Equipment for Student/Faculty Use

The department currently maintains a significant collection of tech assets, meant to be utilized by students and faculty. Many of these assets are loanable on a case-by-case basis. Please see Melanie Barnes in Room 201 or send an email (mbbarnes@vcu.edu) if you are interested in utilizing a device or setup. See the list below for a partial overview of our current inventory.

Loanable Tech

Non-loanable Tech

Faculty can see a full list of our inventory of tech equipment here (restricted access), which also tracks which equipment is currently being borrowed.

Tech Instructions

Laptops

Resetting SafeNet wireless access

1. Click on the Internet button in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen.

2. Click on Network & Internet settings at the bottom of the window that opens up.

3. Click on Wi-Fi on the left.

4. Click on Manage known networks.

5. Click on the SafeNet network and click on Forget.

6. Now click on the Internet button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen again. Find the VCU SafetNet network and click on it. Log in with your eID and password. You should be able to connect now, and when you restart your laptop, it should automatically connect with SafeNet.

Renewing the license for SPSS or installing SPSS

These instructions are for departmental laptops only; for a personal computer, follow the instructions here if you want to renew the SPSS license, or the instructions here if you need to install or reinstall SPSS. The instructions for relicensing/installing SPSS are different for the department's loanable (older) laptops and its non-loanable (newer) laptops:

1. For the non-loanable (Dell Latitude 7420) departmental laptops, you can log in with your regular VCU eID. Click on the search bar at the bottom right of the screen (which says "Type here to search") and search for Software Center. Run the Software Center app that appears in the list. Click on the Applications tab on the left (if it is not already selected) and then click on the VCU - IBM SPSS Statistics icon (the latest available version of the software is usually best). To renew the SPSS license, click on the Repair button. To install the software, click on the Install button. You will need to wait a while for the software to be updated/installed.

2. For the loanable (Dell Latitude 3350) departmental laptops, you can try the procedure described above for the non-loanable laptops, or you can relicense/install SPSS manually. For the manual relicensing/installation, you will need to log into the laptop with the SOCY_vchen administrator password in the passwords file (ask Melanie for the password if you do not have access). If you are on campus, you will not be able to use the VCU SafeNet wireless network when logging into the SOCY_vchen administrator account; you instead need to plug the laptop into an Ethernet port on campus, such as the ports used by any office computers or the monitors in the conference rooms. You can temporarily use the Ethernet cable for an office computer or monitor, or you can borrow another Ethernet cable from Melanie and plug it into any free Ethernet port in the building. Once you have connected the computer to the Ethernet port, follow the instructions here if you want to renew the SPSS license, or the instructions here if you need to install or reinstall SPSS.

Windows and Software Center updates (required once a month)

Note: These instructions are for Windows 10; Windows 11 systems are slightly different but should generally follow the same procedure. Please note that, per university policy, once a month every departmental laptop must be physically connected to the VCU network (see Step #7 below) so that VCU-specific updates can run. So you may want to start with step #7 below if you are handling this maintenance task. You can still run the other updates (steps #1-#6) even if you are not physically connected to the VCU network.

1. Log into the laptop using your VCU eID.

2. Click on the Start button and click on the Settings gear button.

3. Choose the last icon, Update & Security.

4. Under Windows Update, run any updates listed; click on Check for updates if no updates are available, to make sure the laptop is all up to date. Keep running the available updates until the Windows Update screen says You're up to date. You will need to wait for the updates to download and install, and you may need to restart the computer multiple times.

5. Once all the Windows updates have been completed, click on the search bar at the bottom right of the screen (which says "Type here to search") and search for Software Center. Run the Software Center app that appears in the list.

6. Click on the Updates link on the left. Click on the Install All button. Keep running the available updates until the screen says there are no more updates to install. You will need to wait for the updates to download and install, and you may need to restart the computer multiple times.

7. Once a month, every departmental laptop should be logged into the VCU network using an Ethernet cable and then updated while physically connected. This allows the VCU network to apply any necessary VCU-specific updates. For this physical connection, you will need to plug the laptop into an Ethernet port on campus, such as the ports used by any office computers or the monitors in the conference rooms. You can temporarily use the Ethernet cable for an office computer or monitor, or you can borrow another Ethernet cable from Melanie and plug it into any free Ethernet port in the building. Once you have connected the computer to the Ethernet port, make sure the system is OFF. Then turn it on and follow steps #1-#6 above. Make sure all the updates have been run, as new updates may appear when the system is physically connected to VCU's network. The most important updates are run through the Software Center; there is generally at least one full hour of updates released every month, though it does not matter when during the month this process is done. (Important note: Ethernet cables cannot plug directly into the non-loanable Dell Latitude 7420 laptops. When updating one of these newer laptops, you first need to connect the laptop to the network adapter, a circular device stored in the top compartment of the department's laptop cart. Plug the USB-C end of the network adapter into the laptop, and then plug the Ethernet cable into the network adapter.)

Microphones (wireless) in large conference room

1. Make sure the Shure QLXD4 receiver in the computer cabinet is on. It is the thin and long black device right above the PC. (Right above it is the Creston MMX-6-USB microphone mixer, which should also be on.) If the lights on the Shure receiver are not on, press and hold the button to the right of each LCD screen on the face of the receiver to turn on each of the two microphones.

2. Take out the two wireless microphones from the docking bay on top of the cabinet, pulling them horizontally toward you (DO NOT PULL THEM OUT VERTICALLY OR YOU MAY BREAK THEM).

3. Make sure each microphone is on. A green light should appear around the large button. If not, press and hold the button on the back side of the microphone, at the top and to the left. Position the microphones where you wish on the conference room table.

4. In your application, select the Creston option for your microphone input. For example, when you are in a Zoom meeting, click on the arrow just to the right of the mute button, and select Creston MMX-6-USB as the microphone option. For your speaker option, it is best to select SMART IFP, which uses the louder speakers right below the smart monitor. You may need to increase the volume on the smart monitor (by pressing the press button in the lower right-hand corner of the monitor), in addition to increasing the PC volume. You can test the settings in Zoom from the same menu next to the mute button by selecting Test Speaker & Microphone.

5. Put the microphones back in the docking bay when you are done with them.

6. Note that the wired microphone still works and can be positioned wherever you wish. It is also connected to the Creston microphone mixer.

Poster printer

1. In PowerPoint, select Print from the top menu.

2. Select Page Setup in the bottom right corner of the dialog box.

3. Set the Width to 42 inches, the Height to 36 inches, and the Slide orientation to Landscape.

4. Select Options, and under Format, select DO_NOT_USE!

5. For the Paper Size, select Untitled or Manage Custom Settings. Please confirm that the page size is at least 42"x36".

6. Click OK and then click OK again. Make sure Scale to Fit Paper is selected.

7. Click Print. Please note that there will be a significant amount of white space at the top and bottom of the poster, which you will need to cut off with a scissor.

Scanner

1. Turn on the scanner by flipping the switch on the upper-right-hand side of the scanner. The light should turn blue. (If you see an orange light, flip the switch on and off again.)

2. Open the program NAPS2 on the laptop.

3. If this is your first time using the scanner, click on the Profiles button. Click on New to create a new scanning profile (i.e., settings for whether the scan is in color or not, what the scanning resolution is, etc.). Name it whatever you wish.

4. Under Device, click on the Choose device button. Assuming the scanner is powered on and ready (you should see a blue, not an orange, light), you will be able to choose the Plustek OpticBook 3900. Click OK.

5. For the Bit depth drop-down menu, you will want to change the setting to Black & White (this is ideal for scanning most text). In the Resolution drop-down menu, choose 300 dpi (this works fine for text; increase the dpi if the scan ends up being too fuzzy, and decrease it if the file ends up being too large). Press OK to save your profile as the default profile. (If you ever need to adjust the scan settings, click on the Profiles button and either create a new profile or edit your default one.)

6. You can either click on the Scan button here, or click on Done and then use the main Scan button from the top menu. The scanned page will appear on the screen as a thumbnail. To scan another page for the same document, just click on the Scan button again.

7. You can double-click on a thumbnail to go to the Preview window, which allows you to edit that page. Click on the Crop icon at top in order to trim portions of the page (to remove any black strips along the edges, etc.); move the sliders at the top and bottom and left and right of the image that appears, and press OK to crop the page. Click on the arrow buttons to move between pages. Click on the X button to delete the current page. Close the Preview window to save your changes.

8. You can easily flip over pages that were scanned upside-down. Go to the page Preview (double-click on the thumbnail) and then click on the Rotate button at top; choose the Flip option. To rotate multiple pages at once, first click on one of the page thumbnails to select it, and then CTRL-click on any other page thumbnails that you wish to rotate. When you're done selecting the thumbnails, click on the Rotate button at top and choose the Flip option.

9. Once you are done scanning the pages of your document, click on the Save PDF button at top. By default, it will save all the pages as a single PDF document. (You can save just selected pages by clicking on the arrow to the right of the button.) Make a note of where you are saving the file.

Screen mirroring

Apple TV display adapters

1. Make sure the Apple TV unit (in Founders 203, this will be in the cabinet where the PC resides) is on and connected to an HDMI cable. The end of the HDMI cable should be connected to one of the HDMI ports on the monitor (for instance, the one that says HDMI 2).

2. On the very bottom left-hand side of the monitor, press the arrow button (second button from the left) and select the HDMI port to which the Apple TV is connected (e.g., HDMI2).

3. On your iOS device, swipe up from the button of the screen. Tap on the Screen Mirroring button.

4. An Apple TV option should be listed. Tap on it. The screen of your iOS device should now be mirrored on the monitor.

5. To end the mirroring, swipe up from the bottom of the screen, tap on the Apple TV button (where it used to say Screen Mirroring), and tap on Stop Mirroring at the bottom of the screen.

6. To use other Apple TV services, you will need to connect the Apple TV to the Internet using an Ethernet cable; you can temporarily use one of the cables that run to the monitor. The Apple TV remote control is stored in the laptop cart, whose key is kept with the master key.

Microsoft Display Adapters

1. Plug one end of the Microsoft Display Adapter into a USB port on the monitor (in Founders 203, we store the Display Adapter behind the monitor, and you should see it already plugged into the USB port in the console there). Plug the other end of the adapter into a HDMI port on the monitor (for instance, the one that says HDMI 2).

2. On the very bottom left-hand side of the monitor, press the arrow button (second button from the left) and select the HDMI port to which the Microsoft Display Adapter is connected (e.g., HDMI2).

3. The method to mirror your screen on the monitor varies from device to device. On a Surface, swipe to the left from the very right of the screen. Tap or click on the Connect button.

4. Choose MSDisplayAdapter_6E from the list of options. The screen of your device should now be mirrored on the monitor.

5. To end the mirroring, swift from the right of the screen, tap on Connect, and tap on Disconnect next to the adapter name.