Logging into the Computer Labs

Logging into a Windows lab | Logging into a Macintosh lab | Logging out

About logging in

The computer labs on campus are an important resource for students, faculty and staff. For this reason, we do our best to limit the usage of the labs to those people who have a legitimate reason for doing so. This is done by requiring all lab users to log in. This also allows us to make some resources, such as network storage space, more easily accessible.

All UW-RF faculty, staff and students are provided with an Falcon account which is used to access resources on the network. It is this account which is used to gain access to computer lab workstations. The username for this account consists of a 'W' followed by a 7-digit ID number. This 7-digit number can be found on your University ID card.. Your account must be "activated" before you can make use of it.

Activating or Upgrading your Falcon account

If you have forgotten your username and/or password orneed to activate your account, you can either:

Using a web browser with Internet access, visit the FAA, and log in using your University ID # and birth date.

Log into a computer lab workstation with the username new without a password. This will take you to Falcon Account Administration (FAA) automatically.

How to log into a Windows lab computer

When you sit down at a Windows lab computer and exit the screensaver (by moving the mouse or pressing a key), you will see the box pictured below. Press the Control, Alt, and Delete keys simultaneously to bring up the login screen.

Enter your 8-character Falcon username (e.g. w1234567) and your Falcon password (e.g. 3qx8ZfHi) in the appropriate boxes and click OK to log in.

How to log into a Macintosh lab computer

When you sit down at a Macintosh lab computer, the computer may be in Sleep mode (to save energy), in which case you will need to press a key on the keyboard to wake it. When it is awake, you should see a login screen like the image to the right.

Click Lab User. This will bring up the following login screen:

Enter your 8-character Falcon username (e.g. w1234567) and your Falcon password (e.g. 3qx8ZfHi) in the appropriate boxes and click Log In.

How to logout (and why)

Logging out is a very important step to using the computer labs. Many users either forget to logout or don't make sure their computer logs out correctly. A successful logout on a Windows machine will be indicated by the computer returning to the login screen. The Macintosh workstations will simply remove the academic file server icons (W1234567 and Campus) from the desktop and return the login screen. Logging out is accomplished by double-clicking the logout icon on the computer's desktop.

Logging out disconnects the computer from your personal server storage areas. If you do not log out, others may gain access to your files, possibly deleting them or modifying them, even unintentionally. It also reconfigures the computer so it is ready for the next user who logs in.

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