Windows Recommendations for Administrative Users at MIT

Mary Ellen Bushnell

As a result of new administrative systems at MIT and rapid developments in the computing industry, Information Systems now recommends and supports the Windows NT operating system on PCs used for administrative computing. MIT departments still using Windows 3.x will need to upgrade their administrative computing equipment to Windows NT. For some, this will entail buying new equipment. A document outlining an upgrade path is available online at http://web.mit.edu/desktop/win31phaseout.html

The Phasing Out of Windows 3.x
Declining support for Windows 3.x and increasing support for Windows NT is being driven by the industry. Finding third-party software or development tools for Windows 3.x is increasingly difficult. New applications and development tools most likely will not run on Windows 3.x.

IS will continue to provide Help Desk support for administrative applications running on Windows 3.x until at least January 1, 1999. However, IS is no longer buying or developing applications for Windows 3.x systems nor offering training on the system.

If you need to run Windows 3.x for software that is not available on Windows NT, consider "freezing" the software on your Windows 3.x machine, and buying a recommended computer for new applications.

In summary, IS recommends that you transition all Windows 3.x applications and users to Windows NT no later than December 31, 1998.

Support for Windows NT
To ease the transition, MIT has purchased 2500 licenses for Windows NT 4 and 2500 Upgrade Advantage licenses, which includes two years of maintenance and upgrades. IS is negotiating with Microsoft to obtain a CD that will contain Windows NT, Service Pack 3 (SP3), and several post-SP3 fixes. IS will let Windows users in the MIT community know when the CD is ready, and outline steps for getting it.

IS offers the following support for Windows NT users:

  Computing Help Desk support via email (pc-help@ mit.edu), phone (x3-1102), and walk-in service (N42).

  Training classes for individual users and system administrators.

  Documentation on the Web at http://web.mit.edu/ist/help/winnt/

What About Windows 95?
Windows 95 is not supported in the administrative environment, although it may be the right choice for personal and laptop computers. Windows 95 users can call the Help Desk with questions. Consultants will make a best effort to solve problems, but there are no guarantees.