Windows 7 at NDSU

• During 2010, ITS will be adopting Windows 7, 64 bit, as a supported operating system

Support for Windows 7

• The ITS Help Desk• Desktop Support• Your Own Department

“When will NDSU ITS fully support Windows 7?”

• ITS-supported departmental computers• will occur some time in early 2010

• Cluster and classroom computers• scheduled to be converted to Windows 7 for the

fall semester 2010• The Help Desk• Currently provides basic support for Windows 7

“Will I be required to move off of Windows XP in 2010?”

• “No”• ITS will continue to support Windows XP until

Dec. 31, 2013• Full migration to Windows 7 will be done

through both re-imaging of newer computers and the retirement of older hardware over time

“Can I buy a new, ITS-supported computer and continue to run Windows XP?”

• “Yes”– The Microsoft Campus Agreement allows any

NDSU-owned computer with a legal copy of Microsoft Windows installed to be downgraded to Windows XP

“Will Windows 7 run on my current computer?”

• That depends…– Windows 7 requires a fairly new machine to run at

an acceptable speed and it may not be compatible with components on some older machines

Desktop Support will only support the installation of Windows 7 on the following:

• New 'out of the box' hardware purchased after Aug. 1, 2009

• ITS standard Dell Optiplex 745 desktop computers and newer

• ITS standard Dell Latitude D630/D830 laptop computers and newer

• ITS standard HP 8530P laptop computers and newer• ITS standard HP DC7900 desktop computers and

newer

“How much will it cost to upgrade to Windows 7?”

• Under the Microsoft Campus Agreement, there is no cost to upgrade existing ITS-supported computers to Windows 7

• Existing computers may not have the minimum hardware to run Windows 7

“Should my department buy computers with Windows 7?”

• “No”• The NDUS Microsoft Campus Agreement

provides free upgrades to Windows 7 Professional. ITS suggests that you purchase computers with Windows Vista Home (the cheapest version) and then have Desktop Support reset your computers at no charge to Windows 7

“Can I run Windows 7 now?”

• “Yes” – Your software contact will be able to acquire the

software for you. – It should be noted that when Desktop Support

starts supporting Windows 7, ITS-supported computers will need to be formatted and reinstalled to comply with the standard supported "image"

“Is NDSU supporting the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows 7?”

• ITS has selected the 64-bit operating system to support. This is due to the memory limitation of the 32-bit operating system

• User experience should not be affected• Currently, there are no plans to support the

32-bit version of Windows 7

“How much memory can Windows 7 use?”

• The 64-bit version of Windows 7 can address a maximum of 192gb of RAM

• ITS hardware standards remain at 4 gigbytes for new purchases

• ITS recommends at least 2 gigabytes for older systems that will run Windows 7

“What applications can be installed on Windows 7?”

• For new systems installed by Desktop Support, only the latest available version of applications will be available for installations

• As newer versions are released, the procedure of "current version and one version back" will be implemented

Tested Applications

“Will the Windows Virtual Machine be supported?”

• ITS will not provide support for the Windows 7 virtual machine

• Users are encouraged to remain with Windows XP if they have compatibility concerns

More Questions?

• Please e-mail the NDSU Help Desk with your questions

• Questions will be routed to the person who can reply with an answer.