The School now insists that new pupils in Third, Fourth and Lower Sixth Forms purchase a new laptop through the school scheme. An on-line ordering facility is now available at www.ergo.co.uk/fettes For other pupils, the option of a private purchase exists but it is important that parents who take this option understand what this entails.

1. Any privately purchased laptop must meet the stated specification listed below. ICT Support will not configure the machine for the network until it is met. If you have any doubt as to what this specifications means then please contact ICT Support for advice.

2. Support for privately-owned laptops is inevitably more restricted. This is largely because non-standard laptops can absorb very large amounts of support time. We also cannot fix hardware because of warranty issues. In the event of subsequent problems with the laptop beyond its network configuration, it is the responsibility of the owner to arrange uplift and repair.

3. If the laptop is presented for network configuration please make sure that we have all cables and system discs. We also need any BIOS passwords, together with any other system passwords. In some cases network configuration requires a full installation that clears the hard drive of existing data. All data should therefore be backed up before the laptop comes to the workshop.

4. At the start of term we will have to deal with school scheme laptops before we can configure non-standard laptops. Our network systems will prevent users of non-standard laptops who have not registered with ICT Support from connecting to the Fettes network.

5. We intend only to install the network configuration and we do not install academic software.

6. Warranty and insurance claims are the responsibility of the parent.

The minimum specification for a privately-owned laptop in 2008-2009 is:

Hardware
Built-in 3-Com wireless and LAN card and >20 Gb hard drive
A set of headphones with microphone
Operating Systems Supported
Windows XP Pro (English-based versions only) as the operating system
We do not support Windows XP Home Edition as it does not allow domain log in
Windows Vista Business / Enterprise / Ultimate (English-based versions only) as the operating system
We do not support Windows Vista Home Edition as it does not allow domain log in

Please note: Any upgrade to Vista Business / Enterprise / Ultimate from Vista Home Edition is the responsibility of the user.
We do not support any other operating systems.

Software
Office XP or 2007, with FrontPage or Expression
Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0  or more recent

We strongly recommend taking out a 3-year return to base warranty and full insurance.