What do I Need to Know About Bringing a Computer to Campus and Connecting It to the Hamilton Network?

Hamilton College strongly recommends you purchase:

•  A laptop computer equipped for wired and wireless Ethernet access
•  Windows Vista Premium or Macintosh OS X (10.4)

You are required to maintain up-to-date virus protection and operating system (Windows and Mac OS) critical updates on your computer to connect with our network. Hamilton licenses Sophos anti-virus software and provides it FREE to protect your computer. More information about keeping your computer up-to-date can be found at: http://www.hamilton.edu/college/its/support/computer-compliance.html

If a computer does not meet the minimum requirements, it will not be connected to the network by ITS staff.

More important details below...

• Hamilton College supports the following recommended computer hardware configurations (laptop or desktop) for use on the campus network. (PLEASE NOTE: The minimum hardware configurations below represent the minimum required to connect and adequately support the campus standard software applications.)

•  Current computer configurations offered by the major vendors will meet or exceed our recommended requirements.

• If you prefer to purchase a new computer, Hamilton College works with both Dell and Apple to offer machine configurations guaranteed to work in our networked environment, at discounted prices.

•  Hamilton College does not support the use of any USB network devices to connect to the Hamilton Network.

•  Hamilton College provides a free high-speed (10/100Mbps) Ethernet connection for EACH student in residence halls for connection to our campus network and the Internet.

•  Your computer MUST have an Ethernet interface installed and configured to connect to the network.

• Hamilton has wireless network access in several locations on campus. Connectivity to the wireless network is supported by 802.11b or 802.11g cards for your Windows computer and Apple Airport cards for your Apple computer.

•  The installation of a personal wireless access point (Apple Airport Station, wireless routers, etc.) is PROHIBITED on campus.

•  Modems, such as those used at home, are not used to connect to the campus network.

• There is no charge for connecting computers (meeting minimum standards) to the college network, subject to the following guidelines:

• You will be given a network resource kit when you arrive for orientation. The network resource kit will contain a cable to connect to the network, a CD with software you can install to configure your computer for use on the Hamilton network, and other documentation. If you have problems configuring your computer with the CD during orientation week, ITS staff will be available to assist you. Check your orientation schedule, and documentation from your network resource kit, for more information.

• You will also need the system CD that came with your computer. The CD-ROM  drives must be operational.

• If your computer has hardware problems, you will be referred to our VITEC Solutions hardware support team to repair your computer. This is a PAID service.

• Hamilton will provide (free of charge) Sophos Anti-virus software, which is fully supported by the College and used on campus for both Macintosh and Windows computers.

• Using a web browser and your Hamilton network connection, you can access the following campus software resources on both Macintosh and Windows computers:

•  My Hamilton College
•  Blackboard CourseInfo
•  E-mail
•  WebAdvisor
•  Library Catalogs
•  Student Storage Server

• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel & PowerPoint) is fully supported by Hamilton, but NOT provided by the College.

• Students can purchase Microsoft Office and other software at discounted prices from the College Store Online. (Click on the "Check it Out!" link under the Academically-Priced Software section.)

• The ITS Help Desk (x4181) provides technical assistance for all the supported standard software listed above.

• Hamilton has public computing facilities containing over 140 computers and many laser printers. These facilities are open more than one hundred hours each week and contain both Macintosh and Windows computers.

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