MITN System Requirements and Technical Issues FAQs

There are no user fees, charges, or additional costs associated with the use of the MCOLES Network. The only possible costs to you, as a user, are those you would normally pay to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for your Internet access.

If you find that scroll bars appear on the right and/or bottom of each web page all the time and you have to scroll to view most pages, you probably need to increase your monitor's resolution to 1024 x 768. Although not all Network Web pages fit nicely on one screen, this higher resolution will greatly reduce the amount of scrolling required.

To adjust your monitor's resolution, click on [Start], Settings, Control Panel, and Display. Select the ‘Settings' tab. In the section entitled ‘Screen area', click and drag the bar to the right until 1024 x 768 pixels is displayed. Click on [OK]. You will be asked to confirm the setting change. When your screen refreshes, everything will appear smaller. You can easily repeat this process to return the resolution to a lower value when you leave the MCOLES Network.

There is also a setting in Internet Explorer that may have to be changed in order to view the screen properly. Click on View, then Text Size. The optimal text size is usually Medium.

If you gain access to the Internet through a wireless connection, section 5.16 of the MCOLES Security Policy stipulates that "The use of a wireless connection is allowed provided there is 128 bit encryption of the data transmitted from the wireless PC to the Internet connection."

The MCOLES Network is a Windows based, ORACLE database application, so you need a PC with Windows XP or higher as the operating system. At a minimum you should have a processor of 486/66 speed or higher. But, of course, the faster your processor and the more memory your PC has, the faster the web pages will load. This application will not run on a Macintosh computer.

The web modules of the MCOLES Network were designed for Internet Explorer. Even though another browser may allow access to the Web pages, MCOLES cannot ensure that the pages will function properly. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that IE 6.0 (or higher) be used to access the Network. Internet Explorer can be downloaded free of charge from Microsoft at www.microsoft.com.

In addition to the Internet browser, the only additional software you need on your PC is Adobe Acrobat Reader (version 4.0 or higher) to display and print the reports Acrobat Reader can be downloaded free of charge from Adobe at www.adobe.com.

There are several issues that need to be addressed by your IT personnel to ensure your connection to the MCOLES Network Web site.

For additional security, a non-standard firewall port must be opened to gain access to the Network Web site. It is strongly recommended that this port be opened only for the IP address (PC) of authorized operators. Please contact MCOLES for further information regarding this port.

If Internet Explorer is configured to reference an ISA Server as a Web proxy server and if you try to view a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Web site, such as the MCOLES Network, by using a port other than 443, a blank page may appear with "Page cannot be displayed" in the title bar. Please reference Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 283284 for the recommended solution to this problem.

There may also be a proxy server issue in Internet Explorer. In the browser click on Tools, Internet Options, then the Advanced Tab. Scroll down to HTTP 1.1 Settings. If Use HTTP 1.1 through proxy connections setting is checked, uncheck it and click OK.

Another issue is related to the URL (Web address) for the Network site. Operators are encouraged to use the MCOLES Network login link on www.michigan.gov/mcoles to access the system. However, if you prefer to type the URL directly into the Internet Explorer address line, please note that the URL is case sensitive.

We are aware of a few such conflicts, but if you discover one that is not covered here, please notify the MCOLES Help Desk so that we can keep this list current.

Pop-Up Blockers - The MCOLES Network uses pop-up windows on most of the Web pages, so if you are running a pop-up blocker on your PC, the Network will not run properly. If only temporarily, you need to turn off the blocker before you log into the Network.