Resources

Frequently Asked Questions & Tutorials

Account Questions

How do I get an account?

All students, faculty, and staff may have a Marlboro account which provides services such as email and file storage. If you don't have an account, contact the help desk at extension: 274. Or fill out the account request form.

How do I change my password?

The easiest way to change your password is to visit password.marlboro.edu and follow the instructions on that page.

I forgot my password. How can I get a new one?

You will need to visit us in person. Go to the Tech Support office in the library (next to the computer lab), visit the IT offices over the Dining Hall kitchen, or track down the network administrator under Apple Tree. Bring along your Marlboro Photo ID Card.

How long will my account last?

Accounts are handled depending on your status.  Account for students are either deleted shortly after withdrawal or turned into an Alumni account upon graduation.  Past graduation, Alumni accounts will continue to exist indefinitely with some limitations.

Faculty and staff accounts are deleted once the individual is no longer employed by Marlboro College.

Computer Set-up Questions

How do I configure my computer to get on the network?

For laptops with wireless:

Most buildings on the campus are have wireless access points connected to Marlboro College's academic network and broadcasting with a name of "Acad".  Using your wireless network configuration tool, select the Acad network and then open a web browser to start the network registration process.

For desktops with ethernet ports:

Each room is equipped with a network jack. Most newer desktop computers have an ethernet network interface built in, but older computers may need an ethernet card installed.  You will also need an ethernet cable for you computer.  Cables are available in the Bookstore.  Once your computer is plugged in to the network, open a web browser to start the network registration process.

NOTE:

By default your computer is likely to be set to acquire a network address automatically via a protocol named "DHCP".  If you have trouble connecting to the network and particularly if your computer was used in an office environment, you may need to configure your computer to use DHCP.

If you are unsure of how to configure your computer for DHCP please see the appropriate tutorial.

How do I get past NetReg?

The first time you plug your computer into the campus network and open a web browser you will automatically be directed to the Network Registration page. Follow the on-line instructions to complete.

For more information on Network Registration read our NetReg FAQ. Instructions for using Network Registration are available here (pdf) to print out and refer to later.

I live off campus, how do I use dial-up to connect to the Internet?

Current students, faculty and staff may use Marlboro Dial-up service to connect to the Internet from off-campus.

We have a limited number of modems, so please use this service sparingly. Marlboro's phone lines are old. You may experience slow connection speeds and disconnections.

E-mail Questions

How do I check my email?

Marlboro provides IMAP, POP, and WebMail based email access for all students, faculty, and staff. You may access your email over the web through Webmail or through any email program installed on your computer that supports POP3 or IMAP, such as Mozilla Thunderbird, Microsoft Outlook, or Apple Mail.

What are Marlboro's mail server settings?

If you are using an email program other than Webmail, you will need to use the following settings to properly configure the program to use Marlboro's mail servers. Please refer to the manual of your specific email program for further information:

How do I forward my email to another account?

There are a variety of reasons to forward mail from your Marlboro account to another email account. You can set your Marlboro email to forward using Webmail.

How do I filter spam?

Spam and You

How do I set a vacation message?

Vacation messages are managed within Webmail. Here's how to enable or disable your vacation message.

 

How do I set Webmail to autocomplete from my personal address book?

By default Webmail only attempts to autocomplete addresses using the Marlboro Directory, but you can tell it to use your personal address book by following these instructions.

 

I tried sending an email with a large attachment, but the server said the email was too big. How can I send a large file to someone?

Incoming and outgoing emails can't be any larger than 10 MB (The restriction is 2 MB when using WebMail). If you need to send someone a file larger than 10 MB, you can copy the file to your "html" web directory on akbar. Then email the web link to the person to use. For information on how to use the "html" web directory see the "Uploading Your Web Site" tutorial.

I brought my computer home for vacation and I can't send email any more. I get a message that say's something about Relaying denied.

Some Internet service providers block access to all servers that send mail but their own. You will need to reconfigure your mail client to use your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) SMTP server. Your ISP should be able to give you this information or it may be posted on their website. Typically it is something like: smtp.yourispdomain.com
Users of WebMail are not effected by this. You can send and recieve email through WebMail from any Internet connected computer.

How do I findout someone's email address?

Our LDAP provides directory information such as email address and campus phone number. You can configure your email client to search the directory by name if you like, or you can search the directory via the web.

Shared Calendar Questions

How do I setup a shared calendar?

Marlboro provides shared calendars to it's faculty and staff and hosts networked calendars for students. You can follow these instructions to setup your own network calendar (which can be accessed on and off campus). If you need access to someone else's networked calendar or wish to maintain calendars on the main website or for your committee or group please contact techsupport@marlboro.edu and we'll be happy to help with setup.

Marlboro Supports shared calendars via Horde's ability to produce iCal shares using Mozilla Sunbird. Which can be obtained for free here: http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/.

Instructions for setting up your shared calendar.

File Storage

I don't have my own computer, how should I save my files? Or, I want to save my files so I can access them from the network, where should I save the files?

You can store your files on Akbar which is accessible as a file server from Mac OS, Windows, and Linux. Depending on where you are and what type of computer you have, you can use the following tutorials to gain access to Akbar.

We do not recommend the use of floppy disks. They are unreliable and prone to failure. In addition, more recent computers no longer have floppy drives. If you want to keep your files with you, you may want to use a USB flash memory device.

How much space do I have on Akbar?

Students are allotted 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of storage space on their Akbar Home Drive. Any files saved, as well as email kept on the mail server contribute toward this quota.

For more information about your Akbar quota, please see this page.

You can determine how much space you are currently using on Akbar by using the online Akbar quota reporter.

Printing

Can I print to a shared printer from my computer?

The main Library Computer Lab has a networked laser printer that you can print to from lab computers. Put your document on your Akbar storage or bring it with you to the Library on a usb drive to print from one of the lab computers.

Computer Purchasing Questions

What are the minimum requirements for a personal computer at Marlboro?

Any computer running Windows XP or higher, or any Macintosh running Mac OS X 10.4 or higher is strongly recommended.
If you live on campus, you will want a computer with a 10/100 Ethernet Network Card or wireless network adapter to connect to the network. If you live off campus you may want a modem.

Should I get a Laptop or Desktop computer?

It really depends on what your needs are. And before you start attending Marlboro, it is hard to predict what your needs will be. Laptops are obviously smaller but they are typically more expensive, not as powerful, and more prone to breaking. However, if you want mobility, don't want a computer taking up space in your dorm room, and generally use your computer for email, web-browsing, and word processing, a laptop will be a good match. If you are more concerned about price, or plan on using applications which are resource intensive, then a desktop box may be better for you. Marlboro has a number of computer labs for everything from word processing to video editing. You may want to come to Marlboro, find out what your needs are, and then purchase a computer.

Can I purchase a computer through Marlboro?

Marlboro has a relationship with Apple and Dell. Both Manufacturers have custom pages where you can buy a computer at a discounted price. See the Computer Purchase Program page for more information.

Nook Questions

Why am I getting an error about Secure and nonsecure items?

Internet Explorer is trying to warn you that not everything on the page is coming over a secure connection. Because anyone in the Marlboro community can post to Nook, sometimes pictures and other content from insecure sites is linked on the nook homepage or other in other posts. Generally viewing these items is fine and won't hurt your computer.

To disable this warning follow these instructions:

  1. Choose Internet Options from the Tools menu.
  2. Click on the Security tab.
  3. Click on the Internet icon.
  4. Click on the Custom Settings button.
  5. Click the Enable radio button next to Display mixed content

Why am I getting logged out all the time?

With the last upgrade of nook we adjusted the login cookie length to help avoid the problem of one user posting as another who forgot to logout the last time they used nook. You will now be logged out automatically if you close your browser.

Unsorted Questions

How do I publish a personal web page?

You need to put your web pages in a directory called "html" within you home directory on Akbar. The following tutorials should help you get started.

Why can't I use FTP from off campus?

FTP is insecure. Your username, password, and data pass over the network in cleartext. This not only makes it easy for snoopers to use your account, but they can also potentially use the information to compromise the entire server. If you need to transfer files from off campus to Akbar or another on campus server, use Secure Copy (SCP) or Secure FTP (SFTP). Specifics about using SCP or SFTP can be found in the File Storage Section.

Why can't I use Telnet?

Telnet is insecure. Your username, password, and data pass over the network in cleartext. This not only makes it easy for snoopers to use your account, but they can also potentially use the information to compromise the entire server. You need to use Secure Shell, which is operationally identical to Telnet, but may require seperate software. Windows Users can use a free application called PuTTY. Mac OS X has ssh built-in. Use the terminal application. Mac OS 9 users can use a free SSH client called Nifty Telnet SSH.