source/help/exams/helpdesk-test-2011-egm/index.md
---
title: 'Helpdesk Test 2011 EGM'
---
Instructions:
· Most questions appear in the form of a hey/email from a user
· Try to answer as if you were replying to the user
· Write your answers on a separate page and number them for ease of correction
· You can assume for the questions, unless otherwise specified, that the user is using the following programs:
· IRC: irssi
· News: Slrn
· Email: mutt
· All questions carry equal marks (3 marks)
· Some questions won't have an obvious answer, in this case you'll be rewarded for knowing what to ask the user next.
· RTFM/Just google it are NOT acceptable answers
· Possible bonus marks for amusing/helpful answers
· Ask isaac702 or beimear if you have any questions/problems.
· Best of Luck:)
________________
1\. Hi guys,
I have recently joined redbrick and I am looking to use my new webspace to host my brilliantly colourful website.
I have tried to upload it using FTP however I can’t get my client to connect.
hostname: login.redbrick.dcu.ie
username: newb
password: +dm6kU3W
What am I doing wrong?
1\. Message from newb@azazel on pts/45 at 22:54 ...
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
O Hi helpdesk team. O
O I have just been given a VM on Redbrick and am having problems O
O getting it to boot. O
O Everytime I just get the following error message. O
O "Booting from CD-Rom... O
O Boot Failed:Count not read from CDROM (code 0003) O
O No bootable device." O
O I am following the guides on the wiki to the letter. What is the O
O problem? O
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
EOF
1\. Hi,
Thanks for the help with the uploading files earlier. I am now having another issue.
When I visit my website I am getting the following error 403 - Permission Denied.
What is the problem and how do I fix it?(Marks also awarded for what you can do to check what is wrong)
1\. I love knowing all the latest gossip on redbrick and I heard you have something called "news", so I typed news at my terminal and it was just the oldies talking about their grand jobs and growing chillies. Why don’t you have better boards with a nice interface? :(
1\. Message from newb@azazel on pts/45 at 22:54 ...
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
O Hi helpdesk team. O
O I recently got a new laptop and I am using to connect to redbrick while in DCU, O
O this was working fine until a couple of days ago. Now I only get a message O
O saying there is no route to host. O
O Is there something I need to know about connecting to redbrick on this network? O
O Are there any alternatives to using a desktop client to connect? O
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
EOF
________________
1\. So I really like the chat on redbrick. #lobby is really interesting and the conversation is really riveting.
I think it is time for a change though. Is there any other places I can chat?
How would I go about creating my own?
1\. <user7359____>So I noticed that everyone seemed to be on IRC all the time and I was told screen was how it was done.
<user7359____>I have followed the instructions I was given however I can’t help but feel something has gone wrong.
<user7359____>People in #lobby are telling me I fail at screen however I can’t see how that is possible.
<user7359____>Could you explain to them that I am not doing it wrong.
1\. H1 4££.
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Mµ$t b3 4 pr0b£3m 0n ¥0µr 3nÐ 4$ 1 4m n0t Ð01ng 4n¥th1ng wr0ng.
1 m4¥ h4v3 t¥p3Ð m¥ p4$w0rÐ 1n wr0ng 4 (0µp£3 0f t1m3$ bµt th1$ w4$n't m¥ f4µ£t. N0th1ng 4pp34r$ 0n $(r33n wh3n 1 t¥p3.
Wh4t 1$ wr0ng w1th ¥0µr $¥$t3m?
1\. <jbloggs>po
1\. So I have a problem all the email send to my redbrick address goes to my DCU Email.
How do I disable this?
What are my options for viewing email on redbrick?
1\. Thanks for helping me view my mail on redbrick.
I have a problem though. I have noticed that I am getting alot of spam to my email address. In the past Gmail’s Spam controls took care of this for me. What does redbrick have to provide me with the same protection?
1\. I have written a script that I want to run automatically. On windows I would set up a scheduled task however I am unsure how to do this on Linux.
How do I go about doing this?
What is the format for the configuration file and how do I edit it?
________________
1\. Hi I have downloaded a copy of phpBB which I intend to run on my webspace.
According to the wiki php files should be 600, directories should be 711 and any other type of file should be 644\. I have tried modifying the permissions however there are just to many files to deal with.
Is there a way I can change the permissions on all the appropriate files at once and what do these numbers mean anyway?
Is there anything else I should know about hosting forums on redbrick?
1\. So I am starting to learn mysql as part of a programming assignment.
Can haz a Mysql account?
How can I take a backup of the database I have on my laptop and restore it to the redbrick account?
1\. Hi I am in first year of computer applications and I am trying to compile my assignment on redbrick.
When ever I try to compile my program though all I get is the following error.
Error occurred during initialization of VM
Could not reserve enough space for object heap
Could not create the Java virtual machine.
What is wrong?
1\. i luv dis redbrick ch@ n all, bt i miss my peepz frm msn nd all. ne way i cn tlk to dem on rdbrck? thx xoxo
1\. There is a section of my redbrick webspace that I want to put a password on.
How do I go about doing this?
1\. Hey guise, gw keeps heying me ascii penii while I’m using chat. I’m also using screen so it keeps interrupting all the happenings in #lobby. However, I find his work quite artistic. Is there anyway I could block them from chat and receive them in another window? HALP!
1\. Dear Helpdesk,
I downloaded a file from maK’s websyte to my redbrick called alwaysSafeForWork.tar.gz . He said there’s lots of cool stuff in there that I can browse through in work. However it seems to be a compressed file. I’m new to linux and any help is appreciated,
Grand Worker Stu. :)
1\. I am trying to edit some files on my redbrick account and I am tired of downloading and uploading them each time I make a change. Is there a way of modifying files directly on redbrick?
How do I learn how to use it?
________________
1\. I am new to Linux can you give me a few examples of the commands that I will need to get by.
Are there any tutorials that will help me.
1\. Hi Helpdesk,
So I was looking at the permissions and ownership of the files in my home directory and I saw public_html had the following,
lrwxrwxrwx 1 newb redbrick 19 Oct 7 2009 public_html -> /webtree/n/newb
This appears to say that everyone has read write access to my webtree. Should I be worried?
What is going on here?
Newb.
1\. Hey, I just joined #lobby and some weirdo called moju keeps telling me he’s "fingering" me. How is he doing this and how can I change my information? He already knows my real name!
1\. Hey Helpdesk, I’m having some trouble becoming a leet spammer. At a given opportunity I have to type "/exec -o cat ~newb/spam/baconcorn.txt" . I find this overly time consuming. Is there any way I could shorten the command to "/spam" or something?
1\. I have an urgent problem.
I was storing an assignment for one of my modules on redbrick.
When I was trying to download it I accidentally copied another file over it
Is there any way I can get it back?
1\. A friend of mine is able to log into redbrick without typing in his password.
What black magic is it that allows him to do this?
How can I do the same?
1\. I have started my own channel on IRC however all these people keep joining and saying mean things to me.
The admins simply told me they couldn’t do anything but to consider looking at the channel modes or adding some operators.
How do I add operators to the channel?
What modes should I know? For example what does n do? It seems to be on all channels.
1\. You have been elected helpdesk. You and your helpdesk friends want to run a talk.
Explain how you would go about doing this. Be as detailed as possible.
(And yes I am looking for specific things here).
________________
1\. So I understand Redbrick has been around for quite a while now. When was it started?
Could you name some of the servers it has had over the years?
1\. I am having a major problem.
My terminal just stopped working and it isn’t responding anymore.
My Internet connection is fine. What is wrong?
1\. I am tired of the look of my terminal. I want to make it look a tad more interesting.
How can I change it an ascii penis? It should also be COLOURFUL.
1\. I was using chat in lobby the other day and told everyone I was really excited about installing linux. Anyway, some bumbum fellow interjected for a moment and told me I should install GNU/linux instead. He told me Richard Matthew Stallman could help me out, but I don’t know his username so could you guise help me instead? What’s the difference between linux and GNU/linx, and will the latter make my computer run faster?
newb in OS distress ;_;
33.
Good day to you. I am an active committee member of DCU gamessoc. I take great joy in hosting all the console gaming sessions. I was wondering if there are any games on redbrick that may be of interest to me. Any information would be appreciated.
r1ch4rd.
(extra points if you make him join redbrick)
Bonus Round.
1)
It is raining and I don’t want to go outside but people are telling me to come to the common room.
How do I get there without leaving the building?
2)
Pirates, Zombies or Unicorns?
3)
How much pizza will you have guarantee at events?
What toppings will they have?
4)
You are sitting alone in N109\. You hear a sound and feel like someone is watching you.
What do you do? Who/What is it?
5)
You find a root shell left logged in on Redbrick. What do you do?
6)
Draw a representation of #lobby with an emphasis on what it means to you.
</jbloggs></user7359____></user7359____></user7359____></user7359____>