Computer Support FAQ

1. Why can’t I log in?

1. How can I type umlauts with a US keyboard?
2. How do I find additional programs under Ubuntu?
   

1. Which email programs can I use and how do I configure them?
2. How can I set up email forwarding?
   

1. Can I print double–sided?
2. Can I print in color?
3. Can I print on transparencies?
4. How do I print .docx files?
5. How do I cancel my own print jobs?

1. Why does Acrobat Reader report that I have too little space on my hard disk?
2. How can I start Mathematica without owning a license?
3. What do I do if Firefox does not start or displays an error message on startup?
4. Is Latex free of charge and is Latex also available for other operating systems?
5. Can I change the color palette of the terminal?

1. Where can I find or create (new) announcements?

1. Are there projectors and what do I need to consider?
2. My problem is not listed. What should I do?
3. Password generator
4. FAUbox and Gigamove

1. Why can’t I log in?

If you are unable to log in, please check the following:

• When entering the password, you can change the layout of your keyboard at the bottom center (default is US).
• After entering the account name, check whether accessibility features (bottom right: blue circle with white figure) are deactivated.
• Quota may have been exceeded: see here.
• If you still have problems with logging in, please contact room 01.330 or call 67335

1. How can I type umlauts with a US keyboard?

This works best with the Compose button:  usage of the compose-key.

As there is normally no such key on keyboards, you can instruct Ubuntu to make another key (which you do not otherwise need) the Compose key. To do this, open the Dash (Windows key) and look for the Keyboard setting. There you can click on Typing under the Shortcuts tab. Here you can set the Compose Key.

2. How do I find additional programs under Ubuntu?

The default user interface is now Unity. The Dash helps to find programs:

• The Dash is called up with the Windows key. Alternatively, you can also click on the Ubuntu logo in the top left-hand corner of the screen.
• Standard programs (e.g. Firefox, Thunderbird) are already offered for launch in the Dash.
• In the Dash search bar, however, you can also simply search for applications etc. (e.g. “mail”, “web”, “terminal”, “document”).
• It is also possible to click through anywhere using the “More Apps” button.
• The “taskbar” is located on the left edge of the screen. If it is hidden, move the mouse pointer to the left edge to show it again.
• If you use a program frequently, it is worth anchoring the program in the taskbar: right-click on the icon in the bar and select “Keep in Launcher”.
• If you are using the terminal, you can open a Gnome terminal directly with Ctrl+Alt+t.

1. Which email programs can I use and how do I configure them?

• Thunderbird settings:

• mutt Configuration files: muttrc, msmtprc must be entered in the home directory as .muttrc and .msmtprc now still be customized with personal data.
• Webmail: math.fau.de/webmail, mail.math.fau.de/webmail

1. Is it possible to print double-sided?

Each printer can also print double-sided (printer-nn-ds).

2. Can you print in color?

The printers printer-68, printer-81 and printer-82 can also print in color (printer-nn-color or printer-nn-color-ds).

3. Can films be printed?

Yes, this is possible, initially only on a Lexmark printer. Proceed as follows:

• First open the manual tray at the front of the printer, pull it out and flip it open.
• Then insert the film with the edge to the right up to the marking.
• Im Dokumentenbetrachter wählt man dann unter “paper source” das manuelle Fach und unter “paper type” transparencies aus.
• Then send the print job. The Lexmark printer should now beep.
• On the printer display, press “status/supplies“ (bottom left): Do not prompt, paper loaded.

4. How to print .docx files?

If you want to print files with the extension .docx from the Libre Office program, proceed as follows:

1. Click on “Export as PDF…” under File,
2. Then click on “Export”. Now select the storage location.
3. Then open the .pdf file with evince or okular and print the file as usual.

5. How do I cancel my own print jobs?

If you want to delete a print job that has already been sent to the printer, proceed as follows:

1. Click on the Ubuntu icon at the top left of the launcher and then enter printing.
2. Click on it – a window opens with the available printers.
3. Select the “Printer” tab in the program bar and then click on “View Print Queue”
4. All print jobs that are being printed or are in the queue are now displayed in the window that opens.
5. Here you can now select your job and delete it.

Programs

1. Why does Acrobat Reader report that I have too little space on my hard disk?

This is an error in Acrobat Reader. The home directories are located on a file system that is currently 30 terabytes in size. When trying to determine the free space there, a 32-bit counter overflows. The operating system warns of this, but Adobe interprets the warning incorrectly.

Solution: Save the file on the local hard disk (e.g. in “/tmp”) and then move it to the home directory. Or use another PDF viewer instead of Acroread, e.g. evince or okular.

2. How can I start Mathematica without owning a license?

You only have to tell Mathematica the license server of the RRZE. To do this, click on “Other ways to activate”, then “Connect to a network license server” and enter

license2.rrze.uni-erlangen.de

in the text field. Confirm with “Activate” and accept the license conditions.

3. What do I do if Firefox does not start or displays an error message on startup?

This can have various causes:

• For students: You use more than 3 GB in your home!
  Solution: Use Ctrl-Alt-F1 to switch to a virtual console. Log in there and delete unnecessary files. The 3.0Gb can be queried with the command “du -sh .”. Genaue Anleitung

• A session was not closed in accordance with the rules.
  Solution: Change to “cd .cache/mozilla/firefox-esr/xxx.default/” (xxx=name of your profile) and remove with “rm -r .parentlock” the .parentlock file.

• The profile has been damaged by a crash, for example.
  Solution: Firefox has to be closed. Open inside your shell the profilemanager with “firefox -ProfileManager” and add a new profile. Saved Bookmarks can be restored via “Bookmarks/Show All Bookmarks/Import and Backup/Restore/Choose File…” editing or importing: go to “.cache/mozilla/firefox-esr/xxx.default/bookmarkbackups/” and select your file.

4. Is Latex free of charge and is Latex also available for other operating systems?

Yes just google “latex OPERATINGSYSTEM”.
More informations about Latex: www.ctan.org.
A quick Introduction is here.

1. Where can I find or create (new) announcements?

No further announcements can be made using the old announcement script.

To do this please use this:  Kalender des Departments.

The Frontend-Account for this you get by neuss@math.fau.de.

A Caldav server has been set up in the Department of Mathematics. This is a network application that communicates with various types of calendar programs (Thunderbird/Lightning, Evolution, AppleCalendar, Microsoft Outlook, etc.) and provides calendars that users can integrate into their personal calendars.

Das zfs

In addition to various data backups, we have been using zfs for some time now. This means that every user has access to an image of their HOME directory at any time. To access the old files, proceed as follows:

• There is a folder called .zfs/snapshot in the directory of employees and students. This folder is not visible, which means that it can only be accessed from the terminal and not using the file browser. For employees:

  cd /home/np1/staff/.snapshot/zfs

  For students:

  cd /home/np1/stud/.snapshot/zfs

• Here you will find images of the HOME directory at various points in time. Backups are performed once per hour, per day, and per week. The length of time for which they are stored depends on the type of backup. For example, hourly backups are kept for one week, while weekly backups are kept for six months. The state of the HOME directory at the time of the backup is always saved. This means that if changes are made within an hour, they cannot be retrieved. The format of the snapshots is: year-month-day-hourminutesecond. For example, if an employee wants to access data in the HOME directory from the weekly backup of August 10, 2013, the entry is:

  cd snap-weekly-1-2013-08-10-030146
  

  Then navigate to your HOME directory:

  cd /home/np1/staff/.snapshot/zfs/snap-weekly-1-2013-08-10-030146/username

  All files are now stored there in their state of the date.

• Caution! There is a new system on the CIP computers and some of the employees’ computers. Snapshots are taken every six hours. The procedure for data recovery is the same, but the snapshots are no longer called snap-weekly-1-2013-08-10-030146, but auto-20190820-060000. The new format is therefore auto-DATE-TIME.

The building services department (Tel.: 27777) administers the projectors in the practice rooms and lecture halls.

Apparently, the order (starting up the projector, connecting, etc.) plays a role. Therefore, follow this order:

• Beamer and Laptop turn on;
• if both of them are set up you can link them;

2.My problem is not listed. What should I do?

Please send an email to: problems@math.fau.de.