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This page outlines the typical questions/setups that are required for a new computer or imaged computer
Hardware
The common standard setup for Saunders employees/offices are:
- Dell Monitor (either U2414H, U2415H, U2417H, among others)
- Lenovo Monitor (T2224Dz or 19" monitor, among others)
- Lenovo ThinkCentre (M83 Tiny is the most common one at this time
Some Dell monitors support a feature called Multi-Stream Transport (MST), which allows you to daisy-chain to other monitors (including non-Dell monitors) with DisplayPort. This is helpful as the M83 Tiny only has one DP output.
To enable this feature on the Dell monitors, open the OSD menu, and under Display Settings, enable MST (also called "DisplayPort 1.2" on some monitors). This will allow you to use the "DP Out" port on the back of the monitor.
Additional Software
There may be a lot of other software packages you may need installed on your computer. Be sure to review Portal Manager for what applications are available. If you don't see what you are looking for, feel free to reach out to Saunders Technical Support for assistance.
Adobe Creative Cloud
Unfortunately, with current licensing from Adobe, we cannot preload Adobe software to your computer.
To install Adobe software, please see Adobe Software for how to sign into Adobe Creative Cloud and how to install other Adobe products.
Code42 (Backup Software For Faculty Computers)
Please see Code42 for instructions on how to set it up.
Default Applications
Your computer most likely has a few default applications not set to your liking.
Click the Start menu and search for Default apps.
We recommend changing email to Outlook instead of Mail.
Web browser is set to Edge by default. If you would like to install another browser, see Portal Manager for instructions on how to install them.
If you install Adobe Acrobat DC, Edge will still be your default program for PDFs. Please see Adobe Software for instructions on how to change this.
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Signing into your computer
To sign into your computer, you must use your RIT username and password. If you don't know your password, please use the forgot password feature at https://start.rit.edu/.
If you are signing into your laptop for the first time and you are off campus, you may need to connect to VPN before you can sign in. See https://help.rit.edu/sp?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0034513 for details.
Start by opening Microsoft Outlook, located in your Start menu.
Once open, you will be prompted for setting up your email. In most cases, you can take the defaults.When prompt for the environment type, select Exchange.
By default, Outlook does not automatically turn on spell check before sending. If you want this feature on, open Outlook, click the File tab, click Options, click Mail and check Always check spelling before sending.
To setup your signature, see Email Signatures for details.
Review the Email section of Windows 11 - Default Applications to ensure Outlook is your default mail client.
Adobe Creative Cloud
Unfortunately, with current licensing from Adobe, we cannot preload Adobe software to your computer.
To install Adobe software, please see Adobe Software for how to sign into Adobe Creative Cloud and how to install other Adobe products.
Additional Software & Web Browsers
There may be a lot of other software packages, like other web browsers, you may need installed on your computer. Be sure to review Portal Manager for what applications are available. If you don't see what you are looking for, feel free to reach out to Saunders Technical Support for assistance.
If you install a web browser, see the Default Web Browser section of Windows 11 - Default Applications to set that browser as your default. Also, take a look at Web Browsers for information on configuring them as well as signing into the browser to sync all of your settings. This is a great option for keeping all of your bookmarks synced between devices.
Slack
Using Portal Manager, you can install the Slack Application. Once installed, go to C:\Program Files\Slack Deployment and double-click on the Slack icon. To login via your web browser, go to The installer doesn't always add the icon to the desktop.
To login to the app, open https://rit-saunders.slack.com/ on your browser and sign in. Once signed in, click on Open the Slack App from under the RIT-Saunders menu. This will auto configure the Slack app, provided it is open in the background.
See Slack for additional details.
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Printers are automatically installed for desktops, so no additional steps should be needed. For details on the printer names and locations, please see see Printing and Scanning.
If you are using a laptop, please see Printing and Scanning for instructions on how to manually add the printers.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
RIT uses a product called Spirion to scan computers and email for PII. You are required to review these reports and mitigate anything that is found on your computer. Please review Spirion for details on how this tool works.
Web Browsers
Your computer will come with Microsoft Edge by default, but if you want to use something like Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome, you can use Portal Manager to install them.
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Code42 (Backup Software for Faculty Computers)
Please see Code42 for instructions on how to set it up.