Computer Accounts Frequently Asked Questions
What is my Novell I logon number/username?
How do I access my Groupwise email account within WIT?
What is a computer account?
Every fully registered student and staff member of the Institute is given a computer account called a Novell account. This account allows you to save information onto a piece of a very large hard disk on a machine called a server. It also allows you to have access to a computer. If you don't have a Novell account, you cannot access the majority of computers in the institute.
The server to which you attach when logging on is located in Computer Services.. Although computer services' staff has access to this account, the only way, which an ordinary user can access it, is through a logon/username and a password.
Every student is given a standard maximum of 80 Mbs of space which will hold roughly the same amount of information as 57 diskettes. Do remember however, that pictures, sound files etc, can take up large amounts of space. So make sure to delete unwanted files every now and then from your Novell account.
Note that this account can be accessed from any network machine from anywhere within the Institute as the account is held centrally in computer services {see diagram above).
Students automatically get an account once you are registered, but staff must fill out a request form.
What is my Novell I logon number/username?
Your logon number/username will be your student number, which is printed on your student card, or in the case of staff, it will be the username given to you by Computer Services once a check for duplicate names has been made.
Passwords are automatically generated by computer services. Each password consists of six letters only. Novell passwords are not case sensitive {unlike the passwords for your student email). You will have received your password at registration. If not, please contact computer services during opening hours.
It should be noted that if you change your Novel I login password, your Novell email password will also change to be the same. So be careful with case sensitivity. If you use capital letters whilst changing your Novell login password, then your email password will have to be entered using capitals.
How do I log on?
If the computer is turned on, reboot it. You don't know how long it has been on and sometimes system resources such as memory are not freed up by programs as people exit out of them. As a result, you can run into problems yourself when using the machine. So the rule of thumb is to start the machine correctly from scratch.
NB: When a computer is started up in the classrooms/library, it should display a blue .screen which contains important information in relation to WIT?s acceptable computer usage policy. It is vital that you read this information.
Press the CTRL and ALT and DEL keys simultaneously to bring up the Novel I login screen.
Left-click in the Username: box and type in your student number as printed on your label eg if your student number is 02123456, enter this into the Username: box.
Left-click in the Password: box and type in your six-character password as printed on your label for example, if your password is ABCXYZ, enter this into the Password: box. As you type, the characters you enter will be represented by an asterisk * for security reasons.
Once you have entered your details, left-click on the OK button. Providing you have entered your details correctly, you should now be logged onto the computer.
How do I log off?
To log off from the system, simply:
Left-click on Start which is located in the bottom left hand corner of the screen. A menu will appear on the screen.
To shutdown the computer completely, select the Shut Down? command from the menu.
If you want to log off from your account but want to leave the computer on, select the Log Off student number?. command where student number is your actual student number
If you choose the Log Off student number? command the following screen will be displayed:
Click on the Log Off button to log out of your account and to leave it ready for the next person to use.
If you are using a computer for a considerable length of time, it is a good idea to restart the computer every now and then in order to ensure that resources are available for the work you are doing. Some programs are very memory intensive.
When you are using a few of these programs simultaneously -for example, you could be doing cutting and pasting between different types of documents, -you should restart your machine especially if you notice it getting slower. If you don't do this, there is a possibility that the machine may shutdown/crash unexpectedly.
How do I change passwords?
It you wish to change a password, please contact computer services for assistance. When calling to the counter with password queries, please be sure to have photo ID with you, such as your staff/student card.
Do not use the following for passwords:
- Your name, Address
- Car registration
- Partner's name
- Phone number
- Student number
Use passwords which are difficult to crack. Make sure that the password is something that won't be guessed by anyone else -for example, use a random set of numbers and letters. Make sure that it is something you won't forget! Example of passwords: mOngr917, wOtgrfOrd.
If computer services change your password, change it at the earliest opportunity to something more secure than what you are given. Computer services change many passwords everyday and often as not the same passwords are given out to every person (though this is not always strictly true). So if you want to keep your account secure, change your password. At the moment, you must wait 24 hours before you can change your password ? if you try to do so, you will get an error message stating that not enough time has elapsed since the last password change.
NB: Do not let anyone else use your account:
They may delete the contents of your account by mistake. .They may use it for storing undesirable information for which you will be responsible. They may use it for sending abusive messages to others including fellow classmates, lecturers, people in authority.
And if they do send abusive messages -the student number on the account will be yours!
For the reasons stated above -always, always log out of your account!
Computer services will not change passwords unless the student has official proof of identification preferably your WITCard. However, we will accept passports and driving licences in cases where a card has not been issued yet. We cannot change passwords over the phone or via email -after all, anyone could be ringing up/emailing saying that they are you!
Do I have an Email address?
The student email system in use at WIT is provided by Google. It is called Google Apps (Gmail). You cannot get an email account from the institute unless you have a Novell account. Staff members use a different email system called Groupwise which is provided by Novell. Your email address is of the following format:
student-number@mail.wit.ie eg 99999999@mail.wit.ie (for students)
username@wit.ie (for staff)
WIT provides email for each fully registered student or member of staff. These are the only email services supported by the institute. In the past, the numbers of people using WIT facilities to access private email accounts rose to such a level that this "private" use of shared educational facilities became a problem. For such cases WIT reserves the right to block access unilaterally and without notice of such actions.
Remember that there are limits on the size of email you can keep on the system - due to the fact that we have many thousands of users here in the institute, all of whom are entitled to a mail account. So spring clean your mail as often as possible.
Remember too that you should always save important email to your g drive and to a floppy disk/ZIP disk. Do not keep important emails just in your email account.
How do I access my email account within WIT?
On the desktop of most PCs is an icon which resembles a globe of the earth with a red arrow on it. This is the Novell Groupwise email system for staff.
Double click on it to open GroupWise email. If you are only given the password screen, click on the Cancel button to show the full log in screen.
In the userid box, enter your username/number. In the password box, enter your password - this would have been given to you on registration day on a sticker by computer services - Click on the OK button to log into your GroupWise mail.
To access the student email (Google Apps) simply go to the WIT homepage (www.wit.ie) and click on the link called "Student Web E-mail" which is in the yellow 'Student & Staff Resources' box. Your username is your student number and the password will be the first one issued to you when you first registered at the WIT. If you can't remember the password then please call into the Computer Services help desk, located in the Walton Building, with your student card.
Can I access my Email Account externally?
Your email Account can be accessed externally.
If you have an Internet connection:
a) Open up Internet Explorer and enter the WIT webpage address ie. www.wit.ie in the address bar.
b) Click on the appropriate Email link located in the yellow resources box on the left hand side of the screen. Please note that as the WIT web page changes the location of this link on the screen may also change.
c) A small window about security may appear. Click on the OK button to proceed. You may be shown further screens. If you are, click on the appropriate buttons to proceed. d) Eventually, a window asking you for a username and password will be displayed. In the username box, enter your student number or staff username.
e) In the password box, enter your Novell password. If you have not changed your Novell password from your original six letter one (which was printed on a sticker for you on registration day), then use this as your password. Remember that the password for your email account is the same as the password for your Novell login account. So if you have changed your Novell password, this password now becomes your email password.
Note as stated in the above instructions, also that the layout of the WIT home page may change from time to time. But there will always be a link on it from which you can access your email.
Can I save to the G drive?
You can save to the G drive -that is your own little part of the server. However, you really should save as well to a floppy diskette, USB Stick or ZIP disk as you can then bring your document elsewhere for example, to your own computer at home. If you save to the G drive, you can access the G drive from any computer on the institute's network.
You can save to the G drive by selecting it as you would the C drive or the A drive. So, for example, when you save a file in Word and the Save window opens, enter: g:\filename (which will save a document called filename to the G drive).
