Campus-Wide Power Outage

Uh oh... the lights went out.

A campus-wide power outage will shut down all electrical systems abruptly. Here's what you can expect from Information Technology systems during a power outage on the William & Mary campus.

When power goes out...

Desktop computers will stop working. If your computer is hooked-up to a UPS, you have about 10 minutes to shut down your computer safely. (Note: a UPS is not designed to be a long-term power source.)
Laptops, mobile devices, and anything with a back-up battery will continue to work until the battery dies.
Phone lines and the network (both wired and wireless) will become inaccessible. Some buildings may have temporary access to phone and network services, depending on whether or not there is a generator/UPS for the building.
IT software systems may still be available. Many systems are located in the Cloud and would not be impacted by a campus power outage. On-campus software systems (such as Banner and the ID Card system) may still be available, but access to them could depend on the nature/duration of the power outage.

When power is restored...

Many computers will have experienced an abrupt shutdown. Let your computer do a full system repair, if it is requesting one. Otherwise, let your computer fully restart before opening files and applications.
IT systems may need to be rebooted. This may cause a brief outage of services.
Classroom AV systems may need attention. W&M IT's Classroom Support team will be visiting classrooms, working to restore normal operation as fast as possible. To alert IT to a specific classroom, please call 757-221-3011. Response time may be a bit slower than usual.
Check the status of any reports/jobs that may have been running or scheduled to run during the outage.

IT-Related Questions? Contact the Technology Support Center (TSC)
757-221-4357 (HELP) | [[support]] | Jones 201, Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

All other questions related to power outages should be directed to the appropriate campus department.