On Sunday June 7th DoIT will be changing our Windows lab user profile environment. We will begin the switchover at 1pm Sunday afternoon and should be completed by 7am on Monday June 8th. This change is being done to enhance the overall lab experience by improving login times as well as reducing the number of quota issues faced by lab users. In order to prepare for this migration all lab users will need to backup any files currently stored in their Windows profile. This will not affect any faculty, staff or student computers, only lab profiles need to be backed up.
Examples of Windows Profile Data:
• My Documents folder
• Favorites folder
• Bookmarks
• Desktop background picture
• Pictures
• Music
DoIT recommends backing up your data to either an external drive (flash drive, writeable CD\DVD) or your S: which will be unaffected. This includes any files saved to the desktop, My Documents folder and the favorites folder. Bookmarks will also need to be exported and saved as will your background picture if you have changed it. If you need assistance backing up any of your data, please contact our helpdesk at x53838 and someone will be able to assist you.
Why is DoIT changing lab profiles?
This change is being made to improve overall performance as well as reduce the number of quota issues faced by users during the semester. This change will also reduce the load on our servers. The use of a standard Windows profile is commonly used at other Universities to mitigate performance issues and to ensure stability within the labs.
How will this affect me?
Before the migration you will need to backup any existing data located in your profile or it will be lost. This includes any documents, pictures, music, bookmarks or other data you may have stored. Anything saved to the desktop including your desktop picture will need to be saved prior to the migration. This will only affect lab profiles, faculty, staff and student computers do not need to be backed up for this change.
Where should I save my data to?
OIT recommends saving your data to an external drive such as an usb flash drive or a writeable CD\DVD disk. You can also use your S: which will be unaffected during the migration.
What will be different after the migration?
After the migration everyone will receive a standard profile which will no longer be customizable. Login times should be much faster and you should no longer run into “out of quota issues.” There will be a folder on your desktop called “My Documents” which is where you will be able to save any data you need to keep for future Windows lab sessions. Your My Documents folder will follow you wherever you login and will come with a 50MB quota.