CSCI 1320 (Principles of Algorithm Design I):
Hints and Tips for the CS Lab Machines
Caveat: Last updated in 2007. Use with caution!
Available machines
To find out what machines are available and their current status,
see the
description of the department's labs.
This page contains links to other pages describing the
various labs and listing the names of
available machines and their status.
Machines that show as "up" on the appropriate status page are available
for remote access as well.
(Note that the complete list at
Status of CS Unix Machines
also includes the names of research machines not available for
general use.)
Local access
One way to use one of these machines is by sitting down in front of it.
If it is running Windows, you may reboot it into Linux; it should be
fairly self-evident how to do this.
With Linux running, type in your username and password into the
login screen.
You will then get a graphical desktop that looks and behaves somewhat
like a Windows desktop.
Remember to log out when you're done, so that someone else can use
the machine! The "System" pulldown menu has an option to log out.
Be careful not to select the "shut down" option by mistake.
If instead of the login screen you see a screen indicating that
the display is locked and asking for another user's password,
you can effectively log him/her out by pressing control-alt-backspace
to restart the graphical environment.
Some of the lab machines can also be rebooted to run Windows XP.
Ask your instructor for details.
Before rebooting into Windows, please first confirm that
no one is using the machine remotely. You can do this by
logging in, starting a terminal window, and typing the command
w or the command who.
After you log out of Windows, please
reboot the machine into Linux.
This allows others to use the machine remotely.
Please do not reboot the machines that are Linux-only;
faculty and students sometimes use these machines for long-running
background work, and rebooting interrupts that.
Printers
Available printers include stylus (in HAS 329)
and (others to be named).
Remote access
See Remote Access to the CS
Linux Machines.