Critical Instructions and Documents > Computer Pre-Registration Process

Due to the nature and speed of the campus network, you must take some steps to protect your computer before you arrive.

The Office of Information Security has outlined a number of guidelines that every computer must meet before being able to connect to the campus network. These guidelines protect both attendee computers and the RIT network from malicious software. Your computer must meet these requirements in order to register on the network. Ensuring the following guidelines are met could save you hours of registration time when you arrive. Be aware that having network access is a requirement of all PLTW course curricula. If you do not attend to these requirements, you will not be able to use the computing resources that are necessary to complete your course.

There are two options to ensure your computer is ready for the WTI:

Express Pre-registration

The Express application will check for these requirements on your laptop automatically. If your
laptop fails any part of the requirements section in the Express page, you can determine what
needs to be done by completing the steps in the Manual Pre-registration instructions in the
next section.

Note: Please be aware that all Novell software will need to be removed from your laptop
before coming to RIT. PLTW software and the RIT network will NOT run with Novell. It must
be removed or deactivated.

Please ensure you complete the following steps in order to complete the Express Pre-
registration. It is recommended that you print this page before you begin.

• Login to the laptop you will be bringing with you to the WTI.
  
• Ensure that you have administrative rights to this laptop.
  
• Click here to download the setup file. Save the setup file to your desktop.
  
• Locate the file on your desktop, and run the installer wizard. Please follow the installer
  wizard steps to install the utility. The utility will automatically run upon the completion
  of the installer wizard.
  
  • Note: Should the utility not automatically run, you can find the “PLTW
    Computer Utility” shortcuts on both your Desktop as well as within your Start Menu. (Start>All Programs>PLTW Computer Utility>PLTW Computer Utility)
    
• The utility will run tests checking for system requirements required for PLTW Software.
  Should your computer not meet one or more of the system requirements, the utility will
  notify you of the necessary upgrades that must be completed.
  
• Once you have completed all necessary upgrades, run the utility again to ensure your
  computer meets the system requirements.
  
• Upon successful completion of the utility, a detailed report will be generated. Please
  copy and paste this report into the text box below and click the “Send Report” button.
  

Questions? Please email pltwtech@rit.edu.

Manual Pre-Registration

If you are uncomfortable with downloading the automatic application, please follow the instructions below.

To ensure that your computer meets our guidelines, please do the following five things before coming to campus:

1. Administrator Privileges: You MUST have administrator privileges to the account you are using on your laptop. The software will not run otherwise. (Please bring your local System Administrator’s name and number with you in case you need it. This must be a number where they can be reached on Monday, July 6 (first session) or on Sunday, July 19 (second session).
   
2. Minimum Laptop Requirements: You MUST meet at least the following system requirements or the software will not run on your laptop.
   
• Intel Pentium® or AMD Athlon Processor 2.0GHz or better
  
• 8.0GB Free (minimum install) Hard Drive Space
  
• 3 GB Scratch "Temp" space
  
• 1 GB RAM
  
• 2-4 Gigs Virtual Memory Space
  
• 64+ MB DirectX 9 Capable Graphics Card
  
• Windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2 operating system
  
• Internet Explorer 6 with latest service packs
  
• It is also recommended that you bring an external mouse, a 10-15 foot network cable (Cat5 or Cat5e) and an external USB storage device (thumb drive or memory stick 256MB).
  
3. AntiVirus Software: Ensure that you have an antivirus program (e.g. Norton AntiVirus) and that it is updated.
   
4. Operating System Updates: Operating system updates are the most important way to keep your computer protected against malicious software.
   
• Use Internet Explorer to visit update.microsoft.com and run the Windows Update tool repeatedly until no more high priority updates are available.
  
5. Physical Addresses: You must send us the physical address of both your wireless card and your wired Ethernet card so that we can register them for RIT network use.
   
   To find your physical addresses* in Windows XP:
   
   1. If you have TCP/IP installed, run ipconfig/all from a Command Prompt window. (click Start, then Run, then type cmd in the text box.)
      
   2. Type in ipconfig/all in the Command Prompt Windows.
   3. The physical address is 12-digits
      

*You will need to register all physical addresses in cases where you have both wired and wireless interface in your system.

1. To find your physical addresses in Windows Vista:
   
   1. Click the Windows Start button and type cmd in the Start Search field, then hit enter to open the command prompt. (If using the Classic Start Menu: Click the Run button in the Windows Start Menu.)
      
   2. Type cmd in the Open prompt of the Run menu and click OK to launch a command prompt window.
      
   3. Type ipconfig /all at the command prompt to check the network card settings.
      
   4. The physical address is 12-digits

1. TIP: You can copy the Physical Address and IP Address from the command prompt by right clicking in the command prompt and clicking Mark. Then select the text you want to copy with the mouse and hit the enter key.
   
   

Please copy or type the physicals addresses in the text box below, along with your name then click the “Send” button.

Questions? Please email pltwtech@rit.edu.