Inside Iowa State

September 15, 2004

Some older operating systems no longer supported

The central information technology units on campus currently support PC operating systems that are Windows 2000 or later and Mac systems that are OS 10.2.8 or later.

Older systems, such as Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows NT, are no longer supported by the central IT units. Frank Poduska of the Solution Center explained that this means assistance in fixing problems on these operating systems may only be available on a for-fee basis.

Iowa State's Desktop Standards Committee sets support standards for computers to allow central IT support units to focus their campus-wide computing, support and maintenance services, Poduska said. These standards are published each January and take effect in September.

Those who need help with older systems may be able to get assistance for a fee through Academic Information Technologies, Poduska said. "It depends on the kind of problem and the availability of resources. McAfee, for example, has announced it will soon not continue offering antivirus software for Windows 98."

Site-licensed software for the older, non-supported systems will continue to be available to the campus community through June 2005. (See http://www.ait.iastate.edu/
downloads.)

More on computer support standards: http://www.iastate.edu/
computing/standards/support.html.