It also means that you can keep those Children’s Games! But how??? The answer is at pacomputing.webjunction.org. If the link isn’t on the landing page (as it is right now), look for this article “Copy Children’s Games from a Windows NT GLC to a Windows XP Computer.” The article takes you step by step through the process of copying the files over from your old computer to your new one without requiring the programs to be run from a CD.

This useful guide is available on the PAComputing section of WebJunction along with some other very handy stuff. For example how about these ready to roll QuickGuides for many popular applications (Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Microsoft Streets and Trips) plus How to Use Word, Copying and Moving Text as well as Spanish versions of everything too.

Another useful resource on this site is a Top Issues Archive that will help tech support folk find solutions to problems associated with the Gates computers or people using the Shared Computer Toolkit.

Here’s where it’s at: http://pacomputing.webjunction.org/do/DisplayContent?id=7593 . [Updated link 12/6/04]

In addition to documentation and source code, it also has a new name….the Public Access Computer Security Tool. What it does is allow you to do a vanilla install of Windows 2000 or XP on a PC and then use this tool to lock down the settings without having to crawl around in the registry by hand.

I’ve found that there are some settings you’ll still want to adjust manually and you might even want to supplement the configuration with WINSelect but this tool provides a nice start.

They’ve even set up a discussion forum as a way to support people using the tool. Available here.

The Public Access Computer Configuration Tool is a software security system designed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for public access computers. You can install it to help keep a computer stable by restricting access to the computer and creating customizable profile environments designed to meet the needs of public computer users without compromising your ability to keep the computer up and running.

One of the nicest features about it is that you can add and remove it from your computer using Add/Remove Programs. This is more manageable than undoing hundreds of registry settings if you’ve “rolled your own” public access security system.

The PAC Installer was created by the Gates Foundation fairly late in the game and any states that didn’t opt for the Staying Connected grants didn’t receive information about this utility nor did they receive certain updates. It is available on the pacomputing.org website but you have to pretend you are from New York (or another state that participated in the Staying Connected program) to find anything about it.

To find information about the Gates Configuration Tool (aka PAC Installer), go to pacomputing.org and search for “configuration tool? and select New York from the State/Location dropdown box. There are lots of other useful papers here about adding printers, copying the children’s programs from one Gates Computer to another, replacing defective hard disks, and lots more.

Another useful document I’m making available here because I can’t seem to find it anymore on the pacomputing.org site is called Installing the Public Access Computer Configuration Tool on a Non-Granted Public Access Computer. The PAC Installer can be installed on non-granted public access computers running either: the Windows 2000 Professional operating system with Service Pack 2 or later installed; or the Windows XP Professional operating system. It’s a great way to add another Gates computer to your inventory.

Download the PAC Installer (2MB) here: pac_installer.exe

Lock and Unlock Profiles

• Purpose: unlocking profiles to make changes, then relocking them
• Where to find on your Gates computer
• D:\Utilities\Profile Batch Files, or
• E:\Utilities\Profile Batch Files, or
• C:\BMGF Utilities
• Documentation available on pacomputing.org entitled “Unlocking Public Profiles So You Can Alter Them, and Locking Them When You’re Done” and “Adding and Using the Profile Lock and Unlock Utilities”

Improve Registry Settings

• Purpose locks down the registry to make it more resistant to the new ?pest? programs”
• Download the file here: registry_tools.exe
• Documentation available on pacomputing.org entitled ?Enhancing Security on the Windows Registry?

Clean Temporary Files

• Purpose: clean out the temp directory and restore it with proper defaults
• View file here: cleantemp.bat
• Documentation available on pacomputing.org entitled: “Add the Temp Folder Cleaning Utility to a Gates Library Computer”

More to come on this topic inluding PAC_Installer and some useful tips for fixing annoying Gates problems….stand by.