Answers to questions about the move of users and computers from the Chemistry to the ASC domain:
Q: How do I log on to a CBC computer?
A: You will use your OSU name.n username and password to access computers in CBC. Currently the only exceptions to this are the following:
- Some Linux workstations
- SSH access to linuxfs or winfs
- Authenticated access to chemistry.osu.edu to edit web pages on that site
Q: I’m getting a logon failure of User name or password is incorrect when I try to use my OSU name.n username and password. What’s going on?
A: If your OSU name.n username and password do not work on a computer, please send an email to support@chemistry.ohio-state.edu with subject, “Logon failure for <your name.n here>“. In the message, include your computer name if you know it, and a time and location when and where we can find you.
Q: When I try to logon, I get the message: The trust relationship between this workstation and the primary domain failed. What’s going on?
A: We have seen this error on about 40 of the 400+ systems we attempted to move from Chemistry to ASC. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any distinguishing characteristic of these failed migrations, at least not until the first person tries to logon. If you encounter this error, please send an email to support@chemistry.ohio-state.edu with subject, “Trust error for <computer name here>“. If you can’t find a white label with the computer name, just use some descriptive name. In the email, please include a physical location of the computer in case we can’t remotely access it.
Q: Have all of the Windows computers in my offices and labs moved to ASC?
A: Almost all Windows computers in the Chemistry domain that were powered on over the weekend of December 26th were moved to the ASC domain. We were unable to move some computers over that weekend because they seemed to be powered off.
As soon as possible, please turn on and leave on any computers in your offices and labs that are currently powered off. After you turn on a computer, please send an email to support@chemistry.ohio-state.edu with subject, “Computer turned on: <computer name here>“. If you can’t find a white label with the computer name, just use some descriptive name. In the email, please include a physical location of the computer in case we can’t remotely access it.
Note about Windows Remote Desktop access: Assuming that your desktop computer was successfully moved to ASC, you will need to update any saved Remote Desktop settings to use your OSU name.n username and password.
Q: Where are my Windows settings?
A: If you are missing any user settings, you need to send an email to support@chemistry.ohio-state.edu with subject, “Migration errors for <your name.n here>“. Please include a brief description of the problem(s) you are having, your computer name if you know it, and a time and location when and where we can find you. Any missing files and settings are easily recoverable with the assistance of Computer Support staff.
Thunderbird mail client users, for example, will require assistance to re-link their configurations to the new AppData folder location.
Q: Where are my network drives and/or printers?
A: Settings for mapped network drives and printers were copied for each user during the migration process. However, there are several special cases that might prohibit this copy from working. The best option in this case is to have Computer Support help with a manual re-mapping of these assets.
Q: Will I still need my old Chemistry logon?
A: If you need to update web pages on chemistry.osu.edu, or if you need to directly access a file server in CBC using SSH, you will continue to use your old Chemistry logon. We are currently in progress on moving Linux workstations to ASC, so some of those still require a Chemistry logon. During Spring Semester 2016 Computer Support will finish moving resources to the college, and by next summer, the need for your old Chemistry logon will be eliminated.
Tech details on AppData files and settings: A goal of the migration was to eliminate application problems caused by Chemistry’s redirection of the Windows AppData folder structure. This redirection has for years been the cause of problems with Dropbox, Creative Cloud, and many other commonly-used Windows applications. The redirection also caused malfunctions of vendor-supplied instrument control software used in research and teaching labs.
We used a Microsoft-supplied software tool for the migration of users and computers. This tool has one major disadvantage: Instead of making a copy of the AppData folder structure the first time a user logs in post-migration, the tool performs a move of the data. Some users have tens of gigabytes of data in their AppData folder structures. If such a user logs onto a computer that does not have enough disk space, the AppData folder structure is damaged by the move. We have backups of all user data, but this failure is still a serious inconvenience because the computer and user account are unusable until Computer Support can perform a backup restore.
Another disadvantage of using the automated move process is that the first computer a user logs onto post-migration might not be the computer they want to use on a day-to-day basis.
For these reasons, we disabled the automated move of AppData.
(updated by JD Wear 10-Jan-16)