Technical support over the holidays

This is to clarify any potential public PC or public printer problems which may occur over the holiday period (Dec 22 – Jan 4)

Please note the Information Commons will be providing some basic support coverage for problems regarding the public PCs and printers. (December 22, 23, 29, 30,  Jan 2 )

1) For problems with public PCs and public printers:

a) Problems can be reported via phone to the Info Commons Icicle staff at 416-978-0429.
b) Requests can also be made via e-mail at icicle.support@utoronto.ca (with a cc to Jeff so he can track problems as well). Include in the email: time, date, machine #, problem details
c) If applicable put a pink out-of-order sign on the PC or printer



2) For network problems (e.g. staff or public PCs not connecting to Internet, etc)

• call ITS at 8-5555

3) Patrons with problems with their laptops or other devices

• advise them to follow the handouts on the Info Desk  (especially the first part about verifying their UTORid  since they may have bought/received a new device and need to verify their UTORid on this new device)
• patron can be advised to call the IC Help Desk (978-HELP).  Their holiday hours should be posted soon on their website: http://help.ic.utoronto.ca/
• if the patron is not from the UofT, but another university, they can be advised to try connecting to the wireless through eduroam.  The patron can use a LIRA station to Google eduroam and their home university (e.g. eduroam McGill) and see how to setup their device following their home university instructions

Wireless Security Certificate Renewal

On Monday March 10 there will be an update to the UofT wireless service.

Users with Apple devices (laptops, tablets, phones) will see a prompt asking them to confirm the update.
Those with Android, Blackberry or Windows devices should be updated without any confirmation.

I'm sure there are a lot of Apple users on campus, and some will be confused by the prompt. So expect more questions than usual on Monday.
Users can logon to our public computers and go to this address for help:   http://uoft.me/cert

Public equipment & the holidays

1) For problems with public PCs and public printers:

a) Problems can be reported via phone to the Info Commons staff at 416-978-0429.
b) Requests can also be made via e-mail at icicle.support@utoronto.ca (with a cc to Jeff so he can track problems as well). Include in the email: time, date, machine #, problem details
c) If applicable put a pink out-of-order sign on the PC or printer (signs kept in lower reference drawer)



2) For network problems (e.g. staff or public PCs not connecting to Internet, etc)

• call ITS at 8-5555

3) Patrons with problems with their laptops or other devices

• advise them to follow the handouts on the Info Desk
• cables (From the Loans Services Desk) can be loaned to patrons who have wireless problems (take ID from patron)** Please remember to give the patron the handout notifying them of the cessation of the docking/network ports in January 2014
• if handouts and cables do not help with the problem, patron can be advised call the IC Help Desk (978-HELP).  
• Their holiday hours should be posted soon on their website: http://help.ic.utoronto.ca/

Docking ports

On January 1, 2014 docking ports on campus will be decommissioned by the University’s central Information and Technology Services (I+TS). By doing so, I+TS resources will be redirected towards providing better wireless services. There are approximately 600+ docking ports within the Gerstein Library.  Documentation has been prepared (both in print and on the web) which has two purposes:

1.     To inform patrons that this service (docking ports) is slated to be stopped in January 2014

2.     To gather feedback/questions/concerns from patrons about why they need to use a docking port and why the wireless network is not sufficient

The procedure  (from now until December) when a patron asks for a cable at the Loans Desk is to:

1.     Hand patron a cable (and take ID)

2.     Hand them a print handout (see attached) which informs them about the docking port termination.  A pile of these handouts are located by the cables.

3.     If a patron fills out this handout with comments and returns the handout (along with the cable), please put the completed handout in the pamphlet box located underneath the drawer.  Jeff will be checking this weekly to gather any comments/feedback.

This information will be gathered and sent to IT+S in addition to the library’s ITS staff

Other ways patrons are being informed:

-       News item on Gerstein web page

-       Featured item (bottom right corner) of Gerstein web page

-       Gerstein lobby flatscreen

Changes to copiers and change machine

The following is a message regarding changes in May 2013.
No more change machines in the main library system.
Gerstein had its 7 copiers reduced to 4.
Our Loan Desk no longer provides change for any reason.

JH

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We now have a total of 4 photocopiers in Gerstein.  Three are located on the corridor outside Resource Sharing and one is in Short Term Loan.  The copiers on 2 below and level 3 of the journal stacks have been removed.

Two can be used for scanning, one is in Short Term Loan and the other is the first in line in the corridor outside Resource Sharing.

One copier is coin operated.  It is in the middle of the group of three.

Please remember that we do not provide change for copying purposes.

Renata
June 5, 2013

USB issue will not be fixed, new info on rebooting scanner/copier

After a lot of correspondence over the past 8 months, Ricoh has replied that it will not fix this issue due to the machine being out of manufacture. I assume this means parts would have to be remade, and they are busy putting their efforts in to parts for new models, not older ones they no longer manufacture.

Our lease on these goes until 2016 or 2017.

Follow these steps to help with USB flash drives not being recognized: 

Always remove the users TCard and/or USB flash drive from the machine before proceeding.

STEP 1
-if a users device is not recognized then do a soft reboot (hold down "*" and "#" until the display turns off, let go and wait for it to start up on its own)

STEP 2
-if Step 1 fails then do a hard reboot (press the green power light on the top of the machine, the light should go out...then locate the orange power switch on the front panel of the machine and switch it to "sleep". Turn it on after a few seconds)

STEP 3
-if Step 2 fails then loan the user our USB

Any time our USB fails, follow Step 1, and if necessary Step 2 as well. It should work.
If it doesn't then put an out of order sign on the "scan" card unit. (the machine can still be used as a photocopier)

Public PC's - auto-deletion of user files

In the past, if a user left their personal documents on our public computers within the My Documents folder, those files would be saved there for a week. After that the network would automatically delete them.

This has now changed to 4 days. After that the network will automatically delete any files left in the My Documents folder.

This is not something users do a lot of. It is more of a "safety" feature in case someone forgets their files.

This only applies to the My Documents folder. Files left elsewhere are automatically deleted as soon as the user logs out of the desktop.

TCard Cleaning Wipes

Cleaning the chip on cards can eliminate errors.
We used to keep a small bottle of rubbing alcohol to wipe the chip clean, but we now have some packaged "wipes" that I got from Mike at the TCard Office.

I keep a supply of these in the Infodesk printer cabinet. (lower shelf on the left)

They are about 1" square in size.

They are to be used by staff at either of our public service desks, so please help yourself when needed. And let me know if you think we need more.

If there are no wipes available, the old trick of using some cotton fabric to clean the chip is also useful.

Holidays and public equipment support

Holidays and public equipment support


This is to clarify any potential public PC or public printer problems which may occur over the holiday period (Dec 22- Jan 6)

Please note the Information Commons will be providing some basic support coverage for emergent problems regarding the public PCs and printers.


1) For problems with public PCs and public printers:

a) Problems can be reported via e-mail at icicle.support@utoronto.ca (with a cc to Jeff so he can track problems as well). Include in the email: time, date, machine #, problem details

b) Requests can also be made via phone to the Info Commons staff at 416-978-0429.

c) If applicable put a pink out-of-order sign on PC (signs kept in lower reference drawer)




2) For network problems (e.g. staff or public PCs not connecting to Internet, etc)

• call ITS at 8-5555

4) Patrons with problems with their laptops or other devices

• advise them to follow the handouts on the Info Desk
• cables (From the Loans Services Desk) can be loaned to patrons who have wireless problems (take ID from patron)
• if handouts and cables do not help with the problem, patron can be advised call the IC Help Desk (978-HELP)**** The Info Commons Help Desk is phone-in only during the holiday period. No walk-in or email service. See: ******

Public Printers - the Suspend/Resume button

The "Suspend/Resume" button is on the lower left of the printers display panel and sometimes people accidentally hit it.
Doing so makes the button go green, and immediatly stops all printing.

To start the printer again, press the "Suspend/Resume" button once. The green light should go out and printing will continue.

Public Printers - display says "energy saver mode"

If the public printers say "energy saver mode" it is okay to print.
On one occasion someone thought the printer was not working when like this. Just tell users to print as they normally would, the printer will "wake up" automatically.

If you want to manually "wake up" the printer, just press one of the keys on the panel.
Doing this is useful if you want to see the regular display. Because it shows how much toner and paper is left.

Public Equipment and Lab support staff at the Information Commons (Icicle)

I recently saw this photo on the InfoCommons support staff web page and thought i'd share it.
I know their faces well...but i think many of you do not. And it would probably be helpful to be a bit more familiar with the staff who support all our public workstations, public printers, and our instruction lab equipment.

If, in my absence, any of you have to call the "Icicle" phone number for support, these are some of the people you would be speaking with.

http://support.icicle.utoronto.ca/support_photos.html

The only one missing here is Brett, who works in the same capacity as Eugene.
Mark oversees the group. Eugene and Brett work in the background as administrators most of the time. And Antonio, Jennifer, Leon and Ming are typically answering phones and coming over to Gerstein to fix problems for us.

Public Scanner - USB drives not working

April 2013 Edit:
Please see the more recent blog post on this topic.

Staff are still consulting with Ricoh technicians to help use reduce the number of problems we are experiencing with usb drives.
In the meantime, if a user needs helps and the usual technical support is not around (photoduplication staff) there is one thing you could try that may help.

I had told some staff already that turning the scanner/copier on and off would resolve some problems with usb drives not being recognized. However Julian mentioned it is gentler on the scanner/copier if you do this instead:

Press the “*” and the “#” on the keypad at the same time and hold for 10 seconds, the control panel will go blank and reboot. (about 30 seconds in total)

Remove the users TCard and usb drive before doing the above.

Please try this whenever a usb is not working.

If it doesn't work, try another usb if possible.

Scanners at Gerstein

Here are the basic points, please refer to the signs posted at each scanner/copier for more specific instructions.

-only two of them (STL and in front of ILL)
-cost is free...but card with value on it must be inserted
-default is pdf (jpg is an option)
-user must select orientation (same as choosing a copy...letter portrait, letter landscape, etc)
-nothing is saved to the usb until the user presses the "#" sign. So with a pdf...most people scanning in an article will want to scan repeatedly until the article is done...then press "#" sign. This will give them the whole article in one pdf.

User quota on wireless is discontinued

As of May 7, 2012 the University of Toronto wireless network no longer uses a "quota" system.

This previously limited users to 1-2GB of upload/download data per week.

Whether one connects via UTORwin, UofT, or Eduroam...there is no longer a quota. This includes both wired and wireless connections to the network.

There has never been a quota on public or staff workstations. So there is no scenario where this restriction applies.

The new staff printer at the Infodesk is now ready to use.

1. The name for it that you will see from your computer is:
Gerstein: Reference Dell 2330dn


2. There is a small problem after printing web pages. The display shows "34 Short paper". Just press the checkmark button beneath the display once to resolve this. (see attached photo)

User lost file on public workstation

If a user says they cannot find their document on our workstation and Jeff is not available, please contact the the Information Commons "Icicle" technical support staff at: 416-978-0429.

The staff at Icicle need 3 things:
1. The workstation number (e.g GEW001)
2. The document type (e.g Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
3. Part or all of the title the document was saved as (e.g myessay.docx)

If the user has already logged out of the desktop of the workstation, the document may not be recoverable. So it is very important they do not do this if they haven't already.

If they have closed the program they were working with (e.g Word) it is okay.

It may take Icicle staff 10 minutes to do this.

If they are successful they will place the document in the "My Documents" folder or on the desktop or the workstation where the file was lost.

Signs are posted in the Wallace Room about this, as well as warnings that automatically appear in the computer.

This occurs because the Information Commons cannot control how Internet Explorer saves temporary documents. The area they are saved in must be locked for network security reasons.

When opening these types of files from email attachments, users must choose a folder to save the file by going "save as". It cannot be the folder that opens when first saving. It should either be the "My Documents" folder or perhaps their own usb flash drive.

Extended print "wait" time

Every time a user sends a print job it sits on our network waiting for them to print it out.

If they do not pay for it within two hours...the network automatically deletes it.

For Gerstein only...this time period has now been extended to four hours.

A new network from the Information Commons

As of June 20th, along with eduroam and UTORwin networks, there is now the UofT network.

When students attempt to log on to our wireless network now, they will see all 3 of these options when in range. (whether using a cable, or wireless)

UTORwin and UofT networks are the same except the new UofT network is a one-time login. It is cumbersome to login a few times a day on ones handheld. This one-time login makes that easier.
The downside to that is it is not designed to be logged off, and is therefore not advisable to use on a computer that is shared between different users. (e.g staff laptops)

It is the better network for students to use as it includes a newer "range" (802.11n), as well as making logging in simpler. (UTORwin uses "g" and "b" ranges, UofT uses "g", "b", and "n")

As of summer 2011, there are some issues on the new UofT network with handhelds using older versions of the Android operating system. There's no timeline on resolving this. (this does not include iPods, iPads, or Blackberry's)

There is another issue with all users having to verify their UTORid before their first use of the new UofT network. InfoCommons hopes to have this resolved by September 2011.

A reminder that the Information Commons is no longer publishing paper help documents on wireless. I continue to print some out, but those will not include any information on the new "UofT" network.
More information is available here: http://help.ic.utoronto.ca/category/20/wireless-access-utorcwn.html

Jeff Heeney
July 13, 2011

TCards getting stuck in readers

Occasionally those of us at the service desks experience issues with students' tcards getting stuck in the card reader boxes.

Jeff has spoken with Mark L. and this problem is occurring due to a combination of two issues:

1. some user cards are slightly problematic

2. some card readers are slightly problematic. Put those two together and you have some cards getting stuck in some units.

The user card still works in most units...most of the time. The card reader still works for most cards...most of the time. Replacing the unit will not solve the problem as it will still 'grab' a small number of user cards that have minor defects.

TIPS for dealing with this problem

-If a patron's card gets stuck in a machine, unplug the machine, remove the card, plug the reader back in and REINSERT the card. This will allow the balance to be written so that the card doesn't get 'flagged.'

-If you unplug the card reader at the printer in the Wallace Room, make sure that when you plug it back in you don't use the outlet marked with an X, as this outlet is not working.

-Advise the user to try another printer if their card has gotten stuck repeatedly

-If there are a large number of cards getting stuck in one machine in a short period of time, let Jeff know. He regularly cleans the units, so he will know if it needs cleaning, or if it is in fact a problem with the reader itself.

-You can always try the 'shirt-tail' solution for a card that gets stuck or is unable to be read. Gently rub the metal 'chip' with a cotton shirt tail or white eraser. This sometimes helps.

Allison Bell
March 8, 2010