Overview

CMPT students need lots of software packages to complete their course work. The School does provide CSIL workstations and CSIL Terminal Server to use. But sometimes, local installation on a personal computer is more convenient.

This document gives some instructions on how to install & configure some of the CMPT commonly used packages.

At the end of this document, we have some invaluable programming guidelines for all developers - by following these guidelines, everyone's life will be easier.

We are trying to keep this page always up-to-date. Please help us to enrich this page.

Before you begin

• ensure your computer system is properly patched and up-to-date
• make sure your OS on the computer is running properly, identify it is 32 bit or 64bit
• do a thorough disk check, fix any software and hardware issue
• run a complete anti-malware scan on the whole system and clean out all malware
• backup data, create restore point

Some Extras

General tips
Some best practice programming guidelines for all developers
I need to install Windows 10 from scratch, which steps I shall take?
I have trouble updating Windows 10, what I should do?
I have trouble updating Windows 10 with Feature Update, what I should do?

JDK & JRE on Windows

Prepare the system

• deal with the installed instances of the JDK/JRE on the system.
  • note: some of the applications need a specific version of JRE to run properly. So, proceed with caution. For more information on removing the old Java components, please read this document from Oracle.
    
  • uninstall all of the JDK packages.
  • uninstall all of the JRE packages. WARNING: some of the applications may not work afterwards.
• download the JDK/JRE packages
  • URL: https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html
  • note: always download the "Java SE Development Kit 8uxx"
    • further: always download "JDK 8" for now, version 6/7 is no longer our choice. We are migrating to Java 14 in the near future.
  • always download matching version of "Java SE 8 Documentation" on the Additional Resources section
  • always download matching version of "Java SE Development Kit Demos and Samples"
• note: as of Fall 2024, we only have 64bit edition JDK/JRE on 64bit OS in CSIL.

Install JDK w/JRE

• launch the installer, always runas "Administrator"
• about installation path, NEVER install JDK/JRE into their default folders!
  • for the installation folder of JDK:
    • for 32bit JDK on a 64bit system, always install JDK to folder: c:\program files (x86)\java\jdk
    • for other cases, always install JDK to folder c:\program files\java\jdk
  • for the installation folder of public JRE:
    • for 32bit JRE on a 64bit system, always install public JRE to folder: c:\program files (x86)\java\jre
    • for other cases, always install JDK to folder c:\program files\java\jre
• do NOT install "JavaDB" (this only applys to JDK 6)
  

Configure the system (optional)

• WARNING: be very careful when touching system variables. The system may become unusable if mistakes are made.
• set system variable: JAVA_HOME to the JDK's installation folder
• alter system variable: PATH, add the %JAVA_HOME%\bin to the end of the string
  • never put this path in front of the string
  • check the PATH string, remove all other paths point to other JDK installations

Extra notes: Configure Jcreator

• install Jcreator to default location, launch Jcreator
• make sure the configuration saves for "All Users" instead of current user only
• when prompted, select the %JAVA_HOME% as the default JDK profile
• ignore the Docs folder if you don't have the Docs package installed; but we strongly recommend to have the Docs installed locally.
  

Verify the JDK installation

• launch command prompt after the installation is complete, a.k.a. cmd
• run java -version, should get the version# of currently active JDK installation
  • Please note: check the installation folder (which may contain some numbers) is NOT the accurate way to identify which version(s) of JDK & JRE are installed and active on a system.
• run javac, this will give the help information without errors
  • if there is error, please add the installation path of JDK to the system variable "path".

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Netbeans on Windows

We are using Netbeans for Java SE and Netbeans for C/C++ x64 in CSIL. The current/latest version is 8.2.

Prerequisite:

install JDK x64 to "C:\Program Files\Java\JDK"; remove all other JDK incidences.
install public JRE x64 to "C:\Program Files\Java\JRE"; remove all other public JRE incidences.

Step by step (with professional updated answering files):

Get the packages from our CSIL repository server, place all these 4 files to your own computer in one folder:

netbeans_8.2-cpp-64bit-x64JDK-x64OS.xml
netbeans_8.2-javase-x64JDK-x64OS.xml
netbeans-8.2-cpp-windows-x64.exe
netbeans-8.2-javase-windows.exe

Run the following commands in command prompt window:

netbeans-8.2-javase-windows.exe --state netbeans_8.2-javase-x64JDK-x64OS.xml
netbeans-8.2-cpp-windows-x64.exe --state netbeans_8.2-cpp-64bit-x64JDK-x64OS.xml

Done.

So, what's wrong with the default way? Let's see:

(1) install Netbeans 8.2 for Java SE to "C:\Program Files\NetBeans"; incidents free.

(2) install Netbeans 8.2 for C/C++ 64bit - it will not ask about the installation folder, which will install into "C:\Program Files\NetBeans"

BUT, it also installs a private JRE package to "C:\Program Files\NetBeans 8.2\bin\jre"

This is TOTALLY WRONG.

To combat this, we need to have a good answering file. (We use " --record " option to generate an answering file and then updated it.)

Here is the related segment from our updated netbeans_8.2-cpp-64bit-x64JDK-x64OS.xml:

<product platform="windows linux" status="to-be-installed" uid="jre-nested" version="8.2.0.0.201510222201">
    <properties>
        <property name="installation.location">$N{install}/netbeans/bin/jre</property>
        <property name="installation.location.windows">$N{install}/NetBeans/bin/jre</property>
    </properties>
</product>

Please file a bug report to Netbeans.

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JDBC Driver for SQL Server on Windows

We are using Microsoft JDBC Driver for SQL Server for Java applications connect to CSIL SQL Server. (we use version 8.2.2.0 as example here.)

Prerequisite:

install JDK x64 to "C:\Program Files\Java\JDK"; remove all other JDK incidences.
install public JRE x64 to "C:\Program Files\Java\JRE"; remove all other public JRE incidences.

Step by step:

Get the zip format English package off this Microsoft site.

Unpack the zip file, it has the following folder structure:

.\sqljdbc_8.2.2.0_enu\sqljdbc_8.2\jdbc4sqlserver

Copy this "jdbcsqlserver" folder to "C:\Program Files\Java\JDK\", now the JDBC package is:

C:\Program Files\Java\JDK\jdbc4sqlserver

Locate the specific jar file, "mssql-jdbc-8.2.2.jre8.jar" - which is for JRE 8, which we have in CSIL. Copy this file to these folders:

"C:\Program Files\Java\JDK\jre\lib\ext"
"C:\Program Files\Java\JRE\lib\ext"

To know more, please keep reading on ORACLE site:

How to set the class path.

How classes are found.

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Visual Studio 2012 on Windows

When install Visual Studio, NEVER install the following components:

• Microsoft Office Developer Tools
• Dotfuscator Software Services
• Microsoft SQL Server Express
• Microsoft SharePoint Developer Tools
• Crystal Reports

If you want to have SQL Server feature, please install the latest SQL Server Developer edition on the system.

And please always install the MSDN documents on local hard disk - this will reduce the response time dramatically.

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Visual Studio 2017 on Windows

Since Spring 2018, we use Visual Studio Enterprise 2017 on CSIL Windows systems.  Here are two ways to get Visual Studio 2017 on your own Windows system:

Path #1: the recommended way, also the easy way:

purchase Visual Studio from our service page. Do not download anything.

copy the zip file helpdesk provides on our software repository server in CSIL. (as of 2018.08.31, the file is: vs2017_enterprise_15.8.zip)

unpack this zip file onto your own Window system, let's assume the folder contain the offline installation files is c:\downloads\vs2017_enterprise_15.8

launch cmd as administrator

in this newly opened command prompt window, copy & paste the following 4 lines in command prompt window (cmd):

pushd c:\downloads\vs2017_enterprise_15.8

vs_setup.exe --noWeb --quiet --wait --norestart

popd

pause

wait for the installation to finish; depends on the configurations of your Windows system, this could take a few hours.

reboot your Windows system

activate this installation by using the key you just received from the purchase confirmation.

manually update your Windows system to ensure its overall health (make sure you the system gets updates for Microsoft products).

Path #2: do it from scratch like an IT Pro:

If you decide to start from scratch (not using the package helpdesk provides), please read on:

Prerequisite readings: you shall go through these pages now:

how to create an offline installation point of Visual Studio 2017

the command-line parameters to install Visual Studio 2017

the Visual Studio 2017 workload and component IDs

Visual Studio Enterprise 2017 component directory

Now, you have some idea about these terminologies: "workload", "optional component" and "layout".

Preparation: get the proper installation files for Visual Studio 2017 onto your own Windows system. Please make sure you are doing this at home, not on any SFU network.

purchase Visual Studio Enterprise 2017 ($0.00) from our from our service page, save the key for sure.

downloaded it - you will get a small setup program named like: vs_enterprise__987654321.0123456789.exe

place this file into a folder on your Windows system; and rename it to vs_setup1.exe (just for simplicity), and let's assume the folder is: c:\downloads\vs2017_enterprise

launch cmd as administrator,

 in this newly opened command prompt window, copy & paste following commands in one by one (proceed with next one only if the previous one is successfully executed):

pushd c:\downloads\vs2017_enterprise

vs_setup1.exe --layout c:\downloads\vs2017_enterprise --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NativeDesktop --lang en-US

vs_setup1.exe --layout c:\downloads\vs2017_enterprise --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop --lang en-US

vs_setup1.exe --layout c:\downloads\vs2017_enterprise --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.Data --lang en-US

vs_setup1.exe --layout c:\downloads\vs2017_enterprise --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.NativeDesktop  --includeRecommended --lang en-US

vs_setup1.exe --layout c:\downloads\vs2017_enterprise --add Microsoft.VisualStudio.Workload.ManagedDesktop  --includeRecommended --lang en-US

popd

depends on the network, this may take a while - as for release 15.8, it is about 3.2GB in size.

Install Visual Studio Enterprise 2017 from this new "layout" (offline installation point) to your own Windows system.

launch cmd as administrator

in this newly opened command prompt window, copy & paste the following 4 lines in command prompt window (cmd):

pushd c:\downloads\vs2017_enterprise

vs_setup.exe --noWeb --quiet --wait --norestart

popd

pause

wait for the installation to finish. depends on the configurations of your Windows system, this could take about half an hour to more than 3 hours.

reboot your Windows system

activate this installation by using the key you just received from the purchase confirmation.

manually update your Windows system to ensure its overall health (make sure you the system gets updates for Microsoft products).

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(obsolete) Freescale CodeWarrior on Windows

Preparations:

• It is highly recommended to use the installation package on our CSIL Software Repository Server.
• It is not recommended to download the installation package from the vendor's site.
  

Installation:

• please always runas "Administrator" for all software installation.
  • locate the installer file, right-click and select Runas "Administrator"
• please do not customize your installation - Freescale has confirmed that the customization function is not working at this moment.
• please do not install any of the "drivers". (Most likely, there is no physical device attached to the computer you are using.)

Configurations:

(perform all these tasks runas "Administrator", in order)

0) Logon as an account which has administrative privilege.

1) Launch the "CodeWarrior IDE"; make sure it runs OK. Close the application.

2) Backup the newly generated "CodeWarrior IDE 5.9 Prefs" under the installation folder to "$CodeWarrior IDE 5.9 Prefs" within the same folder. Copy-paste-rename will do the job. The default folder for this file is:

if the OS is 32bit:

%ProgramFiles%\Freescale\CWS12v5.1\bin

if the OS is 64bit:

%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Freescale\CWS12v5.1\bin

3) Change the permission settings on this "CodeWarrior IDE 5.9 Prefs" file to ensure it is "write-able" by all users of this computer. Details like this:

locate the file "CodeWarrior IDE 5.9 Prefs"

right-click the file, select "Properties" from the popup manu

within the newly opened properties dialog box, click the "Security" tab

select group "Users" from the top pane

click button "Edit"

within the bottom pane, check "Modify" under "Allow" column

click "OK" a few times to save the settings

4)-A: (if you are using a Windows 7 computer)

launch Windows Explorer (not the Internet Explorer)

navigate to folder:

%APPDATA%\microsoft\windows\start menu\programs\

please locate the folder "Freescale CodeWarrior" on right pane

right click the folder "Freescale CodeWarrior", from the popup menu, left click "Copy"

now, navigate to folder:

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\microsoft\windows\start menu\programs\

paste the "Freescale CodeWarrior" folder here.

now, navigate to folder:

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\microsoft\windows\start menu\programs\Freescale CodeWarrior\CodeWarrior Development Studio for S12(X) V5.1

from right pane, delete shortcut file named "CodeWarrior IDE"

within right pane, right click the blank space, from the popup menu, left click "New", then left click "Shortcut"

within the newly opened 'Create Shortcut' dialog box, take one of the 2 steps:

if the OS is 32bit, put the executable's location as:

c:\Program Files\Freescale\CWS12v5.1\bin\ide.exe

if the OS is 64bit, put the executable's location as:

c:\Program Files (x86)\Freescale\CWS12v5.1\bin\ide.exe

click 'Next' button

now, give this shortcut a nice name like this: CodeWarrior IDE

click 'Finish' button

4)-B: (if you are using a Windows XP computer)

launch Windows Explorer (not the Internet Explorer)

navigate to folder:

%USERPROFILE%\start menu\programs\

please locate the folder "Freescale CodeWarrior" on right pane

right click folder "Freescale CodeWarrior", from the popup menu, click "Copy"

now, navigate to folder:

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\

paste the "Freescale CodeWarrior" folder here.

now, navigate to folder:

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Freescale CodeWarrior\CodeWarrior Development Studio for S12(X) V5.1

from right pane, delete shortcut file named "CodeWarrior IDE"

within right pane, right click the blank space, from the popup menu, left click "New", then left click "Shortcut"

within the newly opened 'Create Shortcut' dialog box, take one of the 2 steps:

if the OS is 32bit, put the executable's location as:

c:\Program Files\Freescale\CWS12v5.1\bin\ide.exe

if the OS is 64bit, put the executable's location as:

c:\Program Files (x86)\Freescale\CWS12v5.1\bin\ide.exe

click 'Next' button

now, give this shortcut a nice name like this: CodeWarrior IDE

click 'Finish' button

5) Double click the newly create shortcut "CodeWarrior IDE" to see it works.

6) Logoff

Try it out now:

(perform this task as an regular user of this computer)

• Logon as yourself (a regular user, non-administrative account)
  
• Launch the "CodeWarrior IDE"  and it should work fine.

If it breaks:

You could always use the backup file "$CodeWarrior IDE 5.9 Prefs" to overwrite the corrupted "CodeWarrior IDE 5.9 Prefs" and get to the starting point. - Please runas "Administrator".

The template:

Here is a template project created by Dr. Dixon, which should be a starting point of you own project.

Points to be noted and lessons to be learned:

As you can see, how much work an end-user needs to put up to get a seemly very simple installation done properly. If the developers have followed these guidelines, we don't need this Q&A at all.

And, here is one significant difference between Windows XP and Windows 7 related to this discussion:

Where is the all users' Start Menu is located?

under Windows XP, it is

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu

under Windows 7, it is:

%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu

So, do you think which one is better?

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Printer drivers on Windows 7

Sometimes, Windows 7 systems have trouble to install printer driver - especially when the printer is a network printer on a print server (a Linux SAMBA server). Here is a workaround:

• Click Windows button -> Devices and Printers
  • right click the space under "Printers and Faxes", select "Add printer"
    • click "Add a local printer"
    • click "create a new port", select "local port" as the Type of port
    • enter \\printserver\printername as the port name, please use the correct names of your own environment
    • select the correct printer driver for the printer
      • (strongly recommended:) for an HP black&white printer, always use HP Universal Print Driver PCL5
    • click Finish to get the driver installed

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Cywin on Windows 7

• get the installation package
  • (RECOMMENDED) We have the package on our CSIL Repository server, please copy the whole folder to your USB storage and then copy it onto your own computer.
  • (less preferable) For latest package, please download the "setup.exe" on https://www.cygwin.com
    • Strongly recommended: run the setup.exe with the option "Download Without Installing" to ensure you have a proper package.
    • MUST DO: on "Select Packages" screen, click "Default" on the right side of "All", this will show as "All Install" - which means download all packages.
    • on "Resolving Dependencies" screen, ensure "Select Required packages" are CHECKED
• install Cygwin
  • always install from local directory - no matter you copied from CSIL Repository server or downloaded it yourself
  • MUST DO: on "Select Packages" screen, click "Default" on the right side of "All", this will show as "All Install" - which means install all packages.
  • on "Resolving Dependencies" screen, ensure "Select Required packages" are CHECKED

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Django for Python on Windows

Preparations:

• install Python 2.7.x (it does not work for Python 3.x). please note down the installation folder, e.g. c:\python27
  
• download the Django package (a tar ball)
  

Installation:

• un-tar the Django package to a local folder; e.g. c:\django
• make sure there is a setup.py under this folder; e.g. c:\django\setup.py
• cd to this folder
• run the install command, e.g. c:\python27\python.exe setup.py install

Please note: the full path to python.exe must be present to ensure the Django package will be installed for this installation instance of Python.

Verifications:

• launch python.exe
• within Python interface, run: import django
• notice if there is any error message - there should be none.

Please note: find more instructions on the Internet, especially here.

The difficulties:

Cygwin installation (or any other application includes a Python installation) may derail the installation. It seems that the setup.py will work with the first-found python installation instance only.

The developers of Django: please either modify your documentation or modify your setup.py so it will detect which python installation instance will get Django installed. And please make sure show the FULL-PATH instead of relative ones - we do not know where they are, period.

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Project 2003 and Visio 2003 on Windows

The Project 2003 an Visio 2003 are old products, but they are still very powerful & useful.

To ensure the security of the system, we need to keep all the installed applications up-to-date. For Project 2003 and Visio 2003 - in fact for all the Office 2003 components - the original installer must be available so the updating could continue.

So, here are the steps to install Project 2003 / Visio 2003:

• logon as a member of administrators group
• make a new folder on local hard drive. e.g. c:\sbin\software\project2003
• put the installation CD to the DVD drive.
• copy the contents on the installation CD to this new folder
• install the application from this new folder.
• patch the system thoroughly

Please note: this folder should be only accessible by administators and it should not be touched as long as this specific application is still installed on the system.

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OpenGL libraries with Visual Studio

Before programming OpenGL with Visual Studio (in our example here, version 2010) on your own computer, there are some preparation steps to be carried out. (All the CSIL Window systems already have these configured by the CSIL Administrator):

Windows system comes with OpenGL support; Visual Studio comes with the OpenGL libraries; but we need GLUT (OpenGL Utility Toolkit) to program. You may need to compile the glut library on your own computer. Here we assume you have all the files ready:

For a 64bit Windows system (x64):
            copy glut32.dll to c:\Windows\SysWOW64
            copy glut32.h to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VC\include\gl
            copy glut32.lib to C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VC\lib

For a 32bit Windows system (x86):
            copy glut32.dll to C:\Windows\System32
            copy glut32.h to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VC\include\gl
            copy glut32.lib to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\VC\lib

Now, follow this Q&A to start your programming.

Latest Updates: we are evaluating GLFW as our new OpenGL programing tool; please help us testing out in ASB9838SW area.

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Acrobat Pro on Windows

(This application is not part of CSIL software, but this information is very important for all Acrobat Pro users and developers.)

After installing the software, please alter the permission on the following folder to ensure group "users" have "modify" (RW) permission on it:

"%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Adobe\Slstore"

Without this alteration, a non-administrative user will not be able to use this application.

Please check out this article on vendor's site for more details. And developers, please make sure no administrative rights shall be required for non-system applications.

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Python on Windows for CSIL users

IMPORTANT: depends on the course requirements, you should be using using Python 3.12.x 64bit release on your Windows system.

First of all, please always install the EXACT/IDENTICAL version of Python on your own system as we do in CSIL. Anything older or newer may not work out for you.

Secondly, please always install 64bit release of the Python. Warning: some of the 3rd-party modules & libraries won't install/work properly with 64bit Python environment. If this happens to you, please contact the specific vendor so they could make their products work under 64bit.

Please install Python to its default location.

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Dropbox on Windows system configure to use roaming profile with folder redirection feature

As of August 18th, 2014, it is IMPOSSIBLE to install Dropbox client onto a Windows system which is configured to use roaming profile with folder redirection feature (which is the de facto setup of any enterprise environment). Also, it gives permission errors during the installation when the user has no administrative privilege.

If you have a way to combat this, please email us - we need your help!

So, please contact Dropbox to suggest the feature changes.

(obsolete, no longer valid) Here is a workaround:

in short, you must change the folder of you Dropbox folder.

always install the latest version of Dropbx (at least 2.10.28) - always download the offline installer.

when the "Run as" windows shows, select "Current user" - warning: never any other user.

in the warning window about missing features for non-admin users, click "Yes" to continue.

click button "install" to start.

logon to your Dorpbox account, then click the "Advanced settings"

for "Dropbox location" please "select a location for your Dropbox folder", specify the location like:

c:\scratch\yourusername

follow the rest steps to finish the installation.

(obsolete, no longer valid) Here is another workaround (validated @ August 11th, 2014):

• 1.) download the latest release offline installer package of Dropbox from its official web site.
• 2.) get the old version of the Dropbox offline installer (we have v2.0.8 on our CSIL Software Repository Server.)
• 3.) install the older version (e.g. 2.0.8) first:
  • when the "Run as" windows shows, select "Current user" - warning: never any other user.
    
  • in the warning window about missing features for non-admin users, click "Yes" to continue.
  • click button "install" to start.
    
  • in the "Choose setup type" window, select "Advanced", which means "choose your Dropbox's location and which folders will be synced."
    • in the "Advanced setup -Dropbox location" window, select "I want to choose where to put my Dropbox", specify the location now.
      
      • warning: any folder under your profile folder is WRONG.
  • follow the rest steps to finish the installation.
    
• now, install the latest version, use the same instructions listed.
  
  • please note, the new version will keep using the folder you just specified, which is exactly what we want :)
    

Lessons here:

If an application will run itself off current user's profile,

Just drop the whole charade of the total-fake "installation" already!

Never ask for "administrative privilege"!

- If there are missing features while install without the "administrative privilege", please list them now.

Use the system variables wisely. e.g. distinguish %APPDATA% and %LOCALAPPDATA%; never assume these two share the same parent folder :)

If there are some prerequisite packages must be installed - and these need "administrative privilege", just tell the users. People will understand.

If the application is for all the users on a computer, the "administrative privilege" is a valid requirement and it is totally justified. Please just ensure:

All the regular users could run this application within their own credential and privileges.

The administrators of the system could customize the application to suit the organization's specific environment. These settings become the defaults for every user of this system.

Each user will get a copy of the application's default settings - which becomes part of user's profile.

Each user will be able to customize the application to a certain degree without affect other users and the system. Overwrite some of the defaults should be an easy task.

It is acceptable and practical to enforce certain configurations which could only be set by administrator. (The users are not allowed to make changes nor override these changes.)

Last but not least: if an application does not work with certain components, please inform us up front - we understand this and we are willing to help out, as long as the developers are listening.

You may find more discussions here.

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NoMachin NX Client on Windows

IMPORTANT: the latest releases from the vendor's web site may not work with some CSIL Linux systems.

Please use the version 3.5.0-9 until further notice from helpdesk.

You may grab a copy for your own laptop on our repository server.

You may find more information about how to use this tool in CSIL as well.

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MobaXterm on Windows

MobaXTerm is an enhanced terminal for Windows with X11 server, tabbed SSH client, network tools and more.

The Home Edition of MobaXterm is free for personal use - you could download it at

https://mobaxterm.mobatek.net/download-home-edition.html

We recommend the portable edition: there is no installation, no permission issues to be worked out.

After unpacking the downloaded file to a folder (say, on your Desktop), launch it.

Now, let's prepare a proper "/home/mobaxterm" folder.

click menu "Settings", click "General" tab of the "MobaXterm Cnfiguration" window.

for "Persistent home directory",

 please be sure to set to a folder you have "FULL Access" permission on it.

and please be sure the full path contains only letters and digits.

* please note* do not use MobaXTerm for sftp at the moment due to a bug; use Cyberduck or Filezilla instead.

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Some extras

Tips

• Keep the product key and the media in safe place.
• If your software requires a Service Pack, get it at the same time. Install the Service Pack asap.
• On your Windows system(s), install "Microsoft Updates" to obtain latest updates for all Microsoft products.
• Use the lowest possible speed when burning disks to ensure the highest quality.

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Programming Guidelines for all developers

For your own programming product; please ensure

• it could be installed silently
• the installation could be fully customized (XML, YMAL, JSON etc.)
  
• it could be un-installed silently, completely
  
• the un-installation could be fully customized (XML, YMAL, JSON etc.)
• the installer has code to detect the OS version, CPU architecture etc. so it does customization accordingly
• if the application will be installed for all users on this computer, it should always put its shortcuts under all user's startmenu
• the shortcuts work for all the legit users
• it does not require reboot during the installation/un-installation process; if a reboot is a must, it has a suppression/delay option
  
• it does prerequisite checks during every launch, and gives meaningful reports
• it could accomplish 100% of its functionality and does not require administrative privilege to execute
• it does not place its path at the very front of the system variable "path"- it is simply WRONG.

Please email helpdesk for more information.

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I need to install Windows 11 from scratch, which steps I shall take?

In short, it is recommended using a USB stick to install Windows 11 on your own computer.

From time to time, a fresh install of the Operating System is a must. When you need to build a Windows 10 system from scratch, here are some very important steps:

• Get a legit copy with product key of Windows 11. As a CMPT student, you need to purchase your own copy of windows 11 from the SFU ITS' MSDNAA subscription for $0.00; and then get an ISO file from our CSIL repository server.
• Make sure you current system is ready to be wiped out for new OS. If you have any data on it, this is the last chance to backup or back out.
• Prepare a USB stick which is at least 8GB in size. Please also make sure this USB stick has no data on it so it could be safely formatted for holding Windows 10 installation image.
• Run a third-party ISO-2-USB tool to make a bootable USB from the latest Windows 11 installation ISO file you get from CSIL repository server.
• Boot this Windows 10 installer USB stick using UEFI
  • legacy BIOS boot won't work for installing Windows 10.
  • if the system failed to boot from this USB, you may try a different USB port.
• Follow the instructions and get Windows 10 installed.

Some post-installation steps:

• If you are not using the latest release of Windows 10 (which you should), please update the system with the latest feature update before installing any other applications. And you should run "Disk Cleanup" tool to clean up "Windows upgrade log files" and "Previous Windows installation(s)". I don't think you should roll back the OS in the future; let's move forward.
• Also, please keep your computer's BIOS updated to latest stable version.
  

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I have trouble updating Windows 10, what I should do?

For a few years now, "Microsoft Updates" controls the updates for most Windows 10 editions. We the users may slightly tweak it but not much.

So, if there is trouble, you may want to visit this page:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

On this page, you will see  "Windows 10 <month> <year> Update"

In general, there will be two options:

• (not recommended) Firstly, there is "Update now" option.

click the blue "Update now" button and follow the instructions to get the system updated.

• Secondly, there is a "Create Windows 10 installation media" option.

click the blue "Download tool now" button to get the tool and launch it for more options.

you should download the ISO file and mount it as virtual disk to get installation started.

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I have trouble updating Windows 10 with Feature Update, what I should do?

Microsoft releases a Feature Update for Windows 10 every now and then. We recommend updating to a new Feature Update *AFTER* one month of its release - you want the new features, but not the bugs. And please pay close attention to the Anti-Malware tool on your computer - it might not be compatible with the latest Feature Update.

Here are some symptoms of this issue:

on client, get error: Feature update to Windows 10, version ####, en-us - Error 0x80244019"

on client, the progress stays at 0% for a Feature Update to Windows 10

If this is a home computer, please refer to our previous Q&A.

If you are getting updates from a non-Microsoft WSUS server, here is a fix we have tried it on our own WSUS server:

On this WSUS server, launch IIS (the Internet Information Services Manager)

work on this server: -> Sites -> WSUS Administration -> MIME Types

add MIME type .esd (application/octet-stream) in

As soon as this is added, the workstations should get Windows 10 Feature Updates no problem once it is properly approved. No restart required for the server or the client; no special Firewall settings; no need to disable Anti-Virus tool.

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How to manually update Windows 11 to latest Feature Update?

For a few years now, "Microsoft Updates" controls the updates for most Windows 10/11 editions. We the users may slightly tweak it but not much.

So, if there is trouble, you may want to visit this page for manual process:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11

On this page, current release of Windows 11 Feture Update will be listed as "Windows 11 <month> <year> Update"

As of year 2024, there are 3 options to get the update:

(not recommended) (option 1) Windows 11 Installation Assistant

(option 2) Create Windows 11 Installation Media

this option is suitable when you want to install Windows 11 from scratch but do not want to use multiboot tool.

download this tool and launch it for more options. recommend writing to a blank USB stick.

recommended: Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices

click the "Select Download" field

the current available ISO download shows up - as of October 2014, we have "Windows 11 (multi-edtision ISO for x64 devices)"

click "Download Now"

Here are few notes:

. the download may take quite long time (~6.0 GigaBytes)

. it is recommended to mount this downloaded ISO file as virtual disk then start the installation.

. when creating bootable USB for this ISO file, please be sure to use NTFS for the USB; the FAT32 USB cannot support this file.

. we recommend a multiboot tool, like Ventoy.

. a specific Feature Update for ARM64 might be released later than the one for x64 architecture.

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Click here to find out how to get most of these packages with ease - from within CSIL!

Last updated @ 2024.11.07