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Known Issues and Bugs

Connecting from Off-Campus (Proxy Server)

Error message: "Couldn't decode pre-session cookie" Hitting Refresh will attempt to resubmit your request

Proxy server sessions "expire" after a certain period of inactivity. If you receive the above error message, refreshing your browser's window will attempt to re-join your proxy session. In some cases this may fail. You will need to close your browser and re-start the proxy server or use our bookmarklet to jump back into the proxy server.
Reviewed: March 16, 2011

Electronic Reserves

Popup blockers affect faculty management of e-reserves

Faculty managing their own e-reserves need to disable the popup blockers in order to transfer files to ERes
Reviewed: March 16, 2011

PDF Files may not display with certain Security Settings in Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer may not display E-Res PDF files if certain Internet security settings are turned on. These include checking the "Do not save encrypted pages to disk" in Advanced Internet Options or having the Internet Security level set to "medium" or "high".
Reviewed: March 16, 2011

Streaming Media

In order to access streaming media reserves, you must:

• Be a current UW student with a valid UWNetID.
• Enter a class password provided to you by your instructor.
• Have a Quicktime player installed on your computer (you can download a free version here).

Information for all computer configurations:

• Firefox is the recommended browser for Mac and Windows users. IE, Chrome, and Safari are sometimes problematic.
• Connections from home or via wireless networks may periodically "drop" the video. Try accessing reserves from a wired campus network connection.
• Access via mobile devices and/or smartphones will not work.

For most Windows computers, Quicktime must be configured as follows:

1. Go to the Quicktime "Edit" menu, select "Preferences"
2. Select "Quicktime Preferences"
3. Go to the "Advanced" tab
4. Under "Video" uncheck "Enable Direct 3D"
5. Close and re-open Quicktime

If you are still unable to see the video, select "Safe Mode" under "Video":

1. Go to the Quicktime "Edit" menu, select "Preferences"
2. Select "Quicktime Preferences"
3. Go to the "Advanced" tab
4. Under "Video" select "Safe Mode (GDI only)"
5. Close and re-open Quicktime

If you have technical difficulties accessing streaming media reserves you can try the following:

• Use a desktop computer in one of our libraries or elsewhere on campus.
• Access the physical DVD/VHS/CD at the Media Center or at the Music Library Listening Center.
• Send a message via our AskUs! services. Messages sent via this service are quickly routed to technical experts and the system will automatically include some information we need to begin troubleshooting the problem. In your message, please include the following:
  1. Your NetID
  2. Approximate time that you encountered problems
  3. Title or URL of item that was problematic
  4. Brief description of problem, including any errors
  5. Your location (home/campus)
  6. Type of network (wireless/wired)
• Get technical assistance for your personal laptop at the 2nd floor Odegaard help desk.

UW WorldCat and Internet Explorer

Issues with viewing availability of items in UW WorldCat on Internet Explorer 10

If you just see the green "spinner" but IE10 does not load information about the availability of items, try a different browser. IE10 is still very new and the code is quite different from previous versions of IE. Many of our vendors are probably still evaluating and changing their code to work with the new browser. That process is time consuming and it will probably be quite a while before most (library) web sites are compatible with the new browser.

As most of these compatibility issues are out of our control, we recommend installing another browser to have and use when you run into problems like the one you recently experienced. Firefox is usually a good alternative, as are Chrome and Safari.

Other

Proxy autodetect feature in the Zotero browser plug-in causes seemingly random prompts for UW NetID login

If you are prompted for a UW NetID login when trying to visit web sites you should have access to, chances are that the proxy auto-detect/redirect feature in the Zotero browser plugin is interfering with your browsing experience. To resolve this issue you will need to disable the proxy features in Zotero. A short tutorial on how to do this is available at http://faculty.washington.edu/murata/zotero/zoteroproxyconfig_med.html.
Updated: March 16, 2011

Security Alert error dialog when accessing secure site (https:// URLs)

When attempting to access secure sites via https:// URLs (e.g., MyUW, electronic reserves readings), the browser raises a Security Alert dialog box and complains that the site's "security certificate has expired or is not yet valid".

Check the system date on the client workstation; an incorrect system date will often trigger this error message.

Reviewed: March 16, 2011