Is your hard drive in the red and you have no idea where all that space is being consumed? We often use the following free programs to interpret this mysterious phenomenon. These utilize a type of graph called a Treemap, which attempts to visualize the files in blocks. The larger the block, the more space is being eaten up by that file!
Windows
WinDirStat
https://windirstat.net/index.html
Mac
Disk Inventory X
http://www.derlien.com
We have noticed a bug in the update process for Windows 7 SP1 machines. The pattern we see is when a machine hasn’t run updates since before October 2016, and when a current update is started, we sit on the “Checking for Updates” step for what could be hours and hours. One solution is to just wait – it actually does find them after about a day or so. A much better option was developed by Bob Childs, and involves a few manual installations to kick start the “Checking for Updates” process.
1) Install the update found here first: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB3177467
Choose the download button for your appropriate version:
32 Bit: Update for Windows 7 (KB3177467)
64 Bit: Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB3177467)
If it doesn’t prompt you to do the install fairly quickly (I’ve found it will pop up in around 20-30 seconds), you may need to do a restart (I’ve had to do it 3-4 times).
2) Restart the machine.
3) Now, install the update found here: http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/search.aspx?q=kb3172605
Choose the download button for your appropriate version:
32 Bit: Update for Windows 7 (KB3172605)
64 Bit: Update for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB3172605)
Again you may have to a restart if it doesn’t pop up the install this update prompt.
4) This will prompt a restart.
5) Finally, run the windows updater. Sometimes it pops up the updates immediately, but sometimes you have to check in the start menu (and do the shutdown/install updates). Either way, it will pop updates up in a couple of minutes instead of waiting for hours and hours.
I would like to use this post to maintain some important information regarding IT and the impending move to the new Building!
VOIP Phones
IMPORTANT! DO NOT MOVE YOUR PHONES TO THE NEW BUILDING. These need to remain where they are so that Telecom can officially move them.
As of this moment, all VOIP phone orders have been submitted.
We have requested that lab phones be moved, either to the location specified (if we received a preference), or in the general area along a wall in your lab’s assigned core bench area.
Where needed, a new phone has been ordered for each of the graduate student offices surrounding the core.
For existing phones in offices, move orders have been submitted to Telecom who will physically transfer the phones to their new locations. We do not have an exact schedule for this, so expect that there is at least a small amount of time where your existing phone is offline.
For folks that are getting new phones installed in their office (those who never had a phone) – you should expect that phones are already installed and waiting for you in the new building!
Network Data Jacks
As a best effort, we have requested that in all areas of the building, half of the data ports are patched and live. So, for each wall plate of ports, half will be active, starting with the top left port. If you need additional ports activated, you can request this via a CNSIT ticket – please be sure to indicate the port number, room number, and PI/Lab along with the purpose for the port activation.
In addition to this, all network ports in known computer heavy rooms will be active. We have also requested that all data ports in the Graduate Student offices surround the core labs on floors 2 through 4 be active.
The best way to know if a port is active is to plug it in and see if you can browse the Internet!
Wireless Network
As with the rest of campus, the CSU-EID network is ready and functioning (as of right now) in the new building! Any devices configured to use this network will function normally without any additional configuration. If you encounter an area where this isn’t the case, please submit a CNSIT ticket with as much information about the area and device in use.
Networked Printers
With the new building, comes a new network and subnet. So, things like printers will all need to be reconfigured. The simplest way to do this is to just remove the old printer, and re-add it with its new IP address. All networked printers (I hope!) have already been set to receive a new static IP address when they wake up on the network in the new building. We have also already labeled all of these new printers with their new Biology Building IP Address (starts with 10.1.206 …).
So, the process we will take in connecting a computer to the “new” printer is to just remove the old one. Then, just follow our normal network printer setup directions with the new IP Address. Those directions can be found here: http://wp.natsci.colostate.edu/cnsit/printer
Network Backup System (Retrospect)
As with the network printers, our backup system is IP based. So, for a time, your machine will not be backed up. To mitigate this time, we will wait to move the backup system hardware to the new building until half of the department has moved (this allows for the remaining half to continue being backed up). After half have moved, the hardware will move, and the folks already in the new building will regain backup functionality. All remaining folks will regain this functionality once they finally move.
How To Get Help?
The best way to get help during this process is to submit a CNSIT ticket – at the following URL: https://cnsit.natsci.colostate.edu/help
I would like to use this post to maintain some important information regarding IT and the impending move to the new Building!
Card Readers
Card readers are currently being worked on by facilities. Some work, some do not. We will keep the department updated, and alert everyone via the departmental e-mail list once these are all online. Thank you for your patience!
VOIP Phones
IMPORTANT! DO NOT MOVE YOUR PHONES TO THE NEW BUILDING. These need to remain where they are so that Telecom can officially move them.
As of this moment, all VOIP phone orders have been submitted.
For existing phones in offices, move orders have been submitted to Telecom who will physically transfer the phones to their new locations. We do not have an exact schedule for this, so expect that there is at least a small amount of time where your existing phone is offline.
Network Data Jacks
As a best effort, we have requested that in all areas of the building, half of the data ports are patched and live. So, for each wall plate of ports, half will be active, starting with the top left port. If you need additional ports activated, you can request this via a CNSIT ticket – please be sure to indicate the port number, room number, and PI/Lab along with the purpose for the port activation.
In addition to this, all network ports in known computer heavy rooms will be active, including Graduate Student Offices as well as the Faculty Collaboration Rooms.
The best way to know if a port is active is to plug it in and see if you can browse the Internet!
Wireless Network
As with the rest of campus, the CSU-EID network is ready and functioning (as of right now) in the new building! Any devices configured to use this network will function normally without any additional configuration. If you encounter an area where this isn’t the case, please submit a CNSIT ticket with as much information about the area and device in use.
Networked Printers
With the new building, comes a new network and subnet. So, things like printers will all need to be reconfigured. The simplest way to do this is to just remove the old printer, and re-add it with its new IP address. However, those IP addresses need to first be set. So, as your printer moves to the new building, let CNSIT know, and we can assign a static IP and assist in setting up the computers in the group!
So, the process we will take in connecting a computer to the “new” printer is to just remove the old one. Then, just follow our normal network printer setup directions with the new IP Address. Those directions can be found here: http://wp.natsci.colostate.edu/cnsit/printer
How To Get Help?
The best way to get help during this process is to submit a CNSIT ticket – at the following URL: https://cnsit.natsci.colostate.edu/help
I came across this very nice article about backup up a Windows 10 machine. This can be accomplished with an inexpensive external hard drive from any local or online computer hardware retailer. Enjoy!
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-make-full-backup-windows-10
Backing up your Macintosh computer through Time Machine is super simple. Apple has a great write-up on the topic which only requires an inexpensive external hard drive which can be purchased from any local or online computer hardware retailer. Enjoy!
On occasion, CNSIT receives questions regarding the possibility of a message being caught by an incoming e-mail filter. The symptom for the end user is usually that a message they have expected hasn’t been delivered. Typically, there are 3 options for the message’s absence.
Junk Folder on the Client
The first place to check is in a Junk/Clutter folder on the E-mail Client program in use. Clients include (but are not limited to) MS Outlook, Thunderbird, and Mac Mail. Each has slightly different ways of handling mail it determines as junk, but often act in a similar fashion by dropping these messages in a “Junk” folder. Check there first!
O365 Quarantine
The next possibility is the O365 Quarantine, which can catch suspicious e-mail before it ever reaches your inbox and e-mail client. ACNS has created the following page with instructions on releasing quarantined e-mail. Often, you will also want to add these false positives to your safe sender, and luckily directions for doing so are also listed below:
http://help.mail.colostate.edu/tt_o365_release-quarantine.aspx
Check with Sender
The next option is that the sender simply sent the message to the wrong e-mail address. If an message is undeliverable, the sender should receive a “bounce” message indicating the issue, along with the reason it was undeliverable. It may be useful to have a copy of this forwarded to IT staff on either end to help diagnose the issue.
If all else fails…
If the messages are still unaccounted for, we can ask the ACNS E-mail team on campus to look into this using their administrative tools. They can be reached by e-mailing help@colostate.edu with a full description of the problem, along with all steps taken (checked junk/quarantine, confirmed correct address etc).
With most fresh user profiles created on a Windows 10 machine, Microsoft Edge (the new Windows 10 web browser) appears to want to take over as your default PDF viewer. While this may be fine in some environments, CNS affiliates working on CSU/Departmentally owned computers have the advantage of an Adobe Acrobat Pro site license, and will usually prefer to set this as the PDF viewer.
You will often discover this issue when your PDF files appear with something that looks like the following file icon when viewed on your desktop or in your documents:
The easiest way to switch your PDF viewer to Adobe Acrobat is to use the context menu by right clicking on one of these pdf files and selecting the option for “Properties”.
In the new dialog box that appears, make sure you are looking at the “General” tab and notice the option near the top with the text “Open with:”. From here, click the “Change …” button to the right of that “Open with:” text. A new dialog will appear where you simply need to select your installed Adobe Acrobat software and click the “OK” button. You should now notice that “Open with:” lists Adobe Acrobat as your PDF viewer. Click the “OK” button to close the properties dialog. Finally, you will also notice that your pdf files show the familiar Adobe Acrobat file icon instead of the above Microsoft Edge icon.
Don’t have Adobe Acrobat installed on your CSU/Departmentally owned computer? Let us know and we can help you get that set up! Simply create a ticket and we will be in touch: https://cnsit.natsci.colostate.edu/help
As of February 2018, the Department of Chemistry has funded a CSU site license for several MestreNova plugins. The following functionality is covered by this site license:
Installing MestreNova
To install MestreNova, simply download and install from this URL: http://mestrelab.com/download/mnova
Installing License Files
Once you have installed the current version of MestreNova, you will need to install the license files. First, download the following .zip file which contains the license files. Be sure to keep note of where this .zip file downloads to! Typically this is a “Downloads” folder, but might be the Desktop or other:
Current License Files – 02-08-2018 – Click to Download
Next, start the MestreNova application. On first load, MestreNova will prompt you to install license files. Click on the “install” button on this initial dialog window.
For each license file needed, browse for and select that license file. This means you will need to repeat this for all 4 license files.
Once added, you will need to close and restart MestreNova for those licenses to activate.
Activating Advanced Plug-Ins
In certain circumstances, some of the plug-ins used by these site licenses are not activated on default. To activate a plugin use the File->Advanced Plugins menu (“Modern” Interface) or the Edit->Advanced Plugins (“Classic” Interface), and select those that are needed. See below for an example of this:
Connection from Off Campus?
If you are looking to use this site license from off campus, you must first connect to the CSU VPN. For information on installing this, please refer to the following article: https://wp.natsci.colostate.edu/cnsit/junos-pulse-is-now-pulse-secure
Additional Help?
If you need any additional help while installing MestreNova, please feel free to submit a CNSIT ticket at the following URL: https://cnsit.natsci.colostate.edu/help
To clear the Cache and Cookies in the Firefox browser, follow these steps:
1. Open Firefox browser and press the Alt key + T
2. This will select the Tools menu and a drop down menu will appear, select Options
4. Select the Privacy & Security panel on the left
4. Scroll down to the Cookies and Site Data section and select Clear Data
5. Check the box next to Cached Web Content and leave Cookies and Site Data unchecked
6. On the far right select Clear
7. Close the Preferences page. Any changes you made will be saved automatically
8. You have successfully cleared the Firefox cache
To clear the Cache and Cookies in the Edge browser, follow these steps:
1. With Edge browser open, click the 3 horizontal dots in the upper right corner
2. A drop down menu will appear, scroll to the bottom and click Settings
3. In the next menu that appears, click Choose What to Clear
4. In the next menu that appears, make sure the following boxes are checked: Browsing history, Cookies and saved website data and Cached Data and Files
5. Click the Clear button
6. You have successful cleared the Edge browser cache
To clear the Cache and Cookies in the Safari browser, follow these steps:
1. Click Safari n the upper left hand side of the screen. A drop down menu will appear, click on Preferences.
2. In the window that appears, click the Privacy tab and click the button Remove All Website Data
3. Click Remove Now in the pop up window that appears
This completes the clearing of the cache for Safari web browser
To clear the Cache and Cookies in the Edge browser, follow these steps:
1. Click the gear icon in the upper right corner of the browser
2. A menu will drop down and now select Safety
3. Another menu will slide out and now select Delete Browsing History and pop up window will appear. See next image.
1. Make sure the first option box – Preserve favorites website data, is not checked
2. Makes sure the option boxes for – Temporary Internet files and Cookies are checked
3. You can also select the option box for – History, to delete your browsing history
4. At the bottom of the pop up, click delete
1. Once you have clicked delete, you will get a confirmation at the bottom of the browser window stating, “Internet Explorer has finished deleting the selected browsing history.” You have successfully cleared your Internet Explorer cache and cookies.
To clear your browser cache and cookies, please select the appropriate walk-through listed below:
UPDATE: RStor How To from CNSIT: https://wp.natsci.colostate.edu/cnsit/rstor-how-to
ACNS has implemented a storage solution for researchers needing a secure location for their working data. Currently configured with over 300 terabytes of storage, this DELL Isilon storage is located in the campus data center and can be accessed directly from windows or unix systems. As usage grows, the system will be expanded to meet the capacity demands of the campus.
Central IT is subsidizing this system, which makes it available to researchers at $70 per terabyte per year. Space can be requested through your local college IT department, which will manage your billing, quotas, and create any drive mappings you require. College IT Administrators can find more information by logging into the RStor management system at http://rstor.colostate.edu. RStor solves the problem of access to high-volume, scalable storage of unstructured data for research needs, and through a hybrid central funding model it is cost-effective for storage of large volumes of research data.
More documentation can be found here: https://wsnet2.colostate.edu/cwis292/rstor/documentation.aspx
With respect to CNSIT, this is a solution to allow users to gain an inexpensive storage for space larger than can be allocated on the aging Pangea file server. If you are a Pangea user that is constantly hitting their quota, or have a need for new research storage space, please get in touch with CNSIT and we can walk you through the process.
How to request RStor for your group?
Easy! Just fill out a CNSIT Ticket, and we will get that process rolling: https://cnsit.natsci.colostate.edu/help
This article is designed to help you connect to an RStor network share. If you are unsure of what an RStor share is, check out the following article and let us know if you still have questions: https://wp.natsci.colostate.edu/cnsit/rstor-has-arrived
Now that you have a new RStor network share, how do you connect to it? At its core RStor is just a network share, where users with the proper access can connect, and collaborate in a common data store. After you request access to RStor through CNSIT, you will be given a Share Name, this is the variable used to identify the correct path when connection. Below are syntax examples for Windows and MacOS:
Windows – Explorer/”Map Network Drive” syntax
\\campusrstor1.onefs.colostate.edu\natsci\YOUR_SHARE_NAME
MacOS – “Connect to Server” syntax
smb://campusrstor1.onefs.colostate.edu/natsci/YOUR_SHARE_NAME
RStor requires a valid CSU eID account to use. Depending on whether your machine is domain connected, you may need to specify the COLOSTATE domain before your eName while authenticating as shown below:
COLOSTATE\eName
To update details of your RStor share, you will most likely have to contact CNSIT by submitting a ticket: https://cnsit.natsci.colostate.edu/help
This includes the following:
One of the great things about the RStor service, is the ability for a share owner to administer the permissions without CNSIT assistance! To manage the permissions in RStor you will need to have access to a Windows computer where you have connected to your RStor share (for connection instructions, see here: https://wp.natsci.colostate.edu/cnsit/rstor-how-to)
If you do not have any access to a Windows computer, then you will still need to contact CNSIT for permission changes. You can do so by creating a CNSIT Ticket at https://cnsit.natsci.colostate.edu/help
If you are unsure what RStor is or how to request a space, check out the following: https://wp.natsci.colostate.edu/cnsit/rstor-has-arrived
Adding a new user and modifying permissions
When adding a user to your RStor group, you must first open the share in an Explorer window. From here, right click in some of the empty space and choose the “Properties” button as shown in the following screenshot. Alternatively, you can navigate to the Home tab within your Explorer window, and select the ‘Properties’ option:
You will then see the following dialog window appear. This displays the current permissions of the base share folder. Your folder will also contain the owner’s eName. If you select a given user/group, you will see their effective permissions in the lower portion of the dialog. To add a new user, you will first click on the “Edit” button.
You will now see the following dialog window. This is where you can modify an existing user’s permissions. We will continue on to add a user for which you should click on the “Add” button.
Now, you need to type in the name of the user you wish to grant permissions to. When typing in these eNames, be sure include “COLOSTATE\” before the eName as shown. Once entered, you can click the “OK” button.
You will now be able to set the permissions for this user (or any user in this view). First, select the user in the list to enable that user’s permission checkbox list as shown below. You can be creative in how you are setting these permissions. Use the following definitions to help set the appropriate level for a given user. Keep in mind, these permissions are for the current folder/file only.
Full Control allows you to read, write, modify, and execute files in the folder, change attributes, permissions, and take ownership of the folder or files within.
Modify allows you to read, write, modify, and execute files in the folder, and change attributes of the folder or files within.
Read & execute will allow you to display the folder’s contents and display the data, attributes, owner, and permissions for files within the folder, and run files within the folder.
List folder contents will allow you to display the folder’s contents and display the data, attributes, owner, and permissions for files within the folder.
Read will allow you to display the file’s data, attributes, owner, and permissions.
Write will allow you to write data to the file, append to the file, and read or change its attributes.
From here, you can click the “Apply” button to save the changes, and the “OK” button to close the dialog window.
With the release of MacOS 10.14 “Mojave” last week, we discovered a bug with the Pangea connection app where you would receive the following error message on launch:
Not authorized to send Apple events to Finder. (-1743)
This launch process should ask for authorization for the Pangea.app program to have access to Finder, but we are finding that this isn’t taking place, and the app will fail to launch.
We are working on testing this further to find the best solution, but have discovered the following workaround. Basically, delete the Pangea.app program from your Applications directory (or wherever you keep it) and re-download it from the following URL:
https://wp.natsci.colostate.edu/cnsit/pangea
This generates a new .app application, which should run successfully. The initial launch required approval (and subsequent launches after any reboots – which you should grant by clicking the ‘OK’ button), and the application was added as an entry under System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> Privacy -> Automation.
Working together and sharing files is essential in today’s work environment. At CSU there are several options available based on the type of collaboration required. In this article, I will attempt to summarize these technologies and list their characteristics. If you are interested in using any of these in your area, please get in touch with CNSIT by creating a ticket: https://cnsit.natsci.colostate.edu/help
Microsoft OneDrive provides 5TB of cloud based storage to each active CSU faculty, staff and student. Files stored in SharePoint are linked to a specific user account.
More information about OneDrive can be found at the following ACNS URL: http://help.mail.colostate.edu/onedrive.aspx
You can also learn a bit about how to access OneDrive files from the following article: https://wp.natsci.colostate.edu/cnsit/cloud-storage-for-personal-data
Pros
Microsoft OneDrive is ideal for users needing a personal and private cloud based storage area to keep important files. With the OneDrive sync client for both MacOS and Windows, users can synchronize these files to a specific folder on the local users’ hard drive.
Microsoft OneDrive is included as part of CSU’s Office 365 service at no additional cost.
Cons
Microsoft OneDrive is not an ideal cloud based storage solution for users intending on collaborating with other users on files.
Microsoft SharePoint Online is an Office 365 application that allows users to create intranet websites for sharing information and for project management and collaboration. SharePoint Online contains 1TB of cloud based storage on default. Files stored in SharePoint are not linked to a specific user account.
More information about SharePoint Online can be found at the following ACNS URL: http://help.mail.colostate.edu/o365sharepoint.aspx
Pros
Microsoft SharePoint Online is ideal for groups looking to collaborate on files stored in an online cloud solution. With the OneDrive sync client for both MacOS and Windows, users can synchronize these files to a specific folder on the local users’ hard drive.
Microsoft SharePoint Online is included as part of CSU’s Office 365 service at no additional cost.
Cons
Microsoft SharePoint Online is not ideal for users that require a drive letter to be mapped on a community computer.
Microsoft Teams offer a chat-based group workspace within Office 365 that includes tools and content targeted for groups of users wanting to collaborate. Using the Office 365 Portal or the Microsoft Teams client, Team owners can add additional owners, manage the membership of the Team, add channels and content, and set options for the Team, such as setting it to be public or private team.
More information about Teams can be found at the following ACNS URL: http://help.mail.colostate.edu/office365teams.aspx
Pros
Teams is ideal for a group that would like an electronic collaboration tool based on channels, projects, or really anything! It can act as a gathering space for all of your O365 services by linking SharePoint Online sites, and personal OneDrive accounts.
Microsoft Teams is included as part of CSU’s Office 365 service at no additional cost.
Cons
Teams is not ideal as a cloud based storage solution. While Teams does come with some online cloud storage, it is often a great idea to link a Microsoft Team with a Microsoft SharePoint Online site.
RStor at CSU is a more classic solution to the Network Storage problem. Hosted on campus, users are able to map an RStor network location using both CIFS and NFS. RStor costs $70 per TB annually.
More information about RStor at CSU can be found here: https://wp.natsci.colostate.edu/cnsit/rstor-has-arrived
Pros
RStor is ideal for groups that require connecting to a network storage device that allows the mapping of a drive letter (Windows), or via NFS on Linux/MacOS computers.
Cons
RStor is not ideal for users/groups that want a free storage/collaboration solution that integrates with O365.
This tutorial will describe how to map an RStor location to a Linux computer using CIFS (Common Internet File System). CIFS is a dialect of SMB (Server Message Block) meaning that it can be thought of as an in place replacement for Microsoft’s SMB protocol. In short, this is how you map the same drive in Linux as you would in Windows or MacOS through SMB.
If you are unsure what RStor is or how to request a space, check out the following first: https://wp.natsci.colostate.edu/cnsit/rstor-has-arrived
I am using CentOS 7 as the Linux distribution for creating this tutorial, although these should apply (possibly with slight modifications) to any other distribution of Linux. I will be presenting commands that are to be applied to a terminal, many of which require root (sudo) access, so be sure the account in use has administrative permissions.
The method described below creates the following scenario. We will be mounting a single RStor sharepoint using a single eID. The eID credentials will be stored in a location where only users with root (sudo) access can view. This is ideal for systems that would like to mount an RStor share where there is a single sudo enabled user that sets up the share. All other users should not have sudo access, but can still take advantage of the mounted RStor share.
1.) First, we will be creating a directory to mount RStor on. Essentially, all we are doing is making an empty directory where the mount command will attach the RStor CIFS. In this example, I will create a directory in the root of the Linux installation called “rstor”.
sudo mkdir /rstor
2.) We will now create a credentials file where the user with access to the RStor location can save their login information. We will store this file in the /root directory, and be sure to set the appropriate permissions so that only a user with root (sudo) access can view. First, create and edit the file using the nano terminal file editor with the following command:
sudo nano /root/rstor_credentials.txt
You should populate this file with the following text. Be sure to use your own information in YOUR_ENAME and YOUR_EID_PASSWORD
username=YOUR_ENAME password=YOUR_EID_PASSWORD domain=colostate
Now, you will need to update the permissions for this file with the following command:
sudo chmod 600 /root/rstor_credentials.txt
3.) Now that we have a place to attach the RStor share, we will edit a file that controls such things in /etc/fstab. In this example I will again be using the nano terminal file editor to append the following line to the end of the /etc/fstab file. The information for SHARE_NAME below for the following must be customized to match share name created in RStor for your use:
//campusrstor1.onefs.colostate.edu/natsci/SHARE_NAME /rstor cifs credentials=/root/rstor_credentials.txt,auto,_netdev 0 0
4.) That is it! You can either restart your computer to test its automount capability, or force the mount using the following command:
sudo mount /rstor
With an understanding of this process, it should be clear how you can add more rstor mount points to the same system. Enjoy!
