The Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance (MSDNAA) program allows the School of Computing to distribute certain media from Microsoft at no cost to School of Computing faculty, staff and grad students. (This does NOT include ECE, EE, ME, MS, etc. departments.  Please contact your IT staff for support.) All allocations of software must be tracked and each individual must have their own registration keys for software requiring such. The MSDNAA Software Center system allows us to do this.

Getting Started

The first step in downloading or otherwise obtaining Microsoft software through MSDNAA, is to request an account. You must be an active School of Computing grad student, staff or faculty member. You will need to provide your name and your University ID number in order to allow us to verify your status.  Once your request is processed, the MSDNAA system will send your MSDNAA account information to your School of Computing email address.  Note: No other email address will be issued information relating to the MSDNAA system, including the School of Computing support ticket system.

Others need to contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to get an account through the CADE system. SoC graduates and faculty members should contact the School of Computing support at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the subject line "Request for MSDN account".

After obtaining an account, you will need to login to the MSDNAA system to download your software. (Undergraduates can also burn the media at the EMCB 130 lab during business hours, but you will still need to start the download process on the MSDNAA site to obtain your registration keys.)

Graduates and faculty can find the School of Computing MSDNAA site here: MSDNAA

(Note: The CADE MSDNAA system is still in construction, but should be available soon.)

Once you have logged in, click on the Software tab to display the list of software we have available for download off of our server. Note: Not all of the MSDNAA packages are available, only the most common ones. If you need a product which is not listed in the icons on the Software page, please e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it You can find a list of what is offered by using the search tools on the Software page.

Once you have started the acquisition process, you will receive the registration keys and can start the download process. If the first pass of your download fails for any reason, the system will prompt you to request an additional download using their built in Web tools. If you have a problem, simply follow the instructions given.

The initial file recieved is a downloader program for the specific package requested. Save these downloaders in a reserved location, such as C:\MSDNAA so that you can restart the download session if needed. You can run this downloader as many times as needed to get the full package, but it will only allow a full download once.

Once the package is fully downloaded, you will be given the option to install. Simply follow the instructions given.

If you do not want to download the software or burn your own CD, you can purchase a copy of the media through the MSDNAA system for a minimal media cost. (1)

Final Note: If you are using a dialup access, download times are measured in days.

1. Media costs go directly to E-Academy. No money is collected at or for the School of Computing or the University of Utah in general.