Managed Windows Computers
How do I know if my Windows Computer is ITS Managed?
Using the Application Shutdown Utility
How do I know if my Windows Computer is ITS Managed?
| Desktop Icons | System Information Viewer | Software Center Shortcut |
 |
 |
 |
Installing and Updating Software with Software Center
Software Center is a self-service portal for installing ITS approved software applications for Windows computers here at RIT. This application will allow you to select and install, at your discretion, various software applications approved for use on ITS managed computer systems. Not all colleges, divisions, and departments have access to the same software applications, due to licensing, and other restrictions. Software Center will only display applications that are available for the logged-in user to install.
To access Software Center, please follow the steps below:
- In the Start Menu, look for a folder named "Microsoft Endpoint Manager".
- Within that folder, there will be a shortcut named "Software Center".
- Opening "Software Center" will give you the ability to easily install any ITS approved software applications at your convenience.
The "Search" and "Filter" options will allow you to quickly find the software applications you are looking for. For example, to install the products related to Adobe Creative Cloud select the "Graphics and Design" category, or search for "Creative Cloud".
Depending on the application installed, you may be presented with the Application Shutdown Utility.
If you encounter problems installing software through Software Center, or would like to request new software applications to be added, contact ITS to:
- Troubleshoot your issue
- Set up a 1-1 consultation
- Receive software recommendations
- Learn more about Software Licensing and Purchasing process at RIT
Updating Windows
When will my computer upgrade or patch?
Wednesday morning after a Patch Tuesday, your computer will begin to display radio dialog boxes periodically, informing you that updates are available.
You can click on these to self-schedule the patches to suit your schedule. ITS Recommends that you click on this prompt and "self-schedule" as described below. Alternatively, these messages can be ignored, and the updates will be deferred.
If you click on the dialog box:
You will be presented with a dialog box similar to the one below. You can install the updates immediately, or choose to install them at a time that suits your schedule, referred to "Outside my Configured Business Hours". Optionally, you can select to restart your computer immediately, or delay the restart for ~10 hours.
We recommend selecting the following options:
- Apply all required changes outside my configured business hours
- Restart my computer automatically if needed = Yes
This will install the updates for you during the window you specify. If you select the "Restart my computer automatically" checkbox, it allows the computer to reboot during this time as well. This is especially important/relevant for the patch cycles that require multiple reboots to complete, as the agent will keep applying updates and rebooting multiple times if needed. Using this method, you can schedule the updates to happen when you will not be here, so interference with your work day will be at a minimum.
If you do not wish to install the updates now, select "Remind me Later" which will close the dialog box. It will continue to appear in your notification area periodically, and can be selected again at any time.
If you use the above option(s) to manually schedule or apply the updates around your own schedule, per the above, and the whole process, including the required restart, completes prior to the following Thursday (9 days after patches are released) at 12pm, then your monthly patching is complete, and the rest of this document should not apply!
NOTE: In certain cases, there may be multiple restart(s) required for a specific months patches. This is because occasionally, one patch will depend on another being installed first, which means you may be prompted to restart multiple times before all patches are successfully installed. For this reason, we recommend using the "Outside my Business Hours", and "Restart my computer automatically if needed" as described above. You may need to do this multiple times in a single patch cycle, but generally, never more than 2-3 times per patch cycle.
If you do not click on the dialog box:
The dialog box will continue to pop-up periodically you can continue to defer these updates by ignoring these messages.
Mandatory Patches
9 days after patches are released, on the following Thursday at 12pm, if you have not yet installed the required patches, they will install automatically. This installation will happen in the background, and will not interfere with your work. Upon completion, you will receive a radio dialog box and icon in your system tray informing you that updates have been installed, and that a restart is required.
The icon in your system tray will look like this:
In addition to "balloon prompts" informing you about a restart, you will also see the below message pop up from time to time.
It is necessary to restart your computer to finalize these updates. You can continue to work until the timeout expires, at which point the machine will restart to complete the update process. This restart box can be hidden (and will reappear occasionally) until approximately 9pm. The final 59 minute countdown box displayed will not disappear, and is not able to be hidden. The countdown timer is designed to ensure your machine will restart sometime after 10pm on Thursday, so that the restart doesn't interfere with your normal workday, or classes.
Once your machine is restarted, updating is complete.
Potential Issues
Machine restarting daily to apply updates
Occasionally, a patch may fail to install. This will result in it retrying weekly until it completes successfully. If you notice your machine prompting to restart, or failing updates often, please contact ITS and let us know. We will work with you to ensure that the update gets installed properly, which will fix the issue you are having
BIOS/Firmware Updates
On occasion, managed Windows computer will recieve firmware updates, also know as BIOS updates, which provide security and stability enhancements. These updates are speciifc to the computer manufacturer and model; ITS currently manages firmware updates for all Dell Business-Class models (i.e. Latiitude, OptiPlex, and Precision models). These updates will only be installed provided the computer is on AC power, and will require a reboot to complete. When rebooting, it is critical that the system is not powered off while the update is in progress, otherwise the computer may be rendered unbootable and will need to be repaired by the vendor. The following is an example of what you will see when the update is installing during the reboot:
Using the Application Shutdown Utility
The Application Shutdown Utility may appear from time to time on Managed Computers. Certain application installers require that specific applications (such as web browsers) are closed to ensure successful installation. The Application Shutdown Utility will prompt to users to “shutdown” any open applications that may cause conflicts, allowing the application being deployed to install properly. The Application Shutdown Utility can deferred for a certain number of times, before installation becomes mandatory.
What does this utility look like?
The utility will look similar to the below image. Certain elements, such as the application list and the title, may vary slightly depending on the situation, or scenario.
What does this utility do?
The Application Shutdown Utility will close the programs listed when the "Close programs" button is clicked. Depending on the program being installed, this list will vary. The buttons perform the following actions:
- Close Programs: Closes the listed programs automatically and installs the software
- Defer: Cancels the installation for now, and retry in 24 hours. After 3 deferalls, the installation becomes required.
- Continue: Continues the installation after you have closed the listed programs.
If you attempt to run one of the programs listed after starting the installation, you will see this message:
What if I'm currently doing something?
If you click "Defer," the installation will be canceled and you may recieve a message stating that the installation failed. This will automatically be retried in 24 hours, where you will recieve the prompt again if applications required to be closed are running. ITS always recommends saving your work as often as possible, particularly whenever you plan to leave your computer idle, or unattended.
This popup is in the way of what I'm doing.
Until you interact with the prompt, the message will not disappear. Either close programs to install the software now, or defer it until the next day.
Which program is being installed?
To see what program is being installed, please check within "Software Center" on your machine. The name of the program is also in the title of the popup.
Who can I contact if I need more information?
Adding a Managed Printer
1. All printer(s) should have a label on them indicating the printer's name. Examples of printer names would be prcla01, prsfs03, or priaca15. Note this name before continuing.
2. On your PC, press "Start" and type \\print01 into the "Start Search" box as shown below, and press "Enter."
3. Within the resulting window, find, and select the printer you wish to add, and double-click it. For example, to add a printer entitled prccl03, simply double-click on the printer "prccl03" in the list.
4. Wait for the wizard to complete. Depending on the specifics of the printer being added, this can take seconds, to a few minutes. It may appear to hang/do nothing, but a progress bar should appear within 60 seconds.
5. Select Start → Devices and Printers and verify that the printer you added is listed under "Printers and Faxes."
6. Congratulations, feel free to add any other printer(s) as needed.
0x00000005 "Access Denied" Error
The most common error is an 0x00000005 "Access Denied" error. This means that you aren't yet added to the access group for this printer, or you haven't logged out and back into your machine since the printer was setup. If logging out/in does not resolve the issue, please contact ITS. Provide the following information:
- Your Username (specifically the logged in username that is recieving the error)
- The printer you are trying to connect to when recieving the error
ITS will be able to use this information to add you to the necessary access list(s), and will follow up with you when this is complete, at which point you will be able to successfully add the printer after logging out/in.
If you recieve any other errors, or have any issues at all, contact ITS.