Tablet Information for Students

Revision as of 17:15, 27 October 2005

Frequently Asked Questions

General Tablet Questions

Can we make changes to the software on the tablets? Do we have Administrative privileges?

Yes, however you are not permitted to remove software pre-installed on the tablets without explicit permission from TICC. To obtain administrative privileges on Linux you can type

sudo su

at a console window in order to obtain administrative privileges -- you are not, however, permitted to change the root password. Under Windows you are logged in as an Administrator by default and may make any changes you wish. Be warned that Administrive privileges can ruin your tablet's configuration, asking us for help in these circumstances will result in the committee Reimaging your tablet.

What does the PXE DHCP MAC address thing mean at boot?

When the tablets first bootup they attempt to use a PXE boot image on the network before booting to the local hard-drive. To skip this message press the escape key on the keyboard or on the Reduced Input Interface.

Questions related to Windows

How can I print to Physics Department printers from Windows?

Voodoo does not permit people outside of the Physics network to print to Physics printers (including the tablets since they are on the wireless network and not technically part of the Physics network). In order to print to Physics Department printers you must add the printers through the print router "doppler", this can be done through HP Mobile Printing. Open the Printers and Faxes in the Control Pannel menu and right click on "HP mobile printing" and select properties. Click on "Printing Preferences" button and type the following line into the network printer tab.

\\doppler.mines.edu\blossom

Select OK and make blossom (B&W laser printer located in the physics computer lab) your default printer when prompted. Now, just select HP mobile printing when you want to print to blossom for black and white printing (general use). You will also need to install the driver for Blossom on your computer for the printer to work. The printer is an HP LaserJet 4200n which has a driver available here:

[

or

\\doppler.mines.edu\printshop

for color printing. When Windows asks you for a printer driver you may select any post-script driver on the list and Windows will be able to print to the printer.

Questions Related to Linux

I'm having trouble making first-time connections to wireless networks under Linux, what should I do?

There appears to be a problem with the wifi-radar software in that it cannot connect to wireless networks that you have not connected to before. While the wifi-radar software is in the "working" stage open up a console and type

sudo su
ifdown eth1
ifup eth1
kill `ps -A | grep wifi-radar`

in order to reset the wireless network connection. If you continue to have problems please leave a message on the Forum.

How can I setup my tablet to connect to a WPA-enabled network under Linux?

You need to edit the "/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf" file to contain:

ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant

network={
       ssid="<your_network_name>"
       scan_ssid=1
       proto=WPA
       key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
       psk="<your_secret_key>"
}

See Amilo 1425 Linux for details.

How do I change my password under Linux?

In order to change your password under linux you should open up a console window and type

passwd

and follow the directions. It is recommended that you change your password (so it isn't blank), failure to do so may result in an inability to restore your session when the display gets locked. The display will lock if you close the tablet while Linux is running so you will need to change your password before this happens.