Microsoft Windows Vista

Like every major new software release from Microsoft, Windows Vista represents both exciting advances and significant complications. Since a vast majority of higher education institutions -- including 95 percent of peer liberal arts colleges surveyed (late spring 2008) by Ohio Wesleyan -- are waiting until at least mid-2009 to deploy Windows Vista, OWU is delaying widespread and official migration to Vista until July 2009 at the earliest.

If you have any questions or concerns related to this decision, please feel free to contact the Help Desk.

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Contents

Why OWU Is Not Migrating To Vista
Troubleshooting "Unidentified Network" Connectivity Problems

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Why OWU Is Not Migrating to Vista

• The minimum system requirements for Vista presented by Microsoft include a 1GHz processor, 1GB of memory, at least 15GB of free hard drive space, a DVD (not just CD) drive, and a Windows Aero-capable video (monitor) card. Many current OWU desktops and laptops are not Vista-compatible and would require departmental investment to upgrade each machine.
• There are no compelling business reasons to move from Windows XP Professional to Windows Vista. All current OWU applications have a long working track record under Windows XP, and all current hardware should be fully XP Pro-compatible.
• It is still unclear if all computer applications in current use around OWU — such as Eudora, SPSS, and Minitab — will continue to completely work within a Vista environment. There has been widespread industry dissatisfaction with Vista and its integration (or lack thereof) with other computing services.
• To continue providing technical support for OWU desktops and laptops until the Vista migration, Information Services can “roll back” machines pre-installed or bundled with Vista to the current and established Windows operating system, XP Professional, which is the primary focus of User Support expertise.
• A 2009–2010 academic year (or later) migration period would provide ample time for Vista to mature and gain compatibility with other software, and it would also give departments an opportunity to upgrade their computer hardware to the appropriate levels for installing Vista. Employees who decide to install Vista prior to this official migration period will not be able to receive the same level of OWU support and service as those running Windows XP Professional.
• Microsoft Office 2007, while not exclusively tied into Windows Vista, also has been released. This is drastically different from previous versions of Office. Although Office 2007 will run in Windows XP Professional, documents created in Office 2007 are not compatible with Office 2003. Thus, during this transition period, an Office 2003/2007 conversion utility will be made available to enable document compatibility between the two versions of Office.

Troubleshooting "Unidentified Network" Connectivity Problems

Networking in Microsoft Windows Vista is much more complicated than in Windows XP. If the Network and Sharing Center says you're connected to an "Unidentified Network" when you try to connect to the OWU network, either over a wired Ethernet cable or via BishopNet wireless, these are some things you can try or you may get the Help Desk to assist you with these suggestions. These tips assume a high level of competency with Microsoft computing.

• Try this first: Microsoft Support KnowledgeBase article 92823.Use the instructions in the More Information section, rather than the Resolution section. If that doesn't solve the problem, these other things might help...
• Download and install Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista (this will take a while and will require a reboot)
• Disable IPv6 in the connection properties
• Disable the wireless network connection and delete all known wireless networks
• Turn off all sharing and discovery options in Network and Sharing Center
• Check for updates to the adapter drivers (you’ll have to be connected to the internet through another connection to try this—try plugging in to ResNet)
• Do a Winsock reset (open an escalated command prompt (hold down Shift+Control when you hit enter while launching it) and type in "netsh winsock reset"—it will prompt for reboot)
• Do an IP reset (open an escalated command prompt and type in "netsh int ip reset"—it will prompt for reboot)
• Delete the ARP cache (open an escalated command prompt and type in "netsh interface ip delete arpcache")
• Disable the Bonjour service (Go to the “Services’ tab in msconfig, uncheck the Bonjour service, and reboot)
• Uninstall any and all other anti-virus programs and load Sophos
• Make sure the BishopNet network is marked as “Private” not “Public” in Network and Sharing Center
• Turn off any firewall software
• Remove (uninstall) Cumulative security update for Internet Explorer (KB939653) and reboot
• Make sure the network card has a valid physical (MAC) address. It should be six pairs of hexadecimal characters, such as 00-01-23-E5-67-E5. If it’s all zeros (00-00-00-00-00-00) please contact the Help Desk.
• Also make sure the Default Gateway is correct. It should be 192.68.223.2 for BishopNet (and 198.30.38.2 for ResNet.) If it is all zeros (0.0.0.0) type this into a command prompt: “route delete 0.0.0.0” and then release and renew the connection.
• Disable all Link-Layer protocols (Link-Layer Topology Discovery Mapper I/O Driver and Link-Layer Topology Discovery Responder) in the connection properties
• Turn on the Wireless Zero Configuration by going into Services and making sure its status is Started. You can also change the Startup Type from Manual to Automatic.
• If nothing else works you can try a system restore, either from a system restore point or from a recovery CD

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Still need help?

For assistance please contact the help desk.