Troubleshooting for Senior Staff

Transcription

1 University of Miami Information Technology Troubleshooting Tips Troubleshooting is an art and learned skill. There are a few things to keep in mind: Practice makes perfect. Common sense is key. Begin with the obvious and working your way through to more technical solutions This means check that the computer is plugged in first, then move up the list of possible problems. Contact Information As an SSU or LMA, people will ask you a lot of questions. You should be able to solve most of these problems, but for those you can t you should be able to forward the concern to a person who can handle it. On every UA desk is an IT Troubleshooting Contact Information sheet that can be used to forward problems and user inquiries. Problems Contact Location Phone # Cane Card UM IT Service Desk option 1 CaneID UM IT Service Desk option 1 CaneNet UM IT Service Desk option 2 Central Server UM IT Service Desk option 2 Wireless Canes UM IT Service Desk option 2 Network Problems UM IT Service Desk option 2 Student Computer Set-up UMail Data Recovery AntiVirus MS Office Installation Student Technology Helpdesk UC 221A Computer Labs Gary Jaggernauth Ungar Police/Security Public Safety Facility Problems (ceiling lights, etc.) Maintenance (Garbage, recycling, vacuuming) Physical Plant Unicco SSU Phone Lab Policy Carlos Sainz Ungar UPrint Canon Computer Labs Page 1

2 Program Issues General process for all software issues: 1. Check connections. 2. Check log-in. 3. Assess if the problem is just one computer or all of them. 4. If just one computer, check computer s connection to the server/ network or the G drive. 5. If the whole computer lab, check server status. 6. Post on Repairs Website and put in DSR. If a user cannot run a program due to a permission error: This is not something that can be fixed. It is a setting with our programs in the image that cannot be changed. If this is getting in the way of the user running a program they need for class, please have them send a message through Comment on the Labs to request a fix for the problem or contact Carlos Sainz at csainz@miami.edu. Make sure you report the incident in your DSR. If a program freezes: 1. Make sure users and UAs wait a minute to make sure the program is just not processing slowly. 2. Hit Ctrl + Alt + Delete and select the Task Manager. Hit the Applications tab and see if the program is listed as responding. If it is not, select the program and click End Task. 3. If the user does not want to close the program because the work had not been saved, try quitting the Task Manager and see if the program will respond again. Sometimes simply opening the Task Manager will unfreeze the program. 4. If the program remains unresponsive, restart or unplug the computer and plug it back in. If a program is not available but it should be: For example, you are on a scanner computer but there is no Adobe Photoshop. 1. Hit Ctrl + Alt + Delete and see what the computer is logged in as. Makes sure it is the proper log-in name for that lab and computer. 2. Check the network cable in the back. Make sure it is plugged in. 3. Restart the computer. 4. Check to make sure computer is connected to the server using net use command. 5. Make sure the problem is isolated to that computer. If not, ping the server. 6. Post the computer on Repairs Website. Hardware Issues Basic hardware issues procedure This includes keyboards, mice, and monitors. 1. Check connections: USB cables, Monitor cable, Power Cables, Network Cable. 2. Restart. 3. Post on Repairs. If a computer won t boot: 1. Make sure all the cables are plugged in all the way. 2. Check the power on the monitor and CPU and make sure both are on. 3. Make sure the CD/DVD drive is empty and there are no flash drives plugged in. 4. Post on Repairs Website. Report in DSR. Computer Labs Page 2

3 Internet/Network Problems Is it all the computers or just the one? When a problem is reported, the first step is to see if the problem is just that computer or the whole lab. Try another computer. If it is not having the same problem, have the user switch to that computer while you troubleshoot the other. If it is lab wide, inform the users that Repairs Staff has been contacted and see if it is affecting other labs. If it is just the one computer: 1. Check connections, especially ethernet. 2. Check log-in. 3. Restart. 4. Check net user information. (Covered in Networking) 5. Post on Repairs and record in DSR. If it is the whole lab: 1. Determine if it is the Miami network or the outside internet. Try a miami.edu website and an outside website. If the miami.edu works and the outside doesn t the problem is with the network. Call Terry and report the problem. If the miami.edu sites don t work, ping the server (discussed in networking). 2. Report the problem to Terry. 3. Post it on the repairs website and record it in your DSR. Cane Card Reader If the Cane Card Reader is not working: If a Cane Card Reader is reading every Cane Card as not valid (red light), not reading any Cane Card (yellow light), or not on at all (no lights on), it is broken and you should: 1. Tell the UA to keep swiping and checking Cane Cards. Do not put a not working sign on it. 2. TClock Gary about the malfunctioning reader and remember to include the location. 3. Record the incident in your DSR. (Gary may read this before the TClock) 4. Post the cane card reader on Repairs so we have a record of it being broken. Saving Data It is important to encourage users to save their data frequently on their own media or using web storage. Media saved on the computer is most commonly saved on the desktop or in the Temp folder of the C drive. All scanned images are saved by date in the Data folder on the C drive. These are good places to check for missplaced documents. CDs and DVDs In the labs, each computer is equipped with a CD/DVD burner which allows users to record data to CDs or DVDs. The CD/DVD drive is the D drive for each of the lab computers so any data stored on a CD or DVD can be accessed by going to My Computer and then double-clicking the D drive. Computer Labs Page 3

4 Saving Data (continued) CDs and DVDs (continued) Burning an Audio CD To create an audio CD that can be played using any CD player follow the following steps: 1. Insert a blank CD into the disc drive 2. In the AutoPlay dialog box that appears, click Burn an Audio CD using Windows Media Player. 3. Windown Media Player will open and the Burn List should appear automatically. If it does not, click the Burn tab in the top-right. 4. Drag and drop the audio filey you wish to burn to the CD into the burn list. 5. When you are satisfied with the selected songs and their ordering, select Start Burn. 6. Once the burn process has completed, your CD is ready to be used. Recording data to a CD or DVD 1. Insert a blank CD/DVD into the disc drive 2. In the AutoPlay dialog box that appears, click Burn files to disc using Windows Explorer. If the AutoPlay dialog box doesn t appear, click the Start button, click Computer, and then double-click your disc burner. 3. In the Burn a Disc dialog box, type a name for this disc in the Disc title box and then choose one of the following types for you new CD/DVD. Like a USB Flash Drive - This choice will create a live file system on the CD/DVD enabling the user to add, remove, or change files over time. NOTE: If you create a CD/DVD of this type it can only be used on Windows XP or later. With a CD/DVD Player - This choice will burn the files to the disc. After the burning proces has been completed, you may not add, remove, or change files on the disc. 4. Click Next 5. Open the folder that contains the files you want to burn, and then drag the files into the empty disc folder. 6. On the toolbar, click Burn to disc, and then follow the steps in the wizard. 7. When the disc burning is complete, the disc burner tray will open and you can remove the disc. USB drives Finding your USB Drive to access or add files: The USB drive will pop up in the bottom righthand corner of the screen on the Task Bar next to the time. It is also accessible by going to My Computer and looking under Devices with Removable Storage. It will be Drive E, unless you have multiple USB devices added. Double-click or right click to open. Computer Labs Page 4

5 Saving Data (continued) USB drives (continued) If the USB drive doesn t work: If the USB drive isn t accessible, switch the device from the monitor to the CPU and vice versa. If problem persists, restart the computer and checking all connections. If that doesn t work, try another computer. If the USB key works at another computer, report the USB drive on the original computer to Repairs and include it in your DSR. If the USB key doesn t work on any computer, right click and access properties and go to the Tools tab. There is an option for Error Checking and Scan for errors. -- If it still doesn t work, suggest that the user the information to themselves when they can access the drive or call an on-duty Repairs Manager for more suggestions. Properly removing a USB drive: You should not just pull your USB drive out of its port. It is important to safely remove the drive by preparing it for removal first. 1. Close all files and applications opened from the USB key. These could cause an error if left open. 2. Click the Safely Remove Hardware option in the bottom right corner of the screen on the Taskbar next to the time. 3. Make sure it says it is safe to remove before taking the drive out. Some drives have an indicator light to assist with this. A message will display when the drive is safe to remove. Online Storage Many services offer a considerable amount of online storage. UMail offers 25 GB of storage through Microsoft OneDrive. This online storage can be accessed from any computer by logging into UMail and clicking OneDrive in the task bar at the top of the page. For problems with UMail, refer students to the Student Technology Helpdesk located in the Whitten University Center room 221A. Computer Labs Page 5