Prepare a Macintosh for ITS service
There are several steps you can take to help us provide the best service for your computer.
Common items
Whether we are assisting with a computer problem in your space or ours, keep in mind that we generally need the following:
- Your Mac OS X user account information -- username and password -- if you are running Mac OS X
- Original system software CDs or DVDs that shipped with your computer, or the latest retail version of the system software you have; we may need this to install or re-install software, or verify your current license
If you are running Mac OS X and do not provide your login password -- even if we forgot to ask for it -- we may need to reset it. If we do reset your login password, we will inform you that this was done.
Do not give us your RIT account username and password. If you do, ITS staff will request that you change it immediately at http://start.rit.edu/.
Service at your location
If you are faculty and staff, we prefer to work on your computer at your location (office, lab, or otherwise). To service the computer at your location, it should be completely set up with:
- power
- monitor
- keyboard
- mouse (preferable to other specialized input devices)
- networking (campus Ethernet preferred)
Of course, if we are setting up a new computer for you, you don't need to set it up for us first! It is also helpful, if you are getting one computer replaced with another, that you leave the old computer set up and do not try to unbox or assemble the new computer before we arrive.
Service in our facilities
We cannot always service the computer for you in our facilities; please do not assume that this possible. You must call ahead, get a ticket in our tracking system, and speak with an ITS representative before we can confirm that you can bring the computer to us for assistance. It is our goal to solve the problem without requiring the kind of disruption that disassembling an entire computer system can create.
Unless the computer is a home system, we prefer to work on it at your location on the RIT campus. If we are servicing the computer for you in our facilities, then you should bring the following:
- Computer CPU (tower or desktop computers, or laptops)
- Appropriate video adapters to connect to either a Macintosh HD-15 or VGA (15-pin) monitor (computers that can support only digital display -- DVI or ADC -- must bring adapters)
- Power cables or laptop power adapters that can connect your computer to a standard AC wall socket
- Any peripherals that are part of the problem -- and that we have requested that you bring in (printers, external disk drives, etc.)
As long as your computer supports Macintosh HD-15 or VGA video connections, you do not need to bring your monitor. If your computer natively supports ADB or USB keyboards and mice, you also do not need to bring a keyboard and mouse.
Unless an item is on the list above or we have requested that you bring it in, assume that we do not need it to troubleshoot the problem.
