First, if you got to this page by clicking on the Java Advisory link on your CHIP course homepage, then you have JavaScript enabled. This is good because JavaScript is needed in order for the red colored links to all the time-limited problems to function. Javascript is also used to allow an automatic submission in the time-limited problems when time is up, in case you forget to submit your answers yourself. The JavaScript feature is built in to and enabled in essentially all the common browsers in their default configurations. If, however, you installed a third party security software which may have changed the setting or you changed it yourself, then you must re-enable Javascript. To do this on Microsoft Internet Explorer, go to Tools, then Internet Options. Click on the Security tab. The Internet globe icon should be highlighted at this time. Now click on Custom Level..., and scroll down to the Scripting area. Make sure that either Enable or at least Prompt bullet has a check on it under all three heading in this area. Now click OK's all the way out of the Tools.
Completely different from JavaScript is Java. This feature is needed to enable a count-down, elapsed time clock (for advisory purposes only!) which operates on its own thread for accuracy. The real elapsed time for all time-limited problems (quiz/test/exam) is measured and recorded on the server. Please make sure that Java is installed and enabled on your browser by clicking on Check if Java is enabled link at the top of this page. If it is not enbaled, you must install and enable it before working on any time-limited problem.* For some system/browser setups, you may be able to work on the problems even without Java enabled (except that no count-down clock will show up), but in some other system/browser setups, the lack of Java may result in a hung browser and loss of credit (since the server-side clock is already ticking). The latter seems to be true for some recent versions of (or updated versions of) Microsoft Internet Explorer on Windows XP. (If Java is not already installed, some versions of MSIE appears to try to automatically download/install Microsoft's own version of Java, but alas, it no longer exists because it was pulled due the legal settlement with Sun Microsystems.)
We recommend that you use Netscape 7.02 or later because it includes Java already. Microsoft Internet Explorer in ITaP Instructional Computing Labs supposedly do have Java built-in and enabled, but there have been scattered reports that some ITaP setups may have Java disabled. There is unfortunately a legal issue between Sun Microsystems (inventor of Java) and Microsoft about the use of Java, and as a result more recently purchased Microsoft Windows XP (Home or Professional) with the stock Internet Explorer browser which comes with it do NOT have Java included. You can read about Microsoft's idea of where this Java problem is headed on this page . The situation has absolutely nothing to do with CHIP or with the technical compatibilities between Windows XP and Java.
If you need to use Microsoft Internet Explorer and currently do not have Java installed for it, you need to install and enable Sun's Java Runtime Environment since Microsoft is phasing out its own version of Java Virtual Machine. You may find the procedure on:
http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/
Disclaimer: You perform these installations at your own risk. The above suggestion may or may not work for your particular situation and we guarantee neither that you will succeed nor that there will not be any detrimental effect after the installation.
*If your very first encounter with the time-limited CHIP problems had resulted in your allowed time for the problem expiring without actually being able to open and work on it, please inform us via the Problem Report for either an opportunity for an additional attempt or some form of credit recovery.