Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I didn’t bring a computer to school. Is there somewhere I can go to use one?

A: The Northland College Informational Technology department maintains two different computer labs on campus. The labs provide free printing services for all Northland College students. These labs are located in the Larson-Juhl Center for Science and the Environment room 236, and on the main floor of the Dexter Library. Please see the entrances to these labs for more information regarding their schedules.

Along with the campus computer labs, Northland College also equips each residence hall with a few computers for student use. These computers do not offer printing facilities, but do offer students a chance to work in an area where they live.

Q: How do I pay for the internet and network service on campus?

A: All residential hall Internet connection fees are now included in your housing bill.  There are no extra fees to connect to the Internet from your residential hall room.

Q: How do I get a user login ID and password?

A: Once you have paid your security deposit a network user account and an email account will be set up for you.  Information will be sent to the email account that you provided on your application to Northland. If you do not have an email account this information will be mailed to you. This information will include your network user login ID and password as well as how to log in to your Northland College email account and your My Northland account. By receiving User & Email accounts, you are agreeing to abide by the Northland College IT Department code of Ethics and all applicable policies and procedures.

Q: How do I change my password?

A: Your Northland College network login password can be changed when you are logged into a campus computer. This can be achieved by logging into a computer, and pressing the key combination Ctrl , Alt , and Delete simultaneously. Then click on the Change Password tab.  Your Northland College email account password is web-based and can be changed anytime you log into your email account.

Passwords should be a unique combination of letters and numbers. Remember to never give your password out under any circumstances. The more complex you make your password, the more your security, privacy, and safety increases.

Q: When I try to log on or off the campus computers, it seems like it takes forever. What is wrong?

A: When you log on to a campus computer, your profile folder is then uploaded to that computer. This has information specific to your logon such as wallpaper, start menu programs, "My Documents" folder, Desktop items, etc. When you save files in these locations, they go to your “Profile” folder,  within your user folder, this will increase the information that needs to be transferred when you log on and log off. To avoid this, do not save files in these locations. Instead, save them to your personal folder on the T: drive. This drive is located in My Computer, and will be labeled with your username. In your personal folder is a “Profile” folder. Do NOT save anything in this folder. Instead, create new folders to save your files in. Note: There is a 500MB limit on your T: drive folder.  Going over this size limit may result in loss of data.  

Q: What information do I need to know about my student email?

A: All student email accounts were moved to Microsoft Live@EDU before the beginning of the 2009-2010 academic year. The move to the out-sourced service is part of a change that is occurring at many institutions worldwide.  The change will provide students with a much higher level of service with many more features than currently provided. There is a web page you can visit for more information at: http://my.liveatedu.com/.

Here is a brief list of some of the enhanced features that Microsoft Outlook Live offers:

• Email—10 GB Mailbox limit with Spam and Virus Filter
• Messenger-- IM integrated
• Mobile – Anytime Access.
• SkyDrive –25GB Online Storage. Private and Shared.
• Spaces – Create your own web space.
• Office Live Workspace – Save, Access and Share Files Online.
• Windows Live Writer - Create blogs.

Q: How long will my e-mail address be activated after I graduate?

A: Students who graduate from Northland College will be able to keep their email accounts.  Students who withdraw from the college or leave without graduating will have their email account discontinued within 30 days of leaving.

Q: How do I connect to the network drives?

A: Your Northland account provides access to personal and group file storage through network folders. There are several different file folders that contain networked files, but the drives you will need are called Data (K:), Pubfiles (P:), and Users (T:). College owned computers will automatically map the network drives for you, and they can be found in My Computer after you log in. The NC file server contains personal storage space for each person on campus. When you connect to the server (see the instructions below for mapping the network drives), you only see your own space, so it looks like you have the whole server to yourself. You actually only have a storage space of 500MB. Once this allocated space is filled, you will no longer be able to put more information on your space on the file server.

How to map a networked drive:

1. Right click on the My Computer icon and select Map Network Drive.
2. Pick the letter you want to use for the drive. These should be:
   • Data              K:
   • Pubfiles         P:
   • Users            T:
3. In the Folder box type in the following:
   
   • Data            \\nc-filesvr1\Data
   • Pubfiles      \\nc-filesvr1\Pubfiles
   • User           \\nc-filesvr1\Users\(Your Username)
4. If you want the mapping to remain when you reboot your computer, check Reconnect at logon.
5. Click different username and enter:
   
   • username:  DOMAIN\(your username)
   • password:  (your Northland password)
6. Click OK.
7. Click Finish. The drive should now be mapped in My Computer.

Note: Each drive must be entered this way separately.

Q: My computer seems to be running really slow. I’ve also been having tons of popups. How can I remedy this?

A: Your computer may be infected with a virus and malware. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition are free programs that can keep your computer running well.

Q: What are the minimum requirements for my computer if I choose to bring one?

A: We maintain a list of system requirements for the Northland College network.

Q: How do I connect to the network?

A: View steps for connecting your computer to the network.

Q: Do I need to sign a form in order to get Network User and Email accounts?

A: No, there are no forms to sign. By receiving Network User & Email accounts, you are agreeing to abide by the Northland College IT Department Code of Ethics and all applicable policies and procedures as found on our policies page.  Any violation of this contract may subject you to a suspension of computer privileges and/or prosecution under College conduct codes and/or appropriate State and federal laws.

Q: What are my options for saving and transporting large files on campus?

A: There are multiple ways to transfer data over the network.  One way is to save the file to your network user drive. The T: drive can be accessed from any computer on campus. Keep in mind, you are limited to only 500 MB of data space on your user drive. A more handy option is to purchase a USB flash drive. These drives can be purchased online or from retailers. Their price can range from $15 to $80 depending on the size you purchase. All computers on campus have USB drives so these flashdrives can be easily utilized. The third option for transferring and saving large data files is to use the SkyDrive option within your myemail account on Live@edu. SkyDrive may be your best option because it gives you a size limit of 25 GB and it can be accessed anywhere you have access to the Internet. You could also burn your files to a CD. Both the Library lab and the Larson-Juhl Science Center computer labs are equipped with CD-ROM burning capabilities.

Q: I have a CD-R that I want to burn a file onto. How am I able to achieve this in the computer labs?

A: Each computer’s operating system is Microsoft Windows XP. Windows XP allows for dragging and dropping files onto a CD. To perform this, open up the CD by clicking on it in My Computer. You can then drag your file into the CD window. The window should now show your file, with bold writing at the top that reads “Files Ready to be Written to the CD.” On the left side of the window you should see a section entitled “CD Writing Tasks.” Click on Write these files to CD. You will then be prompted by the CD Recording Wizard. Follow the step by step instructions on the screen to create your CD.

Q: What tech support service does the IT Department offer for students?

A: The IT Department will troubleshoot and provide support for any network related or student-account related issue. Students are encouraged to complete the three steps listed below. If a student does not know how to do these steps, they can make an appointment (depending on IT availability) to bring their computer into the IT office (Brownell 001). The student must call ahead (ext. 1855) to make an appointment.

The IT department does not fix students' personal computers for non-network related issues. However, if a student is having trouble with their computer they can make an appointment (depending on availability) to bring the computer to the IT Department and do their own work on their computer. Our technicians will walk the student through the troubleshooting steps, but the work will be done by the student. Students must call ahead of time (ext. 1855) to make an appointment. Troubleshooting and resolving computer issues is time intensive so the student should plan on spending at least 2 hours (and possibly more) working on their computer.

Before you contact the IT Department about a computer problem, please perform these three steps:

1. Update Microsoft Windows - Visit Windows Update to make sure that your computer has received all available updates.
2. Update and Scan Sophos Anti-Virus - Make sure that Sophos is up to date and perform a virus scan of your entire computer.
3. Run Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition.