Student Laptop Program FAQs

You can pick up your computer by following the instructions here or coming to the Help Desk.

The South Dakota Mines ITS Help Desk is located in the Library building. You can contact the Help Desk at (605) 394-1234, helpdesk@sdsmt.edu, or come visit us.

The student laptops come preloaded with the latest Microsoft Office, System Center Antivirus, Maple (math software), common browsers, and browser add-ons.

As part of the laptop pickup process, you were made the administrator of your own computer and can load any software you need onto it.

We have almost all the engineering and science software you will need for your academic career located on our shared network drive (F drive only on campus) or through SharePoint available free of charge.

If you are experiencing problems installing these software packages please come visit us at the Help Desk. 

The Mines laptop computers come preloaded with Microsoft OneNote which is a complete notebook system.

Each student gets access to the F drive while on campus and can access the campus SharePoint anywhere in the world.

The F drive and SharePoint contain multiple software packages for your program of study.

In addition, each student gets 1TB of OneDrive private storage that is accessible through the built-in Windows app and can be installed on mobile devices or accessible through the web at OneDrive.com.

While on campus if you do not see your F drive in your computer drive listing you may have lost connection after leaving campus. Double-click the "Remap Network Drives" icon on your desktop to reconnect these drives.

Each student is given $12.50 worth of print credits at the beginning of every semester.

Printing costs $0.05 per black and white page and $0.15 per color page.

If you run out of print credits you can purchase more online with a credit card or with cash or check at the Cashier's Office in the Surbeck Center.

You can always check your print credit balance by double-clicking the Print Credits icon on the desktop and hovering over the $ icon on the taskbar.

How to install network printers for Windows  or Apple MacOS .

Yes, from anywhere in the world assuming you have an Internet connection.

You can access software installs through the campus SharePoint site.

You can access your 1TB of personal OneDrive storage space through the built-in Windows app or through the site OneDrive.com.

Lastly, many software packages and library resources require a network connection to campus to correctly obtain a license. To do so you will need to connect to the South Dakota Mines VPN .

Computers will break. It is inevitable. If your computer does happen to crash, get dropped, have liquid spilled on it, etc we will try to recover your data as best we can.

With that said BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP!!! It is best to backup your important data regularly (every month at least).

Every student receives a 1TB of private OneDrive storage available anywhere in the world. This is accessible through the built-in Windows app or through the site OneDrive.com.

You can also backup to flash drives, external drives, or additional personal cloud storage solutions.

Each Mines Student Laptop comes with a four-year accidental damage protection warranty.

If your laptop has something broken please bring it to the Help Desk as soon as you can. We can fix most problems on-site or swap your computer for you so that you can get back to classes as quickly as possible.

Please do not intentionally break your computer. South Dakota Mines is a small community and word does spread quickly. If you break your computer on purpose you will have to pay to repair or replace it.

South Dakota Mines students keep their laptops during breaks and vacations as long as they remain enrolled in classes.

If you are leaving, transferring, or withdrawing from classes you will need to return your Laptop computer to the Help Desk.

Be sure to bring your computer, power adapter, and any accessories (DVD drive, modular battery, etc) all in good working order. Unfortunately, your student account will be charged for all missing items.

If your find yourself unable to return the device in person, you can return it in the mail.

Please package your device according to your shipping service's restrictions for shipping lithium-ion batteries. Be sure to use sufficient packing material for the device and charger. We are not liable for damage to the device or charger done during shipping.

Please ship to:
ATTN: ITS Helpdesk
501 E. Saint Joseph St.
Rapid City, SD 57701

If your computer is four years old and you are graduating or withdrawing you may be able to keep your computer.

Please stop down to the Help Desk or send an email to helpdesk@sdsmt.edu for more information.

Each Student Laptop is worth $1900.

You are responsible for your own machine.

We advise getting renters insurance and making sure that your laptop computer is covered.

If your laptop is stolen, get a police report and bring it down to the ITS Help Desk.

Students at Mines have several models of Fujitsu and Lenovo computers. The specifications for the most common models can be found here.

Our Student Laptop computers are on a four-year life cycle.

If you are a student at Mines for longer than four years you will receive an email (usually after the first few weeks of a new semester) notifying you that you are eligible for an upgrade to the latest Student Laptop version.

Be sure to back up your documents, music, pictures, etc before you come down as this will save time.