For Windows 7 & 8.1:

Press and hold the Windows key + R

Type "cmd" (1) into the search field and select 'OK' (2) to open the command prompt.

Within the command prompt. Type "ipconfig /all", then hit Enter.

Look for "Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection." ("Ethernet adapter Ethernet0" in this case). Under that category look for "IPv4 Address." If your "IPv4 Address" starts with "128.193.XXX.XXX" and you are located on campus, then the IP is valid.

If the "IPv4 Address" starts with a "169.XXX.XXX.XXX" that means the computer defaulted to an IP address that is invalid.

If your “IP Address” starts with “169.” this means your computer has defaulted to an invalid IP address.

1. Type “ipconfig /release”, then Enter
2. Then type “ipconfig /renew”, then Enter (this can take a few minutes)

This prompts your computer to request a new IP from the server 

Type “ipconfig /all”, then Enter to see if your IP address has refreshed to a valid campus IP (i.e. starts with “128.193”) 

If this does not work, restarting your computer may fix the problem

For Windows:

Step 1: Press and hold the 'Windows + R' keys.

Step 2: Enter "cmd" (1)  into the open field then select "OK" (2):

Command Prompt should open:

Critical security patches for the Windows operating system are deployed through a system called Automatic Updates.  The updates usually patch a hole in the OS which would otherwise allow a computer to be compromised.  These patches are vital for a secure network and environment.

All computers on the SCIENCE domain have the same policy on how they check for updates.

The domain policy for automatic updates works like this:

Every 8 hours the client computer checks our update server for new updates.  If there are new updates it will download them and prompt you to install them.  This comes in the form of a popup notification like this:

From here you can install the updates manually, and if required, restart the computer.

If you do not install the updates manually, then the computer will install the update at 3:00 am every night and if no one is logged on, it will restart if required.

If the computer is logged on, it will prompt you if you wish to restart. If you choose [NO] it will prompt you again every 30 minutes until the computer is restarted.

If the computer is turned off at 3:00 am and there are updates to install then 5 minutes after the system starts up again the updates will be installed, and you will be prompted to restart the computer.

It is recommended to install updates as soon as possible and to restart the computer if required.

In Windows 7, Click on Start then Right Click on "Computer" and select Properties

You will find a Field "Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings" look for Full Computer Name.