Microsoft Windows Vista Status

Last updated: 2/20/08

The following MS Vista media for departments is available at the campus Computer Store for a media fee of $30.

Microsoft Vista Ultimate 32-bit version for individuals (Note: Upgrade ONLY, you must have XP or Vista on your computer to use this)
Microsoft Vista Ultimate 32-bit version for departments
Microsoft Vista Enterprise Edition for departments (Departments should read detailed information on Product Activation)

Computing Services continues to examine the impact of Windows Vista on other applications commonly used on campus. The purpose of this web page is to:

inform the campus community of the status of our investigations so that you can make educated decisions on when to upgrade to Microsoft Windows Vista.
for users who purchase new computers that run Microsoft Windows Vista, this web page will help you to understand the current limitations of Windows Vista. Where applicable, it will provide workaround solutions, and will update you on the status of Windows Vista-compatible software.

In the past, we have normally taken an "all or nothing" approach -- supporting an operating system only after all core services are supported by that OS and discouraging users from upgrading before that time. In the case of Windows Vista support, we will continuously evaluate our core software for compatibility. While we do NOT recommend that campus users move to Windows Vista until 100% of our core applications have Windows Vista-compatible versions, we recognize that new computers are being sold with Windows Vista pre-installed and that those computer have already begun to appear on campus. On an on-going basis, Computing Services will update this web page with the current status of core software compatibility so that users may take advantage of what we are able to support in the meantime.

For information and status on Office 2007, visit the Microsoft Office 2007 Status web page.

This document contains the following sections:

Windows Vista
Internet Explorer 7
- Pinnacle
Other information
- Education and Training
- iTunes and Windows Vista

Windows Vista

Topic	Remarks / Cautions
Product Activation	See Microsoft Vista Product Activation
Installation	Computing Services (and Microsoft) recommend that you do not upgrade to Vista but instead perform a clean installation. Be sure to follow appropriate steps to backup your data before you begin.
Support	Remarks: Microsoft will offer Windows Vista in Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise editions. Computing Services will support the Enterprise edition for use on campus. Keep in mind that our plan to support this operating system is contigent on: the ability of other vendors (e.g., Symantec, Oracle) to release Windows Vista compatible versions of their software. having a functional SAV client and the Windows Vista KMS activations, coupled with the necessary DNS SRV changes. Cautions: If you plan to run Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate, or Windows Vista Business editions, be aware that Computing Services will NOT fully support these editions; the Help Center will offer assistance on a best effort basis ONLY.
Hardware Requirements	Remarks: Our Hardware/Software Requirements web document has been updated to include information on Windows Vista. Cautions:We recommend that you do not upgrade to Windows Vista until ALL campus applications have been updated to work with Windows Vista; however, if you must upgrade, you should refer to the Hardware/Software Requirements document for helpful information, including a link to Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.
Hardware Problems	Remarks: The System Recover Options menu in Vista contains several tools that can help you recover Windows from a serioius error. The System Recover Options menu is on the Windows installation disc, or possibly on your hard disk. Cautions: If your computer does not include this menu, your computer manufacturer might have provided other recovery options. Check your hardware manual or to to the manufacturer's website for more information; also see Microsoft's web page What are the system recovery options in Windows Vista?
Networking	Remarks: When attempting to connect to a wireless network, Vista fails to connect properly. Cautions: This may be due to a known networking issue with Vista. Try any or all of the following solutions: Solution 1: Select Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt. At the Command Prompt, type ipconfig /release and then press Enter; then type ipconfig /renew and press Enter. Solution 2: Upgrade your wireless/wired adapter drivers. To do this, you'll need to locate the manufacturer and model of your laptop (e.g., Lenovo ThinkPad X60, Dell Inspiron 1520) and browse to their website (e.g., www.lenovo.com, www.dell.com). On the manufacturer's website, follow links to download wireless/wired adapter drivers for your specific laptop model; to do this, you might need to locate additional information about your laptop. Lastly, download and install the latest drivers for the wireless network adapter. Solution 3: Follow Microsoft's steps to modify the power settings for the wireless adapter.
Symantec AntiVirus	Remarks: Symantec AntiVirus v10.2 is supported with the Windows Vista operating system ONLY and is now available for downloading.
VPN Client	Remarks: A Vista compatible version of the VPN client was made available in mid-August.
Andrew Printing	Remarks: The current process for printing to public cluster printers (i.e.,. printers in the Baker, CFA, Cyert, Hunt, Morewood, Wean, WestWing clusters) is operating system dependent. Initial testing of our generic print driver indicates that our current print process is Windows Vista compatible. Cautions: If you print to any of the public cluster or library printers from your OWN computer, be sure to follow the Vista specific configuration steps.
Calendar Desktop Client	Remarks: In early 2008, Oracle released an updated version of their Oracle Financials software as well as an updated version of Calendar. Computing Services is currently testing these products. The previous version of the Oracle Calendar desktop client is not supported on Windows Vista. It is dependent upon Kerberos for Windows (KFW) to authenticate to the calendar server, which is not yet compatible with Windows Vista (see KFW below). Random testing shows that Oracle Calendar works with Windows Vista using our current version of KFW, it simply doesn't work as smoothly. If you open KFW, get a new ticket, enter your credentials and then launch Oracle Calendar, it appears to work. Cautions: If you use the Oracle Calendar desktop client for scheduling, we recommend that you do NOT install Windows Vista until the latest version of Oracle products has been tested and released.
Kerberos for Windows	Remarks: The current version of Kerberos for Windows v2.65 is NOT compatible with Windows Vista. Cautions: If you use applications that require Kerberos authentication (e.g., Oracle Calendar desktop client), we recommend that you do NOT install Windows Vista. If you have a need for a Vista compatible version of Kerberos for Windows, please contact the Help Center at x8-HELP with your specific needs.
Administrative Computing Applications	Remarks: At this date, Computing Services' Administrative Computing group is in the process of testing its applications in the Windows Vista and/or IE 7 environments to assure that they are workable. Cautions: Those who use Administrative Computing applications should postpone their purchase of a new Windows Vista computer or their upgrade to Windows Vista and IE 7, until our testing is complete. A list of Administrative Computing applications is included below. Academic Audit (website) Academic Audit (application) Advance c/s Course Information Online (website) FCE (website) Federal Student Loan Counseling (website) Graduation On-Line (website) On-Line Registration (website) Schedule of Classes (website) Student Information Online (SIO) (website) E-Grades (website) Spacequest (website) TeraTermPro user by following Ingres4GL applications: HREM SIS ICS Parking Property Accounting HR DataWarehouse Oracle Web Reports Pinnacle ** FMS Workorder Oracle Financials PCORA (via Jinitiator) * (see the Recommended Browsers for Oracle Applications web page) Oracle 10g Client Fortis DecisionCast (not working under either .NET 1.1 or .NET 2.0) QSIS / GQL * * Internet Explorer dependency (see note below)
Academic Software	See separate listing

Internet Explorer v7

Internet Explorer v7 (IEv7) is bundled with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. IEv7 is also available to Windows XP users via a high-priority update. In other words, if your computer is configured for automatic updates, you may have already been prompted to upgrade to IEv7.

Your web browser must meet certain specifications to be compatible with services provided by Computing Services (e.g., Oracle Financials; see the Recommended Browsers for Oracle Applications web page), the Office of Technology for Education, and others. We have not fully tested Internet Explorer v7 with these services. To be sure that you do not lose the compatibility necessary to access the web portal, Blackboard and other campus services, we recommend that you do NOT install Internet Explorer v7 until it is fully supported for use on campus. If you are prompted to download the IEv7 high-priority update, we recommend that you do not accept this update until further notice.

Pinnacle

Our vendor (PaeTec) has uncovered minor issues with using the Pinnacle web front-end with IE 7. The issues are not serious and would not impede implementation. Because of this, we recommend that Pinnacle users (e.g., business administrators on campus) do NOT install Windows Vista.

Other Information

The applications or features described in this section are NOT supported by Computing Services. This information is provided as a courtesy to the campus community.

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor: Visit this web page to download and run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. This small software tool will scan your computer and create an easy to understand report of all known system, device and program compatibility issues and will recommend ways to resolve them.
Windows Vista: Education / Training: Microsoft has developed tools to help you become more efficient and productive with Windows Vista. Consider the following:
- Windows Vista™ Tips & Tricks site: webcasts to attend and great cheat sheets to download
- Microsoft Help and How-to web page
- Offline Demos: Windows Vista also offers offline demos. To access them, follow these steps from your Windows Vista computers:
  - Select Start > Help and Support > What’s New.
  - Click the Demo link for the topic you need more information on. You'll find helpful demo videos (available offline) on various Windows Vista topics such as: working with files and folders, working with programs, security basics, desktop basics, and more.
  - For a complete list of videos, click on a Demo link and click on the last link Windows Vista demos.
In addition, Element K has recently added a "Microsoft Windows Vista: New Features" course. Subscriptions to E-learning classes for Windows Vista are available through Computer Education's web site.
iTunes and Windows Vista: iTunes 7.0.2 may work with Windows Vista on many typcial PCs. Apple recommends, however, that customers wait to upgrade Windows until after the next release of iTunes which will be available in the next few weeks.