IT Division - Windows 8

Windows 8 at WKU

April 26, 2013

The IT Division is currently testing Windows 8 and Office 2013.

Our current antivirus standard (Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1) is not compatible with Windows 8. There is currently no Windows 8 agent for our Altiris management system either (Symantec IT Management Suite). Until we can provide endpoint protection and an Altiris agent for Windows 8, it will not be possible for the IT Division to support any Windows 8 computers purchased by WKU departments.

Windows 8 is generally not intended as an upgrade for any computer purchased before 2013. Instead, Windows 8 will come installed on new devices almost exclusively.

Currently, our ability to support Windows 8 devices is limited. Microsoft is primarily targeting Windows 8 for consumer devices, such as tablets (like the new Microsoft Surface), phones, and lightweight "ultrabooks" without wired network connections. We are currently testing how Windows 8 will interact with our campus wireless, and with systems such as Blackboard and Banner.

For any new WKU computer purchases that ship with Windows 8 installed, please call the IT Helpdesk to have the computer re-imaged with Windows 7.

Office 2013 is compatible with Windows 7. We will begin making Office 2013 available on lab (Windows 7) computers beginning with the Spring 2014 semester. Office 2013 will also be available from the Software Center for installation on University-owned machines about that same time.

There are several different versions of Windows 8 for various hardware platforms. Some versions have limitations that will restrict their usefulness. Windows RT, which is the version of Windows 8 used on the Microsoft Surface and other ARM-processor devices, will not be able to run any existing Windows 7 software titles. Only software from the Windows Store be available on Windows RT. It's also important to note that Windows RT cannot connect to Active Directory, our campus networking standard, and so for example users will not be able to map P: and S: drives. For more information, see:

We will continue to report the results of testing with Windows 8 devices and provide further information soon. Watch this URL.

Next information update is scheduled for June 2013.