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Get
Connected
What do I need to get started?
You will need a laptop (PC or Mac) with an empty PCMCIA/PC card slot
and an 802.11b/g wireless card. Or, it is possible to purchase a laptop
with built-in 802.11b/g wireless connectivity.
We do not recommend or support wireless access for desktop computers.
Minimum Hardware Requirements
PC Laptop
- Pentium 100 MHZ
- 32 MB RAM
- 10 MB hard drive space for the software
- Empty PCMCIA/PC card slot (or built-in 802.11b/g wireless connectivity)
Mac
- You must have a G3 or later
- Empty PCMCIA/PC card slot or a built-in Airport wireless card
- 10 MB hard drive space for the software
Operating Systems Supported
PC - Win 95/98, Win ME, Win 2000, & Win XP
Mac - Mac OS 8.6 and above (including OS X)
Wireless Cards
Wireless cards can be purchased from computer stores
across the country.
Costs
Currently, there is no additional monthly access fee. The only cost
involved in connecting to the wireless network is the cost of the wireless
card. UT departments may purchase a wireless card from OIT. For
more information, read below.
Personal Purchases (meaning those paid for with cash, check,
or credit card) of wireless cards are no longer offered through OIT.
Departmental Purchases (meaning those paid with a departmental
account number) of wireless cards can be made online at http://nsrequest.oit.utk.edu.
The cost for a departmental wireless card is $70. You may contact Rose
Parker or Lynn Sterling at 974-9600 for more information about departmental
purchases.
How do I install and configure the wireless card?
OIT will attempt to install and configure your wireless card for you (free of
charge). We will
also configure built-in Airport cards as well. For more information
on how to have your card installed and configured, please read below.
Personally Owned Computer (meaning you purchased the computer)
- You may drop your laptop off at the OIT Service Center located in
103 Aconda Court. We will install and configure the card for you FREE
OF CHARGE. There is generally about a 2 hour wait (except for the beginning
of the semester when the wait is generally a lot longer). If you plan
to drop off your laptop, please make sure you bring your POWER SUPPLY
AND CD-ROM DRIVE. We cannot do the installation without these two items.
University Owned Computer (meaning the University owns the computer)
You may call 974-9800, option #2 to schedule a member of the Lan and
Desktop Support Team to come out and install and configure your wireless
card FREE OF CHARGE.
Or, if you want to do your own installation and configuration, please
visit our support page where we have documented
instructions for most of the supported operating systems. These instructions
were written specifically for the Orinoco Silver 802.11b wireless card.
What do I do once the wireless card is properly
installed and configured?
You just need to open up a web browser (IE or Netscape) and you will
be automatically taken to the NetReg website where you will need to
register for a wireless account using your NetID and password. If you
do not know your NetID and/or password, please contact OIT Help Desk. Hours of operation are 8 am - 5 pm Monday through Friday.
Office of Information
Technology
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