Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Q. Where can I find a complete list for AV equipment in the Engineering building?
A. A complete list of AV equipment is available under the Instructional Technology > Multimedia and Video Conferencing link.

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Computer Accounts and Passwords

Q. How can I get a new SAQR account?
A. To get an SAQR account, log in to http://saqr.qatar.tamu.edu/ and click on Request an account located at the bottom of the page. Fill out the form and click on Submit.

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Q. How can I reset my TAMUQ password?
A. First go to the following URL and try resetting your password (You will need to know your Neo NetID and password in order to authenticate.)

http://technology.qatar.tamu.edu/password

If this does not work, then come to the ITS Helpdesk, with a picture ID, and we will help you reset your password.

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Q. How can I get my TAMUQ account unlocked?
A. If you get an email stating that your account is locked, this most likely means that you have tried to log into your account too many times without success.

Solution: Write down or record the exact error message. Come to the ITS Helpdesk, with a picture ID, and we will unlock your account.

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Q. What do I need to do if my account is blocked?
A.This could mean that you are either running a file sharing program or that Admissions or ITS have blocked your account for a specific reason.

Solution: Come to the ITS Helpdesk with a picture ID and we can help you unblock your account.

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Q. How can I reset my NetID?
A.Once your Neo NetID password has expired, you will need to come to the ITS Helpdesk with a picture ID. The Helpdesk representative will "mark" your account for a password change and help you create a new one.

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Q. Why should I change my password before I go on vacation?
A. Your passwords are only good for a certain number of months. It is a good idea to check the expiration date of your TAMUQ and Neo NetID passwords before leaving on vacation during the summer. If your password expires while you are gone, we cannot legally change it for you through email. Links for changing passwords:

TAMUQ - http://technology.qatar.tamu.edu/password
Neo NetID - http://password.tamu.edu/

OR

TAMUQ - Log into the the TAMUQ Web Resources page (http://webvpn.qatar.tamu.edu/).
Click on the Password Change link under Web Shortcuts and follow the instructions for resetting your password.

Neo - Go to the Main Neo Login page (http://neo.tamu.edu/). Click on the "Set a new password" link located half-way down the page. Follow the instructions carefully.

If the above steps do not work, then come to the ITS Helpdesk, with a picture ID, and we will help you reset your passwords.

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E-mail/Newsgroup

Q. How can I change the Font Size in Outlook?
A.

Open your Outlook program
Select View from the menu bar at the top of the page.
From the drop-down menu, click on Arrange By>Custom
Once the Custom screen opens, click on the Other Settings button.
From the Other Settings screen, under the Column Headings and Rows section, select the new Column Font size and Row Font size that you would like (to change the font and row settings, click on the Column Font and Row Font buttons).
After changes have been made, click OK at the bottom of the page.

NOTE: You cannot automatically change the font size of the body of the received message because the sender has already formatted the message with a specific font.

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Q. How can I Create a Group in Outlook?
A.

Open Outlook
From the Outlook toolbar, click on the down arrow for New and select Distribution List.
Type in the name of your Group in the Name: line.
Click on the Select Members tab and add the members from the Address Book.
After everyone has been added, click on Save and Close.
The group should show up in the left hand column in Outlook under Contacts.

NOTE: If you want your new group added to the Address Book, open a new Helpdesk ticket asking ITS to add this group.

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Q. Subscribing to a Newsgroup?
A.

Open a browser and go to http://webvpn.qatar.tamu.edu/
Log in using your TAMUQ username and password.
Under Web Shortcuts, select Newsgroup Subscriptions.
Under News Group, select any of the groups you would like to join.
Click on Update at the bottom of the page.

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Hardware Troubleshooting

Q. How can I setup dual monitors?
A.

Right click on your desktop.
Select Properties.
Select the Settings tab.
Display: in the middle of the screen should read 2. Plug and Play Monitor on RADEONX300 Series Secondary
Click OK to save the settings.

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Q. How can I enable Arabic on my PC?
A.

On your computer, select Start>Settings>Control Panel.
Click on the Regional and Language icon.
Select the Languages tab.
Check the first box under Supplemental language support labeled Installing files for complex script and right-to-left languages. This will install Arabic and other complex scripts.
Click on the Details button under the Text services and input languages section.
Click on the Add button.
Choose Arabic(Qatar) from the list.
Click OK>OK>OK

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Q. How can I change the Hybernation on my PC?
A.

Right click on the Desktop
Select Properties
Select the Screen Saver tab
At the bottom of the page, click on the Power button
Change the Turn Off monitor option and the Turn off hard disk option.
Click on OK

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Q. Can the ITS staff help me by remotely connecting to my computer?
A. If you are using a TAMUQ laptop or desktop that is connected to the domain, the ITS staff member can initiate a Remote Assistance session to remotely view your computer screen. This will allow the staff member to see what you are seeing without actually having to come to your office. For your privacy and security, this process requires you to grant permission to the staff member before the connection is made.

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Home Computer Equipment

Q. What do I do if my home computer or network has a problem? (for faculty and staff)
A. Open a Helpdesk ticket (helpdesk@qatar.tamu.edu) explaining the problem you are having. Please incllude all your contact information. Examples: Compound name; Villa number; mobile number; home phone number. The ticket will be forwarded to the Home Computing company we work with. They will call you and make an appointment to come out and repair/fix your computer or network.

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Q. Where do I go to get supplies for my home printer or computer?
A. If you need toner, speakers, etc. for your home printer or computer, you will need to purchase these items from a local computer store.

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Laptops

Q. What do I do when my laptop needs repair or re-imaging?
A.

The first thing you need to do is backup your hard drive (http://technology.qatar.tamu.edu/).
Bring the laptop to the ITS Receptionist (Room 139)
Fill out the proper form provided by ITS giving detailed information about the problem.
You will be contacted when your laptop is ready.

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Printers

Q. How can I set my default printer?
A.

Open the Control Panel on your computer (Start/Control Panel).
Double click on Printers and Faxes.
Right click on the printer you want as your default.
Select set as default printer.

Research Computing

Q. How do I start?

A. You should request an account from the Research computing group (its-rc-admin@qatar.tamu.edu). In the very near future users will be able to use their windows accounts on the cluster.
Once you get an account login into suqoor@qatar.tamu.edu. You can try to issue the following commands:
• qstat (will list you the jobs that are in the queues)
• pbsnodes –a (will you give a list of all compute nodes)

Q. How do I run a job?

1. The first step is to compile your program into an executable serial serial-template.x. If you’re new to compilation, see below for examples.
2. The examples are located in the directory: /rdrive/otbouha20/pbs-examples
3. Then copy the PBS_script (serial_template.sh) and the executable (serial_template.x) into your working directory. To do so, you can issue the following commands from your working directory in suqoor:
cp /rdrive/otbouha20/pbs-examples/serial-template.sh .
cp /rdrive/otbouha20/pbs-examples/serial-template.x .

4. Edit PBS script file and read the comments to know more about PBS commands used there. Change the email address as well as the path to your home directory.
5. Then run the following commands: qsub serial-template.sh
ADD JOBIDXXXXXX
6. Your job should be running, and if you issue the command: qstat , you should get a list of running/waiting jobs, among them yours (with name serial-template).
7. Once your job is completed, two files should be created in you directory: serial-job.oJOBID and serial-job.eJOBID, where JOBID is Id of the job as recorded by PBS.
8. Edit serial-oJOBID to look for the result.

Q. Are there any further examples?

In the following we provide very basic compilation steps for fortran and c programs.
Before you can start, you should add some directories to your path. To do so, please issue the following command:
source /usr/share/modules/init/bash

1. Fortran example:
- Copy the fortran source code as awll as the submission script to your working directory:
cp /rdrive/otbouha20/pbs-examples/fortran-template.f .
cp /rdrive/otbouha20/pbs-examples/fortran-template.sh .

- Compile/link it with the following, using the default compiler:
    gfortran –o fortran-template.o fortran-template.f
   - submit it to execution using the command:
     qsub fortran-template.sh
    Otput and error files will be generated as described above

2. C example:

- Copy the C source code as well as the submission script to your working directory:
   cp /rdrive/otbouha20/pbs-examples/c-template.c .
   cp /rdrive/otbouha20/pbs-examples/c-template.sh .
- Compile/link it with the following, using the default compiler:
   cc –o c-template.o c-template.c
- submit it to execution using the command:
   qsub c-template.sh
Otput and error files will be generated as described above.

Q.Are there any training sessions for this facility?

The Research Computing group will organize series of training sessions. For further information’s, pleas contact helpdesk@qatar.tamu.edu

Q. How to connect to the system from a windows machine?

Two options can be used:

1. Download and use the PuTTy application to connect to suqoor over a text-based terminal (a command-line interface). Although you may set many configuration parameters in the putty program, the defaults should just work. Just enter "suqoor.qatar.tamu.edu" as the host name and make sure the port field is set to "22" (the default).
2. Download and use the VNC Viewer (Free Edition) software to connect to suqoor with a full, graphical linux desktop environment. Once the .exe file is downloaded, start the application and connect to the server "suqoor.qatar.tamu.edu:5901". There is no need to change any of the pre-set defaults in the Options menu of the VNC Viewer.

Q. How to connect to the system from a Mac?

Two options can be used:

1. Open a terminal window (navigate to Applications->Utilities->Terminal) and type the following command to connect to suqoor over a command-line interface: ssh yourusername@suqoor.qatar.tamu.edu
Use your account username instead of "yourusername" in the command above.
2. download and use the VNC Viewer (Free Edition) exactly as described in 1.b above

Q.How to connect to the system from a Linux machine?

Simply connect to suqoor from any terminal windows as follows:

ssh -X yourusername@suqoor.qatar.tamu.edu

You will be logged in on a command-line interface, but will also have the ability to launch graphical applications by invoking them in the normal way.

Q. Which editors are available?

Presently only vi is available

Q. What queues are available?

Four queues are available on suqoor. Their settings are according to the following table:

	Interactive	Express	Medium	Long
Max CPU Time	4 h	30 min	10 h	7 daya
Max Job / User	-	24	24	200
Max Job/Queue	-	80	80	320
Default CPU time	30 min	10 min	1 h	24 h

Q. Which software is already installed?

Initially, only MATLAB and Chemkin Pro have been installed on the cluster and are ready and accessible for use. In the coming weeks, a number of additional ISV (independent software vendor) packages will be made available as well. In the unix environment, the user often has to define certain "environment variables" before starting up a particular software package for use. We have automated the process of configuring the environment for any particular package through the "module" command. More information on the use of this command is forthcoming, but for now, the user may simply invoke the following commands before using MATLAB or Chemkin, as the case may be:

1. For MATLAB: "module load matlab"
2. For Chemkin: "module load chemkin"

Once one of these commands has been issued, the user may type "matlab" or "chemkin" to start up the desired application interactively. Users who need to use an application interactively (as opposed to batch mode) are required to start such application on one of the compute nodes of the cluster and not directly on the head node itself. Please refer to the sections entitled "How do I use MATLAB/Chemkin?" below for more details on how to do this.

Q.What compilers are supported on suqoor?

Three sets of compilers are supported on suqoor: (1) the GNU compilers (gcc), (2) PGI compilers, and (3) Intel compilers.

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Software

Q. How can I activate Math Equation in Microsoft?
A.

Open Word and click on View
Select Toolbars>Customize
Select the Command Tab
Select Insert
Find Equation Editor
Once you have located Equation Editor, click and drag it to the toolbar at the top of your page.

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Q. How do I merge PDF files With Adobe?
A. To merge all of the file:

Open Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0.
On the toolbar, click on Create PDF file>>From Multiple Files
Browse and select the files that you want to merge.

To merge certain pages within the file to another PDF file:

Open one of the files that you want to merge in Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0.
On the main menu, click on Document>>Insert pages.
Browse and select the file.
Specify where you would like to insert the pages within the current open file and specify what pages you want to insert.

Always include an introduction paragraph using the Normal-body style option from the Styles and Formatting toolbar on the right.

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Q. How do I Get a new Blackboard Vista Section?
A.

To request a section and student load, go to https://elearningtools.tamu.edu/smu/ and use your NetID and Password to login. Click on Section Management and follow the instructions.
Alternatively, upon logging into Vista (http://elearning.tamu.edu/), on the left hand side of the screen under Campus Bookmarks, click on Faculty--Request Vista Section. This will take you to Section Management Utility, where you will need to log in again using your NetID and Password. Once you have logged in, click on Section Management and follow the instructions.
You must be the instructor of record in SIMS to be able to request a Blackboard Vista section for the course.

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Q. How do I add additional members (other Instructors, TAs, Auditors) to my Blackboard Vista Section?
A.

You can only add members to already existing Blackboard Vista sections.
Once the Vista section has been created and loaded, the instructor of record can add a member by using the Section Management Utility. Go to https://elearningtools.tamu.edu/smu and use your NetID and Password to login.
Upon login, seelct Member Management. You will need to enter the members' UIN and NetID and click on Validate. Indicate the role you want them to have, e.g. Auditor, Instructor, Designer, TA by clicking on the appropriate option.
You cannot add students using this method. If a student needs to be added to your Vista section, contact ITS Helpdesk (helpdesk@qatar.tamu.edu).
Click on Submit at the end of the page to complete the operation.
You will receive an email notification to your Neo account confirming this request.

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Q. How do I add the Grade Book to my Blackboard Vista course?
A. The Grade Book tool is available to you by default under the Teach tab in your Bb Vista section. In order for students to have access to their grades in Bb Vista, you should enable the My Grades tool for them by following these steps:

Click on Manage Course under Designer Tools (Build Tab) or Instructor Tools (Teach Tab) in the left-hand menu.
Click on Tools.
Click on the check box next to My Grades under Student Tools at the end of the page.
Click on Save.

Now your students will have a link to My Grades which will display their grades that you entered in the Grade Book.

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Q. What is Citrix?
A.Through our campus Citrix service for faculty, staff, and students allows access to an array of software products - without requiring the actual installation of the software on their individual computer. Citrix applications have proven to be reliable whether accessed from the TAMUQ campus, the main TAMU campus, and homes throughout Doha (with ADSL service). Examples of applications installed on Citrix: Microsoft Viso, Micorosfot Project, Adobe CS2 suite, Matlab, Maple, Labview, Autodesk, and SolidWorks. In Addition, Citrix gives you fast access to your network drives (S:) and (H:) by using Complete Desktop. If you have questions about Citrix, please contact ITS Helpdesk (helpdesk@qatar.tamu.edu or 423-0009).

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Q. What is Webvpn?
A.Access to phone directories, emergency contact calling lists, newsletter and distribution lists; and short-text-messaging (SMS) application, password change application, and other useful services. https://webvpn.qatar.tamu.edu/.

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Q. What is Blackboard Vista?
A. Blackboard Vista (formerly known as WebCT) is a university-wide password protected course management system. Many TAMUQ instructors use this tool to deliver course information and materials. To access Blackboard Vista, use your NetID and password to logon to http://vista-test.tamu.edu.
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Q. What is Centra?
A. Centra is a real-time desktop conferencing and communications software that you can use to hold web meetings, share applications, presentations, ans websites between computers, allow co-presenters to help manage information, and record entire class sessions or to create voice-overs for on-screen presentations. Use Centra to present to small or large classes and interact with students or collaborators with voice over IP, video, and text.

Centra is available to TAMUQ users through a TAMU campus license. To obtain access to Centra, email ITS Helpdesk or call 423-0009.

TAMUQ Centra domain is located at: http://centra.qatar.tamu.edu.

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Q. What is Vovici?
A. Vovici Enterprise Feedback Management system is a secure web-based survey software tool for designing questionnaires, managing surveys, and analyzing survey responses. Vovici EFM is available to TAMUQ faculty and staff through a TAMU campus license. To obtain access to Vovici, email ITS Helpdesk or call 423-0009.

Vovici EFM is located at: http://tamusurvey.tamu.edu/Community.

Information Technology Services

Within this section:

Contact Information Technology Services

Information Technology Services

139 Texas A&M Engineering Building, Education City
PO Box 23874, Doha, Qatar
974.423.0034
it@qatar.tamu.edu