P Squared Community Forum / Product Forums / Other P Squared Software Category / Other FAQs

Securing Myriad Terminals

Richard Payne — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 10:05:00 GMT

One of the questions that we are getting increasingly often is \"How do we prevent people fiddling with studio PC setups and breaking things\". The correct \"Windows answer\" is to make your users login as a restricted user. However this raises several problems on a Myriad system. Myriad local configuration data is stored in an INI file in the Windows folder. This folder is not writable by restricted users and if you are running Q-Nxt it can't update the automation mode. If the terminal restarts for any reason then the auto-restart will not work correctly. Also if you are running AutoTrack on the same system then its configuration is stored here too with the same problem.The solution is to set the security permissions on the INI files to allow full access to everyone. Select the myriad.ini (and autotrck.ini if you have it), right click and select Properties. Go to the security tab. Is \"Everyone\" in the list of users at the top? If not then click the Add button, select Everyone and click Add followed by ok. Once Everyone is in the list select it and make sure that Allow Full Control is ticked. Press OK to close the properties dialog.Restricted users do not have permission to set the system clock. Normally this would be a good thing but if you use a radio clock then it is a problem. Myriad controls the clock, reads the time from it and sets the system time. The problem is that Myriad runs in the user's security context and so if the user is restricted so is Myriad and hence it can not set the system time. The only solution to this is unfortunately to relax the use restriction and allow them to change the time.Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrator Tools > Local Security PolicyUse the tree on the left to navigate to Local Policies > User Right AssignmentDouble click on the \"Change the system time\" entry in the list on the right.Tick the local policy setting for the \"Users\" group and press ok.Close the Local Security Settings window.Remember that installation and configuration of a Myriad system require Administrator access. Therefore if your users do not have this then they can not make any changes. This also includes re-licensing of all P Squared products.

Setting up Remote Control Access with logmein.com

Richard Payne — Fri, 18 May 2007 14:49:36 GMT

How to use www.logmein.com:

1) Create yourself an account on the website. The free option is best (unless you want to pay for the extra features of course! :))

2) Login to the website on the machine that you want to make available for remote control and click the "Add Computer" link.

3) It will ask to download some software which you should agree to and follow the wizard through.

4) Once the software is installed, your computer should appear on your account in the My Computers section.

5) Click the "Users" link on the toolbar and then click on the Secondary Users link.

6) Click "Add New Secondary User" and type support@psquared.net (or whoever else you want to have access to your systems) into the email address box.

7) Make sure that all computers that you want this user to access are in the "Assigned Computers" list and then click the Send Invitation button.

Problems trying to License "On-line"?

David Boulton — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 13:54:35 GMT

If you have problems licensing your P Squared software using the "on-line" method, these may be the causes and the solutions:

1) Firewall - the license wizard communicates with P Squared on a particular port, if this is not open then the communication cannot happen. If you can adjust your settings of the firewall and you are happy to do so, open TCP 6998.

2) Incorrect Details - we check the information that you've put into the license wizard and compare it to a list of people you have authorised us to issue licenses to. If you change your email address we need to know. If the details don't match we can't issue a license.

3) Different PC - When we issue a license code it is issued to a specific PC. If you need to move that license you can release it allowing it to be licensed again (there is a release button on later versions of the license wizard). If you have a hardware faliure and re-install windows, then this is classed as a different PC and you will need to call or email licenses@psquared.net explaining the fault so we can release the code on your behalf.

4) Security Check - if a license is renewed too many times our system blocks the renewals. This means someone who is authorised from your station needs to call us and we can check to make sure that no unauthorised people are trying to use your license.

5) Overdue payment - i'm sorry to say that if you owe us money we will make it more of an annoyance to license the software and in extreme cases you may have to license the software on a daily basis. We are human and we do understand that payments and cashflow can be a problem sometimes. So please talk to us, and we may be able to arrange different payment terms.

Database Record Locking Modes

Peter Jarrett — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 20:32:20 GMT

Most of our products now store their information in shared Databases. These files allow very fast searching for information, as well as making applications more scalable as it is very easy for us to add new data - and therefore new facilities.The drawback is that they have to use 'Record Locking' to ensure that a user doesn't overwrite anothers information by accidentally saving at the same time. This is why you may occasionally see messages such as \"Record Locked by user 'admin' on machine XXXX\".As the number of computers opening a given database increases, you are more likely to encounter these Record Locking errors when adding or editing information.Most of our products use the Microsoft Jet Database Engine (v3.6 or v4.0 depending on who at Microsoft you ask) which is an industry standard database that is very easy to setup and administer, as well as providing a very simple and easy way to back up all of your data.To reduce the number of times you may see the above message, we are changing the way that we access the various databases from 'Page Level Locking' to a new method called 'Record Level Locking'.Although a full description is beyond the scope of this post, a quick summary is to say that data is stored in databases in 'pages' of information. Each page contains 1 or more 'Records' - a record is single item in the database such as a Scoop Story, an AutoTrack Song or Link, a Directory Contact or a Log Entry in Myriad.With Page Level Locking, if a user is updating a single record on a page, the whole page has to be locked, with the side effect that it prevents other users from updating other records on the same page - i.e. in Scoop, the stories near the one being edited, and in the Myriad Log, the entries above and below the one being edited.With Record Level Locking, only the record being updated is locked, so the others are free to be edited.The drawback to this method is that it is slightly slower, but this shouldn't be a factor on our software as the number of edits happening at any one time is always very low. In fact you are unlikely to notice any significant decreases unless you are running 10 or more busy users from the same database.Now, the only caveat here is that the new mode can only be activated when a new or existing database is opened for the first time. If a database is already in use by other programs, then the record locking reverts to the old Page locking mode. Therefore you have to quit from all products accessing a database on all computers before it can be activated. In the case of the P Squared Directory, this is obviously used by almost all of our new generation of products, so you may need to plan ahead. Also, don't forget 'backoffice' programs like Scoop Capture that also use the database but can easily be forgotten. If you leave these running, they will keep the database open and the new mode can't therefore be activated.For more information about this, please see the following article on the Microsoft Website:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/275561/EN-US/#XSLTH3397121123120121120120

How to set networked PC's to get time from one PC (WinXP)

Peter Jarrett — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 14:06:31 GMT

How to set all networked PC's to take time from one PC

Note: These instructions are for Windows XP only!

If you have a Rugby clock on one PC, or are using the Internet Time service and want all the PC's on your network to take their time from it, follow the these simple instructions:

Note: This FAQ assumes you have the Radio Clock or Internet Time facility working fully on the computer that we will call the \"Time Server\".

On all machines you wish to include in the time synchronisation, right click My Computer and choose Manage. In the left panel, select Services and Applications, then Services. In the right panel, right click Windows Time and select Properties, then change the Startup Type to Automatic and click OK.

On the PC which has the radio clock attached, run the attached XPServerNetTime.bat file to activate the time server service.

Then go to each machine you wish to synchronise to the time service. Click Start>Run, Type CMD and Press Enter. In the CMD window type NET TIME /SETSNTP:NAME (where NAME is the windows name of the machine with the radio clock) and it should begin synchronising.

Then run the attached XPClientNetTime.bat file and you should see the time adjust to match the time on the Server.

This information is derived from a Microsoft Article on the Microsoft web site http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;216734

Warning! Performing this procedure is done so at your own risk.

Key word search: time, synchronisation, Rugby, MSF, DCF, net time, set, NTP, SNTP, atomic clock, sync, w32time

Why can only see 137Gb of my new Hard drive in Windows 2000?

Peter Jarrett — Fri, 11 Mar 2005 09:26:56 GMT

Very easy one - until Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, Microsoft couldn't handle IDE drives larger than 137Gb.In SP4 they included a registry tweak that solves the problem - full details can be found at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;305098This only affects IDE Drives connected directly to the motherboard (ATAPI) - if you have a RAID Card then this usually doesn't affect you as the RAID card uses it's own driver instead.

Allowing remote control via Dameware through a firewall

Peter Jarrett — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 08:35:52 GMT

Dameware is a remote control program available from www.dameware.com that allows a remote user to login to your computer remotely and use it as if they were physically sat in front of it.P Squared has chosen Dameware to perform remote diagnostic and technical support for users that are connected to the internet (and in selected cases where a dial in modem is available)Although a full description of how to use dameware is beyond the scope of this FAQ, hopefully this will help you get the Dameware utility installed on your computer to allow us to connect via a firewall.Becuase Firewalls block attempts from remote computers trying to access your network you will need to open 2 ports for us to use to connect to you. Becuase every firewall is configured differently we can't help you with this, but you should find instructions in the documentation that comes with your firewall.You will need to open and route TCP ports 6129 and 6130 from your firewall to the computer you want us to be able to control.You will then need to run a copy of \"DameWare Mini Remote Control\" on that machine, and then on the File menu click \"Install Service\". When it asks what machine you want to install it on, enter either LOCALHOST, or the name of the machine itself - this makes dameware install it's remote control 'service' onto the local computer so we can then connect to it. Once this is done, you can actually uninstall the main dameware remote control program, and it will leave the service installed for remote users to connect to.Once this is done, you will then need to let us know the IP address of your firewall, as well as a username, domain name and password of an account that has administrative rights to that computer.Usually we just use the local administrator account so if you just let us know the password for that we should be able to connect straight away.Thats it - we (and you if you choose to purchase a full copy of Dameware Mini remote Control) can now remote control the computer from another computer either inside the firewall, or over the internet.Note: Before you open the ports on your firewall, make sure that you have set a password on all accounts that have Administrator rights on that computer. Otherwise anyone on the internet will be able to remote control your computer easily.

Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Network Shares

Peter Jarrett — Thu, 06 May 2004 10:23:26 GMT

When you create a share under either Windows 2003 Server or Windows XP it may be created with \"Read-Only\" rights instead of \"Read/Write\" or \"Read/Change\" or \"Full Access\" (see screenshot below)With the exception of Powerlog shares, we recommend that you change the Share Permissions to give both Read and Write (or \"Change\") permissions on any shares that you are using with P Squared Products. If you don't alter these Permissions then it is very likely that your software will be unable to run correctly and may close unexpectedly with various different error messages.Details of how to change the permissions can be found by choosing the \"Help\" option on the Start menu and searching for \"Shared Folder Permissions\", but usually it is a simple matter of ticking the \"Allow Change\" box and clicking OK.An example is a \"Myriad\" share - if this only has \"Read Only\" permissions then Myriad will not be able to use any of the Databases that are stored on it. This is because Myriad needs to be able to write certain critical information back to the databases while it is using it.

My Network Places issue between Win2k & WinXP

David Boulton — Wed, 31 Mar 2004 15:39:00 GMT

Windows 2000 and Windows XP users should be aware that we have found a conflict between the two OS versions in the way the \"My Network Places\" area works.When loading or saving files in our products (such as wav files in Myriad), if you select a network location from the list of recently used network locations immediately under \"My Network Places\" you will find that the file is not correctly read or written from that location. This is becuase Windows reports that location incorrectly to our software.Therefore you should always specify the exact network location either via a UNC: eg. \\\\[servername]\\myriad\\audio or by browsing through the \"Entire Network\" tree to the destination directory: eg. Entire Network>Microsoft Windows Network>[Workgroup]>[Computer Name]>[Share]Then you should have no problems accessing the files.As far as we are aware, this limitation does not apply if you are using the same operating system on both computers.

Important Reminder, for entering New Software License Codes

David Boulton — Tue, 09 Mar 2004 14:55:12 GMT

Please be aware that whenever licensing a product from P Squared Ltd, you must be logged onto the Windows (TM) machine with administrator rights, preferably the administrator account. If you are not logged on as an administrator, under certain circumstances it can appear that your new license code has been accepted, even when it hasn't. Therefore the next time you log in, the software will not be able to validate your license.If you think this is happening to you, please check with your network administrator for local security policies before contacting licenses@psquared.netPLEASE NOTE: This does NOT affect Myriad 2.5 / 2.6 customers.Regards - David Boulton

How to set networked PC's to get time from one PC (Win2000)

Liam Burke — Fri, 06 Feb 2004 10:26:04 GMT

How to set all networked PC's to take time from one PC

Note: These instructions are for Windows 2000 only!

If you have a Rugby clock on one PC and want all the PC's on your network to take their time from it, follow the these simple instructions:

Note: This FAQ assumes you have the Radio Clock working fully on a computer

Download the attached registry key file and run it on the PC that has the Rugby clock attached to it (The 'Time Server'). You must not run this registry key on any other machines on your network.

On all machines you wish to include in the time synchronisation (including the one with the rugby clock), right click My Computer and choose Manage. In the left panel, select Services and Applications, then Services. In the right panel, right click Windows Time and select Properties, then change the Startup Type to Automatic and click OK.

On each \"Time Client\" machine you want to synchronise to the \"Time Server\" click Start>Run, type CMD and click OK.

In the CMD window type the following and press Enter:

NET TIME /SETSNTP:<TIMESERVERNAME>

Where <TIMESERVERNAME> is the windows name of the \"Time Server\" (machine with the radio clock)

Now restart the \"Time Server\" and then once it is running restart all of the \"Time Clients\"

This information is derived from a Microsoft Article on the Microsoft web site http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;216734

Warning! Performing this procedure is done so at your own risk.

Key word search: time, synchronisation, Rugby, MSF, DCF, net time, set, NTP, SNTP, atomic clock, sync, w32time

Cart Chunk - What is it and how does it work?

Liam Burke — Mon, 02 Feb 2004 17:02:00 GMT

Cart Chunk - What is it and how does it work?OverviewP Squared is one of the leading companies backing the CartChunk format , described by it's inventors as \"The Radio Industry's Traffic Data WAVE File Standard\". CartChunk is a system invented by a couple of US radio engineers to allow transfer of information about audio between systems simply and without any need for special actions by the user. In the great old days of radio, transferring an audio cut from one site to another, or from one system to another was usually done on a DAT or going back further on Reel to Reel tape. The information that described the cut (i.e. title, artist, copyright information and timing information) was hand written onto the item's label, so it couldn't be lost. When the world went digital, this information no longer had a home, so was usually either printed out or copied by hand from one system to another - or if at another site, by ringing the person that sent you the file and asking them to read it out over the phone! CartChunk solves this problem by embedding the information digitally into the header information that is already present in the now ubiquitous WAV file. That way, wherever the WAV file goes, the information follows.Most of the major companies are now partners in the CartChunk project, and we all regularly discuss how the information is used and stored to ensure that all of the different software made by all of the different vendors can happily accept files from other systems and transfer across as much of this information as possible.At present, Myriad, Myriad STS, AutoTrack v2.6, Scoop and OCP all have support for both reading and writing CartChunk information built in - in fact, it cannot be turned off as CartChunk use is now widespread.To read a full a history of the CartChunk format, as well as see the list of participating vendors, and full technical details of the format itself, visit the CartChunk website at www.cartchunk.com.Technical InformationWhen a WAV file is imported onto the Audio Wall, the information stored in the CartChunk is handled as shown in the table attached below.Notes:As described in the Other CartChunk fields Section above, the Carts Background and text colours, as well as the Ending Type information is stored in the UserDef field as there is no direct equivalent in the CartChunk format. The UserDef field is used for different purposes in products from different vendors, so this should not cause any interoperation issues.An example is (note that the text is American English not UK English!)BackColor=&H8000000F& ForeColor=&H80000012&Which indicates that the Cart is using a system colour (note the &H8 prefix) for both Background and foreground.For further information, please email support@psquared.netSearch key words: Cart Chunk, embedded info, WAV, Broadcast Wav.