Vista machine

The Vista machine (next to the CCTV unit in the office) is now set up to use the 2 printers nearby (under the machine, and under the CCTV PC). This connection does not rely on the network, so if we have any more network failures, you can use it to print any work saved on USB stick, CD etc.

To make things easier to remember, here’s a list of what you can use the machine for:

• Checking whether the wireless is working – it has web access through a wireless adaptor, so works exactly like a student’s Vista laptop.
• Printing – hooked up to 2 printers, can print 2 separate job simultaneously.
• File recovery – As well as Microsoft Office 2003, it runs OpenOffice, which is very good at recovering files that Microsoft Office can’t read (including corrupt files).

“Infected” PCs

We’ve had a couple of instances now where a user on a student PC get a screen saying the machine is riddled with viruses, malware etc. In reality, it is a very well constructed hoax.

The user gets a pop-up that looks exactly like the My Computer window, but covered in flashing warnings sating that the various drives have dozens of infections. This has been designed to fool people into thinking it is the real My Computer, and to trick them into clicking links to – well, who knows what, but it’s bound to be bad!

Don’t click on anything in this window, just open up the “real” My Computer to double check that everything is OK there. After that, just ask the student to log off and log back on (maybe on a different PC if only for their own peace of mind).

If it happens on a student’s own PC, the same advice replies, although wothout the protection  of the university clone, we don’t know what it could do their machines.

If I see it happen again, I’ll do a screen grab and post it here.

Enabling Spellcheck as Students Type

Students occasionally have instances where after typing incorrect text, Word 2003 does not pick up the mistakes. To correct this, follow the instructions below: -

1.) Select Tools

2.) Select Options

3.) Select Spelling and Grammar Tag

4.) Ensure that the “Check spelling as you type” box is selected

5.) Select “Ok”

The students work should now automatically inform when spelling mistakes occur.

Adjusting Rotated Screen

Occasionally, when students log on to the computers, the desktop is displayed rotated by 90 degrees. To change the screen back to its natural orientation, it is necessary to perform the following steps: -

1.) Press Alt Gr and F12 together

2.) Within the new screen that is displayed select “Display Settings”

3.) Uncheck the “Enable Rotation” box.

4.) Select “OK”

5.) Confirm that the screen is the correct orientation by selecting “Ok” in the new prompt box.

Photocopier Paper

When filling the photocopiers with paper, do not fill them up past half full, due to the age of the machines, some of the plastic connectors have deteriorated. If the trays are filled to the top with paper, this ageing of the machines can cause misfeeds, and therefore more problems.

Paper Tip. . .

To save walking around with a ream of paper, when checking printers, if you look at the paper tray there is a small green marker on the left hand side. This indicates when the paper tray is full or nearly empty.

Welcome!

This is the first post in the Compton IT Weblog, the blog is designed to help facilitate the student helper service by providing tips and advice on difficult or recurrent problems.