When the My Computer (Get Files) Applet Fails

Students and faculty have reported difficulty in uploading files into Blackboard CE (such as when a student tries to submit an assignment in the Assignment Drop Box or attach a file to a Discussion posting or to an email message using the Mail tool. Often the Get Files button works once and then subsequently fails or just doesn’t work at all. In other cases the My Computer Applet (in the Content Manager and the File Manager) freezes when instructors try to upload files. In each of these cases, we’ve found the “culprit” to be a version of Java higher than Update 7 or the installation of multiple versions of Java (e.g. upgrade 6 and 10 installed on the same computer – because the Java installer doesn’t automatically delete the earlier version).

The problem typically happens only with the My Computer applet when using Internet Explorer. Most frequently the user is not able to continue using Blackboard CE until they close the browser and log back in.

According to a Blackboard Support Bulletin, from a technical stand point, the clients affected seem to be those using a Windows XP system with hyper-threading turned on while browsing the site using Internet Explorer and running Java 1.5.0_07 (called Upgrade 7) or higher. That’s why we’ve suggested to JCCC faculty, staff and students that they stay with upgrade 6 and not upgrade Java further, but this also means turning off the automatic upgrade feature…yet another hurdle for users to jump.

According to Blackboard, they are “currently working to identify a resolution for this problem. Microsoft has released a Knowledge Base article describing the problem. For more information regarding the underlying cause of the problem please reference this bulletin (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/327809/en-us).”

Blackboard suggests as a workaround that users either:

1. Turn off hyper-threading on their system (not recommended by JCCC due to its complexity) or
2. Change the Windows “view” from Windows XP to “classic”

The second option is quick and requires less technical knowledge. It appears to resolve the issues listed above, even on hyperthreaded/dual-core machines running Java update 10 or 11.

To switch the Windows “view” from Windows XP to “classic” you would:

• Right click on the desktop
• Select Properties
• In the Themes tab, select "Windows Classic" in the theme dropdown
• Click Apply

If you have students who experience problems uploading or attaching files, you may want to suggest they try these steps.