Connection problems on LJMU Anywhere Laptops

Why have we provided these instructions?

We are aware that some users occasionally lose connection to the LJMU network on their University laptops – this is most likely to have at least one of the following symptoms:

• Loss of M: Drive connection
• Loss of shared drive connections
• Inability to connect remotely to your University desktop PC (Remote Desktop)

The most common cause of connection problems is that the laptop needs to be updated and restarted.  

Applying updates is easy (if a little tedious). The instructions below will get almost all users up and running with no further assistance, by ensuring that all outstanding updates are completed and your laptop is in the best state possible. However you must follow ALL of the steps as described below. 

Running all available Windows updates

28/7/20 IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Microsoft have released a new version update for Windows, version 2004. This is a very large update that involves a long restart and install process that may leave your laptop unusable for work for a period of 1-3 hours. If you see the update as in the screenshot below, please apply it outside working hours. It will not automatically start without user prompts.

1. Click Start and type 'Check for Updates'.

2.

3. Click as indicated to run the update program

• Click the ‘Check for Updates’ button
• If you are not up to date then you will see a list of outstanding updates.  Click the button to install them.  
• The installation of updates can take quite a while, so you need to be patient, but your patience will be rewarded with a working laptop!
• You will likely need to repeat the above steps several times, and you may need to restart your laptop between checks. You may also see ‘Pending Restart’ in the list of updates for one or more items.  

To restart your laptop:

• Click the Start button
• Click the Power button (has the same symbol as the on/off button on most TV remotes)
• Choose Restart and wait until your laptop comes back to the Login screen.
• Log in again

Repeat the above steps until you have installed all updates – you should see ‘Up to Date’ and the current date when you click ‘Check for Updates'.

Checking your connections

When you have finished updating and restarting, check the status of your connection by clicking Start then the 'Reconnect M Drive' tile. If the tile doesn’t appear, just type ‘Reconnect’ to search for it. 

You should see Connected next to both M Drive and LJMU - If not click the Re-connect button). When both options say ‘Connected’ you can click Close. If you’re still having connection difficulties, go back to the first section and retry ‘Check for Updates’ – it’s possible that more have become available since you restarted. If there are none, and you still can’t connect, let the IT Helpdesk know. 

Staying connected

To stay connected, run your Windows updates (as described in the first part of these instructions) frequently. Ideally this means every few days, but at the very least, once per week. Microsoft release updates frequently, to fix bugs, improve software features and most importantly, keep your computer secure. The release of updates is not within IT Services’ control; we cannot apply them for you because we don’t know when your laptop will be switched on and connected to the internet, but you can control your own experience by applying the updates regularly yourself. You will find that by doing so, your laptop is both stable and reliable - most importantly, it just works when you need it.  

Putting off updates is the most certain way to cause connection difficulties in future, as eventually, Microsoft will force your laptop to take the update, and that may not be convenient for you. You also may not know it’s happening, so could turn off your computer in the middle of an update, causing even more problems. It’s much better to stay in control and do the updates at the earliest opportunity to suit you. 

Try to get in the habit of doing your updates at the same time every week – e.g. first thing on a weekday morning or at the end of your working week. Most of the time, the updates will be done in a matter of a few minutes, though occasionally Microsoft release a larger ‘Feature update’ that takes a bit longer. If you see ‘Feature Update to Windows 10’ in the list of updates you need to apply, you might want to do your updates when you have finished working for the day.  

Always repeat the ‘Check for Updates’ and restart your laptop several times to make sure there are no more outstanding, as some updates are ‘on top’ of previous updates, so only become available when the earlier update has been applied.