As technology evolves and new features are offered, there may be times when unwanted or unexpected things happen. This page is dedicated to providing some tips, tricks, and recommendations to circumvent these undesired circumstances.

Normalize Sound Levels – Windows

Microsoft Windows 10 automatically adjusts audio levels between different applications. This can affect the level of sounds from various applications depending on what program is currently being used. This feature can be turned off using the instructions below.

1. From the Sound Icon in your task bar, single right-click

2. Click “Sounds“

3. Click “Communications” tab.

4. Select the “Do nothing” radial button

5. Click “Apply”
6. Click “OK”

Adjust Microphone Settings – Windows

To ensure clear and audible audio in virtual meeting applications, such as Zoom, please follow the instructions below.

1. Right-click the Audio icon in the system tray portion of the task bar

2. Click “Sounds”

3. Click “Recording”

4. Right Click on “Microphone Array” and select “Properties”

5. Click the “Advanced” and un-check “Enable Audio Enhancements”

6. Click “Apply”

7. Click “OK”

Adjust Power Options – Lenovo Laptops

Default power profiles in Windows 10 are configured to balance performance and battery life. To change these settings, please follow the steps below.

1. Click on Start, and then click “Settings“

2. Click on “System“

3. Select “Power & Sleep“

4. To modify power settings while the laptop is plugged in or on battery power, modify the below options

5. For additional power settings, such as the laptop lid and power button settings, click Additional power settings

6. Select either “Choose what the power buttons do” or “Choose what closing the lid does“

7. The options below will allow modifying the effects of pressing the power button and closing the lid

Restarting A Computer

Rebooting a device is highly encouraged as it will help keep the system running at peak performance. The benefits of a weekly reboot include:

• Mitigate vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks by applying critical updates
• Prevent performance degradation
• Prevent application memory faults
• Effectively apply system policies

To restart a device, follow the instruction below.

1. Click the Start bottom on the bottom left hand side of the task bar

2. Click the “Power” button

3. Click “Restart”

1. Click the “Apple” at the top left-hand side of your screen

1. Click “Restart“

To help protect the University’s computers and networks from cyber threats, FDU OIRT is implementing Application Control with privilege management. This feature provides all users with privileged rights to install applications as needed while continuing to protect resources from unknown and malicious risks.

All software is typically installed from a setup file. Any setup file for an application should only be downloaded from the developer’s official site. For example, to install Google Chrome, the setup file should only be downloaded from Google’s official site.

Google Chrome

Any setup file on a USB drive, CD drive, or other removable media should only be installed if provided directly by the developer or other credible source.

By default, the setup file will be located within the Downloads folder:

C:\users\yourusername\downloads\

To install software on a university laptop with Windows, follow the process defined below:

1. Right-click the setup file for the application to be installed
2. Click “Run with Administrative Privileges (Audited)” on the setup file

3. Provide a valid reason for installation and use of the application in the space provided and press “Continue”

The application will now be installed with administrative privileges.

1. Click on “Jamf Connect” located on the top right menu bar app (where you log in to sync your password) and click “Request Admin Privileges“

2. Select the reason from the dialog box: Install App, Change Setting, or Other for the elevation, and click “Continue“

3. You will be notified when you are elevated and can begin installing a new application or making changes to your settings

4. A countdown will appear in your menu bar, showing how much time remains for your administrator access. Complete the installation before the countdown ends

5. You will return to your normal permissions when the countdown reaches zero

Special-use elevations will still be handled through the existing workflow.

This document outlines how the help desk should handle issues regarding supporting personal hardware.

All support tickets for personal hardware will need to be created and supported by the help desk. Limited support will be provided by completing basic troubleshooting and diagnostics.

This includes:

• Laptops and Desktops
• iMacs and MacBooks
• Docking Stations, Monitors, and Peripherals
• Mobile phones and Tablets

The following basic troubleshooting steps can and should be performed when any of the above hardware is having issues:

• The device should be power cycled and/or rebooted to ensure all device resources have been refreshed.
• If the machine or device is frozen locate and hold the power button for a minimum of 60 seconds until the device has powered down and then have the user power on the device and attempt to use the equipment.
• The help desk can check and confirm if any updates have recently been loaded on the workstation that may be pending a machine reboot to complete the installation.

The following should not be performed on any personal machines:

Regarding the troubleshooting of issues related to personal docking stations, monitors, peripherals, mobile phones and tablets. The basic functions of unplugging the power cable and/or power cycling the equipment will be the acceptable troubleshooting necessary.

We do not want to perform any updates for devices operating systems such as mobile phones or tablets. The steps involved in completing these kinds of updates require a more extensive timeframe to be available to successfully be completed.

If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the FDU Director of Computing Services Peter Mannarino via email p.mannarino@fdu.edu

Vendor Support Contact Links

Apple

Dell

HP

Microsoft

Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Acceptable Use Policy for Computer Usage states, “All computers and mobile devices accessing any FDU resource must run an operating system and configuration that is supported by its vendor with regard to security patches and updates.”

This guide defines the lifecycle of our support for different operating systems.

Support Status Descriptions

Supported Operating Systems

Computing Services welcomes you to schedule your technology refresh appointment. The refresh will be performed on-site at both the Florham and Metropolitan Campuses from Monday, February 14, 2022, through Friday, March 4, 2022. All faculty and staff with Apple MacBook laptops are required to schedule a refresh appointment.

Refresh appointments can be booked for and will occur at the following locations:

Florham Campus:

Metropolitan Campus:

While Computing Services is checking all scheduled appointments to ensure Code42 backup is installed and properly working, it is a great extra step for each individual to do the same, especially if requesting an appointment within a few days.

At the request of the Data Security Incident Response Team (DSIRT), Computing Services will be checking for WISP compliance. If an individual schedules an appointment and is not in compliance with our WISP policy, their appointment will be rejected and they will be notified to re-schedule their appointment once they have successfully completed the WISP course. Employees are required to take a short self-directed training course once every two years to ensure WISP information remains top of mind.

The WISP training, entitled Understanding the Written Information Security Program, can be found at:

To ensure a smooth appointment, Computing Services recommends the following:

• Check and verify Code42 is installed and backing up your system (see the link below for: Review Code42 – Tutorial: Section 2 Part 4 Verifying a backup Progress .)
• Back up all personal documents to an external drive.
• Bring your mobile device with DUO Security application for DUO authentication processes.