Overview
Windows 10 is available in four versions:
- Windows 10 Home
- Windows 10 Education
- Windows 10 Pro
- Windows 10 Enterprise
The versions are differentiated by the features they provide. Windows 10 Home is marketed to the home user, Windows 10 Education is available to schools through academic volume licensing, and Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise are marketed to the business user.
Due to security concerns and to ensure compatibility with our campus computing infrastructure, University IT will support only Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise.
System requirements
The minimum computer hardware requirements for running Windows 10, as recommended by Microsoft, are:
- 1 GHz or faster processor
- 2 GB RAM
- 20 GB available disk space
- DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
- TPM 1.2 or later is recommended but not required for BitLocker Encryption support for use in the Stanford Whole Disk Encryption (SWDE) service. BitLocker does require Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise versions.
Window 10 Pro and Enterprise have very similar minimum hardware requirements to Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1.
Note: You can do an in-place upgrade to Windows 10 Pro from Windows 7 SP1 Professional and Ultimate and Windows 8.1 Pro. Contact your local IT local support for assistance.
Obtaining Windows 10
Windows 10 Enterprise is available for Stanford-owned computers through Stanford's campus agreement with Microsoft. Check with your desktop support staff for more information.
Those who wish to purchase a copy for personal use only can do so at the Stanford Bookstore.
Software compatibility
Essential Stanford Software (ESS)
| Software | Description | Windows 10 Compatibility |
|---|---|---|
| Sophos Anti-Virus/Stanford Anti-Malware | Windows 10 is compatible with Sophos 10.3. Windows Defender is the default anti-malware app shipped with Windows 10. Systems protected with Windows Defender are compliant with the Stanford Anti-Malware service requirements and can be configured with the EMET component of the service by running the Stanford Anti-Malware installer. | |
| BigFix Client | The latest version of the BigFix client, available through the ESS site, is compatible with Windows 10. | |
| Kerberos for Windows | Kerberos for Windows functions normally on Windows 10. | |
| Stanford Desktop Tools | The current release of Stanford Desktop Tools is compatible with Windows 10. | |
| SecureCRT/SecureFX | The latest version, available through ESS, is compatible with Windows 10. |
Administrative Systems applications (e.g., Oracle Financials, PeopleSoft/Axess)
Windows 10 includes both Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11. Microsoft Edge is the default browser. Please see Browser Recommendations for Administrative Applications to verify the applications you need are compatible with Edge or IE 11 before moving to Windows 10.
Other applications
| Software | Description | Windows 10 Compatibility |
|---|---|---|
| Office 365 Outlook Web App (OWA) | OWA is compatible with Windows 10. We are seeing issues with Microsoft Edge after two-step authentication but you can use Internet Explorer 11 (included with Windows 10) or a different browser such as Chrome or Firefox to access webmail.stanford.edu. | |
| Google Apps | Google Apps is compatible with Windows 10 but may have issues with Edge. Use Internet Explorer (included with Windows 10) or Chrome. | |
| Cisco VPN Client | Cisco VPN Client works with Windows 10. The auto-download and install fail currently but you can download the client manually and install. When prompted for a Server use su-vpn.stanford.edu and use your SUNet ID and password for login followed by two-step authentication. | |
| OpenAFS for Windows | OpenAFS 1.7.30 is compatible with Windows 10 provided that you uninstall OpenAFS prior to upgrading to Windows 10 and then reinstall after the upgrade. See the OpenAFS for Windows site for more information. | |
| Stanford Whole Disk Encryption (SWDE) | Windows 10 is supported in SWDE through BitLocker, the native whole disk encryption feature, available in Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise. More information is available on the Stanford Whole Disk Encryption site. | |
| VLRE | VLRE is not currently compatible with Windows 10. An upcoming release (date TBD) will provide Windows 10 support. | |
| Microsoft Office | Microsoft Office 2007/2010/2013 with the latest Service Packs are compatible with Windows 10. |
