In collaboration with technical representatives from various campus departments, Information and Educational Technology (IET) developed recommendations and support plans for Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 7. IET began supporting Windows 7 in October, and makes the following recommendations:

Students
Students purchasing new PCs should purchase a system with the Windows 7 Home Premium edition or better. Please check with your school or college to find out if it has specific recommendations.

Faculty and staff
When purchasing a computer for personal or university use, UC Davis faculty and staff are encouraged to check with their departmental technology support staff to determine whether to buy a system with Windows 7, and which version to select.

Please note, DaFIS does NOT support Windows 7. If you need to use DaFIS do NOT upgrade to Windows 7. Upgrades are not planned until after summer 2010. Please visit the DaFIS Web site for more information.

Departments
Departments may purchase Microsoft Windows 7 through the Microsoft Select program or the Microsoft Consolidated Campus Agreement (MCCA). Refer to the Campus Licensing section for detailed information on each agreement.

When purchasing new computers for departments, technology support staff should review the results of the software application and online service compatibility testing to determine whether Windows 7 will integrate into their existing infrastructure and work with frequently used services and software.

Upgrades
Before upgrading an older system to Windows 7, you should take into consideration the system’s hardware configurations and any installed software, which may or may not be compatible with Windows 7. To view the campus hardware recommendations, please visit the Computer Ownership Web site.

Please note that Windows XP and Vista remain supported by Microsoft and IET, and an immediate migration to Windows 7 is not required to remain compliant with the UC Davis Cyber Safety standards.

Before upgrading your operating system, you should back up your system.

If you have questions, please contact the IT Express Computing Services Help Desk at 530-754-HELP (4357) or ithelp@ucdavis.edu.