Module 9 Progress Report

This week, I worked 36 hours and used 4 hours of personal leave to complete my new hire onboarding at the casino. This brings my quarter total to 360 hours.

On Tuesday, we had our tech meeting and created a plan for wrapping up the school year. One of our main goals is to collect all staff laptops, perform a factory reset, and upgrade them to Windows 11. This will give us a clean baseline for next school year and hopefully help reduce issues—especially since some systems are still running Windows 10 21H1 from 2021.

A major challenge we’re facing is that many staff devices across the district are old and technically don’t meet Windows 11 system requirements. Some of these models include Surface Pro 4s, Surface Laptop 2s and 3s, and older Dell desktops.

For the Dell desktops, I discovered a workaround. Even though both Microsoft and Dell list the CPUs as unsupported, I was able to use Dell’s recovery image tool with the device’s service tag. After clicking "Advanced," it gave me the option to choose Windows 10 or 11. I tested this on a spare desktop, and it worked. The only extra step was downloading the Windows 10 version of the chipset drivers from Dell’s website to ensure full functionality.

For the Surface Pro 4s, I used Rufus to create a custom Windows 11 installer that bypasses the 4GB RAM and TPM 2.0 requirements. I also included drivers for all staff device models in our district so that features like touchscreen, keyboard, mouse, and Wi-Fi work properly right after installation. Without those, we’d lose core functionality during setup.

Next week, I expect to start collecting staff laptops that aren’t currently in use and begin upgrading those. Senior students will also begin returning their laptops soon. In theory, the library tech is supposed to handle those, but we’ll see how that plays out.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Module 7 Journal Entry

Although I didn’t work this week due to the school’s mid-winter break, I’m reflecting on my previous week to address this journal prompt. Easiest Accomplishment: One of the more straightforward tasks was handling two teacher laptops before the break. The first involved a Surface laptop infected with ransomware. After disabling the teacher’s accounts and notifying the system admin, I performed a fresh Windows installation and reinstalled all necessary drivers. The process went smoothly since I’ve done similar resets before. The second laptop was outdated, running Windows 10 21H1, which prevented system updates and Outlook from working properly. I manually upgraded it to Windows 10 22H2 and then to Windows 11. Although the install took time, the process itself was routine. Hardest Accomplishment: The most challenging task was dealing with a middle school student misusing the school’s network. Investigating their actions revealed they were sending malicious scripts through SharePoint, all...
Read more

Journal Entry: Internship Overview and Goals

 My internship as a Technology Technician at a school district involves maintaining and supporting the district’s IT infrastructure. In a nutshell, I troubleshoot hardware and software issues, assist with network maintenance, and ensure that the technology used by staff and students operates smoothly. This role demands both technical problem-solving and effective communication, as I often work closely with educators and administrators to address their needs. What I know about my role is that it’s pivotal for the day-to-day functioning of the district’s technology systems. My tasks so far have included repairing devices, resolving connectivity issues, and providing user support. I understand the basics of troubleshooting, maintaining hardware, and following best practices for IT operations. To fully excel in this position, I’ll need to deepen my understanding of network administration, learn more about advanced system configurations, and refine my ability to manage multiple tasks ef...
Read more

Module 10 Progress Report

I worked 40 hours this week, bringing my total hours for the quarter to 360. This week was packed with tasks, and honestly, it’s hard to keep track of everything I did. There’s never really a set list of things to tackle — issues pop up randomly, and I handle whatever comes my way. I started the week with 28 more laptops that needed either the DRC testing software reinstalled, Windows updates, or a full reset. After that, I helped a teacher at the other high school who was having Wi-Fi issues. I suggested using a USB-to-Ethernet adapter to hardwire her computer for a more stable connection. She wasn’t a fan of that idea since she wanted to keep using her external keyboard and didn’t want to be "tethered." I explained that it was either this or continue dealing with Wi-Fi drops until we could figure out what’s going on in that room. Later, I teamed up with our tech specialist to troubleshoot a middle school projector that wasn’t displaying anything. Aside from the rack being c...
Read more