Troubleshooting in the Labs

I cannot log into a lab machine and/or my password is not recognized.

• Use your Columbia UNI and password (may be different from eBear/gBear password).

• Make sure that the network cable is plugged into the computer.

My jobs do not show up on the printer.

• Make sure that you are the user logged into the machine –– this is the most common issue.

• In the Student Computing Center, send the document to Diana A or B (e.g. sometimes users accidentally select Brooks A).

• Make sure that NINJa printing is installed correctly (ask an ACE if unsure).

• Restart the machine.

• Some documents, especially large ones and PDFs, may take a few minutes to show up.

My job is not printing!

• For PDFs, try printing as image (JPEG).

The printer is printing too many copies of one job.

• This happens often on the Dell printer. Press the cancel button and select the job that is printing many times. You will probably need to cancel several times.

How do I retrieve documents from a lab computer I was working on?

• My Documents: Any work saved to the My Documents folder will be LOST upon logging off the machine. When a student logs onto a computer in the lab, the computer creates an individual profile, and this is erased when the student logs out. The My Documents folder is within this profile, which is why any documents there will be lost.
• Trash Bin: If the user logs out and logs back in right away, the file will still be there. However, if the computer restarts, the file will be lost. If another user logs into the computer before the user can log back in, it will also be lost.
• Downloads Folder: If a user did not save the document out of the downloads folder, you may be able to find it by searching for hidden files and folders.
• The D Drive and Saving Properly: Microsoft Office programs are configured to direct you to save your documents to a Temp folder in the D drive. If you save to the D drive, your documents will remain there until the drive is purged, which occurs once a week. Microsoft Office programs are also configured to automatically save themselves approximately every 10 minutes. If worse comes to worse, a student can possibly retrieve their documents using Auto Recovery. Of course, it always best for the student to save documents to her own USB, CD-ROM, or to upload the document to e-mail/FTP.