help. Then opened the system and replaced the graphic card which had the VGA port on it. Tried again but no joy. It seemed that there is problem with the mother board.
Steve had assigned me a task through email with high priority to configure an application server which would be called MKHQSPAPP. The rest of the details were on mail. I manged to grab a spare laptop and configured my email account onto that machine in order get the details and start with it.
I had to format a system in the server room and reinstall Windows XP on it and name the machine as MKHQSPAPP. After getting the system up and running with all latest drivers and security softwares I was supposed to get a static IP address for it.

2007-01-08T17:24:00.000Z

Ulrik called with a problem that he could not browse internet from his laptop Dell Latitude D520. Every time he launched the Internet Explorer 7 it came up with an error and did not allow him to browse at all. I had to personally go to his machine and try it out.
It was not that straight forward because I knew that it would probably get sorted if I go to microsoft website and patch his machine but to get there I need browser which is not working.
So I went to task manager and started a new task from there and browsed to the microsoft website and repaired the browser.
Afterwards I had to keep myself busy with software asset management task.

2007-01-05T12:27:00.000Z

Wireless went down first thing in the morning. Reboot did not help then I had to take the router off and plug in to another ethernet cable. Wireless got picked up now.
Jon Gyngell's machine needed sorting up. His machine had actually crashed and Chris got the hard drive replaced. Steven was building it from scratch and wanted me to start from where he left.
I along with Chris intalled three new dell Power Edge 2950 rack servers in the server room.

2007-01-04T10:08:00.000Z

I have just returned today from a long holiday abroad. Before leaving I had completed auditing for hardware to be collected from the employees. I could see some of the hardware already been returned in my absence and hence had the task of updating the audit list which was created.

Later in the day Steve asked me to find the compatible memory upgrade to 4GB for a Dell machine. He supplied me with the Asset Tag No. and the Dell Service Tag No. I used the details diagnose that it was Dell Optiplex GX520 which could have maximum of 4GB RAM DDR2 PC2-5300.CL=5.UNBUFFERED.NON-ECC.DDR2-667.1.8V.256Megx64. Then I move on to find the best price for it from Crucial Memory.

2006-12-11T10:23:00.000Z

Barney could not print of a shared printer i.e Heathers HP laserjet 3150 which is configured for him to use. It prompted that the server could not verify the machine. On looking at the properties of the configured printer I managed to notice that Heather's machine was identified using her IP Address. That was the problem because though all the machines within the company have static IP Address fished out by the DHCP server but still every time the machine reboots the IP Address changes. Heather's machine had a different IP Address now and thats the reason Barney couldn't print of her machine.
I deleted the set printer and configured it again using Heather's computer name file://// Laserjet instead of file:////100.1.1.197/Heathers. In this case even if her system is rebooted and IP address changes the computer name would not.

2006-12-06T17:08:00.000Z

Steve Owles complained about his dell laptop D520 battery that it does not hold any charge anymore. It only runs with power supply connected to it. I had to run the diagnostic tool installed by dell on the hard drive. That did not pick up any problem with the health of battery.
Then I thought of using his battery onto another dell D520 just to see if it works well on another machine. Tried and it worked and eventually worked on Steve's laptop aswell (STRANGE).

I had build a new Laptop for Barney. While hand him over his machine he told me that since last couple of days his machine's been prompting that his password going to expire very soon and change it. So I changed his password onto his present laptop and shut it down and gave him away his new laptop. The job was not finished. He logged acall soon after that he couldn't log in using his new password.
So I had to go through it and found that he has been using wireless and hence his machine been using the cached password and not allowing him to use the new one. I put him onto LAN and asked him to log in. It worked for him.

2006-11-22T11:22:00.000Z

Nigel Garrett could not archive some of his old e-mails on outlook 2003 for some reason. When he decided to archive all the emails before a particular date like 28/05/06 it meant all the emails before that date should have gone into a archive folder onto a network drive specified by him. There were a couple of odd emails which did not seem to getting archived and remained in his inbox.
I went through all his standard settings in first place and when nothing seemed to be working patched his ofiice professional 2003. the problem still did not resolve. Then on refering to some articles over microsoft technet I manged to find the way archive worked in outloook 2003. it explained that archiving doesn't only take into consideration the date email was sent ( that is what all of us see on last column of the outlook) but also the modified date (open the email and check under properties). On looking at the emails which were not getting archived on Nigel's machine the modification dates were different from the sent dates.
The only way to arcvive these emails was to drag and drop them.

2006-11-09T17:19:00.000Z

Got to install VPN for Barney. As soon as The client software was installed the System showed a blue screen and shut down. I shut down the system and reboot it in the safe mode and then pick the last best configuration. This let me get the system back to position without VPN installed on it. On refering with Alan I was supposed to try installing the VPN in safe mode using networking. The system tends to use the minimum drivers required in the the safe mode. Installed and logged back in as the administrator. The problem still persisted. The last option was to back up the hard drive and format it. Now installed the VPN first of all and configured the rest of the machine. IT WORKED.
Heather logged a call that her desktop toolbar disapeared all of a sudden. On having a look for "toolbar disapeared in windows XP" in google I managed to find that the registery has been corrupted by some kind of malware or adware. Using tweaks I had to edit the registery of the operating system and rectify the problem.

2006-11-08T15:48:00.000Z

I was supposed to change the CD ROM with a DVD Combo on Dell Dimension 4100. It was not that staright away as I thought it to be. After opening the chasis of the machine I could not manage to get the ROM out until I reffered to manual available online under technical support.
Even after that it was real pain in the neck replacing that but somehow I managed and afterwards tested if it was working alright.
Barney had asked for access to a new Konica Minolta Bizhub C250 printer and also the one locally attached to Heather's desktop.
I had to get the configuration of the printer first and find out the IP address. After running the add printer wizard and configuring it using the drivers which came on the cd along with the printer it did not print the test page and showed an error: printer page error 8.5x11''. In first instance I could not figure out the problem since I never came across such a thing. On refering some online forums and manuals I could figure out that probabaly the printer was by default set to American standards and needed to be changed accordingly. After right clicking on the icon for the printer and selecting the page preferences I managed to make A4 the default page setting which resolved the problem.
Now I was supposed to configure laptop for printer attached to Heather's desktop. This time as well after going through whole of the wizard nothing seemed to be working and I had to again do a bit of reading. I found from articles that it would not work until the machine which the printer is attached to is sharing the printer and will only allow to print when the local machine is in ON state. I found that the machine was shut down which explains the reasons.

2006-11-07T16:32:00.000Z

Gerry called that he could not map a network drive to his virtual PC. On going listening to him and following the errors I had to join his virtual machine to workplace domain which now allowed him to map the required drives.
Later he could not install any software to his virtual PC. On going through few articles I managed to find out that he needs to log in as an administrator before trying to install any piece of software. On doing so he was able to install oracle.

2006-11-06T10:50:00.000Z

Ulrik could not manage to work offline on his outlook 2003. As a company standard we always configure it to allow users to work offline from home or locations where they can not find internet conncetion. I logged into his machine and initially worked online on outlook. Under toools>E-mail Accounts>select View or change existing email accounts>change>more settings>tick use cached exchange mode. Then closed the browser window opened it again and this time selected work offline. It did not show any error message and worked fine.

Alan provided me with the URL and ID password for our Cisco Virtual Private Network and trained me on how to configure it.I looged into the machine and did it individually afterwards and familiarised with it.

Gerry needed a Virtual PC 2004 installed on his HP desktop with Windows XP SP2 on it. I took the MSDN disk along and put it into his CD drive. It did not seem to pick up the CD. I noticed that MSDN disk was a DVD and Gerry desktop only had a CD R\W. I had to put the DVD into my machine and share it with Gerry. I installed the Virtual PC successfully. Now I had to put Windows XP as Virtual Machine. The problem being that I only had the MSDN disk for XP I had to again pull across network from my machine. Unfortunately that did not seem to work this time around since what happens is that when we run Virtual PC console it asks for the boot disk not allowing to select any network source. So I had no other option than to create a windows XP cd.

2006-11-03T17:39:00.000Z

Yesterday till evening I could not manage to add Quinn as administrator of his laptop probably because the active directory sysnchronises with the domain controller overnight. I managed to sort that out in the morning.

2006-11-02T16:48:00.000Z

It was a busy day as expected since I have been on a holiday. I had a new starter Mr. Quinn who required a new laptop so started the day with configuring a laptop for him. Ian Baxter wanted me to put the internet kiosk in place at reception. He had been facing password problem with his laptop as well. Everytime he launched his outlook 2003 it would prompt him for changing his password and even if he changes it nothing seems to be working out. I logged into his machine as an administrator of the local account and changed his password. Then asked him to log in and check if he was still facing that problem. Everything seemed alright to him and he was satisfied.
James Hollywood one of the software support guy logged a call that text in his outlook inbox would sometimes appear very big and makes it difficult for him to work. After asking him a couple of question he did not seem to be catching up well and I eventually had to log remotely onto his machine. I found that he had three different versions of outlook. All he needed was one good configuration of outlook onto his hard drive. I popped in a Microsoft Office 2003 CD into my drive and shared with him. Then using VNC installed office onto his machine from my drive.

Barney Quinn's laptop had one keyboard key missing so ended up replacing his keyboard aswell.

2006-10-27T11:24:00.000+01:00

The developers had ordered memory upgrades to 2GB for D810 and D505 Dell Latitude laptops. I had to replace the present memory on laptops with the new ones. After going the instruction manual I made an attempt to change them. While replacing D810 I couldnt find the second PCI slot at the back of the machine though D505 had two slots at the back and I replaced the memories. On refering to the dell support site I found that second slot for D810 was under the keyboard so I had to remove the keyboard of the laptop to replace the second memory. After upgrading the memory I had to go into the system setup from PXE mode and confirmed that the memories were upgraded correctly.

Installed Windows Vista onto one of the machines and started testing its features. Used some of its features which did not seem to be working right.

2006-10-26T17:52:00.000+01:00

Jayesh, Software Support Analyst needed Cisco's VPN as well Check Point on his system. Actually our company's standard virtual private network solution is Cisco's so he had it on his machine already while supporting Metro he had to have Check Point which is their standard he needed in order to support them.He logged a call that he was facing problems downloading Check Point and everytime he tried to the system would just stop responding.
I and Alan spent quite a lot of time troubleshooting it and atlast managed to configure it right by removing Cisco from his machine and downloading Check Point and then putting VPN onto it. It all worked well this way.

2006-10-24T17:43:00.000+01:00

Got a Dell Form Factor from server room for building latest version of Vista. Set it all up on my desk and used a laptop to burn the downloaded version of Vista. I had to first backup the hard drive of the form factor onto mkhqfile server using acronis true image software. After backing it up started booting off the Vista CD to rash the hard drive. System failed to boot off the CD. It was absolutely weird. At first it appeared to be problem with the CD drive. Diagnosed it and came across the fact that it was just CD-ROM and Vista one was a DVD.
Ulrik Loretzen had problems with applying an office 2003 application called Remove Hidden File Tool which verifies the hidden component in a office document and allows the user to remove them. He installed the software from the microsoft website but could not run it. I had to go through the process of downloading it onto my my machine and troubeshooting how to use it. Went through microsoft and some other independent articles on how to implement it. Cracked it and sent him an email since he had left for a business trip abroad.

2006-10-23T15:18:00.000+01:00

On friday Craig had logged a call that he was facing some problem with his laptop keypad. The keys did not write what they were supposed to. To diagnose it I had to reboot the laptop and go to preinstallation mode by pressing F2 and then run the diagnostics.
It came up with the error in keypad. I logged a call with Dell and talked through the problem. Just to make sure the guy asked me to run the diagnostics CD which comes with the dell laptops. Went through that and confirmed the problem. A new keypad was confirmed to be shipped. I have recieved it today but Craig's outside the office for today.

Nigel Garrett, Sales Director needed a memory upgrade on his machine. I called him to find out his present configuration. Asked him to scan his machine buy going to site http://www.crucial.com/uk/ and following the appropriate steps. But he could not complete the scan since it required some additional hardware information. I took the control of his machine and tried to figure it out. I did manage to find the specs and the possible upgrade. Now the problem was that I required the DIMM for his RAM which was not showing up anywhere. I tried system configuratio tool and even tried to find from preinstallation mode but it was not mentioned anywhere. The last option I was left with was to send someone to physically open his box and find the DIMM spec. At last I had it and then created a purchase order and forwarded to Nigel. He got it signed and forwarded it to me. All that I was left with was order it online from crucial memory using the company credit card.

2006-10-19T17:26:00.000+01:00

Over the last couple days I have been studying about various concepts. Alan's been sharing his experiences with me IP Addressing, Internet Security, LAN, VLAN, network management tools,hacking, antispyware, switches,hubs and routers.

2006-10-16T17:30:00.000+01:00

Started with resolving problems on the intranet site which based on Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server. Dave came in the problem that he could not copy anything of the cd onto his hard drive. Went through all possiblities and found that he had two user accounts as himself for administrator of the local machine. Logged him out and logged in as an administrator of the local machine. tried to read of the cd and it worked........

2006-10-13T17:33:00.000+01:00

Installed XP onto the new hard drive using acronis 9.0. started with the testing of the Microsoft Technical Demonstration Toolkit. It took ages since it did not have the recommended ram on it i.e 2GB.

2006-10-12T17:21:00.000+01:00

As we are Microsoft Certified partner we recieved Technical Demonstration Toolkit which includes 66 of the famous applications for demonstration purposes to our clients of what we can provide. We were looking to test it before hand. We had this spare Dell D505 laptop with the image of Stuart's server 2003. The first thing to do was restore Windows XP onto the machine using Acronis which would save time. While doing that I could notice some kind of noise from the machine. After restoring it asked for a reboot. I tried to reboot and it failed. I ran the diagnostics and found that the hard drive had crashed. Logged a call with Dell and orderd a new hard drive. Got an old dell laptop from the warehouse and replaced the memory. Used Acronis again and restored XP onto it. But this old laptop had only 20GB of memory which did not solve the purpose so used an external 150GB memory. Started installing the Microsoft Demonstration Toolkit Applications on the external memory. It was expected to take it more than an hour so called it a day.

2006-10-11T17:35:00.000+01:00

Recovered Stuart's system by booting from the acronis true image server 9.1 CD.

2006-10-10T22:58:00.000+01:00

CRM server was live and I had to back it up. The problem was that when I installed Acronis True Image Server 9.1 it required a reebot. I was not sure what to do so Alan helped me with it.
We went through all the running\started applications on the server and configured to manually from automatic control. Backed the server across the network onto mkhqfile server in workplace domain.
The new test version for Windows Vista is out now so spent some time reading about the pathes and features of Vista.

2006-10-09T17:41:00.000+01:00

Started with trying to backup Windows server 2003 across the network onto mkhqfile server with aid of Acronic Version 8........unsuccessful. Alan always knew it would not work. He wanted me show the restrictions and shortcomings. He forwarded me the mail containing the downloadable version of Acronis True Image server 9.1 along with the key. He taught me the basics that why do we need a different version for backing up servers. I had to create a CD and a bootable CD unlike a version 9 one which was bootable. I learnt what makes a CD bootable and how to write them. we did all the tests and now intend to backup the mkhqfile server once its been updated by Steve with Microsoft CRM databases.

2006-10-06T17:48:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I had managed to finish with the Internet Kiosk project by locking down all the chrome icons of the browser and providing the user with only forward and back navigation icons.
The only way to come out of the kiosk mode is to press ctrl+alt+del and bring up the task manager and cancel the running application.
Today I have been testing Acronis True Image Version9 for cloning machines. I used it to backup an image of Windows XP Pro onto the file server across the network and then used the Acronis cd to boot up the system and restore. The next plan of action would be to blast the system with Windows server 2003 and use Acronis version 8 to clone.

2006-10-04T22:44:00.000+01:00

I straight away started editing the registery by following the instructions I found on the internet. I managed to lock down most of the icons and features of Internet Explorer. It would not allow the user to browse the internet since I removed the address bar and locked all the tool icons which were not required. I enabled the system to autorun the internet explorer and disallowed the used to use chrome feature of close.

2006-10-03T23:25:00.000+01:00

Spent the whole day configuring the Internet Kiosk Pro to work as required. There were a few concerns like some of the links on our website did not open. All the documents were in .pdf format which coul not be accessed when computer in kiosk mode hence I gad to test all the fields and diagnose the shortcomings and resolve them. Did manage to get evrything right afterall.
But then happened as I expected Ian(Director) said it was too sophesticated and he wanted it to be as simple as possible. He intended not to provide the keyboard to the user. Allan was there aswell and advised to use registery hacking. I did not even have a clue what he talked about. I followed his instructions to find how to make changes in the registery of a Windows XP.

2006-10-02T22:40:00.000+01:00

On friday Alan asigned me a task to create a system for training and marketing purpose which would be placed in the reception and allow visitors to surf only our website. They would not be allowed to do anything else at all.
I began with finding it on the internet and came across many options of which one was very simple and straight forward and asked to edit the registry of internet explorer.
Now since I could not take the risk of changing the registry of my computer I had to build another PC and try on that.
Today PC was all ready and I tried to implement registery editing but unfortunately that did not work. I had to look at other options and came across this piece of software called Internet Kiosk Pro which costs a bit of money but was available for trial. Downloaded it and configured that but that did not seem to be working either.

2006-09-28T17:37:00.000+01:00

I have installed the Dell PowerEdge 2900 server today. Had to follow all the documentation to install Microsoft Windows server 2003 R2 and patch it and then install bunch of highly sophesticated management consoles. It was a good learning lesson because server has different hardware configuration and needs different approach as compared to a PC. Got to learn how RAID is configured and how consoles are used to remotely manage servers just to name a few.

2006-09-27T17:33:00.000+01:00

Paul came with his toshiba laptop which failed to boot. He had all his work on that machine which we were supposed to recover for him. Now if the machine does not boot how to recover the files of it......PROBLEM......Alan had today only bought in this smart piece of software called ERD Commander 2005 which was capable of doing this stuff. But I must say more than just having this software some experience and expertise was required. Alan managed to do it and showed me as well. Afterwards I went through all the features of the ERD.
We recieved the Dell PowerEdge 2900 Server today. I went through all the documentation that came along with it.

2006-09-27T09:48:00.000+01:00

On tusday I learnt about Microsoft Windows Server 2003. I insttaled it onto my desktop and patched it.
Went through its security settings and features. Worked for a while on Dreamweaver and went through some tutorials and features of it.

2006-09-25T21:23:00.000+01:00

Extensively learnt how to select TFT monitors, their specs, prices and different brands. Installed Visual Studio and SQL server on PC. We had a new started today in development. Talked him through his Dell D520 laptop with all the specs and company standards that we follow.

2006-09-22T17:42:00.000+01:00

Learnt about history and infrastructure of networking (routers, switches and hubs). Their different types and configurations. Alan gave me a book, Cisco Begginer’s Guide to read.
Installed Microsoft Frontpage 2003 on my PC and went through a tutorial on how to make a website.

2006-09-21T16:03:00.000+01:00

Week starting 14.08.06

I was shown all the departments and introduced to the colleagues. Alan briefed me about the job description and what he expected of me. He straight away started explaining about the hardware configuration of a desktop. I learnt about most of the hardware in the box and their specifications. The unit he opened to explain me was ancient but he did it just to give me an overview of what is it like. I also had the opportunity to see the server and Alan taught me the difference between a server and a computer. He went through all the technical aspects of it which I reckon will definitely help me in some point of time.

Then I started with configuring my first computer which was a Dell desktop for one of the new starters. Alan showed what all to do and how. He explained everything precisely with emphasis on what is the need of it, how important it is and what difference does it make.

In the last couple of days of the week I had the opportunity to assist Zak who is a Consultant and was working on a project for KFC at their Hounslow outlet. We had to monitor with the help of PDA’s the operation of Hand Held Tills being used by them during busy hours and later on provide them with the detailed analysis and presentation of the same.

In whole my first week at placement went really well and wasn’t bad at all to start with.

Week starting 21.08.06

I got to configure dell laptops for Andrew and Gary who were supposed to start next week.
The dell laptops come with windows XP professional installed on them. Alan explained how to configure for a particular user and what all needs to be installed in general.
He even explained to me in detail about IP Address and OSI Layer and gave me Windows Server 2003 book to through.

He explained the importance of system backup and how to use system recovery techniques.
We tried ASR (Automated System Recovery) which is featured in Windows XP Pro and found that it doesn’t help without the floppy drives.
Then we tried to do the same using Norton Ghost 9.0 which helps create backup on the network. We created the image of one of the new laptops and later booted of the Norton cd and restored using the image on the network.

Later part of the week was spent assisting Zak at KFC.

Week starting 28.08.06

Alan had already installed a beta version of vista on the laptop. We went through the features of vista and tried to create backup using vista. Vista allowed to create the backup image on the DVD. We found that vista compressed the data before creating the image onto the DVD. We booted the system of the DVD and it all worked well.

Then I had to see one of the consultants who wanted office 2003 on his laptop and his wireless was not working either. He had an old Compaq laptop which did not come with wireless so he had a Netguard wireless card which wasn’t working. I checked that he had the driver installed but it still wasn’t working. All I could think of was uninstall the driver and install again. I went for it but still it didn’t work. I had to ask Alan and he installed the latest driver from Netguard website and it all started working then.

I had to assist Zak again on Thursday and Friday.

Week starting 04.09.06

Monday
Zak needed a laptop so I configured it up for him. I had to install Windows XP onto one the laptops which had vista for him.
Installation went alright until I found that network connection wasn’t there hence I couldn’t patch the machine. As per rule I looked for the network driver by running the drivers CD and found that it was there. Steve came to the rescue and asked me to still extract the driver files and download.
Then I had to put Anju’s desktop PC ready on her desk . The problem this time was again of the network. I connected the Ethernet cable but the connection wasn’t there. I looked at all the available options but couldn’t get it working.

Tuesday
In the morning the first thing I did was fixing her LAN up. Actually I dint have a clue that I have to activate her network line physically from the network hub which is there in our server room until Steve showed me how to do.
Later in the day Anju had a problem logging in so we had to change her password. Then she had a problem with sending/receiving e-mails. Everytime she had to click send/receive to send or receive e-mail which shouldn’t be like that. On finding out she was offline and wasn’t connected to the mkexchange server. I had to go through the internet to find out what could be the problem because Alan wasn’t there and Steve had some important stuff to do. Eventually I managed to fix it up.

Wednesday
I learnt about the hardware specification of the Dell Optiplex GX520 desktop. Alan showed me all the hardware components inside the box and explained. We discussed about the history of computers and about the companies which are present today. We searched on the internet about different hardware components and their costs. Alan discussed how to build a PC according to the needs of the client. He even taught me about motherboards and and what all they comprise of.

Thursday
We had the job of providing BBC with four HP laptops having same stuff. Mark had prepared one of them which took him a day. All we had to do was create the image of that and restore onto other three. We used Norton Ghost 8.0 to create the image across the network but couldn’t restore it to HP laptops. The Norton restoration CD actually did not have the Network driver of HP. So we copied the contents of the built HP laptop onto an external hard drive. This did not work because HP took the external hard drive as the C drive of the system. Then we tried to extract the HP network driver from its website and copied it onto a USB floppy drive. But HP didn’t understand that either.
Eventually we found that the HP laptop had its own Backup and restoration software installed onto the system so we used that to create the image of the built up laptop and restore it on the new laptops.
In between I even mapped the administration drive of MKFILE for Trish.

Friday

Week Starting 11.09.06

Monday
Built Alan’s laptop for Ulrick Lorentzen. I used Norton ghost to restore the image of Steve Hodson’s laptop across the network on mk_prod\uranus onto Ulrick’s laptop. Then generically changed the computer name and added Ulrick to the domain and created an account for him. Configured Microsoft Office 2003 for him and his outlook.

Tuesday
Created ISO file of Microsoft Office 2003 burnt it onto a DVD installed it onto a laptop. Used Norton ghost to backup laptop across the network on Uranus \ mk_prod then booted the system of the CD just to verify if it works.
Alan told me that it is possible to retrieve data of the formatted hard drive using software tools like Disk Commander and ERD Commander which was quite shocking to me just because I never knew about anything of that sort.
He got Disk Commander and was about to talk through it but unfortunately it did not work because the laptop we tried it on was the latest dell one and the software was old so it did not support.
Then installed Office beta version 2007 onto my desktop and familiarised with it.

Wednesday
We had Ulrick’s name spelling wrong in first place so we had to change it everywhere to ULRIK.
All we had to do was rectify his name on active directory then change his computer name and registry using regedit. His mail mail account required changing so had to delete his present account and recreate it.
Then I had the task of cloning Myles Rose’s laptop on a external USB hard drive. I logged in as administrator and installed Norton ghost onto his machine. Activated it using the serial key and rebooted.

Thursday
Built a Dell520 laptop for new starter. Ulrik wanted to print off some color pages so had to set up a color printer for him. The printer didn’t print a test page so had to trobleshoot it.
Had to browse through Oki website to find the driver for C7200 printer and extract that file while going through the printer installation wizard.

Friday
Alan took me down the road to Tiscali’s data centre for a quick check of the servers. He showed and explained to me about them. Later I built a couple of laptop’s for Andrew and Megan.

Week Starting 18.09.06

Monday
Built a new dell D520 laptop for Andy Bell according to his requirements. Andrew Lookes saw a blue screen of death on his D505 so had to diagnose using a dell diagnostic CD. Booted off the cd and ran the diagnostic tool. Just went through all of the hardware and eventually came acroos a error on the hard drive with displaying message

Error Code 0F00:0244
Msg:Block 6518005:Uncorrectable data error or media is write protected

Contact dell technical support centre with the above details for complete diagnosis.

Tuesday
We had a western digital external hard drive which we used for cloning purposes. It did not respond in the way that it showed unallocated space on it. We were a bit concerned because it had important images on it which we might require. We tried to figure out the problem. We managed to know that the hard drive was working fine it was just that we have lost all the data stored on it. You can say it probably got erased or deleted. So we tried a software product called Easy Recovery Professional from a website ontrack.co.uk but it only allowed to recover a read only mode and did not actually retrieve it.
Then I learnt from Alan about the Virtual PC’s and virtual applications and practically installed Vista within XP.

Wednesday
I leaned about company’s Active Directory and how it all worked. Alan even taught me the different ways in which active directory can work and how important it is to build a right one. I learnt about Terminal Servers as well. I later reinstalled Windows XP Professional onto Matthew’s Dell D810 laptop and patched it.
Then we had to spec a new server for imaging purposes. We only do dell’s so it was like we went to their website. Alan talked through how to decide the spec and what all technologies are available at the moment. Everything seemed quite interesting and was an excellent learning edge.

Thursday
Alan was sick and decided to work from home. I investigated for a way to present my work impressively. I could find the option like having a blog or my own website. I started surfing the net for how to create and manage them. I came through quite a lot of options. I think it will take me a while to decide.
I have found this very interesting way of putting my work online by using a blog. It will probably help me maintaining my diary. The only problem is that it doesnt allow me to back date anything and hence all the entries will come up on present date.