Reminder: Upgrading Computer Operating Systems to OS 10.9

This information was emailed to staff on Jan. 29 and is being repeated here for your information. 

 The Agency is in the process of upgrading the vast majority of our Mac computers to OS 10.9. IF you have already had that upgrade done, OR if you have just received a new computer, you can disregard the rest of this email. If you’re not sure what OS (operating system) you have, follow the instructions here to verify what version you have installed. 

For those of you who have OS 10.8 or lower, we are ready to start upgrading your computer to OS 10.9. As with any major upgrade, the first key step in the process is backing up your data. To make this easy for you, the Agency is providing you with an external hard drive. These hard drives are now available in your assigned regional office and can be picked up from your tech support lead. Along with the hard drive, there will be directions about how to backup your computer. 

The next step is to sign up for a morning or afternoon appointment in Johnston. The Internal Technology Department will need your computer and hard drive for half a day to complete this upgrade. In the Universal Registration system, you will find a large number of times to sign up. 

Please note: 

• If you sign up for a morning appointment, you will need to have your computer and hard drive to the Internal Tech Department no later than 8:00 a.m. 
• If you sign up for an afternoon appointment, both devices need to be to the Internal Tech Department no later than 11:00 a.m. 
• If the devices arrive later than those deadlines, we cannot guarantee we will be able to finish upgrading your machine in half a day. 
• A member of our Internal Tech Department will contact you when your machine and external drive are ready to be picked up. 

Please go to this link to sign up for an appointment. The appointment dates run from Feb. 16 through March 31. The deadline for signing up for these appointments will be 4:00 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 9. 

Some of you may be wondering, “Could some of this work be done at my regional office, saving me a trip to Johnston?” The Internal Technology Department gave serious consideration to that question and determined that it was best to complete the updates in Johnston. This is a network-intensive process, and even doing a few computers at a time would greatly slow down the network in the regional offices, which would also increase the time it would take to complete each upgrade. If you have any questions about this process, contact Lance Wilhelm, Director of Technology, at lwilhelm@heartlandaea.org.