Jonsson School Tech Support

 

Engineering Tech Support Staff

Supports Electrical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering and Mechanical Engineering

John McConnell
Software Specialist IV
ECSN 2.508 | 972-883-2997 		Michael Hamblin
UNIX System Administrator
ECSN 2.508 | 972-883-2997
Nigel Nazir
UNIX System Administrator
ECSN 2.508 | 972-883-2997 		Robert Henke
Engineering Technical Support III
ECSN 3.914 | 972-883-2997
Nick McCormick
Software Specialist II
ECSN 2.508 | 972-883-2997		 Lucas Philoon 
Engineering Technical Support II
NSERL 1.310 | 972-883-2997
Gene Woten
Software Specialist II
ECSN 3.918 | 972-883-2934 		 

 

CS Tech Support Staff

Supports Bioengineering and Computer Science

Brian Nelson
System Support Specialist
ECSS 4.606 | 972-883-4384
 Christopher Goldsmith
System Support Specialist
ECSS 4.605 | 972-883-4384

 

 

Engineering Software List

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Engineering Tech Support FAQ

What OS does the Engineering School and ETech support?
The Engineering School and ETech currently only supports the following : Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Business, Windows 7 Pro, Open Suse 10+, Suse Enterprise 10+, Mac 10.5+, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008.

If you are ordering a new Windows computer we recommend you order Windows 7 Pro. Windows 7 Pro is a very stable platform With Windows 7 Pro still being a new OS please make sure that the day to day applications that you use will work within Windows 7. This may require you to update software or licenses.

Please do not order your computers with Windows basic or home as they are not support OS’s.  

We want to order a computer or computers for our lab--who do we contact?
You can always email ETech with any questions or requests for quotes you may have. We have saved faculty and staff budget dollars by just taking a few minutes to email us with a project idea or computer needs. In the event we are unavailable or if you know what you want, have a configuration already and it meets the supported OS requirement then you can also contact Hi Ed at 972-883-6500 or email them at utdtechsales@hied.com. They can also provide you quotes for computer systems. If ordering from HiEd you will need to request a 3 year warranty as by default they only order with a 1 year warranty. We would also recommend that you contact your AA as they have a list of preferred vendors (Dell, HP and Apple) and can also verify funding and accounts. This will save you lots of time and in some cases lots of dollars.

We want to order a Laptop or Laptops for our lab.
Anything special we should know before we order this?
Yes, I’m glad you asked… We recommend Dell as our preferred Laptop vendor as this minimizes driver support and integration.  We have had very good support with Dell and continue to strongly recommend them as the best laptop choice for Windows and Linux. We do also support Apple if you are planning to use Mac OS 10.5 or better. We can’t force anyone to purchase one brand over the other but in our experience Dell and Apple have the best turnaround time on support and uptime. Please note that all laptops must be encrypted per UTD policy which means it must be one of the supported OS’s listed (Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Business, Windows 7 Pro, Open Suse 10+, Suse Enterprise 10+, Mac 10.5+, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008).

When purchasing a laptop all users of the laptop must make sure that they have been added to the Safe Boot Users Group to allow them to log in. Without being added to this group the user will not be able to access the laptop. We have added most faculty and staff within engineering already but we have noticed some did not get added so please verify with ETech. If the laptop is for your lab then each student will need a CAR form filled out on them to access the laptop.

Please note that if you purchase a laptop we (ETech) need to get the laptop first before you start loading software and adding users or giving it to your students. If not this will greatly slows down the process of getting the laptop to you quickly. If you have a laptop in mind and want to know if it meets the recommendations of the school or UTD please let us know and we will assist you with your purchase.

What about encrypting my laptop?
Per UTD policy we are required to encrypt all Window laptops. This can be a lengthy task and is dependent on many factors. We request two days to encrypt a laptop as it often takes 1 day just to encrypt the drive. When purchasing a laptop for a lab make sure that all users have been added to the “Safe Boot Users Group” to allow them to log in. Without being added to this group the user will not be able to access the laptop. This is done through a CAR form.

We have a computer or lab and I want my students to have admin rights to install software or add users. Can we do this?
We do understand your reasoning behind this request but we do not give students admin rights on any UTD/Engineering computer. With the latest round of user installed Viruses, Worms, and Trojans this has caused undue hardship on the Department to try and support infected lab machines we can’t continue to move in this direction. Faculty will continue to have admin rights and should give students two outlets for installing software and system configuration changes.  

We just purchased an iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry phone or other Smartphone.
Can you assist me in setting it up?
Yes, we can assist you in setting up any device. Please note that some devices may be supported and some may not. This document can’t cover everything we can/can’t support but we will always try and assist you the best we can. We do recommend that you check out the Smartphone section in the How to area on the UTD website.

We just purchased a new printer. Can you assist us on setup and how to access the printer?Yes, we will be happy to setup your personal printer and lab printers but note that we can no longer setup local or lab printers on our print server. As we continue to grow the demand to maintain all the printers, drivers and locations have become overwhelming on the department. We will be happy to connect your printer via USB and show you how to share it out to your lab or lock it down for users you specify. We will only add department network printers to the print server.

We have a tech support issue. Who do we call or email?
If you have tech issues and need tech support please open a support call with assist@utdallas.edu, Call them at 972-883-2911 or open up the support ticket yourself by going to https://hss.utdallas.edu or http://www.utdallas.edu/ir/how-to/useheat.htm. If you need to contact us directly we ask that you send the email to ee-tech@utdallas.edu so that in the event that a tech is out on vacation all techs within ETech will see it.

Do we have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) or How to Webpage?
Yes we do. If you are looking for information on how to connect your iPhone, VPN or email then you will want to bookmark the Frequently Asked Questions page and the How to page. Both are a wealth of knowledge and can help you out if needed.

We hope this helps explain the direction we are moving with the department and hope it will help minimize any future delays. We are working to make the School of Engineering the best it can be. If you have any questions please let me know by emailing sirjohn@utdallas.edu and I will do my best to address them.

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