Tech: Leeneia and the Singaround

Subject: Tech: Leeneia and the Singaround
From: leeneia
Date: 08 Jan 24 - 11:49 PM

Today, after a long period of travel and illness, I tried to rejoin the Mudcat Singaround. First my computer said I had no microphone. Then it said I had no camera. When I tried to sign into Google to get help, it said my good old password was no good. It said I could ask for a new password at g-mail, but it wouldn't open the sign-in page. Eventually it said I had no internet.

The last alibi was probably actually true, because a big storm was clobbering the eastern half of the country. Outside, huge white snowflakes were falling, and no doubt electrical equipment far and wide was collapsing under heavy snow and falling trees. We decided to leave the computer alone with its struggles while we had dinner. After a while, it was fine again.

2023 was a pretty bad year for me, but I hope to be back singing in 2024.

Subject: RE: Tech: Leeneia and the Singaround
From: cnd
Date: 09 Jan 24 - 08:19 AM

Glad you got it sorted out.

Regarding the mic issue, perhaps because you were signed out of your usual gmail account, the account/instance of Google you *were* signed in on (ie, the "Guest" account) didn't have video/audio permissions, and Zoom was simply requesting those permissions. Alternatively, your cable may have got jostled loose or disconnected. But I find the former more likely given your other issues.

As for the password issue, I had a case once where I could still sign in with an old password, but every time I did it would raise a bunch of security messages about how my password had been reset, despite me not requesting a new one. Eventually I just changed the password and the issues went away. (Not saying you *have* to do that, just my experience with the situation). My other idea is that someone Google has stored an out-of-date password for your log-in (or some other similar error), so when you tried to sign in, it put an old one in.

So, what it sounds like to me is that you got signed out of your gmail account, meaning you couldn't access Zoom like normal, and when you tried to log in you encountered a password error. While trying to resolve the log-in issue, your internet cut out.

Thankfully, it sounds like a mostly minor issue, and hopefully you can be back up and singing again in 2024.

Subject: RE: Tech: Leeneia and the Singaround
From: leeneia
Date: 09 Jan 24 - 01:04 PM

To sign into gmail, I put gmail in the URL box, and a site is listed among others that says "email-gmail-Google. No information is available for this page."

That unpromising entry takes me to my personal page, where I am already signed in. Okayeeeee...

You were right about the camera and microphone. They are both in the camera, and the plug had come loose. Silly me! Just because they said "Cortana cannot hear you" I thought it was something serious.

It's a good day for singing "Winter Wonderland." The trees are thickly shrouded in snow and the streets are silent. To a person who grew up in Wisconsin, like me, this snow is nothing, especially because there is no ice underneath it, but to mid-southerners this is a disaster. The mayor has requested that everyone who can stay home and drink cocoa.

Subject: RE: Tech: Leeneia and the Singaround
From: leeneia
Date: 14 Jan 24 - 06:59 PM

New question: I used to handle Zoom meeting okay, but illness has affected my memory. I used to understand the Mute and Unmute icons, but now they make no sense.

The problem is they convey nothing about time. If it says Mute, does that mean "You are now mute", or does it mean "Click this and nobody will hear you talk"? Zoom's help page is no help on this.

Same with Unmute. If the icon has a red bar over the mic, does that mean "Nobody can hear you?"

Subject: RE: Tech: Leeneia and the Singaround
From: cnd
Date: 14 Jan 24 - 07:37 PM

It is instantaneous. It's been a while since I used zoom, but if I remember, if the mic has a red slash through it, you're muted and if it's white without a slash you're unmuted. It takes effect as soon as you l

Subject: RE: Tech: Leeneia and the Singaround
From: cnd
Date: 14 Jan 24 - 08:11 PM

... as soon as you click it

And to clarify, "you're muted" means no one can hear you talk, not vice versa.

Subject: RE: Tech: Leeneia and the Singaround
From: leeneia
Date: 15 Jan 24 - 01:30 PM

Thanks, cnd. I've got it. Red slash means I'm silent to the rest of the group.

Too bad Zoom doesn't use the common and understandable "You're muted."

Yesterday was Sunday and I was supposed to be the reader in church. Temperature dropped to - 13F (-25C), and church was held on Zoom. Nobody could hear me, but since then I've clicked this and checked that, and my microphone has passed the tests. We shall see at the Singaround.

Just two minutes ago I saw that the microphone has its brand name on it, gray letters on a black background, sans serif, no capital letter, about 3 mm high. I have owned it 2 or 3 years, I think. It helps to know the brand name.

Thanks, again.

Subject: RE: Tech: Leeneia and the Singaround
From: GerryM
Date: 16 Jan 24 - 12:13 AM

leeneia, sounded like you got it working well at the singaround today.

Subject: RE: Tech: Leeneia and the Singaround
From: leeneia
Date: 16 Jan 24 - 11:56 AM

Thanks. Yes, I was able to talk to people and sing my song, which was Peace in the Valley.

Subject: RE: Tech: Leeneia and the Singaround
From: leeneia
Date: 16 Jan 24 - 12:21 PM

Further info. I have been away from my own computer and Zoom for about two months, and somehow in that the time the settings for camera and microphone were changed. When I bought this Windows computer, it had no camera but it did have Realtek hardware for sound. When Zoom came along I had to buy a combination mic and camera by Logitech, so my mic settings had to say Logitech. Somehow in the two months I was gone recently, the setting changed to the default, and everybody got confused.

Why did I buy a mic when I already had a mic? It was the middle of Covid, I needed a camera to start using Zoom, and hardly anybody had cameras for sale. I bought the one I could get, and it came packed with a mic. As I mentioned, it would have helped if I could have seen the brand name on the camera.

I did so many things I can't tell anybody how to repeat my steps, but if you are ever having problems like this, the first thing to do is to click on the itty-bitty picture of a loudspeaker on your tool bar. If that fails, find Control Panel and start wandering. Pack a sandwich and a canteen.