PUC Lab
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Henry A. Rowland Department of Physics and Astronomy PUC Lab |
Q. How do I see a list of the files and directories on my computer?
A. Either use Windows NT Explorer or My Computer. Explorer gives you access to a Tools menu which allows you to map network drives, so this is the preferred tool. "My Computer" is launched by double clicking on its icon at the upper left corner of your computer screen. You'll see a window like this:
This shows you the different resources at your computer, including the floppy drive, the main hard drive (C:), the CD-ROM drive (D:), and a directory on the main file server (percy.pha.jhu.edu) called "users" which is mapped to your computer as the Z: drive. Percy has replaced the computer Emmy that the image above refers to. Double click on any of the icons in My Computer to see a list of the files, directories, or programs within.
Windows NT Explorer is quickly launched by pressing two keys on the keyboard simultaneously: the windows key (the second key from the left in the row nearest you) and the letter E. This presents you with a directory tree listing of resources that looks like:
A small square with a plus or minus sign to the left of a directory indicates the presence of subdirectories, and these subdirectory trees can be expanded by clicking on the box. Clicking on the folder itself will present the contents of the folder in the right Explorer windowpane.
Q. What files and directories do I have access to?
A. You have the right to read and execute most programs on your computer (except of course for certain systems tools like "Erase the hard drive.") In addition, you have
Q. Where should I store my programs, data, or documents?
A. It is recommended that you store your documents in both your home directory and on a floppy or zip diskette. Your home directory is mirrored and backed up weekly to prevent data loss. However, there is the always the possibility of data loss or corruption, and the Department takes no responsibility for such losses.
Q. Where is my home directory?
A. Your home directory, which appears on your computer as z:\users\yourusername, is
physically located on the hard drive on the computer percy.pha.jhu.edu.
Your home directory on percy is mapped as a network drive called
yourusername on 'percy\users' (Z:) to all of the PUC lab computers. This network drive
should appear as an entry in Windows NT Explorer or
as an icon in My Computer:
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| Windows NT Explorer | My Computer |
(In these images, "skw12" is the username of the person logged on). Double clicking on the icon in either view should present you
with a list of your files. If yourusername on 'percy\users' (Z:)
does not show up on your computer, see How do I map a network drive?.
Q. How do I map a network drive?
A. Start Windows NT Explorer (press together the Windows and "E" keycaps). From the Tools menu, select "Map Network Drive." In a moment, you should see the following "Map Network Drive" dialog box:
At this point you can either type the name of the share name of the folder to which you want access, or you can click on the browse menu. The browse menu,
will show all of the local drives. You must drill down (by clicking on the plus symbols) to the shared folder which you wish to access. Select the file you want by clicking on it (the folder should then be highlighted in blue) and then clicking on the "OK" button at the bottom of the "Browse For Folder" window.
In principle, this technology allows you to connect to a shared folder on any Windows-based computer connected to the Internet. In general, as long as you know the share name and IP address of the computer, you can type that in the "Folder" text box on the "Map Network Drive" screen, to get to that folder. E.g., \\128.220.145.174\users will get you the "users" folder on percy because 128.220.145.174 is percy's IP address. There are however two restrictions:
Q. How much space am I allowed in my home directory on the file server?
A. 600 MB.
Q. Who is responsible for backing up my data?
A. You are. See How do I back up my data? The systems administrator performs regular backups of your home directory on the file server, but this is no guarantee of data security or integrity nor does the Department take responsiblity for the loss of your data. Nevertheless there have been no incidents of data loss since the PUC lab has been in existence.A. Here are three suggestions:
