FREQUENTLYASKEDQUESTIONS
ANSWERS

    ACCESSING/FINDING INFORMATION ON THE COMPUTER SCIENCE WEBSITE:
  1. The list of Computer Science courses. can found by pressing the "Courses" button at the top of the page. Once a specific course is chosen, the following page displays a Course Menu located on the left hand side of the screen. This menu provides links to information such as:
      Course Description
      Course Syllabus
      Course Calendar
      Course Notes
      Course Reference Materials
      Course labs
      Course Exams
      Section Lecture Notes
      Who Teaches This Course

  2. There are actually two ways, from the Computer Science Website, that you can access the lecture notes provided by your instructors:
    Use the Course Menu if you know the course number and section (Ex: CSC 150-01).
    Use the Instructor's homepage if you know the instructor's name.


  3. The list of Computer Science Faculty Members can be found by pressing the "People" button at the top of the page and then by choosing "Faculty Listing" from the list of options in the "People" menu located on the left hand side of the screen. Once a specific Faculty Member is chosen, the following page displays another menu located on the left hand side of the screen. This menu provides links to information about Faculty Members such as:
      Homepage
      What courses they teach
      Course Lecture Notes
      Office Hours
      Link to Personal Website
      Information about Colloquias they've presented
      Their Research


    4. TUTORING:
  4. Check with your instructors first. Faculty members are willing to help, especially during office hours. You can also recieve tutoring through ACCESS and the STARS Office.
    Note: Your NSU Webamil account must be activated in order to utilize the computers in the STARS Office.
    Instructions on activating your nsu webmail account.


    5. COMPUTER SCIENCE LABS:
  5. The Computer Science labs are located on the 1st and 2nd floor of Robinson Technology Center (RTC). Our labs are accessible exclusively for Computer Science, Engineering and Technology Majors and those students currently enrolled in a Computer Science, Engineering or Technology course. The Graduate Computer Labs are for our Graduate Computer Science Majors only. If you are a CS, Engineering or Technology Major/Minor or you are signed up for any CS, Engineering or Technology course this semester, you have an activated lab account for this semester. If for some reason your account is not active or you registered late in the semester, have your instructor email a request, to the lab staff, to have your ab account activated. It is important that you take action to rectify this issue early and have your account activated as soon as possible. Our computer lab is on a seperate network from the University's. Therefore you have a different username & password in our lab than you do in say the Library which uses the university's network. In order to maintain our labs, we ask that all users/visitors adhere to lab policy. This policy is also posted within each lab. Lab Hours are posted online.
    Note: Any lab closings or special hours may be posted.


  6. If you are certain that you have a lab account then follow these steps:
    1. Ensure that you are using the correct username
      USERNAME: [first initial.middle initial.last name] or NSU Email ID or Blackboard ID.
      EX: j.j.smith

    2. Ensure that you are using the correct password. Your default password is the following.
      S[followed by the seven digit NSU student ID#]$
      EX: S1234567$
    3. Ensure that the "Log on to:" Menu displays "CS"

    4. Click OK.

    If that didn't solve your problem, first verify with your instructor that your name is on the official class roster. If so, check with the Laboratory staff (RTC-213-B) to ensure that your account has not been suspended due to violation of lab policies. If so, your account will be deactivated until you sign the proper forms. These forms are maintained in the Laboratory Office (RTC-213-B). Carefully read the form before you sign.

    If that didn't solve your problem, verify that you qualify to have a Lab account.


    7. NSU STUDENT EMAIL/WEBMAIL:
  7. All NSU students have a NSU Webmail (email) account, but you have to activate it to access it. Because Webmail is web-based you will be able to access your email via the Internet using a browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape. Click on http://www.nsu.edu/webmail to :
    • Read Webmail
    • Find Information about Webmail
    • Forgotten Password
    • Student Lookup
    If you need to activate your NSU Webmail account or are having problems activating your NSU Webmail account, or need your NSU Webmail password reset, you must contact this specific division:
    NSU Help Desk
    Marie V. McDemmond Center for Applied Research
    Room 103C
    Ph: (757) 823-8678   Fax: (757)823-8117
    helpdesk@nsu.edu

    Note: Bring your current NSU Student ID card.


    8. BLACKBOARD:
  8. Blackboard is an elearning (electronic learning) software package that provides instructors the ability to teach courses online (lecture and labs) as well as communicate to and with their students via the Internet. Accounts are set up specific to each course, so if you are not taking a Blackboard course or your instructor is not using Blackboard you do not need a Blackboard account. If you are taking a course through Blackboard, your instructor will more than likely set up your Blackboard account for that particular course. Contact your instructor if you are having trouble setting up your Blackboard account.
    Note: You must have a working email account to communicate with instructors.
    Information on how to activate your NSU Webmail account


  9. Floppy disk usually need to be formatted before you can use them, although most come pre-formatted. You may format a disk anytime you'd like, but any files currently on the floppy will be lost forever.

    FORMATTING A 3 1/2 FLOPPY:
    1. Insert your disk into 3 1/2 Floppy (A:) disk drive.
    2. Double Click on the "My Computer" icon on the Desktop.
    3. Right mouse click the "3 1/2 Floppy (A:)" icon.
    4. Select "Format..." from the menu.
    5. Click "Start" button from application screen.
      **DON'T CHANGE ANY OF THESE VALUES UNLESS YOU ARE SURE THEY ARE CORRECT.**


  10. SCANNING A 3 1/2 FLOPPY FOR VIRUSES:
    1. Click on Start / Programs / McAfee / VirusScan NT / Scan.
    2. A box will appear that gives you a definition of the software. Click OK.
    3. Click on the Actions tab.
    4. Change the Action to "Remove Virus or Clean Virus".
    5. Click "Scan Now".
    6. When scanning is complete, look at bottom of splashscreen to see whether any virues were detected.


  11. LOGGING INTO A REMOTE SYSTEM:
    1. Click on Start / Programs / Network Utilities / QVT / Net .
    2. Click on "Select Services".
    3. Select "Terminal".
    4. A box called Start Terminal Session should be visible. In the slot for Host Name or IP Address, enter your destination.
      Ex: To access the VAX, enter vger.nsu.edu.
    5. Click "Scan Now".
    6. Once you have connected to your destination, enter a username and password to access the account.


  12. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the protocol used by the Internet to copy (not really transfer) files between computers. More details about FTP.

    TRANSFERRING FILES BETWEEN A LOCAL SYSTEM AND A REMOTE SYSTEM:
    1. Click on Start / Programs / Network Utilities / WS_FTP / FTP .
    2. Once in FTP, there is a box displayed on your screen called session profile. Within this box for Hostname enter: the IP address of your destination
      Try to obtain more than one IP address in case one does not work.
    3. To access the account, enter the user name and password for the account on the remote machine.
      (There is no need to change anything else).
    4. Click "OK".
    5. After you have been connected to the remote system, you should see files that are located on the remote system. Double click the icon for the "A: drive", so that when you transfer the files from remote system it will be transferred to your Floppy disk. Make sure that the default is set on ASCII before you transfer.
    6. Click the arrow that points from the Remote system to the Local system. You will see that your file was moved (copied over).


  13. PRINTING C++ SOURCE CODE:
    1. Make sure your C++ source code is saved from the C++ Application, on a 3 1/2 floppy, with the correct extension (.cc or cpp) before you begin.
    2. Open a Word Processor such as Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect
      • Click on Start / Programs / Microsoft Office 97 / Microsoft Word
        • -OR-
      • Click on Start / Programs / Corel WordPerfect Suite / Corel WordPerfect
    3. From the Word Application's menu choose:
      • File / Print
    4. IF YOU SAVE THIS FILE USING THE WORD APPLICATION, IT IS NO LONGER AN EXECUTABLE BUT A WORD DOCUMENT.


  14. PRINTING C++ OUTPUT:
    1. In the C++ application, position and size the output window/screen so all output is viewable.
    2. Open a Word Processor such as Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect
    3. Note: ALT + Enter Minimizes your window.
    4. Press the "ALT" and "Print Scrn" keys simultaneously. This saves the screen's contents in a buffer.
    5. Open a Word Processor such as Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect
      • Click on Start / Programs / Microsoft Office 97 / Microsoft Word
        • -OR-
      • Click on Start / Programs / Corel WordPerfect Suite / Corel WordPerfect
    6. From the Word Application's toolbar, Select Edit / Paste
    7. From the Word Application's toolbar, Select File/ Print


  15. PRINTING FROM A SUN UNIX MACHINE:
    1. Open a Command Tool: Right click on the desktop and select "Command Tool".
    2. In Command Tool, Type: hp5si complete filename
      Ex: hp5si myfile.txt
    3. SEE YOUR INSTRUCTOR FOR ADDITIONAL ASSITANCE.


  16. PRINTING ISSUES:
    • Check the Lab printers to make sure there are NO RED blinking lights. If there are blinking red lights, inform the Laboratory Staff.
    • Make sure a printer is selected by selecting Print from the File Menu (toolbar). The print dialog box should display a printer such as "Printer 1". If not, select one.
    • Click OK.
    • The printer will only print 8 x 11 printouts, so any other paper size selection is invalid and will cause a hold in the print queue.
NSU Department of Computer Science
700 Park Avenue
Norfolk, VA 23504
 Phone: (757) 823-9454
     Fax: (757) 823-9229
  eMail: CompSci@nsu.edu
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