Summary
Our post-power outage guidelines advise users to check power supplies, restart devices, and allow network connections a few minutes to stabilize before resuming work. Additionally, recovery procedures for unsaved Microsoft Office files are provided.
Body
Overview
Depending on the cause and severity of the power outage, local power grids and office network infrastructure may experience brief periods of instability as systems come back online. You may notice temporary drops in network connectivity or flickering power.
We appreciate your patience as services stabilize. If you notice persistent issues, experience system errors, or are unsure of how to safely proceed, please reach out directly to the Helpdesk for assistance.
Guidelines
- Check Power & Surge Protectors: Ensure your power strip or surge protector is switched back ON (look for an illuminated power switch). If tripped, reset the circuit breaker.
- Turn On Devices: Power on your monitors, docking station, desktop tower or laptop.
- Wait for the Network: Give the wired or wireless network 3 to 5 minutes to stabilize before attempting to log in.
- Restart Your Computer: Even if your laptop remained on via battery during the outage, or your desktop powered back up on its own, perform a full restart to help prevent issues related to the power interruption.
- Printers May Need More Time: If printing is not restored within 15 minutes, open a support ticket with the Help Desk.
- Unsaved Work:
- Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint): If an app closes unexpectedly, the Document Recovery pane will automatically appear the next time you open the program to help restore your recent changes.
- Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides): Your work is automatically saved to Google Drive in real-time as you type, so no action is required.
If your system is unresponsive or behaving unexpectedly after a power is restored, open a support ticket at https://support.oakton.edu or call the Help Desk at 847-635-1965