Frequently Asked Questions

I have a new staff member starting in my office soon. What information do I need to give to you in order to have an account set up? Is there other information I need to know?

I have a staff member who is leaving his/her position. Is there anything that I need to prepare for his/her departure?

I am getting ready to travel and have an office laptop. How can I access my information while traveling?

While I am traveling, I would like my assistant to have access to some of my files. How can I grant access to him/her without giving my password out?

I have been seeing some suspicious mail coming into my email. How can I determine whether it is a legitimate email or not?

I am interested in facilitating a NetMeeting with another company. Are NetMeetings allowed and if so, how do I go about setting one up?

Why is it so important that I not store files on the C (my local) drive? What risks do I run if I do this?

Can I borrow a Microsoft Windows or Office CD for home use?

I am interested in sharing files with someone on a different network. What method would you recommend to do this?

I understand that you can provide an E-Quote on DELL products. Once an E-Quote is provided, what do I need to do next to order the item - or is this taken care of when an E-Quote is created?

I keep getting a notice stating my mailbox is too full. What can I do to eliminate these notices?

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Q: I have a new staff member starting in my office soon. What information do I need to give to you in order to have an account set up? Is there other information I need to know? {back to top}

A: Please refer to the New Employee online form.

Q: I have a staff member who is leaving his/her position. Is there anything that I need to prepare for his/her departure? {back to top}

A: Notify the System Admin group of the departure date so the employee account can be closed out and we can see if the departing person needs assistance in transferring files, etc.

Q: I am getting ready to travel and have an office laptop. How can I access my information while traveling? {back to top}

A. There are two ways to do this: synchronizing your files to be available offline or by using the VPN (virtual private network) program to access the network directly. Post a note to the Helpdesk for additional details.

Q: While I am traveling, I would like my assistant to have access to some of my files. How can I grant access to him/her without giving my password out? {back to top}

A. Let the Sys Admin group know who you would like to have access to your files while you are away and permissions will be changed to reflect this. NEVER give your password out - doing so is a violation of Penn State Policy AD20.

Q: I have been seeing some suspicious mail coming into my email. How can I determine whether it is a legitimate email or not? {back to top}

A. If you are unsure of the sender or an attachment it is best to contact us before doing anything with it. Do NOT open suspicious email or attachments. Doing so can result in a virus outbreak on your computer. You may also refer to the instructions on how to spot an email hoax.

Q: I am interested in facilitating a NetMeeting with another company. Are NetMeetings allowed and if so, how do I go about setting one up? {back to top}

A. Yes, NetMeetings are allowed. Depending on the other parties' network setup, NetMeeting may not work. Please email the Helpdesk for additional information.

Q: Why is it so important that I not store files on the C (my local) drive? What risks do I run if I do this? {back to top}

A. Computers can go down at any moment and if there is a local hard drive failure, all data stored in that location will be lost. It is best to store all data on one of the networked drives (either departmental or personal drive). For additional information on saving files to a network drive, please refer to: (web address needed here)

Q: Can I borrow a Microsoft Windows or Office CD for home use? {back to top}

A. Microsoft software is no longer available for home use from our department; however, Microsoft Office 2003 Work-At-Home media is available from the Computer Store.

Q: I am interested in sharing files with someone on a different network. What method would you recommend to do this? {back to top}

A. The ANGEL Course Management System is an easy and convenient way to share files with another person from PSU. There are other methods if the person is outside of PSU. Email the Helpdesk for additional details.

Q: I understand that you can provide an E-quote on DELL products. Once an E-Quote is provided, what do I need to do next to order the item - or is this taken care of when an E-Quote is created? {back to top}

A. A Dell E-quote is based upon the spec for a piece of equipment that you or someone from your department requested. The Sys Admin group cannot actually purchase the item due to individual departmental budgets. You may retrieve the E-quote on the Dell Premier site to review the specs but all you need is the E-quote number to put into a PO request in IBIS. Refer to IBIS documentation on creating a Purchasing Request.

B. Another method of purchasing equipment and/or computers is through the PSU eBuy system. Visit the link for additional details.

Q: I keep getting a notice stating my mailbox is too full. What can I do to eliminate these notices? {back to top}

A. Archive, archive, archive and clean, clean, clean. Clean your mailbox of unwanted email, especially items that have attachments. If you need to keep an attachment, it is best to save it to your office or U: drive folder, and then delete the email.

Good places to start cleaning are folders where out-of-date items might accumulate. Check your Sent Items folder, Deleted Items, and Inbox. Keep in mind that Items with attachments take up the most space. Any that you can delete would be a big help.

After deleting email, please delete the items from the Deleted Items folder , as items are not removed from your mailbox until they are deleted from the Deleted Items folder.

TIP : When you delete email, normally it is moved into the Deleted Items folder and then it has to be deleted from there to permanently remove from your mailbox. If you press Shift/Delete when deleting email, it removes the email from your mailbox permanently in one step. Just answer YES to the prompt if you want the item(s) permanently deleted.