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Troubleshoot common problems

Get help with:
General Computing
Email
Microsoft Office (PC)
Microsoft Office (Mac)
 Printing (PC)
Printing (Mac)

General Computing

If you are having computer problems that do not pertain to specific software or tasks, there are several things you could do that might help resolve the issue.

    General slow responses
  • Shut down, wait a few minutes, power on

    • Keyboard or Mouse not responding
  • Unplug the device, wait 10 seconds, plug it back in

    • Applications not responding (PC)
  • Simultaneously press Ctrl + Alt + Del
  • Find the application in the task list
  • Highlight the application and click "End Task"

    • Applications not responding (Mac OS X)
  • Simultaneously press Alt + Command + Esc
  • Select the application and click "Force Quit"
  • Click "Force Quit" on confirmation dialog box

If you continue to have problems, and they do not fall under any of the other categories on this page, submit a Service Request.

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Email

If you are having problems receiving or accessing email, here are some troubleshooting tips.

    If you are using a client such as Mac Mail, Outlook or Eudora:
  • Check your username and password. Are they correct?
    • If they are not:
  • Enter the correct username and password and try again
    * Make sure your CAPS LOCK is turned off
    • If they are:
  • Close the application and restart it.
  • Refer to "Application not responding" in the "General Computing" section if you experience problems closing the program.
    • If this does not solve the issue, try this:
  • Go to http://mail.msu.edu to access the web mail system
  • Staff who use the MS Exchange system, go here.
  • Log on with your username and password.

    • If you are able to log on here, there is a problem with your software or settings. Please submit a service request.

    If you are unable to log on to web mail, check here for problems with the MSU mail system. If there are no problems listed with the MSU Mail system, then submit a service request. If there are problems listed with the MSU mail system, please be patient and try again later. If you continue to have problems after their problems have been resolved, then submit a service request.
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Microsoft Office (PC)

Microsoft Office applications can be quite tricky sometimes. Try the following if you are experiencing problems with any Microsoft Office application. (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access)

    Try restarting the application first.
  • Close the application you are having trouble with.
  • Restart the application.
    • If that doesn't work, or you click the icon to open the program and nothing happens, try this:
  • Simultaneously press Ctrl + Alt + Del
  • You may have to click the "Task Manager" button to bring up the Task Manager
  • On the "Processes" tab, click "Image Name" to order all entries alphabetically.
  • Based on the following list, find the entry(s) for the application you're having problems with.
    • Word - winword.exe
    • Excel - excel.exe
    • Outlook - outlook.exe
    • Powerpoint - powerpnt.exe
  • Select the entry and click "End Process" for each instance.
  • Click "Yes" on the confirmation dialog box.
  • Do this for each entry, then close the Task Manager.
  • Try and restart the program.

At this point, if you are still having problems with the application, please submit a Service Request.

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Microsoft Office (Mac)

Microsoft Office applications can be quite tricky sometimes. Try the following if you are experiencing problems with any Microsoft Office application. (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Entourage)

    Try restarting the application first.
  • Close the application you are having trouble with.
  • Restart the application.
    • If that doesn't work, or you click the icon to open the program and nothing happens, try this:
  • Simultaneously press Alt + Option + Esc
  • Select the application that is not responding
  • Click "Force Quit"
  • In the confirmation dialog box, click "Force Quit"
  • Restart the application

At this point, if you are still having problems with the application, please submit a Service Request.

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Printing (PC)

Attempting to print too many documents too quickly, or documents that are large, can jam up the printer system. Here are some ways to determine if that has happened and how to resolve the issue.

  • Click the "Start" menu
  • Click "Control Panel"
  • Double click on "Printers and Faxes"
    * If you don't see "Printers and Faxes", click "Printers and Other Hardware" then "Printers and Faxes".
  • Double click the printer that the document was sent to.
    * If you do not know, it is probably the one with the black check mark next to it.
  • For each document listed in the queue: Select it, choose "Cancel" from the "Document" menu.
    * This may take a few minutes to cancel. If it hangs or takes too long, restarting the computer will clear out the queue.
  • Once all documents have been canceled, close the printer document list box.
  • Turn the printer off for 30 seconds and then power it back on.
  • Attempt to print the document again.

    • If the document still does not print, or you could not cancel all of the documents in the print queue:
  • Turn off the printer.
  • Restart the computer.
  • Once the computer is back to the desktop, turn the printer back on.
  • Try to print the document again.

If you are still having problems printing, submit a Service Request.

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Printing (Mac)

Attempting to print too many documents too quickly, or documents that are large, can jam up the printer system. Here are some ways to determine if that has happened and how to resolve the issue.

  • Select "System Preferences" from the Apple menu
    * This is the Apple symbol in the upper left of the screen.
  • Click "Print & Fax"
  • Double click the printer that the document was sent to.
    * If you do not know, try one. If there are no documents listed, try another one.
  • For each document listed in the queue: Select the document and click "Delete".
    * This may take a few minutes to cancel. If it hangs or takes too long, restarting the computer will clear out the queue.
  • Once all documents have been canceled, close the printer document list box.
  • Turn the printer off for 30 seconds and then power it back on.
  • Attempt to print the document again.

    • If the document still does not print, or you could not cancel all of the documents in the print queue:
  • Turn off the printer.
  • Restart the computer.
  • Once the computer is back to the desktop, turn the printer back on.
  • Try to print the document again.

If you are still having problems printing, submit a Service Request.

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