• If your machine, when booting, gives off a constant beeping noise, it is telling you that your keyboard is not connected or not working. Check the plug to make sure it's connected securely. Try unplugging it and re plugging it again.
• If there is no response, check the indicator light on the keyboard. Is it on? Do the lights respond when you press the caps lock or the num lock key? If not, maybe your keyboard is broken.
• Is there a key stuck? Gently pry off the cover and clean it with alcohol. Make sure it is not connected to your machine when you are cleaning it. The space bar frequently comes off track. Gently pry it off, noting which way the bar lies in your particular keyboard so you can replace it properly.
• Web sites to help clean keyboards. (Use at your own risk!)
  • Cleaning Keyboards
  • How to Clean a Sticky Keyboard

Mouse

• If your mouse starts acting erratic, it could be an insufficient memory problem. Reboot and see if that corrects the problem.
• If your mouse will only move one way, either vertically or horizontally, your mouse may need cleaning.
  Shut down your machine and unplug your mouse from the computer. Open the underside of the mouse and remove the ball. If the ball is a rubber ball, do not clean it with alcohol. Clean it with a soft cloth. There should be no lubricant placed on a mouse ball. Clean the roller in the body of the mouse with a cotton swab that is slightly damp with alcohol. Replace the ball when the rollers are dry and replace the bottom portion.

Printer
Printer problems come in a wide variety. Here are things you may wish to check before calling the helpdesk.
Any information you collect will give them clues on what is wrong.

• Check the cables first. Unplug and re plug the printer into the computer. Be sure the power cable is plugged in and the outlet works.
• Check to make sure the correct printer is selected in the Print Dialog box . If you are on a network, you could be sending the output to a printer in someone else's room.
• Can you print from a different application? Does it only occur with a certain application or is it not working with anything?
• Can you print a test page directly from the printer with it unconnected to the computer? Each manufacturer has their own special series of buttons to hold down for this self-test. Usually the series will be in the user's manual.
• Reinstall the software. Delete the old drivers first. Did that fix the problem?

A Dead PC
Sometimes you run across a machine that one would consider *dead*. Nothing happens when you push
the power switch/button. Here are some things to check for to help your support desk troubleshoot.

• First check the cable. Unplug it from the computer and the outlet. Re plug in both sides and try booting it again.
• Check the wall outlet. Plug something else into the outlet and see if it works.
• Turn the system off and wait 30 seconds and then try again.
• Reach behind the machine and see if you feel air blowing out of the power supply. If you do, then you know the machine is getting some power.
• Look at the keyboard for the indicator lights being lit up as the machine boots. Report observance to the technical help.
• Sometimes the monitor has something to do with the system acting up. Unplug the power cord from the monitor and the wall and re plug it. Unplug the cable from the computer to the monitor and re plug it into the monitor. Try rebooting.
• Listen to identify a beeping series if there is one to report it to the technical help.
• Turn in all observations to the help desk.

Networking
These are things to look for if a PC will not connect to the Internet 

• First check to see if the cable connecting the network card into the network drop is connected to the drop and to the computer.
• Check the back of the computer to see if the network card light is on.
• Check to see if the site you are trying to pull up is at fault by typing in a common URL to see if it will make it out to that site. Some common sites are: cnn.com ; abc.com; nbc.com
• Check to see if anyone else's machine is having problems. If everyone is, then it could be Ten-Nash is having difficulties. Call the Ten-Nash helpdesk to check the status of the internet there.
• If the internet connection is off on a particular hallway only, a hub connection could be down or bad.
• If there is only one machine having problems and the light on the network card is not on, try plugging another machine that works into that drop. It could be that particular drop is bad, or plug the machine that doesn't seem to work into a different drop to see if it would work there.
• Record all the data and call the help desk.

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Internet4Classrooms is a collaborative effort by Susan Brooks and Bill Byles