BCCLS Tech Blog

If you're downloading a .xls file and it wants to be opened with or saved as a .pl file there is a way to remedy this. Odds are Microsoft Office is not installed on this PC and only Open Office is available. If neither are available then one program would need to be present in order to view this type of file. One way to view this type of file is to download Microsoft's Excel Viewer available here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=1CD6ACF9-CE06-4E1C-8DCF-F33F669DBC3A&displaylang=en

The other way is to install Open Office. This is a free utility that is backwards compatible with Microsoft's Office with the ability to write and save MS Office files. You can download this from here:

http://www.openoffice.org/

If you have Open Office and when saving the Excel (.xls) file it wants to be saved as a .pl file there is a way around this. When saving, there will be an opportunity to name the file. Simply add .xls to the end of the current file name and click save. This will now name the file properly and associate it with either Excel Viewer or Open Office. It should open fine after this has been done.

Here is a quick run down of what should be done when doing Windows Updates. If this is a "Staff" account then you have the admin rights to do updates. If this is a public PC you MUST log in to the "Install" account. Please remember to thaw the PC before doing any of this.

1. Click the "Start" button
2. At the very top you should see "Windows Update". On older machines that haven't done this in a while it may be worded differently.
3. You may be asked to do an "Active X" update. If it asks please do it. You may be asked to get Microsoft's "Latest Software", say yes
4. Once that is done you'll be given the choice of either "Express" install or "Custom". Always choose "Custom"
5. You may be asked again to install the "Latest Software" for Windows. If so, go ahead and do it.
6. Depending on how far back updates are on your PC, you may be prompted to install Service Pack 3. If so, do it.
7. If that is the case you will be prompted to reboot after that is done.
8. Once rebooted you will have to set up SP3 at boot up. Please be sure to NOT allow it to do Updates Automatically.
9. After you've done SP3 you need to go back into Windows Update as there are plenty more.
10. You'll have to go through the same motions as stated in steps 1-6.
11. Once you do this again you'll have a list of all critical updates available. It is still recommended to "Uncheck" Internet Explorer 8
12. There should be very little intervention while doing critical updates. Mostly it runs by itself until it's done.

When the updates are finished you'll be prompted to reboot. After you've rebooted the PC log back into the appropiate account. Once this is done you can then freeze the PC back up with Deep Freeze and shut down.

Configuring your approved sender whitelist for spam filtering. (allow/deny lists)

To add or remove email addresses from your allow/deny lists, simply click on "Manage Spam" under "BCCLS Links" on the bottom of the left-hand pane of Webmail. You will be brought to MX Logic to login. Provide your complete email address as the login email (username@bccls.org), and your current webmail password.

NOTE: If the login is unsuccessful, you may need to wait until 10-15 emails from outside the BCCLS network arrive to your BCCLS account. These email accounts are auto-generated after it detects email going to a valid account.

Once logged in, click on the "Allow/Deny" tab at the top of the MX Logic home screen. You will see two lists:

Allow list - a list of email addresses that should never be checked for spam (should be allowed through always)
Deny list - a list of email addresses that should be blocked immediately as spam.

Simply add an entry and click on the "Add" button to add the address to the list in the right pane.

When you have finished making changes, simply click on "Sign Out" on the top, and close the window.

Automatic Updates for Windows is a more common subject than you think with a very simple answer. Deep Freeze should be left on at ALL times therefore making Windows Updates a manual task. Automatic Updates is something that's purposely or accidentally turned on while doing updates by the user. This is not something that should be done for the very reason that Deep Freeze will erase anything that’s been updated on a daily basis. Constant reboots automatically by the PC will occur until Automatic Updates have been turned off.

So to recap:

-Deep Freeze is to be left on at all times unless making changes to the PC, updates, software installs etc...

-Automatic Updates should not be turned on

-Windows Updates should be done manually

Does your PC sound like it's ready to take flight? If so, this is a common problem that libraries deal with quite often. There are a lot of books and paper being moved around the PCs releasing quite a bit of paper particles into the air. Being that computers are essentially a vacuum that circulates air through them to keep them cool, plenty of these particles end up in your PC.

Solution:
If you are the owner of an EVO 2.6-2.8GHz model (d530 series) then this is the most common PC to have this issue. While the machine is in front of you on the right side there will be a big vent where the CPU/Heatsink and fan sit. This is the area that is making ALL that noise. There are two main things to do in this situation.

1. Get a can of compressed air and shoot air into the side closer to the bottom of the vent. This will break apart any debris that is caked on the heatsink’s fins. This is actually the number one cause for the noise. When the fins get caked, the CPU gets hot. When this happens the fan speeds up to compensate for the heat the CPU creates to try and cool it down. The result is one VERY loud PC.

2. Take the same can of compressed air and go up a little bit on the vents so that the nozzle is shooting air directly into the open part of the fan. This will be messy! You'll find that clouds of dust will billow out. Do this until there is no more.

After these steps have been taken the PC should operate as normal with little to no sound from the fan.