Update: Operating System Upgrade

November 30, 2010

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff –

I want to take this opportunity to share an update with the community on the operating system upgrade. Since we sent out the initial communication on September 16, 2010, announcing the availability of the new mac and windows operating systems, IT Services has upgraded more than 20% of all HWS-owned computers. The original communication and FAQs can be found at http://www.hws.edu/itservices/OSupgrade.aspx.

We have gotten off to a good start, and want to thank the members of the community that responded to the initial communication announcing the availability of the upgrades. We have approximately 1,000 more HWS-owned computers that need to be upgraded by March 30, 2011. Depending on the type of computer, the size and number of files stored on your hard drive, and operating system you may have, the upgrades are being completed within 1 – 3 hours. The upgrade can be performed individually or for an entire department.

As a reminder, there are several approaches being taken to facilitate the transition to the new operating systems.

1. As new HWS computers are procured, they will be imaged and deployed with the Snow Leopard or Windows 7 operating system.
2. As individual computers are sent in for repairs or require support from IT Services, we will work with individual users on upgrading to the new operating systems for their computer.
3. Any faculty or staff member can request and schedule their HWS-owned computer to be upgraded by sending a request to helpdesk@hws.edu. If you are interested in working with IT Services to upgrade your entire department at the same time, please let the Help Desk know and someone will coordinate the upgrade.
4. The DVD media for these upgrades is available for purchase by all students, faculty and staff for use on their personally owned computers. Please stop by the Help Desk, located in the Rosensweig Learning Commons, to purchase the upgrade for your personally owned computer. For an additional fee, the Help Desk can backup data and upgrade student computers. Contact the Help Desk for appointment availability and more information.

Faculty and staff can submit a request to the Help Desk by phone at 315-781-4357, or by e-mail to schedule their HWS computer for the upgrade or to discuss options for having their entire department upgraded. Once we receive your request we will follow up to schedule the upgrade. When we schedule the upgrade, we can provide a more precise estimate of how long the upgrade will take, depending on your current computer and operating system version.

The objective is to have all HWS-owned computers upgraded to either Snow Leopard or Windows 7 by March 30, 2011. This will allow the upgrade to be completed well before the end of the Spring semester and academic year.

Kelly McLaughlin
IT Services