CNIT 101: Operating Systems I - Windows
Last modified 2/2/11
NOTE: If you need to email me outside of Insight email, be sure to put CNIT 101 on the Subject Line, and send it to nwebb@ccsf.edu. Only those students already registered, with a Insight login for the online class, can use Insight email.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Textbook: Do I have to buy the Textbook?
Textbook: Where can I buy the Textbook?
Student files: How do I get the student data files?
Homework: If I have questions about the homework assignment, where should I ask them?
Quizzes & Tests: When I hit "begin quiz" the same screen re-appears.
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Class Participation: what does that mean?
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Homework Upload: What if I am late with a homework assignment - how do I turn it in? The link is no longer available in the section for the week.
MSDNAA free Microsoft Software Program: When will it start? How will I access it?
Quizzes & Test Question Discussion: Are we allowed to discuss specific Tutorial Quiz and Test questions in the Forums?
No quiz score after taking quiz: After I take a quiz or test, the score doesn't display in My Gradebook.
Operating System version: Do I really need Windows 7 to do the homework? What if I have Windows XP?
Homework due dates: When is homework due? What is the grace period?
1. Do I have to buy the Textbook?
Yes, I'm afraid you WILL need to have the textbook, because part
of your homework will be to work through the tutorials at a computer, working on
your USB flash drives as you perform the tasks on the computer. You will be
turning in files showing that you successfully completed the tutorial.
2. Where can I buy the Textbook?
You can buy the textbook at the City College bookstore. Visit this link to find directions or reserve a
copy: CCSF Bookstore
3. How do I get the student data files?
They are available at the textbook's website. There's a link in the top
section of our Insight class, or there are instructions on the back inside page
of the textbook. If you need some student files, it will be described in
the week's task list. No need to download them all beforehand.
4. Where do I ask questions about the homework assignments?
Your first line of attack is to post a message on the correct forum, in the
week's section, to ask your fellow students if they have an answer.
If the question is about a personal situation, then you should use Insight or
CCSF email and
ask me directly.
5. When I hit "begin quiz" the same screen
re-appears.
You have a pop-up blocker running. You the pop-up blocker needs to be disengaged before you take the quiz.
8. About Class Participation.
Since you are not attending classes, I will be using other tools to make sure
you are doing your homework. I
will be looking to see that everyone reads all postings
on the forums, and
you should answer or start a posting at least 3 times a
month. I will also be making sure that
you read all online books. There is a tool that tracks how many times
you visit a page, which pages you've visited, how long you spent on the page.
7. Late Homework
After the due date, you can no longer use the upload assignment tool to submit your file. You must email
me and attach the homework file(s).
8. MSDNAA free Microsoft Software Program
CNIT students will be registered for the free Microsoft software program, MDNAA.
You will receive an email at your official CCSF email address, CCSFmail at
@mail.ccsf.edu account, or your opt-out email address a few weeks after the
semester begins. After that time, MSDNAA instructions will be placed into
the top section of our class.
9. Discussing Test Questions on the Forums
Policy Statement Tutorial Quizzes: If there is an error on the
Tutorial Quiz (although all the questions have been reviewed) the best thing to do is email me
privately through Insight email and I will check it. If the question is wrong,
or if your answer is also correct, I will let
everyone know. Since all the answers are in the book, and the tests are
open book, I sure don't mind your looking up the answer. IF the test is
wrong, or poorly worded, I want to fix it. Be sure to include the
reasoning behind your answer.
That said, if you want to discuss a point from the chapter you can bring it up in the chapter's forum. For example, you might ask, is FAT 32 file system compatible with FAT 16? But I think on closely reading the particular chapter quiz question, you will easily see the correct answer.
Policy Statement Midterm and Final exams: Please do not post answers and questions from the final exam on the forums before the test period is completely finished. Once the test is closed off, you may then discuss as much as you want. Again, if you think the test is in error, email me, and I can individually correct scores.
10. After I take a quiz or test, the score doesn't display in
my gradebook.
When you finish taking a quiz, be sure to click on the Submit button. Of course make sure
you have answered all the questions first!
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11. Do I need Windows 7?
Although you can use Windows XP or Vista to access the class in Insight, the textbook is
based on Windows 7. All the homework questions assume you are using
Windows 7 to get the answers, and if you use a different version, your answers
will be wrong.
You can use a school lab to do your textbook homework if you don't have a computer with Windows 7.
Do not try to install Windows 7 to replace Windows XP or Vista on your computer! Only install Windows 7 if you backup your computer, run the Windows 7 Update Advisor and make sure your computer is ready for this new operating system.
For advanced users only: You can install a virtual copy of Windows 7 on your XP or Vista machine, but you will have to already own Windows 7 to do this. Around the fourth week of class you will be getting instructions on how to get a free copy of Windows 7 (and/or Windows XP or Vista) if you haven't already downloaded your free copy from the MSDNAA program.
You should always back up your hard drive before attempting something
this complicated. If you have an unusual hardware configuration, do not
attempt this. Instructions for creating a virtual Windows 7 on your
Vista machine are here:
Sam
Bowne's Virtual Machine Installation Instructions
The correct URL for downloading the free VMWare Player is http://vmware.com/products/player/
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12. When is homework due? What is the grace period?
Check the class schedule for actual due dates - if there is a holiday the due
date might be different than the usual Friday.
Our class weeks start on Fridays and end on the following Friday at midnight. Homework is due on Friday night, but usually there is a 2-day grace period so you can complete the week's tasks by Sunday night without any penalty. The due date is shown as Friday at 11:55pm, but you can upload any homework or complete any quizzes by Sunday night without any loss of points. I usually do the grading of uploaded files and graded forums on Monday or Tuesday after the due date.
(In Insight, each week's section header shows the start date of the week, which is Friday, and then ends the week the following Thursday. In actuality, the week ends on Friday night, not Thursday. This gives everyone an extra day to do homework.)
NOTE: There is no grace period for the final exam. It must be completed by the date in our class schedule. Since the exam will close at 11:55 pm, be sure you begin taking it at least 2 hours ahead of time. You can view the close date/time for the midterm and final exams by clicking on Quizzes in the Activities Block of our class in Insight. (It's better not to wait until the last day since if you have technical problems you won't have time to find another place to take the exam.)
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