Troubleshooting

Private Mode

Chrome:  Browse in private (Incognito Mode)

Edge: Browse InPrivate

Firefox:  Private Browsing

Safari:  Private Browsing

If the resource is accessible in private mode you likely need to clear your cache and cookies.

It's always a good idea to have more than one browser on your computer, because different resources work differently in different browsers, and login errors can get saved in your cache even if they are just temporary. Many login errors are resolved by trying a different browser. If you can't use a different browser, try clearing your cache and search history. Please note Internet Explorer has been retired by Microsoft and is not recommended for use.

Hard Refresh

In most browsers on PC and Mac, you can perform a simple action to force a hard refresh. Hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and click on the reload icon on your browser’s toolbar.

Keyboard Commands

1. Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for Windows: Press Ctrl+F5 (If that doesn't work, try Shift+F5 or Ctrl+Shift+R).
2. Chrome or Firefox for Mac: Press Shift+Command+R.
3. Safari for Mac: There is no simple keyboard shortcut to force a hard refresh.

Some databases require you to set up a special account to use the database or certain features. Others are limited to just a few or only one user at a time. Some of these resources include: ARTstor, Intelliconnect (CCH), SciFinder, and Naxos, among others. Use the All Databases list to check for special access notes about the resource you are trying to use.

Likewise, some of our ebooks are limited to just a few or only one user at a time. You will find notes about this in the catalog, next to the url for each book.

For a link to work from off campus, it has to be proxied. Proxied links contain "ezproxy" and will prompt you to log in.

To proxy any link, add this to the beginning of a url:
http://ezproxy.bgsu.edu/login?url=

Unproxied link to JSTOR:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40651623
(will not work from off campus)

Proxied link to JSTOR:
http://ezproxy.bgsu.edu/login?url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/40651623
(will work off campus)

If you are off campus, you should be prompted to log in to EZProxy before you can access an article or ebook. Make sure you are entering your username and password correctly.

What happens on the EZProxy Login Screen when you enter your login incorrectly

If you try to log in with a valid username but the wrong password 20 times within 5 minutes, the system will block you from logging in for 10 minutes.

If you try to log in with invalid information 20 times within 5 minutes, the system will block your IP for 10 minutes.

If you get an error message:

• make sure your username and password are working by trying to log in to MyBGSU. If not, you can change your password there or contact Campus ITS for more assistance.
• If you are unable to request materials make sure there is not a problem with your library account. Log in to MyBGSU and go to "Students" --> "Libraries," then scroll down to "Library Account At A Glance" and check your account expiration date. If your account has expired, then you need to contact BGSU Registration and Records to check on your university status.

Sometimes the link to a resource you are trying to use is a session url and not a persistent url. 

This most often happens with EBSCO, because the url in the browser bar is not a url you can save in order to return to an item later. Instead, you have to find the special "permalink" for the EBSCO webpage or resource. 

If you are trying to go to a session url in EBSCO, you will probably just be sent to a generic page that lists various EBSCO databases.  It will not link you to the article record or search list within an EBSCO database.

If you cannot connect to a resource because you do not have a persistent link, usually the only thing you can do is try to find the item again in the database through a keyword search. 

When using databases, look for the "permalink" or "persistent link" label to make sure you can get to something later.