Common Causes of Difficulty

Internet ID & Password

When you connect to many resources, you are asked for your University of Minnesota Internet ID and password.

To look up your Internet ID, search for your name in the University's Student/Staff directory at: http://www.umn.edu/lookup

Your Internet ID will likely consist of a string of letters followed by a string of numbers.

If you’ve forgotten your password, you may contact the ITSS Helpdesk at 218-726-8847 for help (see Help Desk Hours).

Authentication Problems (logging into public PCs)

Almost all authentication problems on the Library's second floor PCs fall into these five categories

1. You have a UMD e-mail account, but are NOT a current UMD student, faculty, or staff.

Currently, authentication is not available for people who are not a current UMD student, faculty, or staff. However, the Library does provide guest computers for visitors. Ask at the first floor circulation desk for more information on the guest computers.

2. You ARE a current UMD student or employee, but have not changed your x.500 password in a long time, possibly never.

Change your password at https://www.umn.edu/validate. After a delay (less than a day -- usually about ½ hour) you should be able to log in.

3. You ARE a current UMD student, but have suppressed your address info, including e-mail address.

Change your suppression of personal info to option 3 - suppressing only address and telephone. This can be done at http://www.d.umn.edu/register. A day later, you may re-instate full suppression of personal data. (By then UMD will have received the necessary data to enable authentication for you.)

4. You authenticated earlier in the day on another PC (in the Library or in an ITSS Full Access Lab), and did not successfully log out from that PC.

You will see a message like "You are trying to log in to too many workstations at once." Return to the PC you used earlier and log out (may require a reboot).

5. Your x.500 password is longer than 8 characters, and it was set prior to January 5, 2005.

You have two choices: On Library or Lab PCs, you could just type the first 8 characters of your password... or you could change your password at https://www.umn.edu/validate. After a delay (usually about ½ hour), you should be able to authenticate.

Firewalls

If you are connecting from off-campus, it is possible that your firewall is preventing access to the Library's databases. One common problem is related to the ports to which your computer is allowed to connect. If you are at a workplace, check with your computer security personnel to see whether the ports to which you have outgoing access have been restricted. Otherwise, check your own firewall software - it should have settings where you can open and close specific ports. To use the UMD Library's databases and library catalog, you need to allow outbound access to port 2443 for webapps.d.umn.edu and port 8991 for prime6.oit.umn.edu.

Proxies

Three common problems:

To remove old references to proxy.d.umn.edu port:84,

In Internet Explorer, go to
Tools >> Internet Options >> Connections Tab
If you have a dial-up connection highlight the dial-up connection you use then click on the "settings" button.
If you use a LAN, click on the "LAN Settings" button.
Uncheck "use a proxy server for your LAN"
OK, OK

In Mozilla Firefox, go to
Tools >> Options >> Network Tab>> Settings Button
Remove any references to proxy.d.umn.edu and port 84
Click on radio button for "Direct Connection to the Internet"

In Netscape, go to
Edit >> Preferences >> Advanced >> Proxies
Remove the radio button in front of "Manual Proxy Configuration"
OK

Cookies

Do you have cookies enabled? Our authentication programs require that your computer accept cookies (it’s OK to set it to only accept cookies that are returned to the originating server.) Check your settings if you experience problems using any of the library's databases:

In Internet Explorer, go to
Tools >> Internet Options >> Security
High security disables cookies; Medium security enables them.

In Mozilla Firefox, go to
Tools >> Options >> Privacy >> Cookies
Checkmark "Accept cookies from sites"
Optional: checkmark "for the originating web sites only" (older versions of Firefox)
Optional: Choose "Keep until" and pull down the dropdown box to make your selection.
Note there is an "exception" button for fine tuning.

In Netscape go to
Edit >> Preferences >> Advanced
See the text box on the right for the section on cookies.

Cookies and Proquest Databases: If you are getting unexpected search results from a Proquest database, you may need to clear your cookies by using a special Proquest cookie cutter. You can clear your cookies by going to http://www.umi.com/cookiecutter and clicking on the button titled "Click Here to Reset Your Browser."

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

You may be unable to use UMD's VPN software if any of the following are true:

• If your Macintosh runs Mac OS 8 or 9
• If your PC has Internet Connection Sharing turned on under Windows 2000 or XP

If you wish to turn off ICS, Click Start >> Settings >> Control panel >> Network Connections
Right-click on each network connection and select Properties. Select the Advanced Tab; if there is a checked box for ICS saying "Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection," uncheck that box.

(Under Windows XP, the built in network bridge is part of ICS and will interfere with UMD's VPN. You may have to turn it off separately.)

Javascript

Javascript is necessary for some sites to work properly. To toggle Javascript on or off:

In Internet Explorer, go to
Tools >> Internet Options >> Security >> Custom Level
High security disables Javascript; Medium security (the default) enables it.

In Mozilla Firefox,go to
Tools >> Options >> Content
Check or uncheck "enable JavaScript" 
Fine-tune your javascript settings with the ADVANCED button (optional)

In Netscape, go to
Edit >> Preferences >> Advanced, and look on the right for Javascript.