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Post by almostcheerful on Aug 21, 2012 22:02:51 GMT
Just sharing bad news with ya all that servers at ASC Houston are down and any email send to ASC office will be bounced. Luckily, I got hold of my RA this morning after several of mine emails returned undelivered and I learned that strong viru the computer system badly which in results cause ASC and SA to replace hundreds of PC's but IT can't fix this problem as of yet and because of Eid holidays it is next to impossible to find resolution.
We are in the final visa processing stage and my RA told me that if problem persists she might returned all Visa money orders to candidates and would rather pay online to Saudi embassy. All the tentative schedules are delayed for unlimited period of time. My tentative Depart schedule date was Sep 29 which is no longer achievable according to my RA. UP to now, IT is able to backup only the internal email server system at ASC in Houston but still correspondence between SA and ASC is completely discontented.
I like to confirm from current Aramcon in Saudi if this info is true and the servers are equally down in Saudi facilities?
Does this happen before? If so how long this problem persists and what was the remedy?
Any idea how it will affect (server down) the visa processing and what would be an estimated delay period in terms of weeks/months. Please share.
Sorry for the bad news
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Post by Overland on Aug 22, 2012 2:27:17 GMT
I believe that the Aramco employees are on Eid holiday for the rest of their week. We may not know where they stand until they return to work on Saay.
I also heard that the e-mail was nonfunctional due to the malware attack. Looks like it can happen anywhere to anyone.
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Post by bolishfamily on Aug 22, 2012 6:18:08 GMT
Yes it is true that a virus has attacked the computer systems in Saudi. The company provided internet service is down & that's why responses to questions have been limited. Some people went out & purchased mobile broadband USB devices to get internet service. Really don't know the extent of the damage of the virus as previous post stated that yes the EID is just wrapping up. Have a feeling things are going to be a mess for a while as they were allowing some of the outside providers onto camp to sell internet service. Computers that were affected were supposedly totally wiped clean of all data. As far as I'm aware this has not happened before. It was a major nasty virus no telling what info is still available.
Sorry can't provide any real clear answers. Very little info is being given out.
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Post by JamRock on Aug 22, 2012 12:35:19 GMT
Oh dear. This doesn't sound good. On my last working day before Eid all the PCs in our building blanked out and no-one could get onto the server or even reboot their PCs again.
My wife's residency visa is currently in process. I can only hope that this won't delay things even further.
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Post by divenpuff on Aug 22, 2012 12:37:46 GMT
Best of luck JamRock...
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Post by Overland on Aug 22, 2012 13:10:11 GMT
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kilted_highlander78
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Post by kilted_highlander78 on Aug 22, 2012 17:40:05 GMT
Woooow... you guys are awsome...always up......... us. Thanks a lot...and try to be patient. I decided to stop thinking about this..
Patience...Sabr my friends.
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Post by Overland on Aug 22, 2012 18:55:02 GMT
Just talked to a friend in DHA. He said that all of theirs went down around 12:20 last Wednesday. They all just packed up and called it a day. Looks like a lot of work ahead for the IT guys.
Highlander: You are right! I also need to forget this stuff and let it all take its course. I know that I will get there eventually and it is no use sweating over the stuff I have no control over. Sabr and Insha'!
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Post by almostcheerful on Aug 22, 2012 20:48:12 GMT
Thanks for all who're up......... us on this issue. Certainly, there are delays on all areas but nothing can be achieved without patience. ASC is bombarded with phone calls after email malware. We should always hope for the best. A one great update is ASC email server is working at least for only one way...that mean ASC can send an email to you but you can't reply them.
I got one email this morning for something I missed in my documents when submitted last week and I got this info via email from ASC but the message was cut off mostly but content was still readable; however, when I replied back to that message, the result was same.. Undelivered as usual...and I was advised to fax the document rather than sending an email. So…Sabre is our best friend!
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Post by soverydeb on Aug 23, 2012 19:04:02 GMT
Fortunately, IT did work through the rest of Ramadan and the Eid holidays, and the computers are SLOWLY coming back online. Just be PATIENT, it will all be back to some semblance of normal soon. In sh.
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Post by Hadia on Aug 23, 2012 21:46:56 GMT
Do the homes in DH Hills have internet service right now?
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Post by Boustrophedon on Aug 24, 2012 6:23:36 GMT
I've been trying to contact my Relocation Advisor in London for a few days. I started to worry my I saw that my emails were bouncing and that I could not reach her on the phone either. If it is "only" a computer virus problem, I'll probably try the phone again.
I am now at the stage where I gave my notice to my employer and my landlords, and the last thing to do was to agree on my airport of departure and airline. I hope the delays won't be too great, or I will have to go through the visa process again and will end up being jobless and homeless for a while... :shock:
I will keep monitoring the forum for any updates, so thanks for sharing any info you might have.
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Post by Texas786 on Aug 24, 2012 13:36:27 GMT
Outlook Email was acting funny the day before holidays. A few of us had to change our passwords and some could not even log on at all. The intranet is not working as of today.
Does anyone know if I rent a car tonight, will the main gate be able to issue a temporary sticker since servers are down?
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Post by gotfour on Aug 24, 2012 14:20:54 GMT
I know one thing. It takes a long time to restore a lot of data from tape archive. If older data is on an older format of tape media, then it may have to be restored on a slower tape drive. But I have no idea what they are doing, but I wish them the best.
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Post by expatwife on Aug 25, 2012 16:36:53 GMT
Boustrophedon, I just pm you.
Texas786, my husband tried that and couldn't get a sticker. So, he's driving the rental car with no sticker.
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