The OIT Helpdesk

Go to https://security.etsu.edu/accountactivate to activate your account. You will be asked for your Faculty ID (usually your SS#), your birthdate, and the password that you want to use. Once you click on the Submit button, the system will tell you what your username is. Allow 15 minutes for the changes to take effect.

If you get an error message after clicking on the Submit button, please contact the Helpdesk at 439-4648.

If the machine hasn't been used before, then go to the New Hardware Setup Form. It will gather the information that we'll need and will send it to us. We'll put in a ticket for a technician to come set it up.

If someone has previously used the machine, your username and password should allow you to log into the system. You'll have your own view of the desktop. If you haven't activated your account yet, please follow the instructions for activating your new e-mail account. If you need further assistance, contact the Helpdesk.

There are a couple of different LD PINs that you can apply for. You can view the different options here.

The officially supported method of checking e-mail is to use Outlook Web Access, also known as "webmail". You can select option 1 to log in or option 3 to change your password. When you are prompted for your username and password, be sure to put etsu\\ in front of your username. If you aren't using a public computer, you can select Private in the Security section so that you don't get kicked out after 15 minutes of inactivity.

Dial 9-4201. When it asks you for the mailbox number, type in the last five digits of your phone number followed by the # sign, then enter your password followed by the # sign. If you're not sure of what your password is, contact the Helpdesk at 9-4648.

You'll need to fill out a Computer Account Request Form, available at http://www.etsu.edu/oit/forms/. Fill out section 1 and check any appropriate boxes in sections 2 and 3. Once the form is filled out and signed, you can either mail it or turn it in to 309 Dossett Hall.

You'll need to fill out a Computer Account Request Form, available at http://www.etsu.edu/oit/forms/. In section 3, there is a checkbox that says that you were a student and now staff (or vice-versa) and you need your account modified to reflect this change. You can use the same form to request other items if you need them. Once the form is complete, you can either mail it or turn it in to 309 Dossett Hall.

The reason for this is due to how your account is created. Once our system detects that your information has been added or changed in HRS, then it checks to see if you've had any accounts previously created to avoid duplication. If you had a 'z' account, it simply reactivates it. However, the mail server will not create a mailbox for an account that begins with 'z' and has a number in it. Filling out the request form notifies our system administrators of the existing 'z' account. They will modify it which will give you a new username based on the standard staff naming conventions.

• Click on Start, go to All Programs, then Roxio Easy CD Creator 5 and click on Project Selector
• Hover over "Make a data CD" and then click on "Direct CD".
• When Direct CD comes up, click on the Eject button. Give it a few seconds and it should eject.

Here are some steps you can do to try to get the printer to print.

• Unplug the power cord from the printer and leave it unplugged.
• Save any work and restart your computer
• After you log back into Windows and your desktop is on the screen, plug the power cord back into the printer and turn the printer back on.
• When the printer says that it's ready, try printing again.

If that doesn't work, there may be physical problems with the printer. Contact the Helpdesk and we can see if a technician needs to come and fix the printer.

Information on how to view and order the standard system configuration can be found on the Desktop/Laptop Computer Standards page. Visit our Computer Standards page for all standards, including those for printers and wireless networking.

Go to the New Hardware Setup page and it will gather the information that we'll need to set up the machine. We'll enter in a ticket for a technician to come and set it up once the information has been received.

For most machines, the new faculty member can just sign in using his or her username and password. Microsoft Outlook should already be installed but it may ask for some configuration information. That information can be found in the article under the "Email" section about setting up Outlook without somebody coming over. Any other applications that need to be installed can be handled on a separate basis. If you need a technician, please contact the Helpdesk for assistance.

Dell offers faculty, staff, and students a discount on computers. More information can be found on the Desktop and Laptop Computing page.

The following programs come pre-installed on a new machine:

• Microsoft Windows XP
• Microsoft Office 2003 (includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, Frontpage, InfoPath, Outlook and Publisher)
• WS-FTP
• CRT
• PowerDVD
• Roxio Easy CD Creator
• Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0

We have different licenses for different programs. Here's what's readily available for installation or discounted purchase.

• Microsoft Office and SPSS are available to all faculty and staff machines
• SAS and MiniTab are available in limited quantities
• Adobe programs, such as Acrobat and Photoshop, are available for departmental purchase. Contact the Purchasing Department for pricing and ordering information
• Microsoft programs, other than Windows and Office, can be purchased by departments at a discount through the Microsoft Select program.

If you need a program that doesn't come pre-installed or that ETSU doesn't have a licensing agreement with, you can get it anywhere you want. While we aren't able to endorse any particular vendor, you can e-mail or call us and we can do some price research for you.

Through the Microsoft Campus Agreement, Microsoft Office is available for faculty and staff to purchase for a significant discount for use on their home computers. This software is available while you are employed at ETSU. The ordering form along with instructions are available at http://www.etsu.edu/oit/forms/. Look for the link that says Microsoft Campus Agreement.

Windows upgrades usually aren't available unless a piece of hardware or software requires it and as long as the computer is powerful enough to support it. If you need a Windows upgrade, please contact the Helpdesk for assistance.

Programs installed on the machines in the student labs are funded by the Technology Access Fee (TAF). These programs aren't available for installation on staff machines. If you would like to get a copy of the program, have the department order a copy. Once it comes in, you may contact the Helpdesk to have a ticket entered for a technician to install the program.

ETSU doesn't have a site license for WordPerfect, so it isn't readily available like Microsoft Office. If you have the original installation CD for WordPerfect, and that CD hasn't been used to install WordPerfect on another machine, contact the Helpdesk to enter a ticket to have the software installed.

As an alternative, Microsoft Word has the capability of reading WordPerfect files. When you click on the File menu and select Open, at the bottom of the screen there is a Files of type box. Click on that and find WordPerfect. You should then be able to find and open the file. You can then save the document as a Word file.

Here's how to re-establish the connection to the Q: drive

• Right-click on My Computer and select Map Network Drive
• In the Drive: box, select Q:
• In the Folder: box, type in \\etsufs1\users\username where username is whatever your username is
• Put a check in the box that says Reconnect at logon
• Click on the Finish button.

After a few seconds, a window should come up showing the contents. The S: drive can be done the same way. Just enter \\etsufs1\departments in the Folder: box and select S: in the Drive box.

When Human Resources enters the employee's information into HRS, our system will recognize the change. On the employee's start date, the system will create a new account overnight. The username has a maximum of eight characters and is based on the employee's last name. If a username is already taken, then it will be generated by using a combination of the employee's last name, first and middle initials, possibly even numbers, until one is found that has not been used.

NOTE: Employees that are paid outside of the ETSU payroll may have to have a Computer Account Request Form filled out requesting that an e-mail account be generated. The request form may be obtained online at http://www.etsu.edu/oit/forms/.

Go to https://security.etsu.edu/accountactivate to activate your account. You will be asked for your Faculty ID (usually your SS#), your birthdate, and the password that you want to use. Once you click on the Submit button, the system will tell you what your username is. Allow 15 minutes for the changes to take effect.

If you get an error message after clicking on the Submit button, please contact the Helpdesk at 439-4648.

Yes. All you need to do is fill out the Computer Account Request Form, available at http://www.etsu.edu/oit/forms/. In Section 3, there is a box to request a departmental account. Check the box, fill in the name that you would like the account to be, and also mark that you want a mailbox associated with the account. When the form is filled out, you may either mail it or turn it in to 309 Dossett Hall.

You'll need to fill out a Computer Account Request Form, available at http://www.etsu.edu/oit/forms/. In section 3, there is a checkbox that says that you were a student and now staff (or vice-versa) and you need your account modified to reflect this change. You can use the same form to request other items if you need them. Once the form is complete, you can either mail it or hand-deliver it to 309 Dossett Hall.

The reason for the need to fill out the form is due to how accounts are created. Once our system detects that your information has been added or changed in HRS, it checks to see if you've had any accounts previously created to avoid duplication. If it finds a 'z' account, it simply reactivates it. However, the mail server will not create a mailbox for an account that begins with 'z' and has a number in it. Filling out the request form notifies our system administrators of the existing 'z' account. They will modify your account and give you a new username based on the standard staff naming conventions.

Click on the File menu and see if the Work Offline option is checked. If it is, click on it to uncheck it and then your e-mail should resume back to normal operation.

If Work Offline is not checked, check to see if your mailbox is full. You can do so by going to the Common Issues with Outlook page and it'll tell you how to check your mailbox's size.

If you're still encountering issues, please contact the Helpdesk.

The officially supported method of checking e-mail is to use Outlook Web Access, also known as "webmail". You can select option 1 to log in or option 3 to change your password. When you are prompted for your username and password, be sure to put etsu\ in front of your username. If you aren't using a public computer, you can select Private in the Security section so that you don't get kicked out after 15 minutes of inactivity.

On the main login page where you enter your username and password, select the Private option under the Security section. The Public option will set the timeout length to 15 minutes. Private sets it for one day. Be sure that you are the only one who uses the computer before selecting the Private option.

ETSU's e-mail and calendar systems run on Microsoft Exchange servers. These servers are configured to use a protocol called MAPI. Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, Eudora, and others don't come with MAPI support. Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Web Access (http://mail.etsu.edu) are the only officially supported methods of checking e-mail.

Except for faculty and staff that are part of the College of Medicine program, each person has a mailbox size of 50MB (50000KB). CoM members currently do not have any mailbox size limits.

There is an article available dealing with some common issues with Outlook. It should help you out.

The largest size a message can be is 10MB. You'll also need to take into consideration how much text you've entered into the message and also the fact that there's information that Outlook puts onto the message to keep track of what's what. You should keep the attachment size down to around 8MB. If you need to send a file larger than that, you'll need to use the FTP Dropbox. We have an article on how to use the FTP Dropbox available.

If the attachment is not really large, then it very well could be that the recipient's mailbox doesn't have enough room to receive the message.

The antivirus software drops messages containing certain program extensions. Some of the extensions are:

• .EXE
• .COM
• .BAT
• .CMD
• .VBS

The software will also drop password-protected .ZIP files.

E-mail on the mail server is backed up on a regular basis. If you need to store some important e-mail messages while freeing up some space on the server, take a look at the article dealing with common issues with Outlook and the first section will tell you how to move messages to your Personal Folders.

In the Folder List on the left side of the screen, you should see the "Contacts" folder. Find your contact list within there, right-click on it and select Properties. On that screen, you should have a tab labeled Outlook Address Book. Be sure that the box in that tab is checked and then you should be able to view your contact list.

Many virus writers use various tricks to try to get you to open an attachment so that your computer gets infected. Some of the more recent viruses send out messages saying that your account has been used to send spam, or that your machine may be infected by a virus. Whatever message it says, it usually tells you that running the attachment will fix the problem.

Whenever you receive an e-mail with an attachment and you weren't expecting the message, please check with the person who the e-mail says that it's from to make sure that it is one that they knowingly sent. Now, even if they didn't send it, it doesn't mean that their machine is infected. The virus could've made the message look like it came from someone that it didn't.

Take a look at the Login Help page either by clicking on the link or clicking on the Login Help button next to the Login button.

For the username, just type in your regular username without the etsu\. For your password, try your SS# without the dashes. If you get a message that says you didn't provide valid authentication credentials, give the Helpdesk a call and we can see what's going on with it.

Check to make sure that your web browser is properly set up to accept cookies. Do the following in Internet Explorer:

• Click on the Tools menu and select Internet Options.
• Click on the Privacy tab.
• Be sure that it's not set higher than Medium. If there's no slider on the screen, or if it can't be adjusted, click on the button labeled Default and that will set it back to Medium.
• Close Internet Explorer, bring it back up, and try logging into Blackboard again.

If that doesn't work, try this.

• Click on Tools and go back to Internet Options
• Click on the Delete Cookies button and click on the OK button.
• Click on the Delete Files button, put a check mark in Delete all offline content, and press the OK button.
• Click on the OK button again to get out of Internet Options, close Internet Explorer, bring it back up, and try logging in again.

If you still have problems, please contact the Helpdesk.

You'll need to make the course available to students. Here's how to do it.

• After logging into Blackboard, click on the course in question.
• Go into the Control Panel
• In the lower left-hand section of the page, click on the link labeled Settings.
• Next, click on the link labeled Course Availability.
• Set it to Yes and click on the Submit button.

Blackboard course sites are automatically generated from the information entered into SIS, including student and faculty enrollment. Please check with your department’s administrative assistant to ensure that you are listed as the instructor of record in SIS.

At the top of the list of courses, there's a little pencil icon. Click on it to view the settings. Uncheck the box under the "Show Course" column for each course that you want to hide.

Go to the Wireless Networking page and there'll be links to setup instructions, hardware standards, a "wireless" map, and the wireless policy.

VPN stands for "Virtual Private Network". It's a way of using a 'public' network infrastructure, most commonly the Internet, to connect one machine to another network. Using encryption and other security protocols, the communications are made 'private'. The system will appear to the other network as just another machine, thus a 'virtual' network connection is made.

You'll need to fill out a Computer Account Request Form. In section 3 is a box to request VPN access. You'll need to attach a letter of justification for having VPN access. Once the form is filled out, you can either mail it or turn it in to 309 Dossett Hall.

When the form is received, it will be directed to our Networking department. When the manager has determined that the request is justified, your account will be given VPN access. You'll receive an e-mail notifying you that you've received access. You'll be given the address to go to (http://etsuvpn.etsu.edu), and a link to a VPN tutorial that you can use to see how to nagivate through the VPN.

Note: You will NOT be able to access the VPN while on-campus. The VPN is designed to allow connection to campus network resources from off-campus.

First, be sure that you have requested and received notification of VPN access. Second, be sure that you're not trying to connect to the VPN while on-campus. It won't work that way because the VPN was designed to allow access to campus network resources while off-campus. If you're getting a prompt for the username and password, be sure to put etsu\\ in front of your username. The password will be the same that you use to log into your machine each day.

If you're not getting the login prompt, you're using the standalone VPN client, and you're running Windows XP with Service Pack 2, try the following steps.

• Click on Start and go to Control Panel
• Find Windows Firewall and select it
• Click on the Exemptions tab.
• Click on Add Port
• You can put whatever you want in the Name field just so you know what it is. For Port, put in 62515. Select UDP below the port number and click on OK.

The change will take effect immediately. If you're using a software firewall or you have a router with a built-in firewall, you'll probably need to create the same exemption. You'll have to refer to the instructions for your firewall or router to find out how to do it.

The S: drive on the network can be accessed by multiple people in the department. This allows for different people to collaborate and work with the same files. This is generally easier than e-mailing files back and forth.

To get permission to access a departmental folder on the S: drive, have the person who's the deparment contact call or e-mail the Helpdesk to request access for you.

When somebody leaves the University or transfers to a different department, it is best that the department head or someone who has access to the department billing to contact the Helpdesk about the change. We can then submit the PIN for closure to keep the billing consistent. LD PINs are not transferrable between departments due to billing consistencies.

We also receive reports periodically from Human Resources of people who have left the University or transferred departments. When we receive those reports, we check for any active LD PINs and submit them for closure.

Yes. All you need to do is fill out the Computer Account Request Form, available at http://www.etsu.edu/oit/forms/. In Section 3, there is a box to request a departmental account. Check the box, fill in the name that you would like the account to be, and also mark that you want a mailbox associated with the account. When the form is filled out, you may either mail it or turn it in to 309 Dossett Hall.

The Computer Account Request Form has a box in Section 3 to request access to a web site. Fill out the form and indicate the URL of the web page that the person needs access to. When the form is filled out, you can either mail it or turn it in to 309 Dossett Hall. The form is available at http://www.etsu.edu/oit/forms/

E-mail the Helpdesk or call from a working phone. We'll put in a ticket to have a technician check it out. If you send an e-mail, please include the phone number and the location.

There are a couple of different LD PINs that you can apply for. You can view the different options here.

E-mail or call the Helpdesk. We'll have the system send the PIN to you through e-mail. PINs are not given out over the phone.

When somebody leaves the University or transfers to a different department, it is best that the department head or someone who has access to the department billing to contact the Helpdesk about the change. We can then submit the PIN for closure to keep the billing consistent. LD PINs are not transferrable between departments due to billing consistencies.

We also receive reports periodically from Human Resources of people who have left the University or transferred departments. When we receive those reports, we check for any active LD PINs and submit them for closure.

Dial 8 + 1 + area code + number. You will then hear a tone. During the tone, key in your LD PIN. Don't wait for the tone to finish. Otherwise the call will not go through.

Dial 8 + 011 + country code + city routing code + number. After a few seconds, you will hear a tone. During the tone, key in your LD PIN. Don't wait for the tone to finish. Otherwise the call will not go through.

Some fax machines don't have enough memory to store all of the digits to complete an international fax call. If the fax machine has a button that says Dial, Speaker, or Hook, press it to see if you get a dial tone. Otherwise pick up the handset on the fax machine. Dial the number like you were making a regular international call. When you hear the connect tones from the receiving fax machine, press the Start or Send button. The fax machine takes over and you can hang up the handset at this point.

Dial 9-4201. The system will ask you for the mailbox number which will be the last 5 digits of your phone number followed by the # sign. The system will then ask you for the password. If this is the first time that voice mail has been set up on your line, try using the 5-digit extension with the # sign for the password.

For information on how to use the different features of the voice mail system, visit the Meridian Voicemail Instructions page.

Call or e-mail the Helpdesk. We'll put in a ticket to have your voice mail password reset. You'll be notified once it has been reset.

It depends on the type of phone that you have. If you have a regular phone, visit the Analog Telephone Instructions. For Meridian Digital phones, visit the Digital Telephone Instructions.

Fill out a Telecommunications Requisition Form. If you need a copy, you can pick one up in 309 Dossett Hall or you can call 9-4137 to request to have one mailed to you. The cost for a new phone line is $25 for installation or activation and $28/month.

Moving a phone from one location to another is a one-time $25 fee per move. If you want to "switch" numbers, that is considered to be two (2) phone moves. To have a phone moved, submit a Telecommunications Requisition Form available in 309 Dossett Hall. Since the form is a multi-copy form, it isn't available online.

Fill out a Telecommunications Requisition Form. If you need one, you can pick one up in 309 Dossett Hall or you can call 9-4137 to request one to be mailed to you.

Yes. It will be a one-time $25 upgrade fee plus the additional $15/month for the service. To upgrade the phone, submit a Telecommunications Requisition Form available in 309 Dossett Hall. Since the form is a multi-copy form, it isn't available online.

If you currently have a digital phone, you can get Caller ID. The cost is $110 for the unit plus a $25 installation fee. If you currently have an analog phone, you will need to upgrade it at the same time. There may be an additional $25 upgrade fee for the digital phone. To request the Caller ID installation, and the digital upgrade if you need it, submit a Telecommunications Requisition Form available in 309 Dossett Hall. Since the form is a multi-copy form, it isn't available online.

The Computer Account Request Form has a box in Section 3 to request access to a web site. Fill out the form and indicate the URL of the web page that the person needs access to. When the form is filled out, you can either mail it or turn it in to 309 Dossett Hall. The form is available at http://www.etsu.edu/oit/forms/

If you are at your office machine and it's running Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you can press CTRL-ALT-DELETE to bring up the Task Manager. In the lower left-hand corner of that screen is a button that says Change Password. When the "Change Password" prompt comes up, it will ask you for your current password, the new password that you want, and to verify the new password. The password needs to be at least six characters long. When you have entered the password information, click on the OK button. If the change is successful, the system will tell you that your password has been changed. Click on the OK button. It might take the system a few seconds to come back to the Task Manager. At that point, you can click on the Cancel button.

An alternate way of changing your password is by going to the Password Reset page. You'll be asked for your Faculty ID, which is probably your SS#, your birthdate, and the new password that you want. When you click on the Submit button, the system will tell you what your username is and that it could take up to 15 minutes to take effect.

As a security measure, we recommend that you DO NOT write down your password on something that's easily accessible. Doing so could allow for an unauthorized person to gain access to the system under your account.

Contact the Helpdesk. We may be able to reset the password for you or put in a ticket to have the appropriate department reset your password.