New Bethel Problems

In lab sessions, the group dealt with problems ranging from bad hardware (solution: swapped out for working hardware) to locating correct drivers for newly installed working hardware (solution: searching on Driversguide.com and downloading correct drivers), but the following details the problems we faced at the New Bethel site and the solutions we used to solve them.

Problem 1

The site coordinator wanted us to upgrade the ten lab computers from Windows 98 to Windows XP. There was only one XP upgrade disc and it took over an hour to install on a single computer, so we had the problem of installing the software on all ten computers in a limited amount of time.

Solution

On Friday, we installed XP on one computer, which will be called Computer 1. Saturday morning we networked the computers and mapped Computer 1′s disc drive, setting it up so other computers could access it. This technique enabled us to install XP on multiple computers at the same time, thereby allowing us to finish the upgrades with time to spare.

Problem 2

While the XP upgrades were installing, two computers informed us that there was not enough space on the hard drive to support the upgrade. Then we realized that the floppy drives was not working on one of the computers.

Solution

On one of the hard drives, we were able to take off some applications to meet the minimum space requirements for the upgrade to install. However, the second hard drive was so small that we had to swap it out for a larger one. We also swapped out the faulty floppy drive for one that worked.

Problem 3

The computers in the New Bethel lab were mostly networked together, but there was one computer that was not wired to the rest, nor was there any cable present to allow it to be networked. When we attempted swapping the existing cables around to hook that computer up, we found that the present cables were too short to allow us to network all the computers.

Solution

Members of the group made cables Friday night, allowing us to hook up all the computers and network them Saturday.

Problem 4

When we attempted to network our computer lab, not all of the computers would “ping” each other. We tried releasing and renewing IP addresses to no avail.

Solution

Through the process of elimination, and a helping hand from Dinesh, we found out that one of the networking cables was wired incorrectly. With the proper cablemaking tools, we were able to remedy the wiring problem and successfully network the computers.

Problem 5

We came to New Bethel knowing that the pastor had “the need for speed” when it came to his office computer, but we weren’t sure how to meet his need at first. Also, when we were adding additional software,one of the lab computers did not have enough memory to support the application.

Solution

Both the pastor’s “need for speed” and the lab computer’s problem were solved the same way: we added more memory to both the computers, allowing the pastor’s to run a bit faster and allowing the lab computer’s software to install and run.

Problem 6

The New Bethel site coordinator told us early on that they were having difficulties keeping kids off two computers that were accessible during church services. Any password they had used had been discovered, and Windows 98 did not have strong enough password capabilities to stop the kids from bypassing the login screen.

Solution

Windows XP has stronger password protections, solving half of their problem, since a password is essential to logging into the computer. We solved the other half of their problem, the actual password, by thinking of something so obscure and complicated that the kids would never think of it, yet relatively easy enough for the adults to remember.

Problem 7

When it came time to network all of the lab computers together, after the cable problems had been discovered and fixed, we found that the computers still were not networking. The problem turned out to be a switch that was no longer working.

Solution

Alas, since we discovered this Saturday, there was no opportunity to replace the switch ourselves. We discussed the problem with the site coordinator, and New Bethel will have to replace the switch.