Archive for the ‘Working Remotely’ Category

How do I access my H: drive (home directory) from home with my PC?

Windows XP

The steps below are a one-time set up to connect to your home directory from a non-College owned Windows XP Pro SP3 computer on campus:

First locate your home directory path by navigating here…

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/ict/services/file_and_backup_services/home_dir/Default.aspx

Then carry out the following steps…

1.         Right Click on My Computer.

2.         Click on Map Network Drive.

3.         Choose H: as Drive Letter and in Folder type \\ic.ac.uk\homes\yourusername

4.         Connect using different user name.

5.         Type in your IC username and password using your ic\username, and password then click on the OK button.

6.         Click on Finish to continue

7.         Double click on My Computer again to display your Home directory contents

Windows Vista/Windows 7

The steps below are a one-time set up to connect to your home directory from non-College owned Windows Vista or Windows 7 computer: Locate which server you are on by navigating here…

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/ict/services/file_and_backup_services/home_dir/Default.aspx

Then do the following…

1.         Click on Start.

2.         Click on Computer.

3.         Click on Map Network Drive.

4.         Choose H: as Drive Letter and in Folder type \\ic.ac.uk\homes\yourusername

5.         Tick the box for Connect using different credentials

6.         Enter your IC username and password and select the Remember my credentials box

7.         Select OK to continue

8.         The home directory window will open and may prompt you to log in again. If it does, enter your IC Account username and password, and the contents of your home directory will be displayed.

9.         Click on the Next button, then the Finish button.

10.        Your home directory will open and may prompt you to log in again. If it does, enter your IC account username and password, and the contents of your home directory will be displayed.

The next time you want to connect to your home directory open Computer and double-click on the shortcut to log in.

How do I connect on a College Red Hat Linux machine?

Use Connect to server and add the following …icnas1.cc.ic.ac.uk username & password

For Ubuntu/Fedora

Install the relevant packages for your distro to allow you to install cifs see this link for information related to how to do this…

http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/ict/services/softwarehardware/operatingsystemsupport/linux_os_support/faq

Then use the following command to mount your home directory…

$ sudo mount -t cifs //icnas1.cc.ic.ac.uk/YOURUSERNAME /mnt/icnas1 –verbose -o sec=ntlmssp,user=ic\\YOURUSERNAME

How do I access my H: drive (personal home directory) from home using a Mac with OS X?

Not supported on 10.4.11 (Tiger)

Instructions

Mac OS 10.7

1.         Turn on your IC VPN connection. (see this link for instructions on how to set up VPN…http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/ict/services/networks/networkconnections/vpnconnection )

2.         Click on the Go Finder menu, then Connect to Server

3.         In the Server Address box, type smb://ic.ac.uk/homes/yourusername

4.         Click on Connect. Enter your IC Account username and password, then click on the OK button. Your home directory will open and also appear on the Desktop.

Mac OS 10.6 and below

1.         Turn on your IC VPN connection. (see this link for instructions on how to set up VPN…http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/ict/services/networks/networkconnections/vpnconnection )

2.         Click on the Go Finder menu, then Connect to Server

3.         In the Server Address box, type smb://icnas*.cc.ic.ac.uk/yourusername

4.         Click on Connect. Enter your IC Account username and password, then click on the OK button. Your home directory will open and also appear on the Desktop.

Once you connect to your H drive, all files that need to be modified should be copied from the H drive to the local machine for editing and then copied back to the H drive once the modifications have been made. This will prevent any information from being lost in case the network connection is broken.

What are “snapshots?”

Using Snapshots (previous versions)

Snapshots are taken of your home directory at various intervals throughout the day and are retained for as long as possible, up to a week. You can use these snapshots to recover inadvertently deleted files, or older versions of your data. Snapshots do not count towards your quota. Snapshots should not be used as a primary method of backing up your data.

To access from within Windows:

1. Locate the file or folder you wish to restore from (for example the H: drive itself), right click, then choose “restore previous versions”

2. Highlight the version that corresponds to the time and date you wish to restore from, then choose: “Open” – browse the previous version in a new explorer window, you can then copy files out from the snapshot to wherever you wish. “Copy” – copy the entire contents of the previous version to a new location of your choosing. “Restore” – caution this will overwrite your existing files with those from the snapshot.

Making Snapshots visible on a Mac

Mac OS by default will have these folders hidden, so in order to use snapshots on a Mac you will first have to make the ~snapshot folder visible.

In order to do this, use the following instructions listed below…

1. From the Finder menu, click on “Go” -> “Utilities” -> “Terminal“.

2. Once you have your Terminal up, type in the following command and press return:

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

3. Press the option (alt) key while clicking on the Finder icon in the dock to re-launch Finder. Close and reopen your Home directory to now see the ~snapshot folder.

You should now be able to browse to the folder of your choice identified by a date, to reopen the previously saved document. NOTE: you may want to rename any older documents/items so that you do not overwrite items that have the same name.

The remote desktop gateway allows you to connect remotely to your Imperial College computer from outside Imperial without a VPN connection. Further information and instructions for connecting via the remote desktop gateway can be found on the ICT website:

http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/ict/services/softwarehardware/operatingsystemsupport/windows_os_support/rdgateway

Remember that you will need the following in order to connect remotely:

• The network name of the computer you want to connect to (e.g. lb-computer1). This can be found by opening the Windows Start menu then clicking ‘My info’.
• Remote working or administrator rights on the computer you want to connect to. This can be requested via the service desk (using the contact details on the right hand side of this page).

If you need to access ICIS from home, you will need to access it via different URLs to those you would use on a computer within the college’s wired network.

To do so, please use the following URLs:

• ICIS HR Self Service
• ICIS ‘My Training’
• ICIS Faculty E-Service
• ICIS Online Payslip
• Full ICIS Access, including iProcurement and Financial Responsibilities

For any further details on installing the necessary software to get this working, please read more at: ICIS Remote Access setup – step by step

The College VPN service can be used to access protected resources in College, including your College Home Directory. It is possible to connect to your Home Directory (or H:\ drive) via the VPN service in the same way that you would when in College.

Click here for instructions on how to map your network drive  http://bit.ly/dexm20

There is currently a known problem with O2 broadband blocking VPN connections when using the O2 Wireless box 2 (also known as “Thomson TG585v7″). To fix this, you will need to have the most recent “firmware” for the router – version 8.2.7.7 as at 24/01/2011.

If you are not comfortable in undertaking this yourself, you will need to contact O2 to ask them to update the firmware to enable the VPN connection. This should be done free of charge for you by O2. It is not something ICT can do for you.

Click on this link for more information about VPN and Internet Service Providers.

Q – What is ‘Wake-my-PC’?

A – It’s a service that allows College staff to access their computer remotely (e.g. when working at home), even if the computer was switched off when they left the office.

Q – What is the purpose behind the service?

A – We can save a significant amount of money for the College, as well as decreasing carbon emissions significantly, if staff switch off their computers when leaving the office. Currently, although we have an automatic system that puts computers into sleep after half-an-hour of inactivity, a large proportion of staff members opted out of this scheme. 80% of those who opted out state their reason as wanting to be able to access their computers outside working hours. As a result, most computers in the College are left on 24×7, whether used or not.

Q – My computer doesn’t go to sleep by itself. What should I do?

A – Ensure that you have not opted out of the power saving scheme. Go to this page to find out how. There is a known bug with Windows XP that stops some computers from going to sleep by themselves. We expect this to be resolved with Windows 7. Meanwhile, please put your computer to sleep by double clicking the Green “Sleep” icon on your desktop or by selecting “Sleep” option from under shutdown options. If you do not see the sleep button on your desktop, please restart your computer once.

Q – So how does it work?

A – This new service enables staff to wake up their PCs remotely when needed. The link for the set-up instructions is below, but we are only able to offer the service for Windows (both XP and Windows 7) and Linux computers at the moment.
Set-up instructions for Windows and Linux computers

Q – I am not using a Windows computer. Will this still work with a Mac?

A – As above, Wake-on-LAN is currently available only for Windows and Linux computers at Imperial College. Unfortunately the service does not work with Macs. Note that the Linux OS has not been fully tested as yet, but is proven to work successfully on some flavours of Linux.

Q – I followed the instructions, but I cannot make the VPN connection work from home. Will I not be able to use this service?

A – You do not need VPN to wake your computer up. The wake-up service is available on the following public, password protected, easy-to-remember URL.

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/wakemypc

You no longer need VPN to access your computer remotely via terminal service, either. Please follow the instructions on this page to set up your Terminal Service application (mstsc.exe on Windows) to access your computer without having to use VPN.

Q – There are too many computers listed on the Wake-on-LAN page and I do not know which one is my PC, or my PC is not listed. What should I do?

A – All the computers (including servers) that you are the “custodian” and/or “primary user” of are listed on this page. For some people, this may mean a fairly long list. Log a request with the Service Desk to identify your work PC, or add it to your Wake-on-LAN list, or to remove the computers that you are no longer the custodian or primary user of. Alternatively, you may be able to identify your computer by going to Start, then selecting ‘My Info’ from the options. This will show you all the necessary information about your computer, including the asset number and computer name.

Q – My computer does not stay in sleep or hibernate mode. It wakes up immediately after it goes to sleep or hibernates. What can I do?

A – Please make sure you followed the instructions to set up your computer carefully. Especially make sure you carried out this step which sets up your computer to wake up only by a “magic packet”.

Q – I am not sure if my PC is on or off. What happens if I send it a “Wake-on-LAN” request. Will it turn it off if it’s already on?

A – No, this request will only turn your PC on when it’s turned off. If it’s already on, it will have no effect.

Q – I clicked the “wake up this computer” link next to my PC’s name, but I still cannot access it.

A – Wait for a minute to give your PC a chance to boot up. Remote Desktop Connection service is one of the final services to be started in Windows when your computer boots up. If you still cannot access it after two minutes, please try to wake it up a second and last time. It is known for some computers to go back to sleep immediately after waking up the first time.

If you still cannot access your computer after this second wake-up trial, please ensure you followed the set-up instructions correctly. If all is correct, please log a support request with the Service Desk for this to be investigated further.

Q- I will be away on holiday for a long period. Will I still be able to wake up my PC when I’m back home?

A- You can awaken your PC up to 45 days after you last switched it off. If it’s been more than 45 days, remote wake-up will not work and you will need someone to physically switch on your computer.

Q – How can I turn off my PC after using it remotely? I only see a “log-off” command instead of the “Shut down” command when connected remotely.

A – Display your desktop by closing or minimising all the windows, then press “Alt-F4”. This should display the “Shut Down Windows” screen, where you can select the appropriate option. Alternatively, use the green “Sleep” button to put it to sleep.

Q- Are there places within the college where Wake On LAN will not work?

A – The areas listed below are the locations in the College known by ICT where this solution will not work. This however may not be a complete list

• Gosman’s Group – Level 6 Mech Eng
• Mining research – Royal School of Mines
• Electrical Engineering – Level 5 Firewallled
• Cassini group – Level 7 Huxley
• Photonics – Level 6 Blackett

Q – When I turn my PC back on in the morning, although I see the lights on my PC are on, the screen does not come back to life. What can I do?

A – Try pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del (which will bring up the password entry screen, although it won’t be visible), enter your password carefully and hit Return. Your screen should then come back to life. If you are using a wireless keyboard and/or mouse this solution may not work.

It is also known that removing using Windows’ default graphics driver also solves the problem in some cases (rather than some specific graphics driver (such as Nvidia GeForce).

If you are not using any specific functionality of an add-on driver, please try removing the specific driver and test this. As usual, raise a ticket with the Service Desk if you need any help.

NEW! Read the Complete Guide for Home Working during 2012 Olympics

Here’s our no-nonsense guide to working from home:

1. Connect to the Internet

First things first, you need to have an Internet connection at home, preferably broadband and of course you’ll need a computer, but don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be a College owned machine, any will do, even an Apple Mac.

2. Connect to Imperial

Now that you’re online, you will likely need to connect to the Imperial College network – this will then mean you can connect to your office computer or get to your files and ICIS etc, as you would in the office. To do this you will need to connect via what we call a Remote Desktop Gateway. Setting up this up is quick and easy. Click here for more information.

(for connecting to ICIS, see this ICIS Remote Access guide )

3. Connect to the office computer

If you have a desktop computer in your office you may want to connect to it so that you can have exactly the same setup at home on the sofa as you do at your desk at Imperial. More information on connecting to your office based computer can be found here (and if you’re a Mac user at home connecting to a Windows PC, you’ll need to download Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection application here)

4. Access files and/or email

If you choose not to connect to your office desktop, or you have forgotten to leave it turned on then you can still access your email via the web – click here for more information. You can also get to your files too – see our ‘How to connect to a network drive’ guide.

When you’re you are finished you can simply log off.

Should you have any issues at any of these stages,  call ICT on extension 49000 (IC staff and Students only)

NEW! Read the Complete Guide for Home Working during 2012 Olympics