Table of Contents

• Accessing the Labs
• General UNIX
• Fees
• Printing
• Passwords
• Available Drives
• General Questions
• Further Questions?

Accessing the Labs

How do I access the CMPT Labs?

Students who enroll in courses offered by the Department of Computer Science (any CMPT or BINFO course, and MATH 211, 313, or 314) have an account created for them automatically. Students must obtain a Network Services ID (NSID) and password in order to log in. (See the class pages for a full listing of current courses.)

How do I get an NSID?

All students have an NSID. You should have received yours in the mail when you first registered as a student. If you haven't, then please see one of the Technical Staff Members, or Visit the ITS Help Desk, in Arts 70. You will need to have your student card or other suitable government issued picture ID.

Please visit the ITS NSID Information Page for more information on your NSID.

I can't remember my password. How do I get a new one?

If you cannot remember your password, you can visit one of the Student Information Terminals, the ITS Help Desk in Arts 70, or one of the Technical Staff Members. Your student card will be required.

How long is my account valid for?

Undergraduate accounts expire at the end of every four months; i.e., at the end of December, April, and August. The expiry of the accounts generally corresponds with the end of final exams. Graduate accounts are valid as long as a student is registered in graduate studies. They expire when the account falls into disuse for roughly one year.

General Unix

The screen has locked, and I can't do anything. Should I press the power switch?

No. These are multi-tasking, multi-user UNIX-like machines. Other people may be logged in and using the machine even if you are unable to log in at the console. Please find a lab attendant (if available) and let them know of the problem, and then use an alternate machine.

 

The machine is stuck at a text-based login prompt. How do I get away from this?

How do I access the virtual consoles?

The machines will normally boot up into an X11 display, with a graphical login prompt. To switch to one of the four text-based consoles, use CTRL-ALT plus F1-F6 (corresponding to the console you want). To switch to X11 again, use CTRL-ALT-F7.

Fees

What fees apply to the CMPT Labs?

None. Please see The Student Computing Website for further details.

Printing

What printers are available?

What printer you can print to is dependant on the lab you are in. The printer names are the same as the lab they reside in: spinks360bw1, spinks311bw1, spinks315clr1, spinks320bw1. You should only print to the printer that corresponds to the lab you are sitting in to save yourself having to walk to another lab.

How many free pages do I have?

Zero. (0).

I sent a job to the right printer, but it didn't come out. Why not?

You are likely out of printing pages. You must purchase printing pages before you are able to print. Check your print account to make sure that you do have printing pages.

How do I check my print account?

Open a web browser and connect to http://paws.usask.ca. Log in using your NSID and password, and view the CPAS - Print Account panel.

How do I purchase more printing pages?

Printing pages are available at Student Information Terminals across campus, at a cost of 10 cents per page for black and white, and 25 cents per page for colour. These terminals accept cash. Any problems or questions concerning these Terminals should be addressed to the Arts and Science Information Desk in Arts 140.

I already purchased printing pages, but it says I don't have any. Why not?

If you are from another college that does not support the Arts and Sciences printing system, then your pages will not appear. You will have to buy pages for the Computer Science printers.

I have printing pages, but my job still didn't print. Why not?

The printer may be down. Please inform technical staff in the nearest office (Spinks 307 in the Thorvaldson Building Spinks Addition, and Thorv 281.10 / Thorv 377.3), or send email to OnCall.

Passwords

How do I change my password?

Open a web browser and connect to http://PAWS.USask.ca. Log in using your NSID and password, and select the Password link.

I've forgotten my password. How can I get a new one?

Use the Password Enquiry stations, available in Spinks 360, or at the ITS Help Desk in Arts 70.. You will need to have your student card with you, in order to swipe it.

Available Drives

I'm running Windows, and would like to map to one of my Unix drives. How can I do this?

The Department maintains Samba shares on winhome.usask.ca. To map to these, select the Tools menu in Windows Explorer, then select the Map Network Drive... Option. Select the drive letter you desire. Then, enter one of the following servers as the Folder:

\\winhome\[username] (where [username] is your NSID/userid).

This is your Unix home directory, made available via Samba.

\\winhome\winhome

This is what Windows considers to be your home directory. This Samba share lives in the "winhome" sub-directory of your Unix directory.

\\winhome\wwwhome

Equivalent to /www/docs/home/[username], but made available via Samba.

What is the H: drive?

This is a Computer Science administered network drive that you can save your files and information on.  See U: below.

What is the U: drive?

This is the Computer Science administered UNIX home directory.  In this directory you will find  a 'winhome' directory, which is also available as H: (see above).  Undergraduate students are restricted to a quota of 1GB, and graduate students have a quota of 2 GB. Backups are performed regularly, and restores can be performed in emergencies.

What is the V: drive?

This is a Information Technology Services Division administered network drive that is mounted from folder.usask.ca. Backups are performed regularly, and restores can be performed upon request. For more information, please see The ITS Webpages.

What is the W: drive?

This is the Information Technology Services Division administered network drive that is mounted from homepage.usask.ca. It provides webspace for students to save homepages on. For more information, please see the homepage.usask.ca Documentation.

General Questions

I'm having trouble logging in, and I know my password. What's wrong?

If you are logging into a Windows machine, you must make sure that you are loging into the domain CMPT, and not the local machine. If this is not the issue, log in to PAWS, select the password link, then select the Synchronize Password link.

Why was I logged out when I left the lab for [foo]?

If you leave your workstation unattended for more than 15 minutes, and the lab is busy (ie, there is a lineup), your workstation may be logged out, your personal articles moved, and the use of the workstation will be given to someone else.

Why was I told to leave the lab with my [food or drink]

Food and drink makes a mess, and can damage the equipment. Therefore, no food or drink AT ALL are allowed in the lab.

I'm having trouble with something in the lab. Where can I find help?

Talk to a lab assistant. Lab assistant schedules are posted in the lab on the bulletin boards for all labs, and the Help Center between S360 and S315.

My disk is stuck in the drive, or I've accidently broken something. What should I do?

DO NOT TRY TO FIX IT YOURSELF. No matter how good you are with your home machine, you are not familiar enough with the lab machines to avoid possibly causing more damage. Talk to a lab assistant IMMEDIATELY. If there is no lab assitant available, inform technical staff directly (Spinks 307). Make note of the machine that you are at.

If it is after regular business hours, place a "Do Not Touch -- Out Of Order" sign on the machine, and send mail to OnCall.

Further Questions

Do you have a question that isn't answered here? Contact:

David Bocking, 377.4 Thorvaldson Building.
Email: TODO
Phone: 966-4910