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FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

1 General

1.1 What are these Z and W drive things?

These are the drives commonly provided to all students, faculty and staff when they recieve their NAU account. The Z drive is also called the "Home Directory." It can be used to store any files you wish. It is also used to store some profile information for users who log into computer labs around campus. The W drive is also called the "Web Home." This is a share to your HTML directory. This is where your personal web site resides. If you are a student, you can access this web area by going to http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~username (replace username with your username). If you are a faculty or staff member, go to http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~username (again replace username with your username).

1.2 I live off campus, can I still use this utility?

If you have an internet connection and you have a VPN client, then yes you can. In order to do this you must first connect to the NAU VPN. This is a requirement of mapping any Windows shares from off campus because of security measures in place on campus. After having connected to the NAU VPN you should be able to use this utility like anyone on campus can.

1.3 When I use the application the application freezes for a long time and then eventually errors. What's happening?

This is usually a sign that something is wrong with your connection to NAU. If you live off campus, make sure you are using the VPN. If you live on campus or you live off campus and you are sure you've connected to the VPN, then please see the Getting Help section of the web site for further assistance.

1.4 I can't map my drives. I've double checked everything (username, password) and I still can't map my drives. What else could be wrong?

There are a number of ways and reasons why this application would fail, but we will start with the easy things. First, if you haven't changed your password for a while, this is usually a good place to start. Please go to this web site and change your password and then try again. If you still have problems, please see the Getting Help section for additional assistance.

1.5 Sometimes the drives that I've mapped using this application show up under different names. Why is this and is it ok?

Yes, this is perfectly normal. The program is designed to try multiple ways to connect to the proper server. This means that if one way fails, another way may succeed. And since the Internet isn't always perfect and machines can be configured a multitide of ways, sometimes it will map one way, and sometimes another. If you are extremely worried, here is a list of names that your drives may map as: dana.ucc, dana.ucc.nau.edu., dana.ucc.nau.edu, 134.114.138.2, jan.ucc, jan.ucc.nau.edu, 134.114.96.3, stushares, stushares.ucc.nau.edu, 134.114.138.33.

1.6 So I've used the program successfully, but nothing happened. How do I access these drives now?

These drives can be found my opening "My Computer". On all Windows Operating Systems except XP the "My Computer" icon should be visible on the desktop. If you are using XP then you may need to look for the "My Computer" icon in the start menu. After opening "My Computer" you should see a Z: and W: drive. These will usually have text that looks something like this -- "username on 'Dana.ucc' (Z:)" or "Webhome on '134.114.96.3' (W:)".

1.7 I was trying to map my drives, but an error message came up asking me if I was sure I wanted to disconnect my drives. What does this mean?

This means that you have drives mapped to the Z: or W:. These might be your NAU Z: and W: drives, or they could be something you mapped on your own. If you don't know what they are, it's probably ok to have the utility unmap them for you. If you have files open on the drives when they are trying to be unmapped, the utility will tell you and not disconnect them. At this point, you will need to either close all files on the Z or W drives or disconnect them hand. If you need further assistance, please see the Getting Help section for information on who to contact.

2 Windows 95/98/Me

2.1 Why can't I change the username field? Why is the username field grayed out (disabled)? Why is the username field blank or have this unusual username in it?

In Windows 95/98/Me the username is always the username with which you are logged into the machine with. In order to use this utility on these OSes, you must logoff and logon using the same username as your NAU account (the password doesn't need to be the same). To do this, please go to the start menu and either click Log Off or Shutdown and then select log off on the dialog that opens. When presented with the login box, change the usename to your NAU username and then press OK. After this the username field should contain you NAU account username and you should be able to use the utility successfully.

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