In 2005 I began playing with own blog options. I tried Telligent, maintained by ISP godaddy.com, then replaced it with free Web Wiz software from the U.K. Great tools, but I don't want my website pinned to one particular technology, so my latest iteration is at Bloglines. That's where you can find me in the near future.

Also, I will soon be employed elsewhere, after which I suspect this account may disappear.

Ciao.
-Brad

We just finished my first day of SQL Server class and I wanted to share some ideas about our Asset Nav server config to come. Please share any differences of opinion on this:

1. Use *hardware* RAID controls to create
three partitions: WINDOWS, DATA, TEMP;
Make WINDOWS at least 10-20 gig for all
anticipated patches etc., TEMP 5-10 gig
for all logs (only), the rest to DATA -
not just for Asset Nav but possibly for
other future databases, just in case

2. Install Win03 plus SQL Server on WINDOWS
(standalone, standard) and patch it all.
We should plan/discuss authentication
methods and administrative passwords

3. Setup all new dbs (just AN now) on DATA
partition, separate from the executables.

4. Setup the AN executables on C: (defaults)
and tweak IIS and Win security as needed

5. Use SQL Server Enterprise Manager to set
restrictions on how big the database can
grow (maybe the whole D: drive minus Y)
and where log files land (the E: drive)

6. Setup autoshrink to have SQL Server make
its own decisions about how and when to
"compact" things (sort of like defrags).
Microsoft claims that users won't see a
performance hit. We can always disable it

7. Periodically defrag partition WINDOWS but
almost never DATA - SQL Server can do its
own reallocations for database(s) on D:
and sometimes fragmentation isn't such a
terrible thing with something as random-
access as the typical OLTP database.

8. Periodically cleanup/backup the log files
or they may eventually fill that E: drive

I'm sure other thoughts will emerge over the
coming days, e.g. about backups and upgrades,
but I wanted your feedback on this before we
get the new server hardware and do anything
about allocating drive space or installing. I
think these tweaks will help performance over
time and help us avoid problems downthe road.

-Brad

P.S. Good New Horizons class. The instructor,
Jim Ferguson, obviously knows his stuff and
holds about every Microsoft advanced cert you
can get. Gave a tip or two on what the book
says vs. what his real-world experience was.

Path: K:\IMAGES\STAFF\GHOST\[filename].GHO

Description: Staff XP baseline image for [target hardware]

Start date/Date uploaded/Appr date/Appr by/Creator's initials

Who worked on the image?

What’s in this version?

--sample data --

Started on [brand/model] system with primary drive partitioned into a [size] C: and a somewhat larger D:, the D: drive formatted as FAT32 so that we can use a Win98-based boot disk to ghost from C: to D:. Onto that C: drive I installed WinXP Pro sp2 (mostly default settings) built from a campus-licensed ISO, downloaded from http://download.software.umn.edu. The product code, listed at that website and which one needs for each deployment of this image, is:

XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

After the OS install I configured it for Biomedical Library staff and/or “Green” PCs as follows:

1. Administrator account (new password) renamed to [local admin acct]
2. Account xpuser (old password) member of Administrators and Users
3. Disabled DCOM (used by some viruses) with Start -> Run -> dcomcnfg
4. Network set to support TCP/IP only, enabled NetBIOS over TCP/IP
5. Enabled automatic Windows updates for every day at 4 pm
6. Applied all Windows Updates except a few optional ones like Journal Viewer
7. Simplified the interface a la Win2K and optimized it for performance
8. Reduced the size of the System Restore area to the minimum available
9. Removed MSN Explorer, Windows Messenger, Outlook Express, other baggage
10. In Internet Explorer, set history to one day, deleted cookies, set home page to Biomed’s, disabled automatic completion of passwords and forms, set to delete files upon closing
11. Installed campus-licensed Symantec Antivirus [version] with defaults, updated defs, tweaked to delete bad files it cannot clean and to skip network drives
12. Killed any ASP.NET or related user account(s) created in the optional .NET install
13. Installed Spybot [version] plus all available updates, immunized the system
14. Downloaded and installed FireFox [version] into its default directory
15. Downloaded and installed Acrobat Reader [version], updated to [version]
16. Downloaded and installed Macromedia Shockwave [version] player
17. Downloaded and installed Macromedia Flash [version] player
18. Changed FireFox preferences to make all cookies session cookies, to use pictures only in toolbar, to block most pop-ups, and to save neither passwords nor forms
19. Installed ActiveState Perl [version], mostly defaults
20. Installed standard plug-ins for Chime 2.6 sp5, CN3D 4, and Isis Draw 2.3
21. Installed Scifinder Scholar [version] plus U of MN file C:\SFSCHLR\ site.prf
22. Installed Beilstein Commander [version] with the latest Crossfire connection software
23. Installed UMCal 9 and tweaked settings per OIT advice
24. Installed WinSCP [version] for remote file access (uninstall where not needed)
25. Installed Office 2003 using CD from http://download.software.umn.edu - included Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and InfoPath, all run locally, but excluded Access, Outlook, Publisher to keep this image reasonably-sized and fairly clean. We can add those apps as needed
26. Updated Office 2003 and added the Remove Hidden Data util (to clean docs over time)
27. Created custom default profile based on [xpuser], to apply to all new users of this PC
28. Changed default IP address to DHCP, but left Advanced settings in place
29. Used Sysprep 2 (see k:\systools\wxptweak\sysprep) with all options except nosidgen
30. Booted from CDROM, ghosted from C: to D: with compression
31. Rebooted, let Sysprep run, set IP address (1-2 minutes to become active)
32. Joined PC to domain, rebooted, tested, copied image from D: to K:

Please share any questions or concerns…

Bootable DVD Image Deployment Instructions:

1. Enable target CMOS to boot CD/DVD disk before hard drive
2. Use bootable DVD to wipe target, create C: and D: partitions
3. Reboot, format D: /u/v:D, then xcopy E:\*.* D: (make image local)
4. Reboot with same bootable DVD, then ghost from D: to new C:
5. Remove DVD, reboot, walk away for 10 minutes as it Syspreps
6. Enter the WinXP campus license product code ** listed above **
7. After Sysprep is done login as xpuser (old password)
8. Set the IP address and DNS and give it a minute to take effect
9. Launch Windows Update to verify the IP works and get patches
10. Update Spybot and Symantec Antivirus definitions as needed
11. Setup printers, departmental apps, other local settings as needed
12. If on a public PC, remove xpuser from the Administrators group
If on a staff PC, ask Brad or Dan to join the PC to the domain
13. Login as xpuser (public) or a domain user (staff) to test

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat
ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a...

My old Dell has been a Linux/FreeBSD testbed for years, running everything from Red Hat to SuSE to Gentoo to Mandriva, but Friday night I finally decided to focus on what I/we actually use to get stuff done.

I am not against Linux. If all I wanted were Apache web services, MySQL or PostgreSQL or Oracle, and/or Samba file services, I'd pick FreeBSD or a major Linux (RH or SuSE) in a heartbeat. These are safe, reliable, cheap, run fast on affordable hardware, and for those server apps are very proven.

They do not, however, hold a candle to Microsoft or Apple on the desktop, particularly in games, nonlinear video editing, and Office productivity tools. Even Openffice looks and works better on Windows and OS X than on Linux. Most of my time is spent using or supporting desktops, so it makes more sense to build a deeper understanding of Windows and OS X.

Solaris I have to know because our web servers run it. We also run FreeBSD, but just for Samba and Amanda, and these require little daily support. I need to keep up to date on basic Solaris and FreeBSD skills,and on Apache and related technologies, but most of my time goes elsewhere.

From a technical perspective I much favor OS X. It's cleaner, safer, and more attractive than Windows. Most of the software on my Mac mini just works, and I never have to worry much about viruses and spyware. "Tiger" remains my main work environment, and I support a small OS X Server for local DHCP, Netboot, and possible (in time) FMPro Server services.

Windows by contrast demands babysitting. That's a blessing and curse. Despite many efforts by Microsoft to improve Windows security and reliability to the point that XP sp2 is adequate for most users - iff patches plus anti-virus and anti-spyware software are maintained - there is still enough support required to keep me employed for years to come.

If ever I start a "real" company, I may make it all-Mac. The labor I'd save with a Netboot environment and XServers at the core, not to mention free client licensing, would far outweigh the up-front hardware costs and limited software availability. No need for a full-time IT staff.

But as long as I have a mortgage I'll probably rely indirectly on Microsoft to pay bills. Apple may be the Maytag of PCs, but who wants to be that repairman? If not for Windows, what would I do all day? I also happen to love games, and whatever Microsoft's failings, they make it easy to build great apps. See an earlier posting for more about games and nonlinear video editing.

For all these reasons I might as well accept the sad fact that I'm a Microsoftie. Resistance was futile; Dark Side was strong; pick your analogy. Job security, my desire and ability to tinker with registries, and games and videos matter more to me than the elegance or security of the platform.

Sorry Linux, but if my experience is any indication you're doomed to remain even more niche than Apple on the desktop. Look at the metric system - better does not necessarily guarantee acceptance. People get entrenched. I may be retired long before Windows (inevitably) loses its dominant position.

One of the more time-consuming aspects of maintaining our PCs involves adding w2kuser to the Administrators group before any significant change, and then removing w2kuser from Administrators afterwards. As student worker Haudy describes, there are about 13 steps that not only take time but also are easy to forget.

If we enable the Windows RunAs service and use a simple batch script Haudy developed, we can cut in half the time and trouble of this rights switch. When I first heard of this fix it sounded good, but I told Haudy that we had to look into the security implications of enabled the RunAs service.

The approach is similar in concept to running the “su” command in UNIX. Based on Haudy’s research and what I have seen, I see no good reason not to enable RunAs. It’s a few mouse-clicks per PC to enable, after which Haudy’s script could run from the K: drive. The script requires the Administrator's password - which is not embedded – and the script is based on the common Windows “net” executable, meaning we’re not exposing anything important by making it executable from a public account. No password, no go.

In short, let’s do this ASAP, and thereafter be more diligent about dropping the w2kuser account on public PCs back to User mode after each such change. This should make maintaining security much easier.

The notes below are largely Haudy's from a couple of years ago. Note that most of the Novell-specific stuff is no longer valid for most of our users since we switched in 2004 to Samba file services.

--- Haudy notes ---

Current method to give w2kuser admin level rights in order to make system and software configuration changes, starting from a logged-in w2kuser account:

1.Disable WinSelect

2.Log out of w2kuser

3.Login as the local Administrator by changing the username on the Novell login screen and entering the local Administrator's password

4.Go to Users and Groups control panel

5.Add w2kuser to Administrators group

6.Logout of the local Administrator account

7.Login as w2kuser (who now has admin level rights)

8.Make necessary configuration changes

9.Apply the novell.reg registry patch that enables auto-logon

10.Apply the w2kpublic.reg registry patch that enables auto-logon

11.Go to Users and Groups control panel

12.Remove w2kuser from Administrators group

13.Reboot, which will auto-logon as w2kuser and auto re-enable WinSelect

Proposed way to give w2kuser admin level rights in order to make system and software configuration changes, starting from a logged-in w2kuser account:

1.Disable WinSelect

2.Run adminme.bat and enter the local Administrator account password

3.Log out of w2kuser

4.Log in as w2kuser (no username changes on the Novell login screen)

5.Make necessary configuration changes

6.Run unadminme.bat

7.Reboot, which will auto-logon as w2kuser and auto re-enable WinSelect

Benefits:

Streamlines making changes to w2kuser account

Much easier and faster to make changes to w2kuser account

Eliminates problems caused by forgetting to re-apply registry patches after every configuration change

Improves security by making security easier to use

6 fewer steps to go thru; these were time-consuming steps.

Requires:
RunAs service to be enabled in automatic startup mode.

RunAs security issues:
I found no security issues with RunAs in numerous searches of SANS, Google, or Google Groups. The only thing I found is a general security tip to turn off unneeded services. RunAs is needed to make the batch file adminme.bat work. The SANS Securing Windows 2000 Step-by-Step document considers RunAs to be a service that “need to be running on production systems”.

Adminme.bat:
runas /user:[local Administrator] "net localgroup Administrators %username% /add"
@echo.
@echo --------------------
@echo You must logout and log back in again for Admin rights to take effect.
@pause

Unadminme.bat:
net localgroup Administrators %username% /delete
@echo.
@echo --------------------
@echo You must logout and log back in again for removal of Admin
@echo rights to take effect.
@pause

Here is how I did this:

1.Verify the the data is properly delimited in Excel 2000 in two separate XLS files, that each column has a good heading with no punctuation, and that some heading could become the primary field (e.g. Key) and has an entry for every record in both tables. The common column is later used to define a critical one-to-many relationship between tables.

2.Create a temporary c:\projects directory, and then in Access 2000 To create new database "combined.mdb" in that directory. Close the dialogue asking how to create a table so you can do this manually. Use Windows Explorer to copy the source Excel files there as well.

3.In Access 2000 with Tables highlighted under the Objects section of the "combined:Database" window and three "create table" selections on the right, Insert -> Table -> Import Table, select the first Excel file, check the "First Row Contains Column Headings" box, let Access store the data "In a New Table", go with all defaults for field names, and let Access select/create a primary key (you can change it later).

4.Repeat for the second spreadsheet/table. Then rename the tables if the resulting names do not reflect their purposes. Fortunately these did: BIOM ORDER EXTRACT and BIOM ORDER NOTES EXTRACT.

5.Right-click the "parent" table - that is, the one in which that common column ('Key" here) contains only unique entries and no null entries. In this case BIOM ORDER EXTRACT was that parent table.

6.Select Design View, right-click the little box to the left of the name of the common column (again "Key" here), and make it the primary field. Then highlight the former (Access-generated) primary key and use "Delete Rows" to kill it. Close the table (not Access), saving changes.

7.Click Tools -> Relationships and add both new tables to that view. Resize and move windows so all fields can be seen, some space exists between the two, and the parent table (with unique "keys") is on the left. Primary keys should appear in bold. Click and drag the left "key" to the same-named "key" on the right and release.

8.Verify that "key" is the field selected from both tables. If not, cancel. Check the box to "enforce referential integrity" and click Create. The result should show a line between those fields with a "1" above it on the left or "parent" side, and an infinity sign on the right or "child" side. This indicates a new "one-to-many" relationship between tables.

Note: These relationships are at the heart of any "relational" database. If they are missing or configured badly, expect many problems. In a larger system (like ALEPH) there may be hundreds.

9.Close, save your changes, click "Queries" in the list of Objects, and double-click "Create query by using Wizard". Click the double arrows (>>) to pick every field from the first table. Then under Tables/Queries pick the second table and use the double arrows again. You should see a list of every field from both tables on the right. Then click Next.

10.Leave the default "Detail" view because you'll fix it up in Excel. For now we just want the query to show the raw data. Note that tweaking such queries allows you to filter or combine data in many clever ways. For now we want everything. Click Next, then Finish (default name). The results of the query should appear in an Excel-like window.

11.From within the query results window, click File -> Export, select the target directory (usually the same as the sources), pick Excel 97-2000 from the "Save as type" drop-down list, and give the new file a sensible, short name reflecting the contents of this process. I named the results of this one BIOM_ORDER_Combined_Query.XLS.

12.Close Access 2000, open Excel 2000, and open the new file you made.

13.Create a new first column, move the "Key" contents there, and delete the empty column you left behind plus any (Access-generated) "ID" column.

14.From the menus click Data -> Sort -> and select a few useful criteria. In this case I chose "key" then "internal_note" and then "divnote". The users could do this, but it saves them some trouble. Now save the file.

15.Copy this modified Excel file to wherever the users expect to find the data, in this case O:\biomed\aleph\NOTIS Reports\06262002. This directory name is a reminder of when I started working with the source data. A new directory with new data may be created later this summer.

The SQL statement below, hidden within the wizard-generated query, is a VERY simple example of the power of Structured Query Language. With a few tweaks, we could limit the results by any number of criteria.

Even more impressive to some systems admins is how the SQL client and server can be so cleanly divided (client/server), so systems using pure SQL over TCP/IP with no direct file access are generally more secure, faster, and more reliable than any older low-end systems like Paradox. Properly implemented, a small SQL system can even work by modem.

Access 2000 can work as either a low-end traditional database or as a powerful client in a true client/server environment, with SQL Server or any other supported SQL database at the server end. For this reason alone I think it's a wonderful learning tool compared to other low-end databases.

-Brad

*** SQL from that query ***

SELECT [BIOM ORDER EXTRACT].title, [BIOM ORDER EXTRACT].ordunit, [BIOM ORDER EXTRACT].scope, [BIOM ORDER EXTRACT].vendcode, [BIOM ORDER EXTRACT].action, [BIOM ORDER EXTRACT].vendnote, [BIOM ORDER EXTRACT].internal_note, [BIOM ORDER EXTRACT].divnote, [BIOM ORDER NOTES EXTRACT].ID, [BIOM ORDER NOTES EXTRACT].key, [BIOM ORDER NOTES EXTRACT].statement, [BIOM ORDER NOTES EXTRACT].type, [BIOM ORDER NOTES EXTRACT].[M Date], [BIOM ORDER NOTES EXTRACT].[A Date] FROM [BIOM ORDER EXTRACT] INNER JOIN [BIOM ORDER NOTES EXTRACT] ON [BIOM ORDER EXTRACT].key = [BIOM ORDER NOTES EXTRACT].key;

Autoclave is built on a stripped-down version of Linux that fits on a floppy and includes everything necessary to completely wipe a hard drive clean. More powerful than Windows format, and free.

Since 2003 we have used Autoclave when retiring old PCs at the Bio-Medical Library. To build this disk (for our Systems staff):

1. Copy directory k:\systools\software\autoclave to your C: drive

2. Put a blank, formatted floppy into your a: drive

3. Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt

4. Within the command prompt (not Windows) "CD \autoclave"

5. Enter the command "rawrite" from within that directory

6. Enter "clave03.img" for the image source file

7. Enter "a:" for the target, then press enter twice

8. In a minute or two the floppy is ready. Type "exit"

Rawrite is a very old and widespread standard tool for creating Linux floppies from a DOS command prompt. After the prompt is closed, remove the floppy and label it "Autoclave" or the like. You can then delete directory c:\autoclave or make more disks.

When using Autoclave here, option 2 (with one random pass) is probably adequate for old "public" PCs, but Autoclave also offers several more exhaustive (and much slower) choices.

I am impressed with how a complete (albeit stripped) Linux fits so nicely on a floppy. Other floppy Linux versions are listed at www.linuxlinks.com/Distributions/Floppy. They include routers, terminal servers, firewalls and toolkits. One should be careful with such freeware (likewise with commercial software).

That said, here’s how I prefer that staff handle dial-up testing. While it may be possible to be use both the LAN (Local Area Network) and the modem simultaneously, please use only one at a time. This will be better for security, and you will only get a true end-user experience if you disable the LAN. Fortunately, there is no need to unplug or move any cables.

How to disable the LAN and connect the modem:

1. Ensure that the modem (to the right of the PC) is on.

2. Hang up the phone so the line is available for modem.

3. Login to the PC and network as you normally would.

4. Close all applications. Do NOT run email or anything.

5. In the tray at the bottom right of the screen, right-click
    the LAN icon and then click "disable" to disconnect.

6. Prove to yourself that the LAN is off by trying to open
    Internet Explorer. It should fail to find its home page.

7. Double click the new desktop icon for "dialup" and
    enter your Internet/email user ID and password.

8. After the modem connects, restart Internet Explorer
    and test whatever Internet stuff you like. Speeds in
    three tests were around 41k. This is probably typical.

How to disable the modem and reconnect the LAN:

1. Close all applications. Do not run email or anything.

2. In the tray at the bottom right of the screen, right-click
    the modem icon and then click "disconnect".

3. Double-click the new desktop icon labelled "LOCAL
    AREA CONNECTION" and watch the corresponding
    tray icon reappear below (the one you killed earlier).

4. If/as needed, Start -> Programs -> Novell -> Login
    to reconnect to server(s) and get drives H:, O:, etc.

Please only use modems for end-user testing. Your mileage many vary. Follow these steps precisely. We tweaked the PC so that this should work for any user. Let me know if you have trouble with this.

Fortunately (in this case) the Eudora mailbox files are ASCII text, meaning that we can use various text-manipulation tools to search and replace. This is particularly handy when dealing with many mailboxes - in the case of one user, 659 mailboxes. Opening and closing each mailbox file in Notetab could take hours.

Facing this situation, we looked for a free utility that could do global search and replace functions for all mailbox files (*.mbx) under c:\Eudora in one step. Of many options available, we selected and tested the free tool Handy File Find and Replace from http://silveragesoftware.com/handytools.html.

We had some trouble with it at first because we misunderstood regular expressions, but UNIX sysadmin Dan, who often deals with regular expressions, explained it. To specify “\” in a search without it being interpreted as the first half of an escape sequence (e.g. “\n” = newline) you use “\\”. It looks weird, but in the world of regular expressions it works really well. Substitutions like these are often done in scripts or at the command line, but HandyTools gives the process an easy, graphical interface.

The results are reduced to c:\Eudora\attach. Of many options, we chose to recurse subfolders, and within the Properties tab we chose to modify all files, even those marked read-only.

In the rather huge c:\Eudora directory structure I tested, the process only took a few minutes. After the change, mailboxes are fixed but most tables of contents must be rebuilt. We do not yet know how to make this happen globally, but Eudora makes TOC files easy.

If you see messages about currupt or damaged mailboxes, just select the highlighted button (Create New or Please Do), let Eudora fix things, then click OK at the results window. Nothing is guaranteed, but I have yet to see this fail. The user may have to do
this for each mailbox opened, but it takes very little time. Many or all fixed messages might then be marked as read, but otherwise everything should be fine.

When the attachment references and tables of contents are fixed to the user’s satisfaction, they should backup all of Eudora to the network. Here at the Biomedical Library we run a little batch file to copy all of c:\Eudora to h:\Eudora_backup. This can take anywhere from a minute to hours, depending on how much data is stored. This is the ONLY backup method we currently support for Eudora. Run it at least weekly.

If you have any concerns, questions, or corrections, please let us know through x45937 or let me know personally. Otherwise I will assume that it works as expected, as it seemed to in our tests.

To install the 1232c printer driver, first verify that the target PC has a standard staff Win2K configuration and that TCP/IP works. Configuration of the printer driver is a two-step process: installation and settings. To install the driver:

1.Login normally, then close all running applications.

2.Start -> Settings -> Printers, make sure you don’t already have the driver, then double-click Add Printer.

3.Click Next, uncheck the “Automatically detect” box, and select Local Printer.

4.Check for a Ricoh_Color port. If no such port exists, select Create a New Port of type Standard TCP/IP.

5.Click Next, enter the printer’s IP address as 134.84.141.106, and name the port Ricoh_Color.

6.Click Finish, then take a break as Windows finds what it needs.

7.At hardware selection, click Have Disk, replace A:\ with K:\, then click Browse.

8.Double-click down to Systools\Drivers\WXP\RicohColor\OEMSETUP.INF

9.Click OK, pick the RICOH Aficio 1232c (PCL 5), and click Next until…

10.At Name Your Printer, enter “Ricoh_Color” and make it NOT the default.

11.Select “Do not share this printer” and no test page, then click Finish.

12.When done with the install, return to the Start -> Settings -> Printers folder.

Now that the driver is installed, it should be changed to reflect attached accessories and to use the Document Server feature. Document Server allows the printer to hold a job until you go to pick it up, as described in the last section below.

13.From Start -> Settings -> Printers, right-click Ricoh_Color and select Properties.

14.Under the Accessories tab, click the boxes for Bypass Tray, Tray 3 (LCT), Finisher 1000, and Duplex Unit, and set the RAM to 384mb. Click Apply.

15.Under the General tab, click the Printing Preferences button.

16.Change the Job Type to Document Server, but leave other preferences at defaults.

17.Under the Document Server selection, click Details.

18.Enter the same unique name (ideally your x.500 name) for the User ID and User Name. This identifies your jobs at the printer when you are ready to pick up. Please do not enter a password. You can use passwords on particularly sensitive documents, but protecting everything will complicate troubleshooting by Access Services and Systems.

19.Click OK and OK to close the dialogue and return to the Printers folder.

To retrieve your Document Server print jobs:

20.At the copier/printer/scanner, click the big button on the left labeled Document Server.

21.Use the LCD touch-screen to find the job. If you password-protected it, enter the code.

22.After your job prints to your satisfaction, please delete it on the LCD to make room for others. The printer has a lot of memory, but that memory will fill very quickly if people don’t clear their work.

Once in printer memory a print job looks and acts like a copy job. You can print multiple copies, double-side, collate, staple, whatever the copier does. See www.ricoh-usa.com/productshowroom/digitalimagingsystems/af1224/aficio1224.pdf for more info. If you have trouble using this Windows driver, please call x45937. If the printer seems to have physical problems like low toner, lost jobs, or a paper jam, please inform Access Services (Emily).

Once logged in, the icon for Dataease should appear in the NAL window. If it does not, even after a good connection to the Wilson server(s), then a systems admin at Wilson may need to adjust some rights or settings to enable it.

At the local Win2K PC, the only requirement beyond Win2K and this link to Wilson is a local environmental variable "dename" set to match the username being used at that PC for Dataease. Set this via Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System, click Advanced, then Environmental Variables, and enter the settings for user w2kuser.

Once variable “dename” is set to match the local Dataease (NOT Novell) username, click OK until the box is closed, then shutdown the Win2K PC properly and restart.

I set dename for the Bindery Prep users as a System variable because I had the rights and was learning, but as Power User you cannot do this and frankly don’t need to. Just make it specific to w2kuser, and let me know if you have any other concerns or questions.

Replacing Notepad with NoteTab on Windows 2000 is more challenging than on Win9x because of Windows File Protection (WFP). To successfully replace Notepad with NoteTab while leaving WFP enabled, you must use this or a similar procedure. Totally disabling WFP per Microsoft's instructions is not desirable as you lose the benefits of increased system reliability and self-healing properties that WFP provides, gaining only the ability to more easily replace the Notepad executable (notepad.exe). This procedure does not disable WFP.

I’ve tested my procedures (with appropriate modifications) on the following systems: Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, and Windows 2000 using the Epson FX-880 drivers. I believe Windows 98 will behave like Windows 95 and indicate this by the term ‘Win9x’. Windows NT 4.0 had label printing issues preventing the use of labels spaced closer than ~3.65 inches, so it was not tested as much as Win95 and Win2k. Other Microsoft operating systems like Windows XP, Whistler, or beyond will probably behave more similarly to what I’ve outlined for Windows 2000 than Windows 9x. Lastly, when following the procedures please take note that some apply to certain operating systems only.

Pre-Installation Notes
The installation must be done in the order listed otherwise WFP will undo the changes you make, as you make them, and prevent you from successfully completing the installation. Be aware that WFP will prompt you during the procedure about replaced and/or missing files. All you need to do is hit 'Cancel' on the prompts for the Windows CD, and ‘Yes’ to “Are you sure you want to ignore changes.” Once you’ve completed the steps below, NoteTab will have completely taken over Notepad’s functions. WFP will not try to replace it again except as explained in some special cases in the Caveats section of this document.

Installation Notes
1.)Windows 2000 only: Make sure you can view hidden files, and all file extensions by taking a peek at Explorer’s Tools | Folder Options | View menu. Check “Show hidden files” and uncheck the two “Hide…” options. Depending on how you configure your systems you may want to re-enable these settings at the end of the procedure. Personally I consider the hiding of file extensions to be a very bad thing as it can help viruses masquerade as other file types, and makes changing a file type difficult should a file be saved with the wrong extension.

2.)Windows 2000 only: In C:\WINDOWS\system32\dllcache, rename Notepad.exe to Notepad.old. This step disables the first place WFP looks for its files. (Whether you rename or delete it is your choice.)

3.)Windows 2000 only: In C:\WINDOWS, rename Notepad.exe to Notepad.old. This step disables the second place WFP looks for its files. At this point there should only be a Notepad.exe file in C:\WINDOWS\system32, and this will be replaced next.

4.)Install NoteTab (I used NoteTab Light v4.86c from www.notetab.com) using the default settings except deselect the options for Desktop and QuickLaunch Tray shortcuts.

5.)Run NoteTab, deselect “Show tips on Startup”, and use the Help | "Replace MS Notepad" feature. On operating systems without WFP (Win9x, NT4) there should be no messages. On Windows 2000 only, NoteTab will warn you about WFP, just dismiss the dialog as we already have tended to WFP. WFP may prompt you a few times during these next few steps, just hit ‘Cancel’ to the CD prompt, then ‘Yes’ to the “Sure?” prompt.

6.)Windows 2000 only: Now take a look in C:\WINDOWS\system32 using Windows Explorer. You should see a 19kb file named NOTEPAD.EXE, a 1kb file named NOTEPAD.INI, and 50kb file named NOTEPAD.EXE.MS that is the original Microsoft version.

7.)Windows 2000 only: In order to make this work on Win2k with Aleph (and possibly other programs that specify C:\%SystemRoot%\NOTEPAD.EXE) you need to copy NOTEPAD.EXE (19kb) and NOTEPAD.INI (1 kb) from C:\WINDOWS\system32 into C:\WINDOWS. This is necessary because Aleph specifically looks for Notepad.exe in C:\WINDOWS. At this point attempting to print in Aleph should load NoteTab.

8.)Run NoteTab again to make a few minor configuration changes:
a.)Look in View | Options | General tab for this setting "Reload open documents and uncheck it (turn it off).
b.)Look in View | Printing Options and configure the Margins and Fonts. I set the margins as follows with success on our printers and labels. Tweaking may be needed for your system configuration. Make sure to click the "Save" button when you have chosen the settings you want.
Top=0” - if we come up with a better alignment baseline than the top of a
given label aligned with the lowest edge of the plastic guide on the printer head assembly, this might change.
Bottom=0”
Left=1.25” - adjust this and/or paper's physical positioning as needed
Right=1” - setting to 0" doesn't work, value isn't critical
c.)Under Lumina/NOTIS, labels were printed using the printer's built in font. The same font is selectable in NoteTab under the name “Roman 10CPI”.
Be aware that because this is a printer font (indicated in Windows by a small printer icon next to the font name), it may look different on different printer models using a different print driver. Printer fonts depend on the print driver that is in use. This is in contrast to using Courier New 12pt, a TrueType Font (TTF) that is constant across all printers. I configured NoteTab to use Roman 10CPI (CPI=Characters Per Inch) as the default, so the labels printed will have the same font and look as previously seen with NOTIS-produced labels.
Some good font alternatives besides Roman 10CPI are Roman 12CPI when more, although slightly smaller, text is needed on a label, or Courier New 12pt when you want the benefits of using a TrueType Font. Courier New 12pt looked very similar to Roman 10CPI in my testing. With the Roman 12CPI font default, my testing let me fit up to 10 lines onto a correctly aligned label, corresponding nicely to the 10 available label info lines in Aleph.

9.)Next configure the default paper size and print quality for your label printer. These settings will affect all applications using that copy of the printer driver. The settings I used for the Epson FX-880 printers were:
a.)Windows 9x only: Inside of Start | Settings | Printers | Epson | Properties | Paper: Choose "Custom" paper size. In early testing, I successfully used width=600, and length=294 (units are in .01"). The width is not critical, although the length should be the label-to-label distance on the form fed sheets. I measured our labels to be about 75mm metric (2.9523 in) or 2 15/16 inches (2.9375 in). Click 'OK' to save these as the defaults for this printer. If the printer is used by other applications, please keep in mind we just changed the Windows defaults. Going thru these same steps from within an application's Printer Settings option would not save the default settings we need to use with NoteTab (and Aleph labels), and force you to switch from "Letter" size paper to "Custom" each time NoteTab opened up. These settings will apply to all applications that use this copy of the printer driver.

Windows NT 4.0 only: Inside of Start | Settings | Printers click on the File | Server Properties menu item. You need to create a new form, which is effectively a custom paper size, for our labels. Click “Create a New Form”, and give it a description; I used “Aleph labels”. In the Measurements section, check that the units are set to “English”, and set width to 6 inches and height to 3.65 inches. Thorough testing on WinNT 4.0 showed me that values lower than 3.63, or 3.61 in some cases, lead to this new custom paper size not showing up on the choice of paper sizes on Page Setup dialogs. With larger values, our custom paper size did show up. This problem was only seen on WinNT 4.0, not Win95, or Win2k. The effect is using closely spaced labels is problematic on WinNT 4.0 due to operating system driver limitations. These limitations were observed on Windows 95 or Windows 2000. The “Printer Area Margins” can all remain at 0”; we will set the margin settings inside of NoteTab. Now go into the Epson printer driver and select “Aleph labels” as the default paper size for all applications that use this copy of the printer driver.

Windows 2000 only: Inside of Start | Settings | Printers click on the File | Server Properties menu item. You need to create a new form, which is effectively a custom paper size, for our labels. Click “Create a New Form”, and give it a description; I used “Aleph labels”. In the Measurements section, check that the units are set to “English”, and set width to 6 inches and height to 3 inches. The “Printer Area Margins” can all remain at 0”; we will set the margin settings inside of NoteTab. Click Save and then OK.

Next you need to right-click on the Epson printer driver and select Properties. Click Advanced | Printing Defaults | Advanced | Paper/Quality and select “Aleph labels” for the paper type and 240x144 for the print quality. Click OK. Now click on the Device Settings tab and choose “Aleph labels” for the paper type here too. There are two places in the Epson driver you must select the “Aleph labels” paper type. These steps will select “Aleph labels” as the default paper size for all applications that use this copy of the printer driver.

All operating systems: in later testing I changed the "Custom" paper size from 600 width x 294 height, to 600 width x 300 height. This change of .06 of an inch seemed to help with paper alignment. I am not sure if this change really made a difference...it may simply be too small to be noticeable thru the paper slippage and drift involved in the printer's paper handling. I still believe the value of "294" to be 'ideal' although minor tweaking of it by either increasing or decreasing it may help with vertical alignment issues.

b.)Inside of Start | Settings | Printers | Epson | Properties | Graphics (or Advanced):
Default changed from 120x144 to 240x144 resolution. Not sure why the previous lower resolution was selected by default. This should not negatively affect output, and may improve printing results in some cases.

10.)This completes the initial setup. Once you've done this, the Aleph | Items | Label printing function should work fine, although minor tweaks may be needed to the margins and/or paper size settings. I tested NOTIS printing on Win95 successfully with NoteTab installed and configured as described here.

Caveats (other than these NoteTab works fine on Win2k in lieu of Notepad):
1.)Windows 2000 only: If in the future you use NoteTab's Help | "Restore MS Notepad" feature, the NOTEPAD.EXE.MS file will be renamed to NOTEPAD.EXE. Then if you run the restored (original) Notepad.exe, WFP will detect the original Notepad is back in the system, and you'll need to go thru the procedure all over again from the beginning.

2.)Windows 2000 only: Beware of using the System File Checker (SFC) because it will detect that you've replaced Notepad and ask for the Windows CD. Once you give it the CD, SFC will undo the replacement you worked so hard upon.

3.)Paper alignment/slippage issues: adjusting the paper in the printer by manually pushing/pulling it around may confuse the printer and cause it to be out of alignment for the first printed line. It is better to use only the turn knob on the side of the printer to move the paper forward and backward. The best option may be to use the printer's "Micro Adjust forward and backward" buttons. In any of these cases, the first line of the first label printed after aligning the paper in the printer may still be corrupted/misprinted; i.e. no guarantees on the first label printed out once you've moved the paper manually. (Labels printed subsequently, without moving the paper manually, should be okay.)

Why I think this happens: the margin is set to zero (0") because we want to print on the very first line of a label, and because aligning the label in the printer in other ways is hard. Because the label is aligned manually, the printer does not know exactly where the paper is until it line feeds, and that doesn't happen on the first line. So the result is you may see the first line printed incorrectly...too close to the 2nd line, or scrunched up, or other problems.

Workarounds: either make the first line blank on the label so the printer must form feed, or consider the first label printed potentially 'lost' if you have just manually adjusted the paper. Try printing again to the 2nd label.

4.)The exact settings and measurements for the margin options described above, and custom paper/label settings could vary from printer to printer depending on how the printers are already configured and how the forms are already aligned. Adjust them as necessary.

In regards to NoteTab Light (free) vs NoteTab Standard and NoteTab Pro:

Using the evaluation versions of NotePad Standard and NotePad Pro makes no difference to the printing of Aleph call number labels. The main differences from the free version are availability of technical support and the inclusion of a spell checker and thesaurus. A few other advanced features intended for programmers and web page designers are also included. They have a web page that compares the 3 versions side by side; a copy of that has been printed and put in the NoteTab green license folder at Bio-Medical Library. My impression is that it would be unnecessary to purchase these more advanced versions for support reasons, as there is a free support forum for all NoteTab users to help each other. The advanced features available would likely go unused in our situation, as these capabilities are present in Microsoft Word, and are not in use even there. The only good reason I can see to purchase some copies is to provide support and incentive to the programmers who designed this useful product and encourage them to continue developing it. It'd be a shame to see a good product die because people only use the free version, hence paying for some copies we use may be within the spirit of their offering a free version.

Additional Resources:
Copies of all these web pages were stored in the same folder as the document you are reading, on the Biomed servers.

Here is a document about the printer’s controls:
http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/epson/Impact/fx880.htm

Here are two headers to a groups.google.com search for “Windows 2000 & Tractor Printers”. These are relevant threads that discuss printer and label issues other people have had.
From: Eric Blumer (ericb@accent.net)
Subject: Re: Windows 2000 & Tractor Printers
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.ddk.win2000.general
Date: 2001-03-20 16:20:07 PST

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&th=4cb080244b23b109&rnum=1

From: Chet Swanson (cswansonNOTME@kendra.com)
Subject: Tractor Feed Labels Question
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.office.setup
Date: 2002-05-13 09:21:12 PST

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&th=4364dc1e56b627e4&rnum=10

First, make sure the target Windows 2000 (or later) system starts out clean of other services. That is, disable anything else that might otherwise pose a risk, including IIS, FTP, Telnet, etc. Starting clean can simplify troubleshooting in the unlikely event that these techniques do not help protect your system.

Once you system is clean, login as a local Windows administrator and run teh latest apache2[xxx]nossl.msi, from our K: drive or web download, with defaults. This will install Apache onto your Windows PC with default settings. If the PC’s name matches what the University thinks it should be in DNS, you will be able to reach your server by name. If you have no valid DNS name or don’t know it, don’t worry. You can still use the IP address of the PC.

Near the end of the Apache install you may have the opportunity to edit the Apache configuration file:

C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache2\conf\httpd.conf

Take it. If you miss the opportunity, open the file with Notepad. In this file you should be able to seek and find the line shown blow. Beneath that are entries controlling who can connect to your new Apache server. Change those lines as needed. For example:

# Controls who can get stuff from this server.
# UPDATED on [date] by [your name]
#
order deny,allow
deny from all
allow from 160.94.236.128/25
allow from 160.94.237.128/25
allow from 160.94.141.128/26

then save the file. Now, to activate the changes, stop and restart the Apache service. You can either do this through Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services or by right-clicking the Apache icon by your desktop clock, opening the Apache Service Monitor, clicking Stop, waiting a minute, then clicking Start. Either way, the modified httpd.conf file should now be active.

The IP entries in this Biomed-specific example indicate three partial subnets: 236.128-236.254, 237.128-237.254, and 141.128-141.192. I excluded the Tech Services partial subnet so I could use one such PC to verify that outsiders are blocked. To allow Tech Services in as well, add “allow from 160.94.141.192/26” as a fourth exception to the deny all, save the change, and restart the service again. You can narrow the list of allowed IP address to a single subnet, or even a few specific address by excluding the part after the slash.

This is a very simple and limited approach to security, not a proper firewall. It only protects Apache, ignoring any other services you might have installed, so be careful about what extras you add. That said, this can be a great way to experiment with technologies like HTML, XHTML, PHP, Perl, access controls, and a hundred other Apache-specific technologies. The inner workings of the Apache server are nearly identical on Windows and UNIX, so understanding Apache on Windows can give an idea of how some of our production web services work.