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students, network storage (U: and Q:)

Home Area and Disk Quota
Backing up your files
What is the Q:Drive?
How do I access U:Drive and Q:Drive from home? 

Home Area and Disk Quota

All users are allocated disk space on the NetWare servers. This disk space is referred to as your home area (U: drive) and can be used to store your work files from one session to another. It is your responsibility to maintain this disk space. All users are allocated 100Mb of disk space. In order to see how much disk space you have been allocated or how much you have left at your disposal, simply double-click on the My Computer desktop icon, locate the U: Drive (prefixed with your student ID #) and apply a single left click to it. Now select Properties from the File drop down menu (usually the last but one menu item). Your free space will be displayed graphically as the magenta area in a disk space pie chart, and numerically in bytes/mega bytes. Do NOT save your work to the desktop, as files saved there will not be available to you when you next login.

Note: Undergraduates, your u: drive home area is cleared down before the start of each academic year - be sure to take copies of any important files on your account before the end of each academic year.

Under Windows XP file names can be up to thirty-two characters long. It is recommended however that file names are kept as succinct as possible and are meaningful file identifiers e.g. ThesisCh1 for the first chapter of a thesis. The non-alphanumeric characters / : * ? < > " | cannot be used in file names. A three character file extension (which is usually hidden) generally describes the file type. Common file extensions are .txt for text files, .xls for Excel spreadsheets and .doc for Word documents.

Directories and Sub-Dir

A directory is a collection of files in a given area. As you create files they are created in your top-level directory in your home area (U: drive) unless you specify otherwise.   A directory can contain sub-directories that can be used to organise files. Files with a common theme can be put in one sub-directory. For example all files relating to Project1 could be stored in a sub-directory called project1. Similarly files relating to Project2 could be stored in a sub-directory called project2. This makes the management and finding of files easier as you create more and more files in your home area.  To create a sub-directory within your home area using Windows XP, double-click on the My Computer desktop icon, locate the U: drive and double-click on it. Another window will appear. Now, click on the File menu and select New & Folder from the menu and sub-menu displayed. A new folder (directory) will be created. The folder name can now be over-written. To bring order to your folders, you can click on View menu and select Arrange Icons from the menu. Icons (in this case folders) can be arranged by name, type, size, and date depending on your preference.  To see what is contained within a given folder, simply double-click on that folder. To close any window, click on X at the top right of that window.

It is impossible to stress how important it is for you to backup your files from your home area to USB/CD on a regular basis. There are a number of ways to back up your work:

1. Choose the Save command from the file menu of the application and save to the U: drive. Select the Save As command and save the file with a different name. This will give you two copies on your home area.
2. Use the Drag & Drop facility within My Computer to copy files from the U: drive to USB. This is achieved by clicking once on the file in question and holding down the mouse button whilst dragging the file over to the USB drive icon, then letting go of the mouse button. A copy will be made.
3. Once again in My Computer, use the Copy command from the Edit menu when the file you want to copy is selected (left click). Then at the USB drive icon select the Paste command from the Edit menu.

How does space get used up?

Your home area contains many files. Some of these files are automatically created for you when you start certain applications. You, the user, create most of the files when you save your work. e.g. Word documents are saved as .doc files and Excel spreadsheets are saved as .xls files. Many applications create temporary files whilst they are being run. Well-behaved applications will remove all of these temporary files once the application is finished.  Temporary files usually have the file extension .tmp or start with the ~ character. If an application, which creates temporary files, closes down unexpectedly, i.e. crashes, you may well end up with a number of temporary files in your directory, which you will have to remove manually.

Deleting unwanted files

As a regular exercise you should delete all unwanted files from your directory. Be careful not to delete files you may need again. It is in your own interest to manage your disk space.  Shortage of disk space may also cause some applications difficulty in starting or they may crash whilst you are using them.  In order to manage your space you should first ascertain how much space you have been allocated and how much of that space has been used (see above).  To delete files in your home area in Windows XP, use My Computer to view your files (as described in directories and sub-directories) and click on the file you want to delete. This file will now be highlighted blue. Now either push the Delete key on the keyboard or select Delete from the File menu.  To delete multiple files, hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard whilst clicking on the files you want to highlight for deletion. Click on a file a second time to remove the highlighting. Before the files are deleted you will be asked to confirm your request.

 The "Q-Drive" is a area of disk storage space on the Information Solutions and Services network which is made available to staff to facilitate distribution of files to their students or other staff members.

Why might I want to use it?

Using the Q-Drive can simplify the distribution of assignments, lecture notes, etc. to students. Files placed onto the Q-Drive can be read and copied by students, but not modified or deleted. Students should take a copy of the file from the Q-Drive to their own personal network storage space (U: drive) before attempting to edit it.

To access the Q-Drive within the PC Suites, double-click the "Q-Drive setup" icon in the main Application window (NAL). An Explorer window displaying the Q-Drive contents will open and drive Q: on your PC will be mapped to the Q-Drive on the network for the remainder of that logged-in session.

How do I access U:Drive and Q:Drive from home?  

NetDrive allows Windows users to access their u: drive and q: drive, once you have internet access,  from home.  NetDrive can be installed quickly and easily following the instructions below:

Installing NetDrive - Windows XP ONLY
(i) Double click  netdrive.exe and accept all default settings
(ii) Double click  netdrive_xp.reg and accept all default settings 

Installing NetDrive - Windows 2000 ONLY
(i) Double click  netdrive.exe and accept all default settings
(ii) Double click  netdrive.reg and accept all default settings 

Using NetDrive
(i) Click Start -> Programs -> NetDrive -> NetDrive
(ii)Click the Connect button
(iii) At the prompt enter your PC Suite username and password
(iv) Your u:drive is available in the My Computer object as NUI, Galway on 'NetDrive'

If, after you have deleted all unwanted files, you still require additional space you may apply to Information Solutions and Services for additional disk space by contacting the Service Desk, Room 118 ext 3325.

Note: Undergraduates, don't forget that home area files are cleared down each summer in readiness for the new academic year.  Be sure to take copies of any files you wish to keep.

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