Bringing Your Computer to Erskine

Erskine College Personal Computer and "ECnet" Campus Network Information and Recommendations

Erskine College has an excellent campus-wide, fiber-optic network called ECnet. Each dormitory room has an ECnet network connection for each student. A personal computer that is connected to ECnet has high-speed access to on-campus (intranet) information servers as well as broadband access to e-mail, web, and other Internet services. Each student will receive a personal Erskine e-mail account as well as have access to intranet server storage space. Students who wish to utilize ECnet, but who do not have a personal computer, can do so in McCain Library or other locations on campus.

It is important to note that all ECnet connections are high-speed Ethernet (ether-net) connections. ECnet is NOT reached using a modem. I.E., there’s no dialing and the ECnet network connection is alive 24 hours per day year round. For some computers, the Ethernet connection is built in. Others require the addition of a network interface card (NIC).

Students who are bringing personal computers to campus and are expecting to use ECnet successfully must do the following:

Questions?

Bobby Clarke
clarke@erskine.edu (864) 379-8775
Director of Information Technology

Michael Armstrong
armstrong@erskine.edu (864) 379-6670
Associate Director of Information Technology

Hardware and Software Requirements

ECnet supports both Intel-based PC’s (Gateway, Dell, HP, Compaq, Toshiba, IBM, etc.) as well as Apple Computer, Inc.’s Macintosh hardware.

The Erskine IT Department provides a high level of support for Gateway, Dell, and Macintosh computers. If an Erskine student has a problem with a Gateway, Dell or Apple computer during the warranty period, the student may bring the computer to the IT Department. IT Department personnel will call technical support, arrange for service, and do the repair if necessary, or have the onsite repair person come to our office instead of the student's dorm room. For other brands, students must contact the vendor's technical support directly.

We recommend laptop computers for students. Laptop computers offer the flexibility to use their computer in their dorm room, on the road, in class, in the library, or other places such as outside in the sunshine on the patio at Snapper’s. Newer, faster personal computers provide better productivity than slow, old "clunkers." Older computers may not connect to ECnet but still may be quite useful for word processing, etc. That is, any computer may be better than no computer at all. Many students find having a printer in their room is far more convenient than using printers in the library. Ink-jet printers are not very expensive.

For laptops, we strongly recommend students purchase four year warranties which also cover accidental damage.

ECnet requires TCP/IP network software. This software is a part of the operating system for most personal computers, particularly the newer ones. Make sure it is installed and working properly.

Microsoft Office is the Erskine software standard for word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software. It is strongly recommended.

Anti-virus software is required on all computers which connect to the Erskine network (ECnet). Symantec Norton Anti-virus is available for free to all students. Contact Erskine Information Technology personnel for further information.

For Intel-based personal computers:

Hardware: Pentium class processor with a minimum of 256 MB of RAM.

System Software: Windows 2000, XP (Home or Pro) or Vista (Home or Business). Most Linux distributions will function as well.  Note: Older versions of Windows may function on ECnet but are not supported by the Erskine IT Department.

For Macintosh personal computers:

Hardware: An Intel processor-based Macintosh is strongly recommended. However, older PowerPC G3 or G4 Macs will work also.

System Software: Mac OS X