System Requirements  What are the system requirements for using ALEKS? How do I install and enable Java on my computer?
Troubleshooting  I have tried the steps above, and still cannot use ALEKS. I receive an error message when using ALEKS. When I use ALEKS, my browser closes or freezes. Why can't I print the pie charts from my report? What if I have the SonicWALL firewall, and it won't let me use ALEKS? How can an incorrect Macintosh network configuration cause problems (slowness, freezing, incomplete loading)? What happens if I use my browser's Back and Forward buttons in ALEKS? How do I enable JavaScript in my browser?
Plug-in  What is the ALEKS plug-in? Is it safe to install on my computer? How do I manually install or reinstall the ALEKS plug-in? How do I use the ALEKS "streaming" plug-in? I have a firewall (Norton/Symantec) installed on my system. Can I download the ALEKS plug-in? What is an ALEKS plug-in upgrade? What should I do if my recent version of Java is causing problems with ALEKS?

Return to FAQs or contact Customer Support for further assistance.

What are the system requirements for using ALEKS?

The system requirements for ALEKS are:

ALEKS for K-12

	PC	Macintosh
Operating System	Windows	MacOS 10.3+
Processor	any	any
RAM Memory	64+ MB	64+ MB
Browsers	Explorer 6.0+, Firefox 3+, Chrome 4+	Safari 3+, Firefox 3+
Screen Resolution	800x600 1	800x600 1
Modem Speed	56+ kbps	56+ kbps

1. Except for Chemistry which requires 1024x768

ALEKS for Higher Education

Java

To use ALEKS, your browser must have Java enabled. View instructions for installing and enabling Java on your computer. 

ALEKS Plug-In

To use ALEKS, you must have the ALEKS plug-in installed on your computer. If your computer lab has security safeguards in place, your LAN administrator, system administrator, or lab technician must install the ALEKS plug-in.

Troubleshooting

To check your current configuration and to get answers to the most common questions, view our troubleshooting page.

back to the top

How do I install and enable Java on my computer?

You can install Sun Microsystems' Java VM from our Web site at http://www.aleks.com/support/sun_jvm.

Then, enable Java using these steps:
(For Internet Explorer):

1. Click on Tools
2. Click on Internet Options
3. Click on the Advanced tab
4. Scroll down about halfway until you see Java (Sun)
5. Make sure that the box "Use Java 2" is checked
6. Close your browser and restart your computer before using ALEKS

1. Click on Start (bottom left corner of Desktop)
2. Click on Settings
3. Click on Control Panel
4. Double-click on Internet Options
5. Click on the Advanced tab
6. Scroll down about halfway until you see Java (Sun)
7. Make sure that the box "Use Java 2" is checked
8. Close your browser and restart your computer before using ALEKS

 (For Netscape 7.x):

   1. From the menu bar, choose Edit --> Preferences
   2. Select the Advanced category
   3. Check the box labeled "Enable Java"
   4. Click OK to save your preference.

(For Firefox 0.8 and Up):

   1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser or restart it if it is already running.
   2. Select Tools > Options.
   3. Dialog box: Options
   4. Click Content > Select Enable Java

back to the top

I have tried the steps above, and still cannot use ALEKS.

If it still does not work, use Firefox to access ALEKS. If you do not have Firefox installed in your computer, click on the link below to install the latest version:

http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

To ensure that Java is enabled on Firefox, follow these steps:

   1. Start Mozilla Firefox browser or restart it if it is already running.
   2. Select Tools > Options.
   3. Dialog box: Options
   4. Click Content > Select Enable Java

back to the top

I receive an error message when using ALEKS.

I receive this error message when using ALEKS: "The installer is not allowed to write files in your Java plug-in lib/ext directory: You need to be logged on to the operating system as administrator".

You are receiving this error message because of a problem with a Java program installed in Windows. To use ALEKS, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your system as a Windows administrator. Please remain logged in as an administrator while following these steps.
2. Uninstall any Sun Java version and follow these instructions.

back to the top

When I use ALEKS, my browser closes or freezes.

1. Restart the computer at the beginning of your ALEKS session
2. Ensure that no other programs are running
3. Be sure that you have the most recent ALEKS plug-in.

1. Click your browser's "Reload" button OR
2. Restart your browser OR
3. Restart your computer.

back to the top

Why can't I print the pie charts from my report?

If you are able to see the pie charts displayed on the "print preview" screen that comes up when you click on "Print," but do not see them on your printed copy, then your printer driver software may need to be upgraded.

1. Ensure that Java is installed and enabled on your computer.
2. The following are links to a few of the most common manufacturers' sites. The newest drivers will be available for free on the manufacturer's website for your printer.

Hewlett Packard: http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html

Canon: http://www.usa.canon.com/html/conCprTSIndex.jsp?app=download

Lexmark: http://downloads.lexmark.com

back to the top

What if I have the SonicWALL firewall, and it won't let me use ALEKS?

If your system makes use of SonicWALL and you are running ALEKS on MacOS X, then the following procedure will be needed to ensure full access to ALEKS.

1. Log in to SonicWALL via your web browser: Navigate your browser to http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/diag.html (substituting your firewall IP address or DNS name for xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx).
2. Scroll down and uncheck "Enforce Host Tag Search with for CFS."
3. Click "Apply" at the top of the page.

If this procedure does not resolve your problem, please contact ALEKS Corporation Customer Support at http://support.aleks.com or (714) 245-7191 x201."

back to the top

How can an incorrect Macintosh network configuration cause problems (slowness, freezing, incomplete loading)?

In MacOS X, each user's home directory contains that user's preferences in the Library directory. In a network environment this home directory is on the server and is not copied to the local hard drive. If the computers share user names, they are writing and rewriting to the same files in these directories. If, for example, a cache file used by one student's ALEKS session is overwritten by another student's ALEKS session because they are sharing the same directories, the first session will not be able to find needed data and will become unresponsive. If somehow the ALEKS plug-in is being shared in this way, similar (or worse) degradation will result. If the computers are all configured to use individual accounts, the problem should be resolved.

When using ALEKS on Macintosh computers in a lab or network situation, each computer should have its own network account. If different computers use the same network account, files will be shared between them, including temporary files affecting the speed and reliability of network access. This is true even if the configuration instructions seem to indicate that the files will be "local."  In particular, "mobile accounts," which make local copies of files, are also essentially network accounts and will cause this problem. The magnitude of the problem varies with the number of persons using the network, and with the kind of web-based programs in use. There may be no problem evident at low levels of use, but if there is a lab full of persons accessing ALEKS concurrently, the degradation will be serious.

So, the rule is to have a separate network account for each computer.

back to the top

What happens if I use my browser's Back and Forward buttons in ALEKS?

Students using ALEKS should never use the "Back" or "Forward" button on their browser.  (These may also appear as arrows pointing respectively left and right.)  They should only use the navigation buttons and links within ALEKS itself.  Some students may have the idea of looking at an ALEKS explanation, then clicking "Back" to return to the original question and enter the answer given in the explanation.  If they do this, ALEKS will treat the answer as correct, since it would be potentially misleading to the student to do otherwise.  It will NOT, however, credit that answer toward the student's mastery of the topic; in other words, a student doing this will never be able to add the topic to their pie chart unless they stop doing it and begin answering the questions honestly.  Students who try this technique realize very soon that it is not working for them and stop doing it.  We suggest that teachers simply let their students know at the outset that they should not use the browser "Back" or "Forward" button in ALEKS.

back to the top

How do I enable JavaScript in my browser?

JavaScript must be enabled in your browser in order to use ALEKS.  Normally, it is enabled and you do not need to do anything to make it work.  If for any reason it is not enabled, here are the steps to follow.

Explorer

1. At the top of the Explorer window, on the menu bar, click on the Tools menu, and select Internet Options.
2. In the Internet Options window, select the Security panel.
3. If you do not have to customize your security settings, click Default Level, then OK.
4. If you have to customize your security settings, click on the Internet zone, then on Custom Level.  In the Scripting section, click Enable for Active Scripting, then OK.  Click OK again at the bottom of the Internet Options box.

Firefox

1. At the top of the Firefox window, on the menu bar, click on the Tools menu, and select Options (or Preferences).
2. In the Options window, select the Content panel.
3. Check the "Enable JavaScript" box, then scroll down and click OK.

back to the top

What is the ALEKS plug-in? Is it safe to install on my computer?

The ALEKS plug-in is used by your browser when you are logged on to ALEKS. It is inactive at other times, and does not do anything except provide functionality for ALEKS. However, if you remove the ALEKS plug-in from your computer, you won't be able to access ALEKS on that computer until you re-install it.

Installation of the ALEKS plug-in is automatic. If you attempt to access ALEKS, it will automatically check to see if the current plug-in is installed on your computer. If it isn't, the plug-in will be downloaded. You will then be asked for your permission to install the plug-in on your system. This is a safe operation for your computer.

back to the top

How do I manually install or reinstall the ALEKS plug-in?

1. Go to http://www.aleks.com/downloads
2. Under the paragraph heading "Manual Installation," choose the option that most closely matches the operating system configuration you use to access ALEKS.
3. You will be taken to a new page with appropriate download and installation instructions.

back to the top

How do I use the ALEKS "streaming" plug-in?

The ALEKS "streaming" plug-in can be used if you need to access ALEKS at home or in a public library, if installing software is difficult or prohibited.

Important: The "streaming" plug-in should NOT be used in a school or college computer lab, or any other location where more than a few persons are using ALEKS at the same time. In any educational lab setting, the regular ALEKS plug-in MUST be installed. If the "streaming" plug-in is used in a lab setting it may not function properly.

1. Go to http://www.aleks.com/plugin and simply log in to or register with ALEKS as you normally would.
2. Upon first login, ALEKS will automatically retrieve the ALEKS plug-in from the server and store it in the browser's "cache" memory. You don't need to grant any special user rights or have writing privileges on a computer for this installation to occur.
3. The plug-in will be available in the browser's cache until an updated version is available on the ALEKS server or until you clear the browser's cache.
4. Important: When you restart the browser and return to ALEKS, you must go to http://www.aleks.com/plugin.

If you do not add "/plugin" to the end of the URL, ALEKS will attempt to install the standard ALEKS plug-in on your computer instead of using the streaming version of the ALEKS plug-in.

• Up to 1 minute on a fast connection (DSL, Cable modem, LAN).
• Up to 10 minutes on a 56K modem.

• The system requirements are the same as for the standard ALEKS plug-in.
• "Cookies" must be enabled on your browser.

back to the top

I have a firewall (Norton/Symantec) installed on my system. Can I download the ALEKS plug-in?

Do you have Norton Internet Security or other firewalls installed on your computer?  Sometimes a security program will block the ALEKS plug-in from loading. You may need to temporarily disable the security program for the initial download of ALEKS. After downloading the ALEKS plug-in you may re-enable your security software.  This only needs to be done once.

To temporarily disable Norton Internet Security or Norton Personal Firewall:

1. On the desktop, double-click the Norton Internet Security icon or the Norton Personal Firewall icon.
2. Click Status & Settings (System Settings, System Status).
3. Click Security then click Turn Off.
4. Click Personal Firewall, then click Turn Off.
5. Click Intrusion Detection, then click Turn Off

If you do not wish to temporarily disable Norton Internet Security, you may follow these steps to add ALEKS to its list of trusted sites.

1. Find the "Norton Internet Security" icon in the bottom right
corner of your screen (located to the left of your system time clock).
2. Right-click on the Norton icon and choose "Open Norton Internet Security."
3. Next, choose "Privacy Control". This is located on the main screen.
4. Click the "Configure" button in the lower right corner.
5. In the "Privacy Control" window that appears, click the "Advanced"
button located on the lower right corner.
6. In the "Advanced" dialog, click the "Add Site" button in the lower
left corner of the "Web Content Options" tab.
7. Type aleks.com in the "New Site/Domain" dialog box, then click the
"OK" button.
8. Select aleks.com in the list of domain names in the left pane. Once selected, choose the "User Settings" tab located at the top right.
9. Under "Pop-up ads," uncheck "Use Ad Blocking settings," and select "Permit."
10. Click "OK" to save your changes and close this window. Click "OK" again to save changes under the "Privacy Control" window.
Close Norton Internet Security. Open a new browser window and try to log into ALEKS.

If the page remains on loading the plug-in and does not go beyond that, please disable the firewall (Norton Internet Security, Privacy and Firewall for Zone Alarm) and/or any popup blockers.

If the download process repeats two or more times, or if you receive an error message during loading, please refer back to the instructions on how to download Java. 

If you have any further questions, contact ALEKS customer support.

If your computer resides behind a school firewall, and it does not have the ALEKS plug-in, please use the ALEKS streaming plug-in, or ask your system administrator for assistance.

back to the top

What is an ALEKS plug-in upgrade?

Upgrading the ALEKS plug-in means re-installing the current version of the ALEKS plug-in. Please note that the current version of the ALEKS plug-in has no necessary relation to the current versions of any course products; these are two separate things, although sometimes you need a new plug-in to use a new course product version. The ALEKS plug-in can be upgraded or re-installed simply by going to the ALEKS Home Page:

http://www.aleks.com

and clicking on the button marked "Downloads" toward the upper right-hand corner of the page. For lab installations, it is sometimes convenient to use the MSI file provided:

http://www.aleks.com/downloads/win_jvm

There are frequent improvements to ALEKS which depend on the current plug-in version (modifications to the interface or system tools, etc.), so we generally advise re-installing the plug-in at least once a year, even if there is no new course product version that requires it. Changes to the plug-in do not always mean that the version number of the plug-in has changed. We do our best to time changes to the plug-in so that users can re-install it around the new year or mid-summer.

Sometimes, a new course product version requires a particular version of the plug-in. In this case, we will communicate this dependency to users when the new course product version is announced. If you upgrade to the new course product version and need a new version of the plug-in to support it, re-installation of the plug-in will be initiated automatically when you try to use the course product. Obviously, it is preferable to do the plug-in re-installation ahead of time when a new course product version requires it.

back to the top

What should I do if my recent version of Java is causing problems with ALEKS?

Recent versions of Java (updates 10 and later) have been known to cause instability issues in ALEKS.  If you have one of these versions installed, there is a very easy procedure for fixing the problem.

Go to your "Control Panel" in the "Start" menu (for XP and Vista Users, use the classic view in Control Panel) and double-click on the Java icon.

In the Java Control Panel, click on Advanced, and unselect Java Plug-in->Enable the next-generation Java Plug-In.

This change will have no negative effect on the functioning of Java for any other program that you may be using.

back to the top