Changing Your Password  

Around October 1, when you log in, you will get a message that says "your current password has expired and must be changed". Click "ok". A Password Change box opens. Do not type in your old password! Simply type in your new password twice and click "ok".

Important:  Email or call in your password to the helpline. Unless we have your password on file, we may not be able to provide support when you need it. If you place screensaver passwords on your machine, you must also provide us with that one. If you are a Blackbaud user, you'll also need to email Wendy Romagnino with your password. 

IMPORTANT:  Once your password has been changed on the server, you will receive an email instructing you to begin using the new password.  Until you receive that notification, please continue to use your old password.

Guidelines for Choosing a New Password

• Your new password must be at least six (6) characters long.

• It should be difficult, if not impossible to guess.

• A good password has a combination of  characters (i.e. not just “aaaaaa”).

• Digits and/or punctuation characters as well as letters are recommended.

• The password should be easy enough to remember so it doesn’t have to be written down.

• The password can be typed quickly, so someone cannot follow what you type by looking over your shoulder.

Suggestions for choosing a good password:

Take two short words and combine them with a special character or number, like “robot4my” or “eye-con”

Put an acronym together that is special for you (e.g. “notfsw” stands for "none of this fancy stuff works").

Avoid the following when selecting your password:

The same name as your login name, your name, your spouse’s name, your child’s name, or your pet’s name

Names of close friends, coworkers, or anyone else’s name; your phone number, your social security number, or your license plate number

Anyone's birth date

Words that reflect a favorite pastime, food, etc.(e.g., “chocoholic”, “gandalf”, “Tigerwannabe”)

If you must write your password down:

• Don’t identify it as being your password.

• Don’t include your username on the same piece of paper as your password.

• Don’t attach the password to your terminal, keyboard, or any part of your computer.

• Add some extra characters to the written password in a way that you will remember in order to
   make the written version different from the actual password.

Getting Help

The Technology Department has established specific channels through which you may request help:

1. E-mail your request to: help@smes.org
2. Leave a message on the help line at extension 697

Regardless of the method you choose, please remember to be as specific as possible about the nature of your problem. Describe your problem in detail. If you see an error message, please refer to it when you request help. The more information we have, the easier it will be to help you.

Additionally, please indicate whether your problem is a high priority (requiring attention within 24 hours) or a low priority.

Basic Troubleshooting

1. If you sit down at your PC, ready to log on, and you see something other than your username in the first blank, delete it and type your username. This is the most common error users make. Users type in a password without checking that the correct username is present.
2. If you get a message that your password is incorrect, but you’re certain that you typed it correctly, then make sure that the CAPS LOCK light is not on. Passwords are case sensitive.
3. If you receive an error when printing, turn off the printer, restart the PC and the printer.
4. If your printer problems persist, and it’s an emergency, save to the s: drive or to a floppy disk and print in the lab or in another classroom.
5. If you’re unable to display your PC on your TV monitor, make sure all the cords are securely inserted and check that your TV coder box (the small device that connects your PC to your TV) is turned on - there’s usually a light indicating power.
6. If you’re using Internet Explorer and get an error stating that the DNS server is not available, click OK and try again. The error refers to the site you are trying to access.  It does not refer to the SMES server.
7. If you send a message in Outlook but it comes back to you as undeliverable, make sure you typed the e-mail address correctly. If you’re sending internally, check the local users list.
8. When in doubt, make sure that you’re logged on to the network correctly.
9. When all else fails, restart your machine.

Online Tutorials

The following tutorials are available online.  We plan to add additional tutorials soon.

Outlook

FrontPage

Internet Explorer

Handouts and Training Session Notes

The following handouts were developed by the Technology Department.  They are available only to St. Margaret's Faculty and Staff.

ArtToday Instructions

Using PhotoDeluxe to Prepare Digital Photos for the Web

Training Session Notes

Web Page Guidelines

The following information is available only to St. Margaret's Faculty and Staff.

Guidelines for Class Pages at St. Margaret's

FrontPage Instructions

Web Resources for Web Development