Specific Computing Account Problems

1. Can't log into a workstation (Windows/Unix) within the Level 2 Laboratories? / Lost Password?

1. You should double check your username that your are entering
2. You should double check your password that your are entering
3. You should check to see that CAPS and NUM lock are/aren't on
4. You should possibly try logging into a second/another machine
5. Are there any messages that appear once logging in? If so, follow those instructions

If all of the above fail, you will need to contact OASIS.

2. Can't login into X / Can't run startx?

This is the most common X related problem. For whatever reason if you have X related problems, the simplest way to resolve them is:

1. log into a machine via the console
2. make a temp directory (e.g. mkdir ~/xtmp)
3. move all X-related dot files from your home area to the temp directory (above). All "X-related files" include (but are not limited to) :
   • .ICEauthority*
   • .Xauthority
   • .gconf
   • .gnome*
   • .kde
   • .nautilus
   • .metacity
   • .qt
   • .xauth
   • .xsession*
4. start up the X server (e.g. startx). X will recreate the required files that you need in your home area.

It may also be a quota problem... see Point 3 (below).

3. I cannot save any files in my home area / I get "Disk write errors"

1. Check to see if you have reached your allocated disk quota (run: quota -v)
2. You can also run: du -h from within the root of your home area to see a breakdown of where all your disk quota is going

All students are allocated a 30Mb quota for data storage. This is ample for all students and will not be increased at any time throughout the semester. You should back up, compress and/or archive your data elsewhere to keep your account clean.

4. I can't print / My print jobs are not coming out?

1. Have a look at Network Printers

5. My workstation has locked up, it's frozen

If you are using a Windows workstation (i.e. in Lab 221 or the Honours Lab), and the machine locks up (i.e. the mouse and/or keyboard is not responding) - you may press the reboot button on the machine. If this problem persists, you should alert the Technical Staff about the problem - please e-mail scienceithelp@curtin.edu.au with the machine name, location, date, time and a brief description of the problem.

If you are using a Linux workstation and the machine locks up - you MUST NOT REBOOT the machine. Please try the following first:

• If you're within X, hold down the CTRL and ALT buttons and press the BACKSPACE button. If this works, this command should kill the X Server and return you to console mode.
• If you're within X, try changing Virtual Consoles by holding down the CTRL and ALT buttons and press one of the FUNCTION buttons (e.g. F1, F2, F3, etc.). If you're already in console mode and your terminal seems frozen, you can try holding down the ALT button and press one of the FUNCTION buttons (e.g. F1, F2, F3, etc.) to login to the same machine (but from a different virtual console).
• If the workstation seems completely frozen (i.e. none of the above combinations work), you should then try to login to that machine remotely from a nearby workstation (i.e. use the machine physically adjacent to the frozen one, login to it, then see if you can "rlogin" to the frozen machine.

If any of the above suggestions work, you should use the console/shell access you have to kill off any remaining process that may belong to you. To do a process listing, issues the "ps" command (e.g. ps -gux | grep your_username . You can the issue the "kill" command to kill off the process(es) that belong to you (e.g. kill -9 your_process id. You should consult your tutor, lecturer, senior tutor and even the man pages about the use of these commands.

If none of the above suggestions work, then the workstation cannot be used. Please leave the workstation alone, contact the Technical Staff (send e-mail to: labs@cs.curtin.edu.au) - and alert them of the problem (please state the machine name, lab, day, time and a brief description of what you were doing before the workstation froze).

6. I can not access the Internet

All students have to use the Curtin University proxy, you can set up your proxy:

• Opening the preferences page in firefox.
• Click on the "Advanced" Gear at the top
• Click on the "Network" tab
• set "Auto-detect proxy settings for this network"

You will authenticate using your Oasis username/password. Your username should be the same as your Department of Computing username, however your password may be different, I would recommend syncing the two passwords. (You can use the "passwd" command to change your password)