Maintaining Laptop Carts

Updates and Antivirus Requirements

BCPSS laptops residing in carts must be kept up-to-date with software updates and antivirus scans. Due to policies that are applied to the systems, they must be updated and have the scans run at least once a month. When a machine gets a backlog of updates and required scans it will become very slow and hang when trying to be used. To avoid this, we recommend that all laptops residing in carts are turned on and logged in. Once powered on and logged in, the devices should be placed in a secure room for a few hours to let the automatic updates and scans run.

Performing these tasks on the laptops once a month will reduce the startup and login time of the devices. This will also allow the devices to run at optimal performance speeds. You may be asked to run Windows updates throughout the month, but this task can be delayed until the monthly update schedule you have set for your cart.

To perform updates please login as the Schooladmin account.

  • To check for Windows updates
  • OpenWindowsUpdate by clicking theStartbutton. In the search box, typeUpdate, and then, in the list of results, clickWindowsUpdate.
  • In the left pane, clickCheck for updates
  • In the window that is openedclick “Check online for updates from Microsoft Update” as shown in the image below.
  • If you see a message telling you that important updates are available, or telling to

review important updates, click the message to view and select the important updates to install

  • In the list, click the important updates for more information. Select the check boxes for any updates that you want to install, and then click OK.
  • Click Install updates.

Read and accept the license terms, and then click Finish if the update requires it.

  • To run SEP Virus Scan
  • Open Symantec Endpoint Protection by going to Start -> All Programs -> Symantec Endpoint Protection -> Symantec Endpoint Protection.
  • Click Scan for threats.
  • Click Run Full Scan or Run Active Scan

NOTE: Active scans run quicker than full scans. However, active scans are not as thorough as full scans. It is recommended that you run a full scan on your computer regularly. Full scans can take over 2 hours to complete so it is often best to run a full scan overnight.

  • Wait for the scan to complete. When the scan is complete click Remove Risks Nowto remove any listed viruses.

NOTE:Symantec will remove any viruses found in the scan. You may need to reboot the computer to complete the removal of all viruses. It is recommended that you run the scan again to confirm that the viruses have been removed.

Laptop Cart Best Practices

Listed below is a collection of best practices for the maintenance and usage of district laptop carts.

  • If your laptops are not labeled with numbers and your cart slots are not pre-labeled, it would be beneficial to do label them. Having the laptops and slots labels assist with many different aspects of supporting the devices.
  • Ability to assign a laptop to a specific student
  • When placing a service call for the device you can identify it by #. This makes it much easier to find the device when the technician comes to service it.
  • Incase devices are lost or stolen it makes it easy to discern which device is missing.
  • In the technology inventory you could also place which # corresponds to which device. This also helps with identifying and retrieving serial numbers which is needed for a device to be reported lost or stolen.
  • Laptop cart Wireless Access Points (WAP) should be labeled to designate which cart the WAP belongs to. Often times when a school has multiple carts and multiple WAPs the devices often get switched around. This can be problematic and cause connectivity issues if the devices are configured differently.

NOTE: If your school has NON-RTTT carts that are not labeled you can find the RTTT cart that your school has and use it as a reference for labeling your other carts.

  • NON-RTTT Carts have loose power adapters. Please take time to organize these and collect them from the students once given out. Carts can become unusable if there is a lack of chargers to charge the many devices located inside the cart.
  • If you are using more than one laptop cart, try to keep them in separate areas. Sometimes their wireless signals can interfere with each other.
  • Make sure all of the laptops are turned on and logged into at least once a month. Doing this keeps the laptop up-date with check-in’s and maintains an active domain record for the device.
  • Ensure that the laptops inside the cart are plugged in and the carts themselves are plugged in while the carts are being stored. This guarantees that your devices will be ready to be used the next time they are pulled out for testing or instruction.
  • Keep the laptop cart locked and in a safe and secure location while not being used.
  • Do not log-in for students using the Schooladmin account or your own personal login. This enables students to make changes to the operating system, which may cause the device to be unusable for the next student.

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