Office of Information Technology
The Student Help Desk is located in Ettinger 003. You can also reach the Student Help Desk by dialing DESK (x3375) or by sending e-mail to helpdesk@muhlenberg.edu. The Student Help Desk is open seven days a week during the academic year. Refer to signs on the Student Help Desk door for exact hours.
Student Help Desk |
Faculty & Staff Support |
AskIT!
- I forgot my password. What do I do now?
- Where is the Student Help Desk?
- My internet connection doesn't work. What do I do?
- What do I do if there is no paper in the lab printers or the computers are not working?
- I spilled something on my computer. What do I do?
- My telephone is not working, who should I talk to?
First, before you go searching for a replacement password, make sure that your caps lock is not engaged. If it is still not working, then you will need to visit one of the following offices:
If you have misplaced your Blackboard password, you can either use the “Forgot Password” feature on the login page or come down to the OIT student help desk and we will be happy to reset your password.
If you have misplaced your Capstone password, you need to visit the Registrar’s office with your student ID to have that reset.
If you have misplaced your Group-wise email password, please visit the Student Help Desk, and we will be happy to have that reset for you.
If you have misplaced your network login password, please visit the Student Help Desk with your student ID and we will provide that to you.
We are located in the basement of the Ettinger building in Room 003. You can also call us from any campus phone at extension 3375.
Well, first you might want to check and make sure that your Ethernet plug is plugged into the back of your computer and the wall outlet properly. If there are lights next to the plug, are they blinking? If they are not blinking, your computer may not be receiving an internet signal, or the plug may be defective.
If you have a roommate, try plugging your roommate’s Ethernet cord into your computer. If you do get internet, then the problem is with the wall outlet. If you don’t get internet, then your computer may have problems.
Please call the Student Help Desk and let us know which lab and which computers or printers are not working. Please also include any information you know about the problem, like any error messages or details.
It would be a good idea call the Student Help Desk at x3375 so we can help troubleshoot what damage has been done. If the hardware has been damaged, and you have a HP or Compaq computer that is not a Pavilion or Presario, we will check to see if the warranty is valid. If it is, we will be happy to do the warranty work here at the college.
To fix this, we need to know the extension that you are supposed to have and the extension that is currently connected to the phone. Therefore, you need to call the Student Help Desk from your telephone so we can record the extension that comes up on Caller-ID. Just let the associate who answers the phone know that your phone extension is wrong.
- Will I require a computer?
- What type of computer (desktop vs. laptop) is best?
- How do I find out what I need to know?
- When do I receive my email address?
- When do I receive my Blackboard account?
- When do I receive my network account and password?
- When do I receive my campus telephone number?
Yes. Muhlenberg strongly recommends that you bring a computer with you. More than 95% of incoming students arrive on Muhlenberg’s campus with a computer. You will use e-mail to communicate with faculty, staff and classmates. You will use a browser to access campus curricular and administrative resources and to perform course research. Word processing will be used for writing assignments and to organize notes. Some courses require the use of a spreadsheet program, powerpoint, or database software (all these are components of Microsoft Office). Your computer will be an essential tool in learning and communicating! Many students immediately begin to accumulate an electronic portfolio of their work. Your computer can also be your stereo and your TV for watching movies.
Laptops are small and light enough to carry to classes for notes, the library for research, elsewhere on campus, or home to work on assignments. Unlike the desktop, portables require less space to use – important at desks in residence halls. Consider where you will want to use your computer when deciding between a desktop and a laptop. Note that there are wireless hotspots on campus, and those spots are certain to expand. Be certain you are comfortable with the video display, keyboard and mouse. Type at least one page of text as a test drive.
Desktop computers are larger and weigh more than a portable, but are generally less expensive. They have more computing power for a given price.
Please note OIT only provides depot service for student computers. Therefore students are required to carry their computers to the Student Help desk if they require service.
The Office of Information Technology will mail a complete information packet to each incoming student late in July. They also make such information available on the campus website.
In the information packet OIT mails in July.
Important : once you receive your GroupWise email information in July, start using this account immediately. Starting August 1, any correspondence from Muhlenberg College will be sent to this email account only. (**see Student Responsibilities)
In the information packet OIT mails in July.
In the information packet OIT mails in July.
- What kind of computer should I bring?
- Computer and Software Purchases
- What should I do with my computer before I arrive on campus?
- To connect your computer to the campus network, a network setting called DHCP must be enabled so your computer will obtain its IP address (network address). For help, go to http://www.muhlenberg.edu/mgt/oit/connect.html.
- Install all applications. The College highly recommends Microsoft Office, including Word, Powerpoint, and Excel. Buy this at discount prices online from the Bookstore web page.
- Bring all installation cds, licenses, and warranty information with you to campus just in in case for any reason you need to have these reinstalled on your pc.
- What happens when I get there?
- If you need a network cable, stop down at the Student Help Desk located in the basement of the Ettinger building Room 003 and we will be happy to provide one for you. If you have wireless, just boot it up, and open up a browser. Enter your Network account and password information that you received in the July Home mailing envelope from OIT.
- You’re done!
- Then what?
- Keep your anti-virus software up-to-date. Computer viruses travel through the residence halls faster than colds! You are required to install anti-virus software on your PC and keep it updated. Freeware and Shareware may not be the best choice for this critical task. Configure this software to scan all executable files for viruses before running them. Installing more then one product may cause your pc to run slowly.
- Keep your computer up-to-date. Recent attacks upon computers took advantage of operating system exposures - even up-to-date anti-virus software was not sufficient to ward off these attacks. Configure your computer to automatically download and install operating system updates.
- Turn off or delete unneeded software features, such as file sharing.
If your peer-to-peer file-sharing program is configured to share downloaded files, even greater amounts of bandwidth will be used, since the peer-to peer software will automatically offer that downloaded file to the world. When many others download the file from your computer, even greater amounts of bandwidth is used, slowing things down for all users. Not to mention your legal liability if you share copyrighted material. - **Student Responsibilities regarding use of email.
Students are expected to access and read their Muhlenberg College email on a regular basis to remain current with College-related communication. Further, routine maintenance of the account content is expected, to avoid exceeding maximum storage allocation. Students have the responsibility to recognize that certain communication may be time-critical. “I didn’t check my email”, error in forwarding mail, or email returned to the College with “mailbox full” or “ user unknown” are not acceptable excuses for missing official College communication via email.
Telephone service is provided to students in College-owned housing Upon Request.
The College network will support a computer running any version of the Microsoft Operating System and MAC OS. Purchase extended warranties and accidental damage coverage.
Visit the Muhlenberg College Bookstore webpage. Also, see Computer and Software Purchases on this site.
- My computer says it's Safe to ShutDown Now. What does this mean?
- I try to login and it says "Tree Not Found".
- I click GroupWise icon and it asks for a password, it doesn't normally.
- On a website I see a "send us an email" button and clicking on it opens a dialog box asking for my Net passport login. Why is this happening?
- On the Techwall, PC is selected but I see a blue screen with no icons.
- My print jobs are going to the wrong printer. How do I set the default printer?
- Our Ricoh is not printing, but the copier and FAX functions work.
- My GroupWise folders are missing from left side of screen. What did I hit?
- How can I save a document (Word, Excel, and Publisher) in PDF format?
- How can I leave a voicemail for someone without their phone ringing?
- Dial the Express Messaging number x1000
- Enter the mailbox you want to send a message to xxxx#
- # Record your message then press #
- I think I forgot my Network Password?
- I can't send departmental forms.
- I am not getting emails from people on campus.
- I have a problem with hardware, software, or my telephone.
- My email quota has exceeded my limit. What can I do?
- What paperwork do I need to fill out when a new employee is hired in our department?
- How do I get the Message Board back to be my default page on Internet Explorer?
Hold in the power button on the PC and it will power off. You may now start it up again.
More than likely your network connection is not good. Reseat your network cable, and if you have a hub, make sure it is powered up and cables connected. There must be green LED lights signifying a connection. Then restart PC to become authenticated to the network.
There is a problem with your Novell login. Logout, then re-Login.
GroupWise is not set as your default mailer. Go into Novell delivered applications (next to Start) and dbl click MailTo Fix. Click next through the steps until Finished. Now a new GW email will open when you click the “send us an email” button.
PC may be in the sleep mode. Move the mouse. If this doesn't cure, make sure the pc is powered on. If you don't see any lights on the pc, try powering it up.
Start > Settings > Printers. Find the correct printer. Right mouse click on it, and select Set as Default Printer. A checkmark will now appear above this printer indicating default printer.
The sleep mode sometimes disconnects it from the network. Find the power button (left hand side under plastic cover) and turn off then back on. Print jobs should begin printing.
Click View > Folder List should have a checkmark next to it.
If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro installed you can use the converter function shown on the Adobe toolbar in your application. If not, you may email the file to Support Desk and we can convert it for you.
Express Messaging This is a fast way to leave a message in someone's mailbox.
Did you really "forget it", did you just "change it", or did it "expire". If it expired and you still know what your password is, we can re-set it. If you don't have clue, we will need to get you a new one and visit your office to set it. Then you will give yourself a new password.
Open Internet explorer, click on Tools, Internet Options, general tab should be in front, click on delete cookies button and also delete files button. Close this up.
Click on the Start button at the bottom of your screen, go up to Settings, Taskbar > Start menu, click on advanced tab, and then click on the clear button.
In Groupwise, click on Actions (at the top), go to Junk Mail, Click on Junk Mail Handling. The settings tab should be selected and remove all the check marks.
Call x3566 or email support@muhlenberg.edu.
Call x3566 or email support@muhlenberg.edu. The network technicians can increase it.
On the Faculty/Staff gateway, click on Departmental forms, and click on New Employee Accounts Requests and fill out the information. This can be done as soon as the employee is hired. There is no need to wait until they arrive on campus.
Aside of the Start button at the bottom of your screen, click on the Novell Delivered Applications button to open it up on your screen and look for the W2K User Preferences icon (it has a flame on the top and is fluorescent green) and click on it. Minimize the Novell Delivered Application button and click on IE to see that the Message Board is now your default page.