Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with setup

Office Organization Tips?

Miko — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:26:08 -0800

For those of you who are managers or administrators: what are your pro tips on office organization? I have a new job and a new, totally clean and empty office. The job is going to require a lot of staying on top of things: staff, programs, frequent meetings, ongoing and long-term projects, and shorter-term event production.

What are your best tips on setting up a useful office environment that aids you in tracking everything? I know about 43 Folders and Getting Things Done, and already live by Outlook for calendar, tasks, and meeting reminders. So I'm really interested in hearing not what's a cool idea and something to try, but things that really work, on a practical level: like your arrangement of bulletin boards and file folders, what's on your desk vs. what's in drawers, your daily and weekly routines and habits and how your office setup makes them run more smoothly.

New Mac Setup

Admiral Haddock — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:56:33 -0800

OK, so my new Mac will arrive next week. Can power users fill me in on best practices for setting it up? I've used Macs for a looooong time now, but I think I've really lost touch with how they should be set up. I am currently running off of a first-generation MacBook where everything is set up on a single admin user (without a password--ugh).

So, starting from scratch, I'd like to set this up with an admin user, a user for me, and a guest user with limited privileges (but full access to iTunes and innocuous stuff). I've read the great tutorial on from this post already, but I still have (possibly stupid) questions that I'd love your thoughts on.

1) I presume I'll use migration assistant to get everything I want from the MacBook over to the Mac Pro. Do I set up an administrator first and then add the MacBook account as a new user? Or set up administrator and a new user, and import to the new user account directly? I've never used different accounts before--do you install programs while logged in as the administrator and then set which users have access? Or install as the user (with the admin password)? If you install as a user, can the administrator then share with the other accounts?

2) What about security? This thread has a lot of advice I hope to follow. But a couple other questions: I expect my home directory for the user account will be about 300-500 GB. Is Filevault able to decrypt/encrypt large directories on the fly, or does it get choked up? Does it make more sense just to use encryption on certain subfolders, rather than the whole user directory? If so, what program? Should I be setting up an Open Firmware password? Or is this just overkill?

3) Would it make sense to keep all of my documents on a second drive in one of the extra bays, so that I can yank the personal stuff if I ever have to send in the machine?

4) What about installing Windows? I think I'm assuming I might install it with Bootcamp, but I have an old version of Parallels I might upgrade to the latest and greatest. Is it safer to install Windows on a dedicated drive? How does Windows (either in Boot Camp or in virtualization) play with multiple accounts/security settings?

I'd definitely like to set up the new machine right the first time. Thanks in advance for your input!

Can you help me set up a guitar with a bridge held in place only by tension?

mzurer — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:59:12 -0800

I have a Vox Student Prince hollow-body electric with a broken tailpiece and I am hoping to do the replacement myself, but I am worried about setup after the new piece is installed. I did not realize that the bridge is not actually fixed to the guitar and in removing the tailpiece, I did not note the exact location of the bridge. I have a new tailpiece, but is there any good way to get this back together at home? I actually have a software scope I could use, but I am more worried about the actual movement of the bridge - I feel like I am going to have to tighten it all the way to in tune, check the intonation, and then loosen all the strings prior to moving the bridge. Or is there a clever trick? Because the tailpiece is not an exact match, I don't think I can use the existing crimps in the strings as a guide, though I guess I can measure from the nut to the indentations and then, after the tailpiece is installed and the strings are close to tension, measure it again? Anyone have experience setting up guitars with bridges held in place only by tension?

How do I make my TV-enabled computer and HDTV play nicely with each other?

If only I had a penguin... — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:29:22 -0800

I just bought an HDTV. I have a computer with a TV Tuner card and beyond TV software. I do not have a standalone DVD player. I have a digital cable box (which may or may not stay, depending on your advice) and I have an HD box on the way. How should I set this all up? The TV is a Sony Bravia 32" 1020P if that matters. The computer monitor is dell 20" wide screen. I know it has two kinds of inputs. The computer is a dell with a tv tuner card. The computer is my main computer not a dedicated media setup.

I would like to be able to:

1. Continue to use my computer as a PVR, using the BeyondTV software.
2. Watch content from my computer (i.e. things I take using BeyondTV, DVDs that I rent, movies that appear on my hard drive through entirely legal means, etc.) on the television. Preferable if I've recorded HDTV (can I do that?) to see it in HD.
3. Watch TV on the Television or computer.
4. Use the television as a second monitor.
5. Anything else cool or useful that I don't know about, but you suggest.

What kind of cables do I buy and where do I stick them and what are the advantages and disadvantages to various options I might have?

If I've missed something in asking the question or demonstrated a basic lack of understanding of the problem, that's due to ignorance, not lack of interest in your expertise, so please feel free to correct me or make suggestions I haven't directly asked about.

New system, Old HD?

Marky — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:22:28 -0800

New computer, how do I keep the old programs? It looks like my computer has finally bit the dust. It crashes to no video and beeps one long beep. Then it must be switched off at the power supply, and won't restart for 10-15 minutes. The crashes come randomly. It can die in 5 minutes, or run all day. "One long beep" is supposed to mean memory problems, but I've had it tested, no problems.

So I guess it's time for a new box. I want to just move my current hard drive into the new box, but I know that won't work, as any new motherboard will want different drivers. I could install the old HD as a D: drive, but I don't think the old programs would work without the proper Registry entry's. Moving the data is easy, but I want to keep my programs as well, and having to reinstall everything isn't possible. I don't have some of the disks, and haven't a clue where I downloaded some things.

What software should I install on my parents new PC?

jonesor — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:11:17 -0800

My parents have asked me to set up their new Windows laptop. What software should I install on it? I've been a mac user for several years but my folks have asked if I'd come and set up their new Windows computer for them, so I need some advice.

They will have broadband internet access for the first time and will use it mainly for email and internet access.

My aim is to set up their new machine to make their experience easier (they are novice computer users). I guess my main concern is to keep the machine running and free from viruses etc.

What should I install? A firewall? A virus checker?

Software that is easy to update (or automatic) would be best.

How do I setup a blog within OS X on an EarthLink-hosted domain?

Lucy2Times — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:16:17 -0800

Resources for setting up a blog under OS X on a domain hosted at EarthLink. Does anyone have experience starting a blog on a domain hosted at EarthLink? I think WordPress might be the way to go. I'd like to do this on a Mac running OS X 10.5.4. I'm not looking for heavy database integration or fancy backend scripts of any kind. I'd just like to post text, links, and photos, and some Google AdSense ads. I'd like to be able to tweak the formatting of templates with my own banners, buttons, etc. This doesn't seem like anything major, but I've been unable to find clear tutorials, etc. on how to make this happen. Thank you very much for any assistance you can provide.

Distinguishing voice calls from incoming faxes

letitrain — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:17:53 -0800

I have two telephone lines going into my office. If I'm on the first line, the second line rings. I also have a fax connected to the second line. How do I keep the fax from picking up regular phone calls, but make sure it picks up incoming faxes? More details: the phone is this RCA Visys with answering machine. The fax is a Xerox 6115 multifunction. The line coming into the phone is a single wire "line 1 / line 2" and the line going into the fax is line 2 only. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Growable Linux hardware RAID?

Kadin2048 — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:36:39 -0800

How can I make a growable hardware RAID-5 Linux system? Is LVM the right choice, or am I setting myself up for trouble? Lots of geeky details follow. I'm setting up a home file server / project box. Consistent with my budget, I'm using only the finest, most sophisticated hardware … from 1998.

What I have is a Dell PowerEdge 2300. It has a PCI hardware SCSI RAID card, called the "PERC2/SC" (known to people outside Dell as the "AMI MegaRAID 466"), attached to a six-slot SCAII drive bay. Right now I have 4 74GB SCSI disks in the bay set up as a RAID-5. I want to have the option of adding more drives later on, bringing it up to 6x74GB in a RAID-5.

The card's BIOS configuration utility supports expanding the array volume by adding disks later on -- that's not a problem. But what I'm concerned about is the filesystem that I might build on top of that volume. Obviously I don't want to hose all my data when I install an additional drive and expand the array.

I've been doing some reading and it seems like LVM might be part of the answer, so to that end I installed Ubuntu-server, creating a small ext3 /boot partition and giving the rest of the free space to LVM as a physical volume. In fdisk, this looks basically like: (cutting block numbers)

Disk /dev/sda: 219.8 GB 26724 cylinders

/dev/sda1   1   26274   Extended

/dev/sda5* 1      31    Linux

/dev/sda6   32 26724 Linux LVM

I have this gut feeling that this won't work when I expand the array, and the "disk" that the LVM PV is sitting on (/dev/sda) suddenly increases in size. The fact that I can't find much information on growing a LVM physical volume isn't reassuring, either.

So, is this really the way to go? And if not, what's the best option? Should I forget LVM and just put the filesystem right down on the RAID volume directly? (I'm planning on using JFS for low CPU usage and easy online resizing, but I'm open to other suggestions.) Should I eliminate the /boot partition and turn the whole RAID volume into an LVM PV somehow?

Help me turn my mac mini into a home web and file server

that girl — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 10:40:49 -0800

I'm interested in turning my rarely-used powerpc mac mini into a web/file server. Where are the good guides and resources for doing this? I have a 1.5 GHz Power PC G4 mac mini, with 10.4.10, 512 MB RAM, which I would like to turn into a web and file server, mostly just for me and maybe a few other users. It connects to the Internet at Large via a wireless network, and I want to be able to access it remotely and not have to worry about having the full set of peripherals attached to it.

I mainly want to use it for a web development environment that I have control over and access to. I like putzing around with things and have reasonable patience with mysterious bugs, although not infinite patience. I would be building applications using at least MySQL and PHP, maybe looking into Python and other things if I am sufficiently convinced of their awesomeness. Having it running an FTP server would make it useful for when I don't have ssh access.

So, how do I get this set up, how do I connect to it from within and outside the network (ssh? vnc? etc?), and how do I make it awesome? Are there excessively clear tutorials and documentation that will help me to do this? Packages that make it clear enough for my computer-phobic mother to be able to set up? I tried in the past to install apache/php/mysql, but ran into issues with the php packages out there for macs (maybe even the mac mini in particular). I have gotten these things to work on a variety of Windows machines, but I know it's not the same.

Need a new P4 motherboard

Gyan — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:01:50 -0800

I need help choosing a new motherboard around a used Intel P4 chip. The motherboard of one of the key NLE systems at work has recently gone bad, and I need to get a replacement motherboard within the next few days.

The only tech guy is no longer here, so it's upto me, and being out of the tech loop for the past few years, the smörgåsbord of current chipsets, chips, sockets & slot interface offerings has me confused (what the hell happened??)

I'll have to use the chip from the dead system, which is a 3 GHz P4. Does that specify the CPU completely, or are there varieties of 3 GHz P4s? It's not a dual-core or Xeon, if that helps eliminate anything, and it was bought in early 2006, from what I gather. I'd also like to use this opportunity to accommodate a possible upgrade which requires a 'PCI-X' slot. So, I need an ATX motherboard that has a PCI-X slot and will accept this processor. I'll upgrade RAM as necessary, but rest all is to be transplanted onto the new system.

Since this is a NLE, the dedicated hardware does the heavy lifting, but I still require some features, like onboard video, audio, ethernet, SATA and prefer others like Firewire, SATA II..etc

I've a bias for Asus due to consistently good experiences with their product, but all contenders are welcome, maybe excepting Intel. This is in Mumbai, India. Budget is equivalent to ~$250, but cheaper = better.

So, foremost,

1)which motherboards should I be looking at?

2)any links to good primers for navigating the tech offerings available today and in the near future?

How do I send out automated emails from my new website without being marked as a spammer?

realpseudonym — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:21:47 -0800

I have an idea for yet another hairbrained social networking website (which paradoxically might hit it big :-) ). I've coded most of it up on a linux server using apache, php, mysql at softlayer.com. The hostname is registered at godaddy (which I can change if desirable). What's the minimum I need to do the following (I'd rather work on the website application logic and learn as little as possible about mail server administration for now): 1) Send automated emails using php code from that domain to users (e.g. when their friend posts a picture).
2) Receive support emails at that domain (probably just one email address for the time being).
3) Most importantly: avoid being marked as a spammer.

I think getting an email address at godaddy is the easiest way to go, but I am unsure if it would achieve my goal of not being marked as a spammer. Also, I think the 250 included smtp emails a day would be more than enough for the time being, but it doesn't seem to be a good solution for the longer term.

I'm pretty sure I could set up mail stuff on my server, but I'd rather not if I don't have to.

Was not an A/V Geek, but Need Help with my Home Equipment

bleucube — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 11:08:06 -0800

Is this an optimal setup for my A/V equipment? I'm a bit of noob when it comes to A/V setup. I was wondering if you could take a look at what I got and see if I have it setup properly.

Equipment
TV: Toshiba 364A
Receiver: Kenwood VR-606
DVD/CD: Onkyo DV-CP802
DRV: Tivo Philiphs HDR212
Cable: Motorola DCT2224/1661/ACDEG
Speakers: Kenwood type from HIB package 5.1

Video Current Setup
Coaxial from wall plugs into IN cable receiver
Coaxial from OUT cable receiver plugs into IN of Tivo
Tivo OUT S-Video plugs into Video1 source IN on TV
DVD OUT Component (3 cables) plugs IN Video2 component source on TV

Audio Current Setup
Audio OUT from TIVO plugs IN Video1 Receiver via RCA left and right connections
DVD Digital Coaxial OUT plugs IN DVD Receiver via digital coaxial
TV Audio OUT plugs IN AUX Receiver via RCA left and right connections

Does this seem right? Any changes you would make in connections? Also the receiver has video inputs, what would this do and why would I use it?

Thanks!

Pimp my, um, camera

asuprenant — Sat, 05 May 2007 15:52:10 -0800

D80Filter - Could I do better with this Nikon dSLR setup? Based on AskMe posts and DPReview, I'm about to buy a Nikon D80 as my first dSLR.

Subjects and environments are general-purpose, though I will attend several wedding this year and would like to be prepared to cover these as an attendee.

I want to start learning this camera with a prime lens. I'll get more lenses in the next 9-12 months.

I've mapped out the following for my initial purchase and am generally happy with the ~$1750 budget. So - any omissions or misguided decisions?

Nikon D80 body only
50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor lens
Tiffen 52mm UV Protector Glass Filter
Nikon SB-800 AF Speedlight Flash
MB-D80 Battery Grip
EN-EL3e extra batteries (3x)
SanDisk 2GB Ultra II SD Card (2x)
ML-L3 Remote Control Transmitter
MH-18a extra battery charger

I already own a bag, card reader, and a tripod.

Should I consider additional filters, including a polarizer? I am a flash rookie - what about additional bounce or diffusion? Do I need a flash cable for remote work?

Also, I shoot time-lapse. Does the D80 have a built-in intervalometer?

Last, any thoughts on saving $100 by buying a used body through B&H?

Deamweaver "Site Definition" question

orlin — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 14:25:52 -0800

Help, Help !! If anyone has experience with Dreamweaver and setting up the “Site Definition” settings; either basic or advanced mode for “Remote Info” I desperately need your advice and it would be very much appreciated. Runbox is my web host and I use “cPannel” to manage my web files. I can’t figure out what settings to use for “FTP access”. What would my “FTP host” be and what should I put in there this field? To be honest, I’m not quite sure what a FTP is although to use Dreamweaver’s functions, I need to set this up and have not been successful. Next question; Am I correct in saying the “Host Directory” would be in the “public_html” folder in cPannel that all my web page files are located? Any advice would be appreciated. I’ve tried multiple times and days to set this up, but I must be doing something wrong. Thank you in advance for your cooperation…Orlin

How can I force Installshield to install an app to a diff. drive than the system drive?

taumeson — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 16:05:11 -0800

I'm trying to install my kid's new PC game and the idiot developers didn't allow me to change the drive I want to install it to....it'll only install to the system drive and I don't have enough space. It's regular old Installshield; surely there must be a way to get around this?

Yikes!

trip and a half — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 10:25:29 -0800

I think my landlord is trying to pull a fast one. If so, what should I do about it? I've lived in my current apartment in San Francisco for six years now. About a year after I moved in, the building was sold to a property management/real estate company that is notorious throughout the City for trying to get existing tenants to move out so that they can turn over the units and raise the rents. In fact, they have been very aggressive in trying to persuade some of the tenants in my building who have been here longer than I have to leave.

So on Wednesday I received a "Notice of Delinquency", stating that "the following rental charges are currently delinquent." There are five line item charges as follows:



Nov 1, 2006   Base Apartment Rent    21.13

Nov 1, 2006   2006 Bond Pass Through  2.72

Sep 1, 2006   Base Apartment Rent     7.61

Oct 1, 2006   Base Apartment Rent    21.13

Oct 1, 2006   2006 Bond Pass Through  2.72



                                     55.31

I take this to mean that my rent has been increased by a total of $23.85 (21.13 + 2.72) per month as of October 1 (not sure what's up with the different figure for September). Problem is, this is the first I've heard about it! (I have no problem with the increase itself. I assume it's within the legal limit.)

The "Notice" goes on to say:

"If you have any questions or wish to dispute this notice, please contact --- ---, at (415) 555-5555. Payment at our offices at ---- ------ Street can be made only Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm, Please note we do not accept cash payments. If payment is not immediately received, legal proceedings may be instituted against you to recover possession of said premises; to declare forfeiture of the lease or rental agreement under which you occupy said premise; and to recover rents and damages together with attorney fees.

"Please be advised that habitual late payment of rent after the first day of the month is grounds for eviction under the San Francisco Residential Rent Stabilization and Arbitration Ordinance. The acceptance of rent after the first day of the month does not constitute a waiver of the landlord's right to evict for habitual late payment of rent. You should not assume that the landlord's acceptance of rent after the first day of the month during the past or in the future means that the landlord will continue to do so. Landlord may seek to evict you for the late payment of rent regardless of its acceptance after the first day of the month on other occasions."

So I have until 5:00 PDT to figure out what to do and do it. Like I said, it's not the money. It's that if I just pay the $55.31 and the presumed new total of the rent and say nothing, it looks like I'm admitting that these are delinquent charges, when this is the first I've heard of them! Do I type up a letter stating this is the first I've heard of it, and take it with me when I pay the rent? Any better ideas? It sure feels like this is a set-up to try to evict me, and I want to proceed in the best way I can to prevent that from happening.

Thanks in advance.

How do I clean off a mac and clone an older mac onto it?

mathowie — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 12:08:32 -0800

I've got my wife's old powerbook and my old iMac G5. I'd like to basically copy everything on the powerbook over to the iMac. I know about the great migration app that runs when you first get a mac, but how do I go about wiping the iMac clean and copying powerbook stuff over as if the iMac were new? Do I need the original install discs in order to do it? Do I have to format and reinstall the OS? I can't seem to locate the iMac install ones (I have my install discs for my new mac pro), but is there any other way to delete all my old data, settings, and users, and re-run the original "welcome to this mac" application that included the migration tool?

2 pcs one wifi login hotel

priorpark17 — Sat, 02 Sep 2006 06:29:36 -0800

Living in in a serviced apartment in sweaty HCMC. Broadband is whopping USD66 per month. I need to help to get 2 PCs on one login. I am living in a serviced apartment in Vietnam. The broadband is USD66pcm for one login. They give you a card with a login name and the password you scratch off to reveal. I need to get two PCs on this one login. The setup is as follows: Modem in the wall out of which you connect a cat 5 cable to the PC. When you open explorer it goes to a login page where you enter the details off the card. Have plugged the cat 5 into a wireless access point and can now access the internet wirelessly with one laptop. When I open another laptop it goes to the login page and gives me "login already in use".
I have two laptops, one with wifi built in and one with a wifi card. In addition I have one spare USB wifi doggle, the access point , the provided vietnamese modem and a few bits of cat 5 cable. Help. In an ideal world I would like two laptops to connect wirelessly but would be excited with just one wired and one wireless.

Amp & speaker recommendations for outdoor movie series

libelula — Thu, 25 May 2006 18:00:18 -0800

Outdoor cinema-fi - I'm running an outdoor community movie series in an urban park. Should attract up to 200 people. I need recommendations for an audio set up. Last year I used my NAD amp/receiver with some home-made speakers; this set up occasionally shorted the amp (it switched off). This year I have a budget of about $1k for amp, speakers and wiring. Any suggestions? What are the major considerations? Thx

Using 2 keyboards on one XP box...

slavlin — Tue, 09 May 2006 09:48:19 -0800

I want to expand the number of keys available for mapping as hotkeys in some of my games. Is it possible to connect a second keyboard under Windows XP, possibly a USB one, and use it as, essentially, a very large keypad? If so, how would I go about it without causing IRQ conflicts? FYI- I am fairly tech savy but am in the "knows enough to break it REALLY good" category with some items.

Dont let me ruin my Moleskine on the first day

kevin_2864212 — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 14:59:30 -0800

How do you setup/organize your Moleskine? After reading posts on Metafilter, and other places, I fell for the hype, or whatever. I just had my 3.5" X 5.5" ruled notebook arrive yesterday. I love lists, goal setting and just writing my life minutia on pieces of loose paper, but they were always getting destroyed and lost, so the molekine seemed perfect for me. Now my only problem is partitioning it in a practical and useful way. Or should I just leave it totally free of partitions in an open mind-dump?
How do you setup your moleskins.
If this question was posed, I apologize, but I couldnt find it.

Girls on the internet

asok — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 18:45:33 -0800

Help me find websites suitable for a family with girls aged 3 to 9 years. I am helping a friend set up a new PC with internet access. This will be the first time that they have had internet access on broadband since the girls were born.
I will be setting up the PC along the lines of flabdalet's excellent suggestions (http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/31069#488004), with the girls having user access accounts.

The parents are not tech-savy, but they are capable people.

I was going to set up gmail accounts for the girls, install gtalk and google earth. I want to avoid messenger if possible.

I intend to add bookmarks to orisinal, flickr, wikipedia and (that image description game with 'boom' in the title whose name is currently evading me).

I also intend to install the cloud game (http://intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/) as they have a 256MB Graphics card and I think it will handle it just fine.

I am looking for things that would be interesting to young girls and any further advice on making the system as easy to use and 'bulletproof' as possible.

I got servered

Atreides — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 21:19:22 -0800

Serverfilter: So I managed to get my hands on my father's company's old server. I know nothing about servers and related fields, but how might I get started? When my father's company ceased operations, the hardware which had hosted his company's webpage was pretty much relegated to dust collecting. He let me have it, but as I noted above, I know nothing about the process of setting them up or operating them. Here's a picture of the two pieces of hardware.

Its a Compaq setup, one of which is titled the Proliant DL380. I couldn't find a model number on the other. Regardless, I was hoping some tech savvy MeFites might be able to tell me how I can get started on running the things and getting some use out of them. Or, if a simple layman's guide might exist, point me towards it. I appreciate any and all help.

Trouble setting up Tivo

ebeeb — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 00:32:58 -0800

I am trying to set up my non-DirecTV TiVo to a DirecTV box. The Tivo is asking me what type of cable I have connected: a) IR Cable, b)serial cable MPG, c) serial cable APG. Have looked around online (and tryed calling DirecTV) and can't seem to find which cable I have. How can I tell? Do I need to purchase a new cable? Currently using the coaxial cable that connected the DirecTV box to my television. Thanks for your help!