Miscellaneous Classroom Tech Issues FAQ  Last updated 10-26-2002 Q1: How do I make an ethernet crossover cable? Q2: Tips for making ethernet cable for PC to hub i.e. what is the correct sequence of colours to use Q3: I am trying to get AR on the network and thought I was doing fairly well until a teacher went to run a report on her students and come up with the message fatal error 69 file DTL IDX. Have you seen this before and know of a quick fix? Q4: How can I affordably and reliably share a DSL or cable modem connection with more than one computer? Q5: What companies sell software designed specifically to prepare students for the TAAS? Q6: How can I prevent my school computers from having "IP Address conflicts?" Q7: How can I connect my computer to a TV using an AverKey? Q8: What are some good websites relating to internet security? Q1: How do I make an ethernet crossover cable? A: Visit http://www.wtvi.com/teks/exchange/crossovercable.html for an explanation how-to links. Q2: Tips for making ethernet cable for PC to hub i.e. what is the correct sequence of colours to use? A: There are two different color schemes, the one I use is: Brown - White/Brown - Green - White/Blue - Blue - White/Green - Orange - White/Orange Q3: I am trying to get AR on the network and thought I was doing fairly well until a teacher went to run a report on her students and come up with the message fatal error 69 file DTL IDX. Have you seen this before and know of a quick fix? Thanks for any suggestions. A: This could be from a connection error, or worst case, you could need to rebuild your AR data on the network. It probably is not a big deal if you can run AR and AR teacher from other workstations. Try to run the same report the teacher was trying to run again and see if the problem recurs. If it happens again on the same computer, try it from another one. If it runs OK from another computer, try trashing the localconfig.sys or whatever it's called file in the AR4WIN folder on the C drive, then run AR, then reassign the path. Are you mapping the path on the network as a drive letter? This makes it a lot faster to set your path again. Also, you can make the localconfig file I mentioned above READ ONLY after you correctly set the path. That way a teacher or student who doesn't log in and then runs AR can't mess up the path. This is a HUGE time and headache saver. If none of your clients can run AR and run the report you want, then you probably should rebuild your AR data. Do this by first making sure every single person in the entire building is logged off AR. Then copy your entire AR data folder off the network to a local hard drive. I recommend using a Mac, because if someone is still logged in and running AR the Mac will tell you the file AR2.CFG is still in use and can't be copied. Then you can go fuss at whoever owns the computer still running AR and quit the program. Once you get the data folder copied onto a local hard drive, use the AR Data Utility to rebuild your data. Then recopy the data into the network data folder. TIP: don't delete the existing AR data folder on the network, or you will have to remap all your windows clients to the folder again. Instead, delete all the data out of the existing folder on the network, then copy the contents of the rebuilt data folder into it. Q4: How can I affordably and reliably share a DSL or cable modem connection with more than one computer? A: Order and install this product, which has an easy setup right thru a browser: Linksys EtherFast 4-Port Cable/DSL Router http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?prid=20&grid=5 The best price (Oct 2000) I can find is $149 with free shipping: http://www.onvia.com/PriceGrabber/Products/index.cfm?Task=ViewProduct&IDCatalog=2422180 I found this price at this site: http://www.pricegrabber.com/ Q5: What companies sell software designed specifically to prepare students for the TAAS? Beware of the tendency for administrators or others to convert the school computer lab into a TAAS drill and kill lab. Computer literacy skills required in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Technology require so much more!!! For those still interested, however, here is a partial listing of some companies offering TAAS prep software. If you know of more please let me know. Frontier Software sells old but pretty good TAAS prep software, but they do not have a website-- call them at 1-800-634-3306. Sleek Software Heartbeeps by Lindy Software L&M Instructional Resources Kamico Software Cinch-It Software Edutest offers online student assessment for a fee  As more schools rush headlong to make passing the TAAS their top priority, perhaps more educators, parents, and citizens should consider the perspectives offered in this research: THE HARMFUL IMPACT OF THE TAAS SYSTEM OF TESTING IN TEXAS: BENEATH THE ACCOUNTABILITY RHETORIC Q6: How can I prevent my school computers from having "IP Address conflicts?" An "IP Address" is the number assigned to a computer on the network, usually automatically by something called a DHCP server. Each computer must have a unique IP address to access the internet and do certain other things on the network. There are settings on both Macs and Windows computers that can be changed to prevent this "IP address conflict" from happening. On a Dell/Windows computer: Open START - CONTROL PANELS - POWER MANAGEMENT (on Win95 clients the control panel is just named POWER) Choose to turn off all settings or change them to NEVER. On Win98, under Power Scheme change to Office, and then under Settings change all to NEVER. My Win95 computers then had to restart, the Win98 computers did not. On a Mac that you are presently using to access the internet: Open the TCP/IP control panel (if you don't have one, then "Open Transport" is not installed and you're likely not accessing the internet on that computer) From the EDIT menu choose USER MODE Click ADVANCED and click OK Click OTIONS in the lower right corner UNCHECK the box next to "Load Only When Needed" under the title "Load TCP/IP" and click OK. No restart is required. Q7: How can I connect my computer to a TV using an AverKey? Refer to www.wtvi.com/teks/exchange/averkeysetup.html for setup instructions. Q8: What are some good websites relating to internet security? This website includes some good suggestions. Return to the Tools for the TEKS Technology Exchange homepage Tools for the TEKS home | Article Archive | Technology Workshops Mailing List | Feedback | Tools and Techniques | Technology Idea Exchange Contact me using this webform. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.