I received my new Macintosh in the box. Now what?

OIT has the capability for new Macintosh computers ordered via Rice Marketplace to be sent directly to the your department. Through our Macintosh enterprise management system (JAMF), Rice IT can now configure these new Macs automatically and remotely. This Auto-Enrollment process using the JAMF system will begin once the system is turned on and simply requires access to a WiFi Internet connection (on-campus or away) to complete the initial setup of the device. Note that very slow connections are not recommended.

Deployment Procedure - Step by Step

Initial Setup

Unbox the Mac, connect the power supply, and power up the computer. The Setup Assistant will appear. Select United States and Click Continue.

Select Your WiFi Network

When selecting a network, look for Rice Visitor (if on campus) or another network (if elsewhere). For now, don't connect to Ethernet or Rice Owls wireless on campus. 

Click Continue.

Enrollment

Once connected to the Internet, you will be asked to enroll the machine with the Rice University remote management system via JAMF. Click Continue.

Please note, if you are not presented with the message above the computer may not properly configure itself for JAMF enrollment, or a network connection could not be established. For enrollment issues such as this, please contact the Rice OIT Help Desk.

Enter your NetID and password when prompted.

Installation should complete within 30-45 minutes if on campus; possibly longer if on a slower Internet connection.

Once the Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), are accessible in the Applications folder, the Auto-Enrollment deployment process has been completed. When you see the notification in the center of your screen advising you of Microsoft security information, that is confirmation that the process is complete. 

Once the process completes, you'll be prompted to log in. After your first login (using your NetID and password) you will be prompted to enable FileVault Encryption. Click 'Enable' to proceed.

Software installed in the deployment process includes basic productivity applications such as the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), Zoom, Firefox, and Chrome, and the Rice-sanctioned endpoint security tools.  See more details on endpoint security (login required).  

Data Migration

Migrating your data from the older Mac to the new one can be easy if you have the right tools in place already.

If you have CrashPlan, it's quite convenient - simply work with the helpdesk to setup CrashPlan on your new Mac and then restore the data backed up in CrashPlan to the new Mac.

Data migration can also be relatively easy if you have current TimeMachine backup data from your previous Mac on an external drive *and* if the macOS on that older Mac is within one or two major releases of the new Mac. For example, if the new Mac has macOS 13 (Ventura), then the old one should have at least macOS 11 (Big Sur) or macOS 12 (Monterey). If possible, run any pending upDates (not upGrades) on the old Mac, then let TimeMachine run a backup again. Once that's done, connect the TimeMachine drive to the new Mac and run Utilities / Migration Assistant to transfer the user data only (not the Applications) to the new Mac. You may need to set a new admin password for the transferred account when you do this - be sure to make a note or remember that new password!

If you don't have a TimeMachine backup drive or a CrashPlan backup account, then the best plan (and one that will give you the greatest control over the process) would be to move your data to one of Rice's cloud services. Currently, those are box.com, Google Drive, and Microsoft's OneDrive. This will have the added benefit of allowing you to keep much of your data in the cloud and accessible from most devices via a webpage login. Box, Google Drive, and OneDrive all offer Mac apps that make your data accessible on the Mac Desktop without going through a web interface.

If you need further assistance with migrating data or configuring/installing additional software on a Rice-owned Macintosh, contact the Rice OIT Help Desk.