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CS Support
System Administrators
Alex Fedosov, Harney Science Center 539
Cody Nivens, Harney Science Center 544
Hours: Monday-Friday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
e-mail: support AT cs DOT usfca DOT edu
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I am a new student. How do I get an account?
A: If you enroll in a CS course, an account will be created for you
automatically. Note that the CS account is separate from your main USF
account -- the regular USF accounts do not work on CS machines. If you
have not yet registered, but need to use your account in a CS class,
e-mail support AT cs DOT usfca DOT edu or visit the CS Systems
Administrators in HR 539 or HR 544.
Q: Which machines can I login to?
A: As a CS student, you can make use of any machine in the following labs:
Harney 235 (Kudlick classroom), Harney 530 (Mac Lab), and Harney 535 (PC Lab).
Q: I am a returning student but I can't login to the
new Macs!
A: If you were enrolled in any CS class last semester, your Mac password has been
set to the last six digits of your student ID. If you were NOT enrolled in a CS
class last semester, e-mail support AT cs DOT usfca DOT edu or
visit the CS Systems Administrators in HR 539 or HR 544 to get your Mac password
reset. Note that the Mac password exists separately from your existing
Windows/Linux password. See below for more information.
Q: I was able to log in earlier but now I can't login
anymore!
A: In 99% of the cases, this is due to your account being over quota. (i.e. you
are using up too much disk space or you have too many files.) Even though you
cannot login in GUI mode, you can still login in text mode (or using ssh)
and delete files.
Boot into Linux, press CTRL-ALT-F1, and type in your user name and password.
(Or ssh into stargate.)
If you are able to get in, type "quota -s" and press ENTER.
Check your stats. If you are indeed over quota, delete some files and try
logging in normally. If you are still unable to login in
text mode, or your quota is fine, please contact support staff for help.
Q: So what's the deal with Mac passwords?
A: For technical reasons, Macs cannot use your existing Windows/Linux password
for authentication. Likewise, Windows cannot use your Mac password. Linux,
in fact, can use either one. This unfortunately means that you end up with
two paswords -- one you use for Windows and Linux, and the other one you use for
Mac and Linux. The easiest thing to avoid confusion is to use the same password
for both.
Q: How can I reboot HR 235 machines?
A: You can reboot them over the web
here. Use your CS username and password to log in. This will also turn
on a machine if it has been turned off.
Q: Where can I get more paper for the printers?
A: In the CS office. (HR 545) Sorry, but if you run out of paper in the
middle of the night, you will have to wait until morning.
Q: How do I login to CS machines from home?
A: To access CS machines from home, connect to
stargate.cs.usfca.edu via ssh, and from there on, to any
available lab machine to work on your assignments.
Under Windows, we recommend using
SecureCRT
or PuTTY.
Q: How can I transfer files to/from home? (Where is WebFTP?)
A: WebFTP is rather buggy and thus is not being used anymore. To transfer files
to/from your machine at home, we recommend using:
- Under Windows: WinSCP.
- Under Linux:
scp at the command line or gftp if
you prefer a GUI tool.
Alternatively, you can use shfs to mount
your CS home directory on your home machine so that you can save your work
directly to the CS server and not worry about copying files back and forth.
- Under Mac OS X:
scp from the command line, or the
Fugu GUI client.
In all cases, connect to stargate.cs.usfca.edu using your
CS username and password.
Q: What is my quota? How do I know if I am over the limit?
How do I free up space?
A: The quota for students is as follows:
| Status |
Space (soft/hard) |
Files (soft/hard) |
| Undergraduate |
1 GB / 2 GB |
100k / 200k |
| Graduate |
2 GB / 4 GB |
100k / 200k |
To find out your disk usage, log in to Linux, type quota and press
ENTER.
If you need to free up space, we suggest that you first empty your browser's
cache, which in 99% of the cases solves the problem.
Q: How do I change my password?
A: To change your Windows/Linux password: log in to Linux.
Open up a terminal, type passwd, press ENTER, and follow the
prompts.
To change your OSX/Linux password: log in to a Mac, go to System Preferences,
click on Accounts, then click on Change Password.
Q: I have some files on my Desktop in Windows. Can I get to
them from Linux or Mac OS X?
A: Yes, they are actually located in your home directory in the
.ntprofile subdirectory.
Q: I am trying to run IntelliJ IDEA on OS X, but it keeps
asking me for the registration key.
A: The first time, you need to start it by typing idea.sh at the
shell prompt in OS X. This will set up the registration key. From then on, you
will be able to start it by clicking on the application icon.
Q: I want to put up a web page. How can I do that?
A: Place your HTML files in the /home/web/<username>
directory under Linux or on the W: drive in Windows. The files will
be accessible under http://cs.usfca.edu/~<username>
Q: How do I check my CS e-mail remotely?
A: Our mail server is nexus.cs.usfca.edu. You can access it
remotely via secure (SSL) IMAP on port 993 or secure (SSL) POP3 on port 995.
Log in with your CS username and password. Alternatively, you can just use
our webmail
Q: How do I check my CS e-mail in the labs?
A: Under Linux, the available GUI clients are: Evolution, Kmail, or
Thunderbird. In text mode, we recommend using pine or mutt. Under Windows,
you can use Outlook, although we neither recommend nor support it because of
its inherent security problems. See the answer to this
question for information on configuring your e-mail client.
Q: How do I forward my CS e-mail to another address?
A: Create a .forward file in your home directory (or H: drive under
Windows) and put the e-mail address to which you want to forward your e-mail
inside that file.
Q: How do I sign up for class mailing lists?
A: You can see what lists are available on the main
mailing list page. Pretty much
every course has a mailing list, so you should subscribe to the mailing lists
for the courses you are taking. (Follow the directions on the web page.) There
are also some special interest mailing lists you may want to join. All
CS students should also subscribe to the
Students mailing list
to receive news, announcements, employment and internship opportunities, etc.
Q: How do I submit my projects?
A: In most cases, your instructor will ask you to submit your project by putting
it into a so-called submit directory. This is a special directory that can only
be accessed by you, the instructor, and the TA, if any. Each class has its own
submit directory. You can find your submit directory for a particular class under
/home/submit/<class>/<username> under
Linux and Mac OS X or S:\<class>\<username>
under Windows.
Q: Is it true that I can get free Microsoft software?
A: Yes, with restrictions: you can only use this software for your school work.
You can download it from this
site. Contact support for access. (See above for contact info.)
Your username and password will be sent to your CS e-mail address.
Q: Can you install Linux on my laptop / home
computer?
A: Since repartitioning your laptop and installing Linux is a difficult task,
we have created a VMware Linux image that
you can use. Run it in the free
VMware Player
or VMware Workstation, if you already have it.
Download the image here (2.7 GB).
Use your CS username and password to download.
You cannot login to the VMware image with your CS account. Instead, you will need
to log in as root and create an account for yourself.
Q: I need to buy a laptop. Do you have any
recommendations?
A: If you want to run Linux, we recommend IBM ThinkPads (expensive but worth
it) or Dell laptops (the University standard.) We've had the most successes
with these two.
Last modified Tuesday August 28, 2007
Department of Computer Science, University of San Francisco
Please e-mail webmaster at cs dot usfca dot edu with comments or problems
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