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Support
The Student Computer Services staff supports use of the University of Iowa wireless network and University of Iowa licensed software on personal laptops. They also offer Laptop Requirement workshops to help law students maintain their laptops in good operating condition and to comply with the University's Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources Policy. The staff publishes a list of Laptop Best Practices (59KB PDF*) to educate students on the best use and care of their laptops.
The Student Computer Services staff does not troubleshoot or repair hardware. The staff recommends that students purchase a three-year complete manufacturer's warranty, which covers accidental damage as well as manufacturer's defects. If your personal computer requires service for a hardware problem, and is not covered by a manufacturer's warranty, the University's Campus ITS office maintains a list of Local Hardware Repair Centers students may contact for repairs.
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Purchase Guide
If puchasing a new laptop for law school, the College of Law IT staff recommends the following minimum standards:
| Operating System |
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 or Microsoft Vista Service Pack 1 |
| Hard Drive |
60 GB |
| Random Access Memory |
1 GB |
| Processor |
Intel Core Duo |
| Drives & Ports |
Any available DVD/CD-RW drive and/or a USB port. The College of Law IT recommends backing up files to CD-RW or USB keys for easy data transfer and larger storage capacity. |
| Network Adapter |
A built-in 10/100 PCI ethernet card and/or an 802.11b/g wireless card |
| Warranty |
3 year complete manufacturer's warranty which covers accidental damage as well as manufacturer's defect |
University of Iowa faculty, staff, and students can elect to purchase computer hardware through the negotiated University of Iowa vendor plans. If purchasing a laptop for law school through the University program, the Law IT staff recommends the Dell model.
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Security
To keep laptops in top operating condition, and to control access and maintain security, law students using a laptop on the University network should:
For assistance in completing these steps, attend a Laptop Requirements Workshop or contact the Student Computer Services staff. Instruction manuals and CD installation programs may also be checked out at the Circulation Desk.
McAfee Security Center, Zone Alarm, SpySweeper, and other firewall and anti-spyware programs are known to conflict with the University of Iowa College of Law Laptop Exam software. We recommend removing such programs if installed. If you feel you need more protection than our recommendations checklist provides, please consult with the Student Computer Services staff.
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Wireless
Wireless is available throughout the Law Library and may be used by anyone in the University of Iowa community who has the following:
- a valid HawkID; and
- a laptop properly configured to connect to WPA2 Security enabled wireless network
To configure wireless, select the appropriate operating system from the list below and follow the instructions.
When you change your Hawk ID password, you also need to reset your wireless password. If you need help connecting or have any questions, please contact the Student Computer Services staff.
Wireless connections are strong throughout most of the Law Library, though signals are weak in some areas of the ground floor. Students in those areas may want to connect to the University network through the wired access points in the carrels.
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Print Drivers
Law students can install the Law Library network printers on their personal laptops for the convenience of printing directly to the law school printers. The print drivers can only be installed on laptops running Windows XP or Windows Vista. To install and configure the network print drivers, select the appropriate operating system from the list below and follow the instructions.
Currently, the Law Library printing account software is not available for Apples. Apple laptop owners wishing to print to the Law Library network printers should use the workstations in the computer lab (Room 174) or ground floor carrels.
When students print from a personal laptop to the library's networked printers, their print account will be debited at $.10 per page.
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Software
Downloading
Some University site-licensed software is available for downloading from the ITS Software Download site. Students can download Symantec Antivirus software from this site free of charge. Other software, such as Adobe Acrobat, will require purchasing a license and entering a serial number before downloading. To view a complete list of the software available, sign-in to the ITS Software Download Site with a valid Hawk ID username and password.
Purchasing
The University of Iowa has partnered with Microsoft, Symantec, and other vendors to offer discounted educational software to students. To learn more, visit the Campus Software Program.
WordPerfect
The Law Library provides access to a WordPerfect installation disk that can be used to install WordPerfect software on any law student's laptop. For further assistance, contact a Student Computer Services staff member.
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Laptop Exams
Many professors give law students the option of taking law school exams using a personal laptop. Law students choosing to participate in laptop exams must purchase and install exam software. See the College of Law Laptop Exam web page for more information.
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*This download is a PDF file. If you don't already have Adobe Reader (the application necessary to read PDF files), you can download it free by clicking the button below:
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