The latest version of the Windows operating system, Windows 7, was unveiled Oct. 22 to much fanfare.

NIU residence hall residents, however, had to wait until Tuesday for its upgrade to reach its full potential.

Cisco Clean Access, which is used to access the NIU computer network from the residence halls, does not support Windows 7.

It took NIU network engineers and the HelpDesk working around the clock to create a loophole for residents with Windows 7 to access the NIU network via Clean Access.

“We had beta testers in the residence halls early on who were having issues,” said Jan Gerenstein, associate director of ResTech. “It took a while for our engineers to work out a patch that would allow access.”

Robert Grabowski, freshman mechanical engineering major, began his term at NIU with the release client version of Windows 7 already on his computer. In May, Microsoft allowed certain users to sign in to use a beta version of their new operating system for free, for a year.

Grabowski said he went to ResTech because he could not use access the Internet from his dorm room. He was told to revert back to Vista.

“I am going to have to buy Windows 7,” Grabowski said, adding that he no longer has his client version. “I lost it when I went back to Vista.”

The new operating system contains many upgrades over Windows Vista, the last release from Windows, including 64-bit software to match newer computers with higher RAM. Many students who purchased laptops before the fall semester began received a free upgrade to the new Windows.

NIU contracts out its network to Cisco Clean Access, and the network currently only supports Windows XP or Vista, as well as any Mac or Linux system. The patch that was put in is temporary until Cisco Clean Access updates to support Windows 7.

“The important thing was getting the residents on,” Gerenstein said. “We met with our network engineers on Friday to finalize a resolution.”

The free McAfee anti-virus software that NIU offers to residents also does not support Windows 7 and is awaiting an update that would include Windows 7.

“The other anti-virus software that Clean Access allows should be getting updates that would allow Windows 7 as well,” Gerenstein said.

Gerenstein said there are plans in place for Windows 7 to be integrated into computer labs across campus, but that plan is not expected to be implemented until the fall of 2010.

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