Laptop Configuration

This section of SMGhelp is designed to help users configure laptop computers on their own in accordance with the technology at SMG.

Faculty and staff laptops provided by the School of Management are pre-configured upon delivery. Personally-owned laptops can be configured following the self-guided instructions that follow.

*Note* for liability reasons ITS cannot provide laptop support for company-owned laptops. If you are using an employer-owned laptop, it is recommended that you consult the IT department at your place of employment before making configuration changes.

If you are new to SMG, you should wait until arriving on campus to configure your laptop. Necessary accounts will become available to you when you arrive.

Step 1 - Get Connected

You can connect to the internet in the SMG building using either a simple Ethernet cable (Easy) or using the wireless network (not so easy).

Connecting using an Ethernet Cable

Take an Ethernet Cable and connect it to your laptop's network port. Plug the other end into a valid Ethernet port in the building. Your laptop will detect the connection and you should be able to open Internet Explorer and see your home page.

Connecting using the Wireless Network

You must use the Cisco VPN Client to create a secure connection before you can use the wireless network in the building. Thus you have to download, install and configure the Cisco VPN client.

Download and Install the Cisco VPN Client

Go to http://www.bu.edu/pcsc/vpn/ and click the Download & Install Link for your appropriate operating system. Be sure to read the download instructions

Establish a VPN Connection

Launch the Cisco VPN Client (Start, (All)Programs, Cisco VPN Client, VPN Client) select the On-campus connection profile, and click the Connect button. You will be prompted to login. Do so using your BU login name and Kerberos password.

Note: Steps 2 and 3 below are optional. By completing these steps you will be able to access the network drives and the network printers from your laptop. Although this is convenient, this is not required and both these resources are available from any lab computer in rooms 316, 328, and 340. Step 2 is only necessary if you are using a Windows PC.

Step 2 (Windows only) – SMG Logon Utility Download

If you want to access the network printers and the network drives directly from your laptop you need to download the SMG Logon Utility and use it. To download this utility, go to http://smghelp.bu.edu/laptop/laptopconfig_xp2knt.shtml and click the link for the Student smglogon Icon. When prompted, save this file to your desktop. This step is unnecessary on the Macintosh platform.

Now go to your desktop and double-click the smglogon icon. You will be prompted to login. Do so using your BU login name and Kerberos password.

Step 3 – Install SMG Printers

Windows NT 4.0 / 2000 / XP users: go to http://smghelp.bu.edu/laptop/laptopconfig_print.shtml

Vista users: go to http://smghelp.bu.edu/laptop/laptopconfig_print_vista.shtml

Macintosh users: go to http://smghelp.bu.edu/laptop/laptopconfig_print_mac.shtml

Follow the instructions for your operating system. You will only need to do these steps once. After that, Windows users should use the SMG Logon Utility (see Step 2, above) before sending documents to the printers.

Didn't find the answer to your question?

You can contact the ITS Helpdesk by emailing helpdesk@management.bu.edu
or calling 617-353-9858.

Appointments are available on the SMGnet Web site at http://smgnet.bu.edu under
SMG Services > Information Technology Services > Laptop Configuration Appointments.