Safe Computing

Are you on Campus or off campus?
It seems a simple question, but often the border line is blurry. If your phone number starts with 844, you're probably in University Hospitals and not on campus.

People in the Triangle Building are also off campus. An easy way to know if you are on campus is to look for a faceplate. There is a nice picture of a faceplate on our Finding your Faceplate Number page. (If you are on campus, sometimes it's useful to have this number anyway.)

OhioLINK has a helpful webpage tool that will tell you where you are if you are on a network they recognize. http://www.ohiolink.edu/cgi-bin/whereami.pl It will also tell you what web browser program you are using.
What is your Operating System?
Even if it's not a problem with your computer, the diagnosis usually goes faster if you know the type of computer you have. Different Operating Systems store information in different places. Find out what your Operating System is.
Is this a Network Connection Problem, a Program Problem or a Computer Problem?
Can you send and receive email, get to web pages and or network shares? If so, it's not a connection problem. If you can do some of these but not others, it's probably a Program Problem, such as a problem with your email program. If you cannot use a program on your computer or the computer itself won't turn on it would be a problem with the computer.
Check the cables and reboot.
I know, it sounds silly but sometimes it really is just a loose cable. Sometimes the cleaning staff are to blame, and sometimes it's your wayward left foot, but it's a good idea to check to make sure the cables aren't loose. It's also a good idea to try unplugging and plugging cables back in to make sure they are secure. And with most computers and peripheral devices like printers simply turning them off and back on again resets a lot of little things which might have been causing your problem.
If it is a network connection problem, find out what your IP Address is.
This number can help the Help Desk figure out why you aren't connecting. Check out our Finding your IP Address page.