Renegade's Random Tech

LDAP Authentication Missing on Windows Moodle

2011-04-15T08:29:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been working on putting up a countywide Moodle server. Since we are a Windows shop I've installed it on Windows Server 2008 R2 running PHP (5.3.5) and II7. I also installed to a Microsoft SQL 2008 database on the back end. We've tried this many times before, but it never seemed to work. There have been vast improvements in installing PHP on Windows and Moodle 2.0+ is compliant with

Using 'SWITCH' Command as a Pseudo Case Statement in Access 2007

2010-03-05T13:21:00.005-05:00

For a few years now I've bemoaned the lack of a CASE architecture in Access. A recent project has once again illustrated the need for this functionality. My problem resolved around determining if a student was being retained or promoted and assign the appropriate grade level to a column. That's easy enough, we have a flag in the database for an expected promotion. Then the wrinkle comes in, I

Visual Studio application with 32 bit ODBC connection fails to run

2010-03-05T12:23:00.002-05:00

If you are publishing a Visual Studio application that uses a 32 bit ODBC connection or otherwise accesses a 32 bit application on a 64 bit OS it will fail to run unless you change an Application Pool Setting in IIS . To do this you will need to complete the folloing steps. Open the Internet Information Services (ISS) Manager by clicking on Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Internet

DSN Drudgery

2010-01-15T13:35:00.005-05:00

When creating a DSN on a 64 bit OS you must have a 64 bit ODBC driver. In absence of this driver you will need to create your DSN in the 32 bit ODBC manager and not the one located in the 'Control Panel.' You can find the 32 bit ODBC client at the following path (At least on Windows 7):C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe After you set up your ODBC connection in this application you would assume

Running JumpStart Advanced Kindergarten without the CD

2009-02-24T19:52:00.002-05:00

You install JumpStart Advanced Kindergarten for your little man (or princess) only to find out that you must still use the CD when playing the game. If your little ones are anything like mine that CD will last about seven seconds before it's destroyed. Here's how to fix it.Install the software as directed.Copy the 'JSKinder' folder from the CD to a location of your choice. I would suggest 'C:\

Trimming a family branch in PAF

2008-07-18T12:38:00.009-05:00

I usually post about more IT related issues here. However, I finally figured out a problem that has perplexed me for some time and since I've found little on the web regarding it, I thought that I would post the how-to here.For those unfamiliar with PAF it is a genealogy program. When I was new to genealogy research I was, like many, enamored with the thought of how many individuals I could

Mobile Bookmarking with Gmail

2008-02-12T09:14:00.003-05:00

With todays mobile lifestyle most of us are looking for methods that separate our computing experience from the computer itself. One aspect of moving from machine to machine that can be particularly annoying is the inability to access your bookmarks any place that you go. While I am aware of social bookmarking services such as del.icio.us, furl and others, I just

A Merging We Will Go

2006-12-21T09:13:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas Everybody! This post will be a bit different today. As a result of some mail merge work I've been doing lately I have compiled a Mail Merge Quick Reference sheet. The writing of this document was spurred by the lack of reference material on the web as well as my frustration with the navigation of the Windows help file.Unfortunately it is written as a reference to Microsoft Word

Say goodbye to "cannot open database /usr/mmdf/table/mmdfdbm"

2006-12-11T13:20:00.001-05:00

One of the systems that I regularly care for runs SCO OpenServer Version 5. Since it's commision date it has dutifully sent the root account a mail message every day stating that it "cannot open database /usr/mmdf/table/mmdfdbm." Recently I discovered a way to banish this message for ever. I put it here so that anyone suffering from the same affliction may also

Using Regmon to Troubleshoot Administrative Priviledge Issues

2006-08-22T14:53:00.001-05:00

In the course of thier worklife most any admin will come accross those programs that demand administrative priveledges in order to run. While sometimes it may be acceptable to give a user local administrator rights, this is generally a poor idea. Especially when there are some really great tools out there to help guide help you work around this issue. Today I would like to have a look at a

How to Rename "Username's Documents" to "My Documents"

2006-07-11T10:20:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone. I have a quick tip today that has frustrated my department for quite sometime. When we create ghost images for our computer labs we log in as a stipped down user and customize the profile so that everything is presented exactly as we would like the students to see it. The profile is then copied to the Default User profile in order to present all users in the lab with a

How to Convert a .BAT file or .VBS file into .EXE to Enable Pinning to XP Start Menu

2006-07-05T09:47:00.001-05:00

Windows XP will not allow you to pin a shortcut to the start menu that points to a network drive. For this reason it can be necessary to write a batch file to launch a program. The issue is that a shortcut pointed to a .bat file also contains no “Pin to Start Menu” option. While it can be dragged onto the start menu, this leaves no option for scripting these shortcuts. The simple solution is

My New Cool Tool!

2006-06-20T21:03:00.001-05:00

Have you ever needed to shrink or split a Windows Partition. If so, you'll find that there is no magical tool included with windows. Nor is there any free / open source tool that I am aware of in the Windows world. Now I'm not bashing Windows here. I spend most of my time in the Windows world. I'm just saying that I've never come across a tool for this purpose. Those of you that spend