Blackboard Collaborate Troubleshooting

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• I am experiencing delays.

  During your session, if your connection speed slows for any reason (for example network congestion) or you are disconnected, the Blackboard Collaborate server may be sending you more information than your connection can process.

   

  If this occurs, first verify that you have the correct connection speed set.

   

  1. Open the Preferences dialog under the Tools menu/Preferences.

  2. Select Connection choose the correct speed from the Connection Speed drop-down menu.

   

  If you continue to experience delays, lower your connection speed to ensure your computer is not sent too much information too quickly. For more information visit our training website.

  
  

• I am having an audio problem.

  Select Tools → Audio → Audio Setup Wizard to tune configure your speaker and microphone settings.

   

  Remember to set the optimal volume setting for your microphone. The optimal setting is attained when you see all the green bars and a couple of yellow bars in the microphone gauge indicator.  If the microphone goes all the way into the red area, your voice will sound distorted to others when you are speaking. Use the microphone slider in the Audio window to adjust the level of your microphone.

  
  
  

• It is taking longer than normal to start up Blackboard.

  Recently anti-virus programs have a new feature called “On Access Scanning” which is designed to perform a virus scan on any file that is accessed by the user. The “On Access Scanning” also scans files that are downloaded from the Internet and saved to your computer in real time. When you launch a Blackboard Collaborate session, Blackboard will download files onto your computer and these files will be scanned by the anti-virus program. This will cause long delays during the download and verification of the JNLP file. During the download it may seem like your system stopped but in fact it is just waiting for the anti-virus program to finish scanning the file before it continues. If you notice Blackboard taking longer than normal to start, you can check in your Anti-Virus settings to see if it is performing an “On Access Scan”. If it is performing a scan, there will be an option to add exclusions in the settings configuration so all you have to do is add JNLP to the list of extensions. This should help with long load times.
  

• I am having trouble with the Proxy Server.

  This document will take you through the steps of configuring your computer to use proxy server information to connect to a Blackboard Collaborate session.

   

  Elluminate Access Guide

  
  

• I am having trouble with my Firewall.

  For Firewall or Network administrators, this document will take you through the steps of configuring your firewall ports to allow access to a Blackboard Collaborate session.

   

  Elluminate Administrator Access Guide

  
  

• I need more help than what I've found here.

  - BlackBoard Online Support Portal

  - Customer Care Technicians: Toll Free: North America: 1 (877) 382-2293

General Remote Learning Troubleshooting

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• I am having headset trouble.

  1. Be sure it is correctly plugged in — the red or pink plug is the microphone input and the black or green plug is the headphones output.
  2. Check the inline volume control and increase volume if needed.
  
  

• Output Playback isn't working.

  1. Adjust the volume for multimedia playback devices: From the Control Panel, open Sounds and Audio Devices, then on the Audio tab, under Sound playback, click Volume.
  2. To display all output volume controls: Select Options from the menu bar then Properties. In the Properties menu, select Playback. Check the needed volume controls (i.e. select all options).
  3. If you don’t hear any sound: In the Master Volume Control dialog box, validate the Mute all settings is not set for the Master Volume Control and the slider bar is turned up.
  4. If you can hear yourself while talking: In the Master Volume Control dialog box, validate the Mute settings is set for the Microphone or other Inputs.
  
  

• Microphone isn't working.

  1. From the Control Panel, open Sounds and Audio Devices: On the Audio tab, under Sound recording, click Volume. In the Recording Control dialog box, validate the microphone or input device is set to Select.
  2. To display all input volume controls: Select Options from the menu bar then Properties. In the Properties menu, select Recording. Check the needed volume controls (i.e. select all options).
  Note: To open Sounds and Audio Devices, click Start, click Control Panel, click Sounds, Speech and Audio Devices and then click Sounds and Audio Devices.
  If you select the Place volume icon in the taskbar notification area check box on the Volume and your volume can be changed using the speaker icon that appears in the notification area. You can change the volume by clicking the icon and adjusting the slider.
  
  

• I'm not sure if my Device Driver is installed.

  1. Verify the Sound device driver is installed. Contact your local IT department or manufacturer's website for installing the necessary drive. Or refer to Microsoft Updates hardware / software updates.
  Note: Benchmark Learning cannot assist in software installation.
  
  

GoToMyPC Troubleshooting

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• What are the system requirements for running GoToMyPC?

  Host PC (the one you will access remotely)
  - Microsoft® Windows® 2000 or newer - Recommended: Windows 2000, XP Home, XP Pro - Internet Explorer® 5.0 or newer, Firefox® 1.0 or newer or Netscape® 7.0 or newer - "Always on" Internet connection (cable, ISDN, DSL or better)
  
  Client Computer (the one you use to access the host PC)
  - Windows 95 or newer - Recommended: Windows 2000, XP Home, XP Pro - Internet Explorer 5.0 or newer, Firefox 1.0 or newer or Netscape 7.0 or newer - Recommended: The download process is easier if Java™ is installed and the Web browser supports Java
  
  Client Computer with Universal Viewer (used with Java-supported, non-Windows operating systems and Windows computers that do not accept downloadable files)
  Java and a Web browser that supports Java - Recommended: The Sun Java 1.4 Standard Edition Java Virtual Machine (JVM) - Microsoft Windows with Internet Explorer 5.0 or newer, Firefox 1.0 or newer or Netscape 7.0 newer; Microsoft Java or Sun Java - Note: Other browsers that support Java and have a full Java 2 Standard Edition JVM may work but have not been tested - Note: The Microsoft JVM is no longer available; however, if it is already installed, the latest security updates are available from Windows Update - Recommended: Broadband Internet connection (cable, ISDN, DSL or better) - Note: Windows Mobile versions for Smartphones are not supported.
  
  

• Can my IT manager block GoToMyPC access to company computers?

  Because GoToMyPC is a highly secure encrypted service, it provides no security risk to your company. And, because it enhances employee productivity by enabling employees to work from home and remote locations, most companies find great benefits in allowing their employees to use GoToMyPC.
  
  

• How does GoToMyPC work with firewalls?

  With GoToMyPC, the host PC's initial communications are through an outgoing TCP connection that is brokered by a Citrix Online server. Because outgoing connections generally do not pose a security risk, most firewalls allow them without any configuration required.
  In the event that a firewall does initially prevent a connection, you can take a couple of easy steps to enable GoToMyPC with firewalls. The steps you need to take will depend on whether the firewall is installed on the host or client computer.
  
  

• How will GoToMyPC affect my Internet bandwidth?

  GoToMyPC uses your existing Internet infrastructure, making use of unused incoming connections and available bandwidth and thereby reducing any bandwidth resource issues.
  
  

• Can I use GoToMyPC with a Mac®?

  You can use a Mac with an Internet connection to access your host PC. However, the computer that you are accessing, your host PC, must be a Windows PC. The Mac that you use to access your PC must be Mac OS X with Safari 1.0 or later, Firefox 1.0 or later or Internet Explorer 5.1 or later; and Sun Java. For Mac OS 8.6-9.2, you must also have Internet Explorer 5.0 or later and Microsoft Runtime for Java (MRJ) 2.2.5 or later.