Time has run out. Running Windows 7? Today is the Day to Upgrade!
As of today, Microsoft is no longer supporting the Windows 7 operating system. What does this mean for your business? While, yes, your computers will still run, they will, however, be left vulnerable to malware attacks that may be sitting dormant on your computer right now but will also expose updated computers on your network to security breaches.
There are free updates for users to upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or 8, but you need to know if your equipment can handle the update.
What you need:
- Processor: 1 GHz or higher
- RAM: 2 GB, but upgrading to 4GB+ would be better
- Hard Drive: at least 32GB
Check your peripherals such as printers and scanners to ensure they are compatible with the update too.
Updating can be cumbersome. Are you or your staff ready? There are 3 ways to go about this:
- Replace with New Hardware (Recommended): For all but the newest of machines, replace Windows 7 workstations with new hardware running Windows 10. Given our experience with system performance when upgrading the OS on the same hardware, we recommend simply replacing Win 7 systems outright. This will ensure the system is new and performance will not be a problem. It also alleviates the need to spend significant money to upgrade the operating system on an older system, only to spend again in a year or two.
- Clean Install of Win 10 on Existing Hardware:(Recommended for any system less than 2 years old) This upgrade path will allow you to reuse the older hardware, however, the process includes backing up all data from the Win 7 system, reformatting the hard drive and installing Windows 10 Pro as a fresh install. This has been proven to be the cleanest most effective way to install a working copy of Win 10 on older hardware.
- In-Place Upgrade Win 7 to Win 10 (Not Recommended): This option would attempt to upgrade the existing OS on existing hardware from Windows 7 Pro to Windows 10 Pro. Although less expensive and the quickest option to attempt, this migration path is frequently unsuccessful. We have seen a high percentage of machines that fail to upgrade due to hardware/drive incompatibilities. We’ve also seen a high percentage of instances where a machine will upgrade, but system performance will be degraded due to a new operating system using older hardware / software.
Is this something you have planned for and your team could handle? Let us review your situation and make personal recommendations for the best way to proceed with the updates for your unique business.
A 20 min call could save you a ton of time, money, downtime and stress.
- EMCO has upgraded 55 client computers already. The majority have opted to purchase new machines in addition to the system. Machines were old.
- Went to their offices and swapped out the machines and got them up and running in about 2-4hrs of downtime. Great time for meetings, right? No data was lost.
- We have found most of the time the desktop printers haven’t been compatible, and we took care of ordering new printers in budget and quickly. A dictation office needed a whole new peddle—so really check your peripherals.
- It’s a nice time to hit refresh. Make an investment in your biz—update screens for better resolution, update the printers and scanners as well as desktop and laptops because if those devices are running win 7 or 8, THEY ARE OLD!
Now is the time. The EMCO Team will help your business stay up-to-date, safe and running!
