X. Logging in and out

Contents

2. Windows networking logon
    2.1 Standard login procedure
    2.2 Login procedure for pupils using a nest account
    2.3 Login procedure for pupils using an individual account
    2.4 When things go wrong

3. Logging out

4. Concluding remarks

1. Introduction.

1.1 Network basics

In a secure server, all users have their own 'space' where their files are stored. This space is called the 'home directory' or 'home folder'. Personal documents and files are not stored on a workstation but in this home directory on the server.

In order to access documents and files in your home directory on the server, you have to tell the server who you are. You can do that by providing your 'user name'. This is sometimes called your 'userid' which is short for 'user identification'. By supplying your user name, the server 'knows' which directory is your home directory and which documents and files are yours.

However, you also have to prove that you are who you say you are. If you did not have to prove your identity, anyone knowing (or guessing) your user name would be able to access your documents and files. You can prove your identity by presenting a secret password to the server. Access to your documents and files is granted when your secret password matches that of your user name.

In computer jargon, the process of telling the server who you are (and proving it) is 'logging in' or 'logging on'. The reverse process - disconnecting from the server - is called 'logging out' or 'logging off'.

Note that it is very important to keep your secret password a secret. If your password falls into the wrong hands, all your documents and files may fall in the wrong hands too. Therefore you should not write down your password on a little PostIt-note and attach it to the computer screen. Also, you should not keep your password in the top right drawer of your desk or taped to the bottom of the keyboard; these places are well-known. Best is to simply memorise your password.

The process of providing a user name and a password is not tied to a particular workstation; you can use any workstation on the network. It does not matter which workstation you use. This is a big advantage of the network; you can pick any available workstation, log on and start working on your own documents and files. Since the documents are stored on the server and not on the workstation, there is no need to work on a particular computer to access the documents and files. Note that this also implies that there is no such thing as your 'personal' computer. Anyone could use any workstation to access their own documents and files on the server.

1.2 Conventions

• Special keys on the keyboard are identified by their name enclosed between brackets. Examples: [Esc], [Spacebar], [Enter].
• Key-combinations, i.e. pressing and holding the [Alt] key and hitting the [U] key or pressing and holding the [Shift] key and hitting the [Tab] key are shown as [Alt-U] and [Shift-Tab] respectively.
• 'Press the [OK] button' means that you should move the mouse pointer to the rectangular area labeled 'OK' and click the left hand mouse button once. Note that there often are other ways to 'press' such a button, e.g. by simply hitting [Enter] or by using the appropriate keyboard shortcut, e.g. [Alt-K].
• 'Navigate to: Start | Settings | Printers' means that you should perform the following:
  • Open the 'Start' menu (by pressing the [Start] button at the lower left corner of the screen or by hitting [Ctrl-Esc])
  • Move the menu bar to the menu item 'Settings' using the cursor keys and hitting [Enter] or clicking on the menu item 'Settings' once using the left hand mouse button
  • Move the menu bar in the submenu that opened in the previous step to the menu item 'Printers' using the cursor keys and hitting [Enter] or clicking on the menu item 'Printers' once using the left hand mouse button

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2. Windows networking logon

• 'User name' (sometimes called 'userid', which is short for 'user identity', or 'network account name')
• 'Password' (sometimes called the 'SMB Password', the 'Windows Networking Password' or the 'easy' password)
• 'Domain' (sometimes called the 'Windows domain' or the 'Windows workgroup')

NOTICE: Please do keep your password to yourself. Do not share it with others and do not write it down on a PostIt note attached to the computer. Your secret password is the key to your personal documents and files. By sharing your password, you allow others to access your files. Please memorise your password and keep it secret.

2.1 Standard login procedure

• UserID: hparkh
• Password: ahgiesah
• Windows domain: EXEMPLUM

Take the following steps to log on to the network.

1. If necessary, switch on the workstation. Several messages may be displayed on the screen. After a while the 'Enter Network Password' dialogue appears on the screen, as illustrated below.
   
   login_login_nouser.png

2. Move the cursor into the 'User name' field. This can be done in several ways:
   • Hitting the [Alt-U] key combination on your keyboard brings you to the 'User name' field in a single step.
   • Hitting the [Tab] key repeatedly until the cursor appears in the field. After every [Tab] the cursor moves to the next field.
   • Hitting the [Shift-Tab] key combination repeatedly until the cursor appears in the field. After every [Shift-Tab] the cursor moves to the previous field. Sometimes this is faster than [Tab].
   • Moving the mouse pointer in the 'User name' field and pressing the left hand button just once.
3. In this example the 'User name' field is empty. If the 'User name' field is not empty, you can empty it by hitting [Del] or [BackSpace] repeatedly.
4. Type the userid into the field (here: 'hparkh'). Do not hit the [Enter] key just yet.
5. Move the cursor into the 'Password' field by hitting the [Tab] key once. (You can also hit [Alt-P] or use the mouse). The 'Password' field is always empty.
6. Type the password into the field (here: 'ahgiesah'). The characters you type will be shown as asterisks. This is a security measure. Do not hit the [Enter] key just yet.
7. Verify that the 'Domain' field matches the Windows domain to which you wish to log on (here: 'EXEMPLUM'). If necessary, move the cursor to the 'Domain' field (with [Tab], [Alt-D] or by using the mouse) and type the required information into the field. Do not hit the [Enter] key just yet.
8. The 'Enter Network Password' dialogue now looks like this.
   
   login_login_new_user.png

9. Confirm the information you typed into the dialogue by hitting the [Enter] key or by pressing the [OK] button using the mouse.
10. At this point the logon script is executed, as illustrated below.
    
    login_login_script.png

    The fact that the window with black background appears on screen indicates that the workstation has made contact with the network server.

11. After the logon script is executed, the personal profile is copied to the workstation. This is indicated by the 'Creating User Profile...' message window, as illustrated below.
    
    login_creating_user_profile_login.png

    This message is shown only for a brief moment.

12. At this point the (personal) Desktop of the user (here: Helen Parkhurst, userid 'hparkh') appears, as illustrated below.
    
    login_desktop_staff.png

13. The network logon is now completed.

You can verify that the network logon was completed successfully by inspecting the Start Menu. If you open this menu, by pressing the [Start] button in the lower left corner of the screen or by hitting the [Ctrl-Esc] key combination, you will see an entry 'Log Off Hparkh', as illustrated below.

login_start_logoff_user.png

Press the [Start] button again to close the menu.

Please refer to section 2.4 When things go wrong if you encounter problems with the login procedure.

2.2 Login procedure for pupils using a nest account

Depending on the school's policy a nest account can have a regular password, just like any other account, or the account can have no password at all.

If the nest account does have a password, the procedure from section 2.1 Standard login procedure above applies. If the nest account has no password, the login procedure is slightly different. This is illustrated below using the account information of grade 3 (see section 2. The Exemplum Primary School in chapter II. ServerAtSchool User Manual Overview).

• UserID: grade3
• Password: (no password is required)
• Windows domain: EXEMPLUM

Take the following steps to log on to the network using this account.

1. If necessary, switch on the workstation. Several messages may be displayed on the screen. After a while the 'Enter Network Password' dialogue appears on the screen, as illustrated below.
   
   login_login_nouser.png

2. Move the cursor into the 'User name' field. This can be done in several ways:
   • Hitting the [Alt-U] key combination on your keyboard brings you to the 'User name' field in a single step.
   • Hitting the [Tab] key repeatedly until the cursor appears in the field. After every [Tab] the cursor moves to the next field.
   • Hitting the [Shift-Tab] key combination repeatedly until the cursor appears in the field. After every [Shift-Tab] the cursor moves to the previous field. Sometimes this is faster than [Tab].
   • Moving the mouse pointer in the 'User name' field and pressing the left hand button just once.
3. In this example the 'User name' field is empty. If the 'User name' field is not empty, you can empty it by hitting [Del] or [BackSpace] repeatedly.
4. Type the userid into the field (here: 'grade3'). Do not hit the [Enter] key just yet.
5. The 'Password' field always empty. In this case nothing needs to be entered here.
6. Verify that the 'Domain' field matches the Windows domain to which you wish to log on (here: 'EXEMPLUM'). If necessary, move the cursor to the 'Domain' field (with [Tab], [Alt-D] or by using the mouse) and type the required information into the field. Do not hit the [Enter] key just yet.
7. The 'Enter Network Password' dialogue now looks like this.
   
   login_login_new_nest.png

8. Confirm the information you typed into the dialogue by hitting the [Enter] key or by pressing the [OK] button using the mouse.
9. At this point the logon script is executed, as illustrated below.
   
   login_login_script.png

   The fact that the window with black background appears on screen indicates that the workstation has made contact with the network server.

10. After the logon script is executed, the personal profile is copied to the workstation. This is indicated by the 'Creating User Profile...' message window, as illustrated below.
    
    login_creating_nest_profile.png

    This message is shown only for a brief moment.

11. At this point the Desktop of the nest (here: Pupils of grade 3, userid 'grade3') appears, as illustrated below.
    
    login_desktop_nest.png

12. The network logon is now completed.

You can verify that the network logon was completed successfully by inspecting the Start Menu. If you open this menu, by pressing the [Start] button in the lower left corner of the screen or by hitting the [Ctrl-Esc] key combination, you will see an entry 'Log Off Grade3', as illustrated below.

login_start_logoff_nest.png

Press the [Start] button again to close the menu.

Please refer to section 2.4 When things go wrong if you encounter problems with the login procedure.

2.3 Login procedure for pupils using an individual account

Depending on the school's policy such an individual account can have a regular password, just like any other account, or the account can have no password at all.

If the individual pupil's account does have a password, the procedure from section 2.1 Standard login procedure above applies. If the individual pupil's account has no password the procedure from section 2.2 Login procedure for pupils using a nest account above applies.

Please refer to section 2.4 When things go wrong if you encounter problems with the login procedure.

2.4 When things go wrong

The previous sections document the cases where nothing goes wrong during the login procedure. However, there are many reasons why the login procedure may fail. Some of the more common causes are discussed below.

2.4.1 Another username is displayed in the 'Enter Network Password' dialogue

login_open_last_user.png

Freddie Frinton was here. He was the last one to use this workstation (Freddie's userid is 'ffrint') and Windows has remembered the name of the last user that logged in.

It is also possible that you will see some text that does not look like a user name, as illustrated below.

login_login_first_time.png

The software on the workstation was renewed and you happen to be the first user to log in after this has happened.

Either way you can simply remove the existing information by

1. Positioning the cursor in the 'User name' field. This can be done in several ways:
   • Hitting the [Alt-U] key combination on your keyboard brings you to the 'User name' field in a single step.
   • Hitting the [Tab] key repeatedly until the cursor appears in the field. After every [Tab] the cursor moves to the next field.
   • Hitting the [Shift-Tab] key combination repeatedly until the cursor appears in the field. After every [Shift-Tab] the cursor moves to the previous field. Sometimes this is faster than [Tab].
   • Moving the mouse pointer in the 'User name' field and pressing the left hand button just once.
2. Removing the existing information by hitting [Del] or [BackSpace] repeatedly.

2.4.2 The system does not accept the account credentials

• Are all cables actually connected (power cord, network cable)?
• Did you accidently press [CapsLock] somewhere along the way? The system may consider the user name 'hparkh' and 'HPARKH' to be different. This is easy to spot. However, the system may also consider the passwords 'ahgiesah' and 'AHGIESAH' to be different. That is much harder, because only asterisks are shown in the password field.
• Did you make a typing error in either 'user name', 'password' or 'domain'? The difference between 'EXEMPLUM' and 'EXENPLUM' is easy to overlook.

You can retry the procedure but this time explicitely retyping the information for all three fields, making sure that you did not make any typing errors.

2.4.3 Login was OK but applications and documents do not work

The effect of either action resembles a valid login. However, the pupil has not established a connection between the workstation and the the network server; no network logon script was executed and no personal profile was copied.

The difference between a valid logon and a non-logon can be seen by pressing on the [Start] button and observing the menu that opens. The fact that an entry 'Log Off...' exists indicates a non-logon. This is illustrated below.

login_start_logoff_windows.png

In case of a valid logon, this entry would include the user name, e.g. 'Log Off Grade3...' rather than the plain 'Log Off...'.

The remedy is as follows.

1. Navigate to: Start | Log Off. The 'Log Off Windows' dialogue appears.
2. Press [Yes] to confirm the dialogue. The 'Enter Network Password' dialogue is displayed again.
3. Retry the login procedure. Do not press the [Cancel] button and do not hit the [Esc] key.

2.4.4 Other problems

Another example: someone tripped over a cable, disconnecting the network. As a result, the workstation appears to work but no connection to the network can be established.

Yet another example: someone accidently mixed up the keyboard and the mouse, attaching the mouse to the keyboard connector at the back of the computer and attaching the keyboard to the mouse connector.

All this (and more) may result in a seemingly dead workstation, a black screen, a blue screen or strange error messages, the list goes on and on. When you experience some strange behaviour of a workstation, the following basic troubleshooting tips can be helpful. Please start with the first step.

1. When logging in, the pupil gets an error message. However, you are absolutely sure the user name is type correct. Did you also double-check the Domain? There is only a slight difference between EMEMPLUM and EXEMPLUM.
2. Black screen? Check if power is available; i.e. do you see some power light on the workstation and the monitor?
3. Do a quick check on the cabling. Are all cables connected?
4. If you can not immediately 'fix' the workstation, try using another workstation.
5. Report the error to the ICT coordinator.
6. Ask your local systems administrator for help.

NOTICE: If you report problems to the ICT coordinator or the local systems administrator, please make sure that you provide as much relevant information as possible. At the very least indicate which computer was causing you problems (the computer number should be written on the computer case with a felt tip pen). It is also very helpful to explain what you were trying to accomplish and also exactly what you have tried in order to resolve the problem yourself (e.g. checking the cables, trying another workstation, etc.). Depending on the school's policy there may be an official 'problem report form' either on paper or on-line that you can use for reporting problems. Ask your ICT coordinator.

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3. Logging out

The logout procedure works the same for all users, there is no difference between logging off with a teacher account or a pupils account. The procedure documented below is illustrated using the account information of Helen Parkhurst, the teacher of grade 3 (see section 2. The Exemplum Primary School in chapter II. ServerAtSchool User Manual Overview). Her userid is 'hparkh'.

Take the following steps to log off.

1. Navigate to: Start | Log Off Hparkh. You can do this using one of the following methods.
   • Hitting the [Ctrl-Esc] key combination to open the menu, using [CursorUp] to move the menu cursor to the item 'Log Off Hparkh' and hitting [Enter].
   • Hitting the special [Start Menu] key (available on some keyboards) to open the menu, using [CursorUp] to move the menu cursor to the item 'Log Off Hparkh' and hitting [Enter].
   • Pressing the [Start] button in the lower left corner of the screen using the left hand mouse button to open the menu and subsequently choosing the menu item 'Log Off Hparkh', again using the left hand mouse button
   The Desktop becomes grayed and the 'Log Off Windows' dialogue appears, as illustrated below.
   
   login_logout_desktop_greyed.png

2. Confirm the dialogue. You can do this using one of the following methods.
   • Hitting the [Enter] key.
   • Pressing the [Yes] button using the left hand mouse button.
   • Hitting the [Alt-Y] key combination.
   Note that if you change your mind, you can hit [Esc], [Alt-N] or press [No] to cancel the procedure. You then return to the Desktop and you are not logged off.
3. At this point your personal settings, which may have been changed during your session with the computer, are copied back to the network server. This is the complement of the 'Create User Profile' message you encountered during the logon procedure. The message box is displayed only briefly.
   
   login_logoff_copying_files.png

4. After a while the 'Enter Network Password' dialogue is displayed once again. The workstation is now ready for the next user to login.
   
   login_open_last_user2.png

   Note that (in this case) the name of the user that has has just logged off is retained in the 'User name' field.

NOTICE: If a particular workstation is always or almost always used by the same user, it is very convenient that the user name is retained. This is often the case when a workstation is located inside a classroom and this workstation is used by pupils who login using a 'nest' account. In other cases, e.g. workstations in a special computer classroom, it can be inconvenient to be forced to remove the previous user's name every time you want to login. It depends on the school's policy if the last username is retained or not. Ask your local systems administrator for more information.

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4. Concluding remarks

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