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FAQ

Login

I just completed the registration form. How long does it take before I can actually use my login?

Usually the login is ready to use within roughly 15 minutes.

How do I change my password?

Use the command cip-set-password or account.cip.cs.fau.de.

I have forgotten my password.

You can reset your password via account.cip.cs.fau.de.

Users who would like to keep their CIP-login separated from their IdM-login may opt out. The password reset via account.cip.cs.fau.de can be disabled with an email from your FAU-mail address to problems@cip.cs.fau.de.

How can I change my login-shell?

You can change your login-shell with the program cip-chsh.

How much disk-quota (space) do I have as part of my CIP-login?

Every student has a fixed limit of disk space for his home. You can check how much of this you have in use with the command cip-quota.

If you need more space, there are several possibilities:

I can't logon. If I try a blue screen appears for a second and the logon prompt appears again.

It is very likely that you have too high diskusage. To delete some files it is possible to use the Console of a Linux box. You can access the console by typing Ctrl-Alt-F1. Logon with username and password and you get a shell. Now you can check your diskusage with cip-quota. If you're over diskquota you can delete some files using rm. When you are still over diskquota use ncdu to see your files in the current directory. Use the cursor keys to select the file or folder you want to delete, then press d. To exit ncdu press q. As soon as cip-quota tells you that your're no longer over diskquota you can logout from the console, switch back to the Xwindow system using Ctrl-Alt-F7 and continue your work. Note that despite its name the ''failsave'' window manager might fail with a full quota due to the KDM writing files.

I can't logon per remote.cip.cs.fau.de (via Xpra). Connection closed (socket closed)

This error is probably also triggered by an exceeded disk quota, which can cause some applications (like xfce) to stop working. You can still connect to one of our machines via ssh, check your quota and maybe delete some files.

Can I use 2-factor-authentication with my CIP account?

You can protect your password login with U2F as second factor. Please visit our consultation hours with your U2F device and a government-issued photo ID where we'll configure your login.

Note: Once U2F is enabled you won't be able to use password logins via SSH as this would circumvent the protection granted by 2-factor-authentication. To disable U2F in the future you'll have to visit our consultation hours with a government-issued photo ID.

Software

How can I obtain a list of the installed software?

See software.

Audio playback does not work

Make sure source and output device are turned on and set to a high volume in pavucontrol (Multimedia -> PulseAudio Volume Control). In case you can't see any source or output devices, delete ~/.pulse and restart pulseaudio (pkill pulseaudio). Please contact us if there is still no sound.

Eclipse refuses to start or open my workspace

Most likely Eclipse wasn't shut down properly the last time you used it. Back up your data and remove the lock file in your workspace (location of workspace may differ):

cp -rf ~/workspace ~/workspace.bak rm ~/workspace/.metadata/lock

Mozilla Firefox (or Iceweasel) complains about being already started as $PID on $HOST

Unfortunately Firefox doesn't play nice with shared homes over NFS. You can terminate the old instance, so you can open a new one:

ssh login@$HOST
kill $PID

Or you can create a new Profile for each host you're running Firefox simultaneously:

firefox -ProfileManager

Warning: Manually deleting the lock files (.lock, .parentlock) in your Firefox-Profile will most likely break your profile!

Hardware

Is there a possibility to mount usb-sticks and hard drives in the CIP-pool?

After plugging in the stick, it can be mounted with the command cip-mountusb. Do not forget to umount it before disconnecting! This is done with cip-umountusb. Supported file systems are FAT and NTFS.

How can I mount CDs/DVDs in the CIP-pool?

Insert your disk into the drive, then type mount /dev/cdrom or mount /dev/dvd depending on the filesystem on your disk (typically you want /dev/cdrom). If in doubt, try both. The disk will be mounted to /media/cdrom or /media/dvd, respectively. When you're done using the disk, type umount /media/cdrom or umount /media/dvd, followed by eject to open the disk tray.

How can I burn a CD in the CIP-Pool?

The easiest way to burn a CD/DVD is to use the graphical program brasero, which should guide you through the whole process.

Alternatively you can use genisoimage and wodim.

You can find out where computers can be found on which CDs can be burned by searching for the keyword “BluRay-writer” at this page.

A computer is shut-down, what can I do?

Some machines power-down automatically during evenings and week-ends to save power. You can always start those machines by pressing the power button. As long as you're logged in they won't power down again.