Troubleshooting Tips

Remember, if you are having problems accessing e-Learning remotely with a Bury Council computer and these tips don't resolve your issue, you can telephone your usual technical support team for assistance.  It will probably also help them resolve the problem if you refer them to this document.

 

The organisation cannot resolve issues with your own equipment but if the computer you are using is your own personal property and you are experiencing difficulties, these troubleshooting tips may help you.  If they don’t, why not ask your manager about the possibility of loaning equipment for remote working from the organisation?

 

Common Problems

When I click on a link to launch the course, nothing happens

Most of the courses available through this site open in pop-up windows and can therefore be blocked by pop-up blockers.  See the ‘Pop-up blocker’ section of this document.

When I click a link to launch the course, a window opens but it is blank or grey

This suggests that the course is taking a moment or two to load.  If the course still doesn’t work after a while try accessing some other websites to check that your connection to the internet is still enabled.  If it is and you still have problems follow the advice in the ‘Browser Plugins’ and ‘ActivX settings’ sections of the document.

The e-learning course is not recording my progress correctly

Some courses include checkboxes which are ticked when you complete each section to show a record of your overall progress.  It is not essential that these ticks appear but if they aren’t doing the most likely cause is that when you reach the end of a section in some courses, a next button or inbuilt ‘close’ button is present - if you choose to ignore it and close the window using the X (exit) button your progress won’t be saved.

I cannot see some/all of the animated or video content on the site

Are you using Internet Explorer?  Some of the content on the site is designed specifically for Internet Explorer and may not be compatible with other browsers.  If you are using Internet Explorer see the ‘Browser plugins’ section of this document.

I don’t know how to find out which version of Internet Explorer I’m using / I can’t see the menu bar

Click on the ‘Help’ menu and click on about Internet Explorer.  If the Help menu isn’t visible you’ll need to click on ‘Tools’ and then ‘Menu bar’ to turn it on.

 

General Problems

 

Pop-up blockers…

…in toolbars:

Pop-up blockers are often included in 3rd party toolbars or programs and are intended to stop annoying adverts bombarding you as you surf the web.  Unfortunately they can also stop e-Learning courses launching.  Yahoo Toolbar, Google Toolbar, and MSN toolbar all include pop-up blockers.  To find out whether a toolbar based pop-up blocker is causing the problem click on the View menu (if you're using Internet Explorer 7 you may need to turn the Menu bar on first by clicking on 'Tools' then 'Menu bar' ).  Click on 'Toolbars' and click on any suspected popup blockers to turn then off.  Close all browser windows then re-open the browser and retry launching the course.

…in anti-virus/firewall/spam blocking software:

For example, Norton Anti-Spam includes a popup blocker.  Check for and turn off any pop-up blocking functionality in your firewall/antivirus software and repeat the test launch.  As a final measure you could turn your firewall or other protective programs off entirely to ensure they aren’t interfering but be sure to turn them back on ASAP.  Firewalls can also block ActiveX downloads (see the ‘ActiveX Settings’ section) 

…in ‘Windows’

In Windows Service Pack 2  ‘Windows pop-up blocker’ is turned on by default.  If you are using Internet Explorer 6 you can turn it off by clicking on the Tools menu, the pop-up blocker, then ‘Turn off pop-up blocker’.  Alternatively, you can leave it turned but click on ‘Pop-up blocker settings’ and add ‘www.learningpool.com/bury’ to the allowed sites.

As an alternative you could choose to leave these setting alone if the Information Bar is turned on and configured to inform you when it blocks a popup.  The bar is yellow and it should appear below the address bar whenever Windows Pop-up Blocker blocks a popup but you can then click on it, click on ‘Always allow popups from this site’ and retry launching the course.

 

Browser Plugins

Some of the content on the site requires browser plugins so check that Flash Player and Shockwave player are installed by visiting http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/welcome/ 

 

ActiveX settings

Some materials require your ActivX settings to be suitably configured.  To do this click on ‘Tools’, ‘Internet Options’ and select the tab marked ‘Security’. If it isn’t already selected highlight the Internet Zone and click on the button marked ‘Custom Level’.  Under the settings for Activ X controls and plugins ensure that the action for ‘Download signed ActivX controls is set to ‘Prompt’ and the ‘Run activX controls and plugins’ is set to ‘Enable’.  Click on ‘OK’ to accept the settings.

 

Your firewall, the network firewall (if you are using a network), a proxy server or modem may also block ActiveX.  Try to get into the settings and make the site a trusted site.

 

Browser Cache

 

If your browser’s cache is full you may experience problems.  In Internet Explorer 7, empty it by going to ‘Tools’, ‘Internet Options’, clicking on the ‘Delete’ button and then deleting the temporary internet files.

 

Server Cache

 

If your PC’s settings previously returned an error screen on the website you may need to close and re-open your browser or at least refresh your browser to fix the issues even if you’ve already corrected the settings.

 

Spyware/malware/viruses

 

All of the above can cause unexpected behaviour when using your computer.  Ensure that you use antivirus software with spyware protection and a firewall and regularly scan your hard drive to detect and heal infections.