To log into Blackboard (BB) Vista 4.0, go to "http://elearning.tamu.edu" and click on TAMU, then use your NEO user name and password to log on. For a demonstration video and Vista student handouts go to: http://elearning.tamu.edu/current/webct_vista.php

NET ID activation information is available at: https://services.tamu.edu/netid-activate/

CIS Help Desk Central (HDC) is a 24 hour service facility providing computing assistance to students, faculty and staff of Texas A&M University. HDC serves as a clearinghouse for customer questions over a great number of computer-related issues and is manned by over thirty student workers and 15 full-time staff.

Help Desk Central is available for phone support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year at

(979) 845-8300

A toll free number is available for use when you are out of the B/CS area: 866-857-4112.

Walk-ups to Help Desk Central are also welcomed. The HDC is located in the Computing Services Center/Teague Building in room 1112. The south-facing glass doors remain open all the time to allow 24/7 customer walkup access to HDC.

What is a browser?
A browser is a software application that allows your computer to "read" web pages on the World Wide Web. Students and faculty can access the BB-Vista 4.0 platform through a web browser such as Netscape or Internet Explorer (IE). Netscape and Internet Explorer are two of the most popular web browsers; others are also available.

Web browsers and versions

For best results with BB-Vista 4.0, we suggest that you use:

• Mozilla Firefox, http:// www.firefox.com (highly recommended)
• Netscape Communicator (version 4.5 or higher)
• Netscape Navigator (version 4.0 or higher, version 6.0 is not yet recommended)
• Internet Explorer 7 Display Issues with Vista
  Some users have reported issues with Blackboard Vista while using Internet Explorer 7, such as missing buttons, problems viewing Grade Books, and missing assignments, among others. Until a software patch is issued from Blackboard, the current workaround is to use Mozilla Firefox, a free Web browser available at http:// www.firefox.com.

Note: If you are using Netscape 4.03, Please upgrade to Netscape 4.05 or higher. The 4.03 version has a bug that will cause frequent crashes with BB-Vista 4.0.

To see what version your browser is: Click "Help" on the menu bar, and click "About" in the dropdown menu.

To log into BB-Vista 4.0, go to "http://elearning.tamu.edu" and click on TAMU, then use your NEO user name and password to log on.

The BB-Vista 4.0 software you will use resides on a BB-Vista 4.0 server (a central host computer). However, you will also use other applications that reside on your own computer, such as word processing programs or HTML editors. You will want to be sure that your computer's settings are optimized for running a BB-Vista 4.0 course. This means that you will need to enable Java and set the cache to reload every time.

How to set your browser so that it is both Java and JavaScript enabled?

Instructions for Netscape Navigator 4.x

• Click Edit on the menu bar.
• Click Preferences in the dropdown menu
• Click Advanced.
• Make sure that both Enable Java and Enable JavaScript are checked.

Instructions for Internet Explorer 4.x

• Click View on menu bar
• Click Internet Options in dropdown menu
• Click the Advanced Tab
• Under the Java VM entry, make sure "Java JIT compiler enabled" is checked

Instructions for Internet Explorer 5.x

• Click Tools on menu bar
• Click Internet Options in dropdown menu
• Click the Advanced Tab
• Under the Java VM entry, make sure "Java JIT compiler enabled" is checked
  

Make sure to have the correct version of Java installed on your computer. Currently, Java 1.6 JRE is not supported with any version of Vista. Blackboard has discovered that the chat and whiteboard features do not functioning properly when using Java 1.6 JRE. If you have already installed Java 1.6 JRE, you need to uninstall it from your computer. After removing the Java 1.6 JRE, you need to install the version of Java recommended for Vista.

Click on the link -- https://hdc.tamu.edu/reference/documentation/?section_id=425

to download the application to your computer.

Note: Some earlier versions of these browsers have trouble reading Java or CGI scripting, which BB-Vista 4.0 uses heavily. We know specifically that Netscape 2.0 versions on Macintosh computers have problems with Java, as do early versions of Internet Explorer.

Internal Server/Script Errors: usually cleared by reloading the page in your web browser. If these problems are consistent, call the CIS help desk at: (979)-845-8300.

Company Firewalls: If your organization uses a firewall for network security and you consistently find that you cannot access a BB-Vista 4.0 course, contact the information technology professionals responsible for your organization's network's security. They will need to assist you in finding a way to access TAMU BB-Vista 4.0 courses through your company's firewall.

Set Cache Preferences:

For a Netscape browser:
From the top bar of your browser window, Select "Edit - Preferences - Advanced - Cache - Document in cache is compared to document on network - Every time."

For an Internet Explorer browser:
From the top bar of your browser window, Choose "Tools - Internet Options - Settings - Check for newer versions of stored pages - Every visit to the page."

Page Refresh in BB-Vista 4.0: Sometimes, pages do not seem to get updated or reflect the changes you made to them!

There are two simple things you can do to update the page:

1. Right click within the frame you are viewing and select "Reload Frame" if you are using a Netscape Browser or select "Refresh" if using the Internet Explorer Browser. This should always work!
2. Set the browser cache preferences so that the page is refreshed each time while loading. This may not always work but it's a good idea to set it anyway.

Reporting problems

If you continue to have difficulties in accessing BB-Vista 4.0 courses, or in using the Online Chat, Discussion or Whiteboard tools, please contact your instructor as soon as possible. Or, you can call CIS Central Help Desk at (979) 845-8300.

Problems with AOL Users:
If you use America Online (AOL) for Web access, you will need the AOL version 4.0 or higher. Do not use earlier versions of the AOL client with earlier versions of Internet Explorer, as you will have difficulty accessing many of BB-Vista 4.0 features.

For best results with AOL:

• Connect to the Internet using AOL version 4.0 or higher
• Open a private chat within AOL (this allows the AOL client to remain open, without asking if you wish to disconnect while minimized)
• Minimize AOL
• Launch a recommended browser, such as Netscape or IE.

Be sure that you have the following plug-ins installed on your computer. Plug-ins are free software that are used to develop course aspects.

Real Media: http://www.real.com/ (be sure to click on "Get It Free")

Adobe Flash Player: http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/

Adobe Acrobat Reader: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466&displaylang=en