Infogroep FA Qeng
nederlandstalige versie [InfoGroepFAQ]
Questions about the use of Infogroep's computerrooms
Q: Can everyone use the computers in the Infogroep computerrooms?
Everyone who is enrolled at the VUB can use the computers.
Q: When can I use the computers in the Infogroep computerrooms?
The rooms are opened in the morning and stay open until the last boardmember leaves, usually this is a while after midnight.
Q: What do I have to do to be able to use the computers?
You need an account. You can request it via the Accounts page. (warning: you need a mach-account first, better known as the email-account of the VUB (usually it has the following form: accountname@vub.ac.be). In case you don't have this yet, you can request it at the following page http://www.vub.ac.be/tools/activation.html). This usually takes +/- 24 hours, afterwards you can use the mach account to request the Infogroep account.
Q: Are there any quotas on the use of the computers?
There is a soft quota of 175MB, when you exceed this, you will be warned by email. When you use more diskspace than your soft quota allows, and this for longer than a week, then you wont be able to store files anymore. There is also a hard quota of 200MB, this means that you can never store more than 200MB. This should, by far, suffice your needs. You can check your quota by typing "quota -v" in a shell (xterm, konsole, gnome-terminal or just plain console).
Q: When I try to log into linux, I immediatly get logged out. What's the problem?
This is probably caused by the fact that you are using more diskspace than your quota allows. Because of that, some files needed to log in can't be generated, and you will be logged out again. The solution is to log into a console (press ctrl+alt+F1 to go to one) and delete files that you dont need anymore. You can do this with "rm", or if you are not familiar with the unix shell, you can use "mc" (Midnight Commander). If you have freed enough diskspace, you can (don't forget to logout with "logout") switch back to graphical login (press alt+F7) and try again.
Q: Which operating systems are installed in the computerrooms, and which software is installed?
You can find an overview at the Rooms? page.
Q: Can I install software in my home-dir?
No, that's not what it's for. You can always ask the nice people of our softwareservice (software at infogroep dot be) to install it globally.
Q: How can I make use of the printer in the computerrooms?
Everyone that has an account for the computerrooms can make use of the printer. To be able to print, you'll first have to put money on your printing-account. You can do this at Infogroep during opening hours. You can decide how much money you put on it yourself. You pay 5 cents for a single-sided page, and 7 cents for a double-sided. After printing you can get your prints at Infogroep, where the printer is located.
Q: I was told that I could print some pages for free, can I do it here?
No. You can print some pages for free on your mach-account, and that can only be done on the printers at the Computing Centre. Keep in mind though, that the Computing Centre is at a 30-minute walk from the VUB-campus.
Q: I printed something from the computerroom, but there's nothing in the printer. What should I do?
First: Check your email. If something goes wrong during printing (e.g. not enough credit on your printing account), or if printing succeeds, you will receive an email with the result. If you did not receive an email, and you're sure you have enough credits, and you've done everything right, you can ask the person at the helpdesk for help.
Q: I printed something using Windows, but half of the text doesn't fit on the page
This sometimes happens when you chose the Double Sided Printing Queue instead of the Single Sided Printing Queue while the prints come out single sided. This can apparently be solved by choosing a small right margin, e.g. 0,25 cm. The pages will however still come out single sided. A better solution is to print single sided from Windows and double sided from Linux, where this has never given any problems.
Q: I forgot my password, what now?
If you lost the password of the computerrooms of Infogroep, we can help you at the helpdesk, or you can mail to accounts@infogroep.be. If you lost your mach-password, on the other hand, (this is the password you use to check your VUB-email), you're in for a walk to the computing centre on campus Solbosch of the ULB. Don't forget to take your student card to prove your identity.
Q: I'm sure my password is correct, yet still I can't login in Windows
In this case it often happens that the domain in the login-window is set to 'IGWEPC' instead of 'IGNIS'.
Q: Why don't I get Microsoft Office when I doubleclick a .doc-file?
If you doubleclick a .doc-file you open a word-viewer. From here you can print the file. If you want to edit the file, you can use StarOffice.
Q: But why not Microsoft Office?
First of all because it's A LOT more expensive, second of all because it only works on one operating system, third of all because the used filetypes aren't compatible with other programs, fourth of all because you should be able to work with multiple programs (unlike what people may have taught you in the past), etc, etc. Actually there is no reason not to use StarOffice.
Q: Why do I have to show my student card sometimes?
In the past it regularly happened that users passed their account to non-students. These non-students are (by VUB-policy) not allowed to use the computers and the network. That's why we do regular checks to make sure there's no account sharing.
Q: Where can I find the user-rules for the computer rooms?
These rules are available at the Rules? page.
Questions about Infogroep itself
Q: Do the boardmembers of Infogroep get payed for all their services?
This is a frequent thought. The answer is clearly no. The boardmembers (aka debuggers) are volunteers that put a big part of their free time in helping other students without getting paid for it.
Q: What happens with the money I give Infogroep for my courses etc.?
All profit that Infogroep makes (e.g. by selling drinks and courses), goes back to the students indirectly through the purchase of new computers, new books for the library, etc.
Q: When is Infogroep open, when can I come in and ask questions?
Infogroep is open a lot. There are about 20 debuggers, each of them has to do 2 hours of permanency each week. That means we're open 40 hours/week. Enough opportunity to come and buy a course, borrow a book, or ask advice about your project,... These are our OpeningsUren (openingshours).
Q: Can I borrow books from the library?
Every member of Infogroep can borrow books against a warranty. For more information about our library, visit the Bibliotheek page.
Q: How can I become a member of Infogroep?
You can become member of Infogroep by paying the sum of 5 euros. In exchange you get a membership-card that will stay valid for the rest of the academic year. These 5 euros can be easily recovered, because the books and courses become cheaper. Some other advantages are: you can borrow books from our library, you can come to our movies for free, ...
Q: How can I order courses?
You can order courses online on http://cursusdienst.infogroep.be You will receive a mail when your course is ready.
Q: How can I use an USB-stick in Linux?
When plugging in a stick on a computer, it is not automagically mounted on your system. Therefore, you have to do it manually by triggering one of the two following commands: "mount /usbstick" or "mount /usbstick1", depending on how you formated your stick. Consequently, the data of your stick will be available in /usbstick or /usbstick1. Enjoy!