Problem: When I click on the chatroom icon nothing happens.

Solution: Check to see if you have a pop-up blocker enabled. The pop-up blockers can be in multiple places on your computer. Make sure to check your browser, anti-virus and firewall software and/or any search toolbars that you may have installed in your browser, such as Google, MSN or Yahoo toolbars. The chat opens via a pop-up window, so all pop-up blockers need to be disabled or pops-ups from Blackboard Vista's website need to be allowed in order to use chat. See this document for instructions on how to disable pop-up blockers.

Problem: When I click on the chatroom icon, I get a message saying "chatroom is currently unavailable, try again later" or similar. (This applies to Windows users only).

Solution: You don't have Java installed on your computer or the version of Java you have is not supported. Go to www.java.com to download the supported version. After installing it, follow the instructions below to check for and uninstall unsupported version(s):

Windows XP users:

1. Click Start > Control Panel and double-click on Add/Remove Programs (or Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs if using Classic View).
2. Scroll down and find all entries for Java Runtime Environment (J2SE, JRE, etc.).
3. If you see more than one entry listed, click on each one and then click Remove button, keeping only the highest version (for example: if you see Java 5.0 update 5 and Java 5.0 update 11, you will keep update 11).
4. Restart your computer when finished.

Windows Vista users:

1. Click Start > Control Panel, then click on the "Uninstall a Program" option under the Programs category. (If you are using the Classic View of the Control Panel, then you would double-click on the "Programs and Features" icon instead).
2. Scroll down and find all entries for Java Runtime Environment (J2SE, JRE, etc.).
3. If you see more than one entry listed, click on each one and then click Uninstall, keeping only the highest version (for example: if you see Java 6.0 update 1 and Java 6.0 update 2, you will keep update 2).
4. Restart your computer when finished.
    

Log into Blackboard Vista when done. A "Java Security Certificate Warning" will come up. Make sure to check the box next to "Always Trust" then click Run. Try accessing the chat again.

Problem: I went through all the steps and made sure the pop-up blockers are disabled and the Java is updated on my computer. I still cannot log into chat.

Solution: Temporarily disable your firewall and/or antivirus program and see if you can get into chat. Usually this can be done by right-clicking on the program icon in the task bar next to computer clock. If you find that you can successfully access chat, you will need to configure your firewall and/or antivirus software settings to allow Java functions.

Problem: I cannot see my discussion message after it's been posted.

Solution: Blackboard Vista displays 10 items per page by default, so it will always show only 10 discussion messages on one page. If your message got posted after the 10 that already existed, it will be displayed on the next page. You can set the discussion board screen to display more than 10 messages per page by clicking on the paging icon at the bottom right-hand corner of the discussion screen. You can also change this default setting for all your courses at once by clicking on "My Settings" link at the top right of "My UMassOnline Lowell" entry page, then clicking on "My Tool Options" tab and entering a number larger than 10 under Paging.

Problem: I cannot post attachments in discussion board, assignment dropbox, and/or email. When I click "Add Attachments" button, nothing happens.

Solution: Check to see if you have a pop-up blocker enabled. The pop-up blockers can be in multiple places on your computer. Make sure to check your browser, anti-virus and firewall software and/or any search toolbars that you may have installed in your browser, such as Google, MSN or Yahoo toolbars. The "Add Attachment" feature opens via a pop-up window, so all pop-up blockers need to be disabled or pops-ups from Blackboard Vista's website need to be allowed in order to use it.  See this document for instructions on how to disable pop-up blockers.

Problem: When I try to post an attachment, a new window pops up, but I have no way of selecting a file I want to attach (This applies to Windows users only).

Solution: You don't have Java installed on your computer or the version of Java you have is not supported, so the "My Computer" icon used to select files from your computer is disabled. Go to www.java.com to download the supported version. After installing it, follow the instructions below to check for and uninstall unsupported version(s):

Windows XP users:

1. Click Start > Control Panel and double-click on Add/Remove Programs (or Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs if using Classic View).
2. Scroll down and find all entries for Java Runtime Environment (J2SE, JRE, etc.).
3. If you see more than one entry listed, click on each one and then click Remove button, keeping only the highest version (for example: if you see Java 5.0 update 5 and Java 5.0 update 11, you will keep update 11).
4. Restart your computer when finished.

Windows Vista users:

1. Click Start > Control Panel, then click on the "Uninstall a Program" option under the Programs category. (If you are using the Classic View of the Control Panel, then you would double-click on the "Programs and Features" icon instead).
2. Scroll down and find all entries for Java Runtime Environment (J2SE, JRE, etc.).
3. If you see more than one entry listed, click on each one and then click Uninstall, keeping only the highest version (for example: if you see Java 6.0 update 1 and Java 6.0 update 2, you will keep update 2).
4. Restart your computer when finished.
    

Log into Blackboard Vista when done. A "Java Security Certificate Warning" will come up. Make sure to check the box next to "Always Trust" then click Run. Try accessing the chat again.

Problem: When I try to post an attachment, a new window pops up, but "My Computer" icon never appears, instead there is a blank box with an x or similar (This applies to Windows users only).

Solution: You have multiple conflicting versions of Java installed on your computer. Follow the instructions below to uninstall all Java versions keeping only one:

Windows XP users:

1. Click Start > Control Panel and double-click on Add/Remove Programs (or Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs if using Classic View).
2. Scroll down and find all entries for Java Runtime Environment (J2SE, JRE, etc.).
3. If you see more than one entry listed, click on each one and then click Remove button, keeping only the highest version (for example: if you see Java 5.0 update 5 and Java 5.0 update 11, you will keep update 11).
4. Restart your computer when finished.

Windows Vista users:

1. Click Start > Control Panel, then click on the "Uninstall a Program" option under the Programs category. (If you are using the Classic View of the Control Panel, then you would double-click on the "Programs and Features" icon instead).
2. Scroll down and find all entries for Java Runtime Environment (J2SE, JRE, etc.).
3. If you see more than one entry listed, click on each one and then click Uninstall, keeping only the highest version (for example: if you see Java 6.0 update 1 and Java 6.0 update 2, you will keep update 2).
4. Restart your computer when finished.
    

Log into Blackboard Vista when done. A "Java Security Certificate Warning" will come up. Make sure to check the box next to "Always Trust" then click Run. Try accessing the chat again.

Problem: I went through all the steps and made sure the pop-up blockers are disabled and the Java is updated on my computer. I still cannot post attachments.

Solution: Temporarily disable your firewall and/or antivirus program and see if you can post attachments. Usually this can be done by right-clicking on the program icon in the task bar next to the computer clock. If you find that you can successfully post attachments, you will need to configure your firewall and/or antivirus software settings to allow Java functions.