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Remote Access and Login Help

Summary Information
Typing Mistakes
Clearing Your Computer's Cache Files
Docs/iexpired.htm Message
Firewall Software Conflicts on Your Computer

Summary Information

Occasionally, CWU Library users are not able to access our subscription databases and/or electronic journals from off campus. While there can be many reasons why this might happen, the majority of problems occur in four areas. The following guide should help you to at least narrow the range of your problem(s). If nothing in this guide corrects your problems you can contact us in any of the following ways: | back to top |

Typing Mistakes

Many times the problem can be as simple as incorrect information typed into the login box(es). Make sure that you have a) entered only your Wildcat Connection user name in the top box; and b) that you enter your Wildcat Connection password in the lower box. Consult the screen shot immediately below for a visual image of this:

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Clearing Your Computer's Cache Files

Web browers such as Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox, or Safari, for example, all store previously retrieved web pages on your computer in a temporary area. This is to save time during future web sessions when your browser will briefly compare previously retrieved pages on your computer with the one(s) you are currently trying to retrieve from the Web. These pages have nothing to do with your computer's operating system and removal of these files will not harm your computer in any way. In some cases it may even increase the speed at which your computer downloads pages from the Web.

If you have been unable to login to the Brooks Library subscription databases it is typically a smart idea to clear all old cached files just to verify that this is not the problem that is keeping you from logging in to databases. The following pages illustrate how to clear cache files:

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The File missing: docs/iexpired.htm Failure Message

If you are unable to login to databases or ejournals and receive a message in your browser window that says File missing: docs/expired.htm, this simply means that your patron record in the Library's computer systems is not current, and that our records show that you are not currently enrolled.

ffoxiemissing (36K)

If you encounter the screen immdediately above you will need to contact a Circulation Department Shift Supervisor at 509.963.3682 and we will investigate the problem for you.

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Firewall Software Conflicts on Your Computer

If you are using anti-virus software on your computer that includes firewall software you will need to determine, yourself, if this software is blocking access to the Brooks Library Proxy Server that grants you access to our databases and e-journals.

The Brooks Library does not currently have running any versions of personal computer firewall software that would allow us to help you here. This problem is widely reported across the Web.

To determine if firewall software is the cause of your problem you can try turning off the software on your pc and then attempting to login again.

For more information you may want to use a Web search engine and search, for example, for:

  • Norton and firewall and proxy
  • McAfee and firewall and proxy
  • etc.

If you encounter other problems related to logging in to our subscription databases or e-journals feel free to email us at our Library Email Account and if we can help you, we will.

We will also gladly add information to this page if you bring problems to our attention. Thanks for your patience and happy surfing.

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