My password to access a CSTL resource (GradeA, UTest, protected directory, etc.) doesn't work.  What should I do?

Student access passwords are assigned by their instructor.  If you are having problems accessing a resource, try the following:

• Check the status of the Caps Lock key.   Many passwords are case-sensitive, and it may be that you're typing it in all-uppercase or all-lowercase letters.
   
• Make sure your username is correct.  At this time, our servers don't accept regular MUSIC codes or usernames used in other parts of the campus.  Make sure you are using the account provided by your instructor for that particular resource.
   
• Contact your instructor to confirm the username and password you received.

My password does not work when I am in my home computer, although it did work when I accessed the class on campus. 
or
My password works in certain computers but not in others.

If your username and password are working on certain computers but not in others, chances are the computer is not configured properly to accept cookies, or that there is a problem with the connection.  Do this:

• Make sure you are using the latest version of your preferred browser.  Click here for links to these programs.
   
• Make sure that your browser is set to accept cookies.  The software used in the online courses depends on cookies for authentication and session management. 
  Click here for instructions on how to enable cookies in your browser.
  Click here for more information about cookies.
   
• If you have an Internet Security suite installed on your computer (such as McAfee Personal Firewall® or Norton Internet Security®), make sure that it is configured to allow cookies from the server you are connecting to.  If in doubt, disable the program and see if you can log on to the class.
   
• Make sure you are not typing in the address of an OIS module directly onto the browser's address bar.  Access the class web site first and then click on the links provided. 
   
• If you use an external email service and received an email from your instructor with the address for the course, clicking on that address from your email may not actually work if the email provider is tracking where you click.  It may look that you are on a page on the CSTL server, but it is actually a copy of the page being displayed through the email service.  This started happening to students using Hotmail® accounts recently.  Solution: make sure that the class URL on the address bar starts with "http://cstl-xxx.semo.edu"or "http://online.semo.edu" or "http://ustudies.semo.edu" before you attempt to log on.  If it shows something else, copy the link and paste it into the address bar yourself, then hit enter.

If you are a faculty member trying to access your web through FrontPage or FTP, please contact the CSTL Tech Support at x2807.

I am having problems downloading Office documents from my instructor's protected web site. What am I doing wrong?

There are some problems that could prevent your computer from downloading and/or displaying an Office file (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint) correctly:

• If you use Internet Explorer 5.5 or earlier, clicking on a link to download an Office file will make the browser open that file directly in its interface, instead of letting you save the file onto your system.  If that happens, Internet Explorer will launch an Office application within its own Window and will give it the information about which file to open.  The problem: old Microsoft Office installations have a bug that will prevent them from getting the proper authentication information from Internet Explorer, therefore their request to open a protected file will be denied.  Microsoft Word, for example, will request a protected DOC file and receive an OIS login screen back, because it didn't have the proper permissions to get the file (IE does).  Solution: apply the latest update pack to your Office installation (download it from http://www.microsoft.com/office/downloads).  Workaround: right-click on the link to the file and choose "Save Target As" to save the file to your local computer first, then double-click on the file to open it.
   
• If you use Internet Explorer 6, you should get a dialog box asking what you want to do as soon as you click on a link to download a file.  The problem described above may still happen if you choose the "Open" option.  If you don't have the latest Office Service Pack on your computer, make sure you choose the "Save" option to download the file first.  Then double-click on the file to open it.
   
• If you downloaded a file and cannot open it, it may be that you don't have Microsoft Office installed on your computer, or that the version of Office you have is too old and cannot open the file.  Solution: upgrade your software.  Workaround: download a free viewer from the Microsoft web site so you can at least see the contents of the file; or download a converter that can save the file to another version of Office (if you have an older version) or to another application format.  Download viewers and converters from http://office.microsoft.com/Assistance/9798/viewerscvt.aspx.

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