Whilst there is no general University requirement to bring your own PC, many students do decide to bring one for the convenience of having it in their room.
If you do bring your own PC, remember to also bring the manuals, warranty information, and installation disks. Keep these in a safe place in case you need to reinstall or reconfigure any hardware or software.

Flexibility

A laptop with built in wireless or a wireless card gives you the ability to connect to many locations across campus using the wireless network (WiNet).

Follow this WiNet link for a list of wireless locations

Frequency of use
If you spend a lot of time working on your PC the separate monitor and keyboard that comes with a desktop PC may be more comfortable to use than a laptop. Some laptops come with a docking station allowing you to plug in an external monitor and keyboard.

Theft and damage
A laptop's size and weight make it very flexible and portable but unfortunately also make it easier to be accidently damaged, lost or stolen.

Price
Laptops are now a lot cheaper and may not cost much more than an equivalent desktop PC but may cost more to maintain, upgrade and repair than a desktop.

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If you decide to bring a PC to campus you may think about bringing a printer as well.
You can print documents from the various ISS PC Labs and from the Learning Zone; however, you may also want the convenience of being able to print to a printer in your room.

Follow link for more information about Printing at Lancaster University

 

You aren't required to have a particular suite of software, but you'll find word processing and spreadsheet applications, and a web browser to be essential. For a full list of software installed on ISS Lab PCs see the ISS Lab webpage

To access University resources on the Web, we recommend that you use a Web browser that supports HTML 3.0 or later and Netscape plug-ins. Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer (6.0 or higher) exceed these specifications and are free online from Mozilla (http://www.mozilla.org/) and Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/), respectively.

Lancaster University has entered into licencing agreements with software manufacturers and suppliers. For a complete listing of available software see the ISS Software web site.

Microsoft Software Offer

Eligible students and staff are allowed to purchase one of the following:

Microsoft® Office Ultimate 2010 (£49.99) Perpetual licence, which includes the following applications:

Access® 2010

Excel® 2010

OneNote® 2010

Outlook® 2010 with Business Contact Manager *(see Obtaining Software below)

PowerPoint® 2010

Publisher 2010

Word 2010

How do I Buy?

Follow the ultimate steal link - you will be asked to provide your university email address

 

Lancaster University has a site licence for Symantec/Norton AntiVirus. This means that all students have free access to one of the best antivirus programs whilst they are studying at Lancaster University.

Windows Symantec/Norton Antivirus software is provided free when you register your PC from your student room when you complete the online ResNet installation. Students not on ResNet may collect a free CD from the ISS Service Desk.

To find out more about keeping your antivirus software up-to-date at Lancaster University see: Threatwatch

What about before I come to Lancaster University - Can I protect my PC or laptop now?

Microsoft Security Essentials is a free download that will give you antivirus protection.

See: www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/

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ISS recommends purchasing a full 3 or 4 year maintenance and repair agreement offered by your PC's manufacturer, and taking out insurance against your laptop being lost, stolen or damaged.

 

To discourage theft, it is a good idea to use a UV marker to identify equipment you bring to campus.

Ultra-violet (UV) marking

UV marker pens cost about £1 from stationers and security shops. Use them to put your postcode and house number in invisible ink on the bottom of your valuables. If your things are found, the Police can read your details under UV light and get your property back to you. Do this every year, as the writing fades.

For more advice on property marking click on these links. (Links will open in a new window).

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk
http://www.crimereduction.gov.uk/cpck.htm

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All student rooms have PC network points which allow students to connect their own PC or laptop to a private network. Once connected, the 100Mbps Ethernet link provides you with access to the world wide web and network resources on campus, including:

• University email account.
• central printers.
• central filestore.
• the Unix service.
• personal web space.

Follow this link for more information about ResNet

If you have problems connecting to ResNet from your room, book a ResNet workshop - available through the ISS Service Desk in the Learning Zone (09:00 to 17:00) throughout the year

 

ISS provides support for machines running XP, Vista & Windows 7.

XP is currently the default operating system installed on University PCs.

You may use other operating systems such as Mac OS or Linux etc, provided they implement DHCP, but ISS regrets that only limited support or information will be available to assist you.

For more information about which ISS services are supported under Windows, Mac OS and Linux follow the link to the ISS Matrix

For more information regarding connection to the campus network follow the link Network Connections in Student Residences

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ISS Hardware Recommendations 2011

Suppliers such as Getech and Stone offer educational discounts to students directly.

See: Getech www.studentstore.co.uk/ or Stone www.it4study.co.uk

Once registered on these sites you can purchase IT kit at NDNA special discount prices; these will also include benefits like the 3 year warranty on Samsung notebooks etc.

Further information regarding Lancaster University preferred IT suppliers can be found on the Lancaster University Strategic Purchasing website. For more information regarding preferred PC hardware follow the link to Strategic Purchasing or go to the ISS IT Purchasing site

Please note, ISS are not directly involved in the sale of these machines but are simply offering them as examples that match our specifications and are well priced. Your contract is with the manufacturer and you should contact their after sales support organisation for support. Of course we will always try to assist you should this not work out.

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