On Sale Now!
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Aug 21, 2009
Win7 Upgrade Paths
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Aug 18, 2009
Want to know how to get there from here with Windows 7? The following outlines supported and unsupported upgrade paths for multiple editions of the Windows 7 OS:
Unsupported Upgrade Scenarios
Upgrades to Windows 7 from the following operating systems are not supported:
- Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows XP, Windows Vista® RTM, Windows Vista Starter, Windows 7 M3, Windows 7 Beta, Windows 7 RC, or Windows 7 IDS
- Windows NT® Server 4.0, Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server® 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2
- Pre-release in-place upgrades across milestones (for example, Windows 7 RC to Windows 7 RTM) are not supported.
Supported Upgrade Scenarios
| From Vista | Upgrade to Windows 7 |
| Business | Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate |
| Enterprise | Enterprise |
| Home Basic | Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate |
| Home Premium | Home Premium, Ultimate |
| Ultimate | Ultimate |
| From Windows 7 | Upgrade to Windows 7 |
| Enterprise | Enterprise |
| Home Basic | Home Basic |
| Home Premium | Home Premium |
| Professional | Professional |
| Starter (x86 only) | Starter (x86) |
| Ultimate | Ultimate |
| From Windows 7 | Anytime Upgrade to Windows 7 |
| Home Basic | Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate |
| Home Premium | Professional, Ultimate |
| Professional | Ultimate |
| Starter | Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate |
Win7 Upgrade Advisor Beta
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Aug 18, 2009
Microsoft has released a tool called the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta that can be installed and run on any PC that is running Windows7 RC, WindowsXP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista.
The tool is a little over 3MB and installs easily. Please use the link below to snag the installer:
Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta
Please keep in mind that the software is in Beta, so take all results with a grain of salt when running.
Win7 System Requirements
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Aug 18, 2009
In case you were wondering if your current system can handle Windows 7, Microsoft has released a list of requirements necessary to run the new OS:
- 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
- 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
- DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
Additional requirements to use certain features:
- Internet access (fees may apply)
- Depending on resolution, video playback may require additional memory and advanced graphics hardware
- Windows Touch and Tablet PCs require specific hardware
- HomeGroup requires a network and PCs running Windows 7
- DVD/CD authoring requires a compatible optical drive
- BitLocker requires Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2
- BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive
- Windows XP Mode requires an additional 1 GB of RAM, an additional 15 GB of available hard disk space, and a processor capable of hardware virtualization with Intel VT or AMD-V turned on
- Music and sound require audio output
Product functionality and graphics may vary based on your system configuration. Some features may require advanced or additional hardware. If you need further assistance in determining if Win7 is the right fit for your current computing environment, please drop us a line and let PCS help.
ValueWeb and E-Mail
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Aug 18, 2009
Today (Tuesday, August 18th 2009) a customer contacted us to help him figure out why he could no longer send out e-mail. After some digging, PCS discovered that any users utilizing ValueWeb’s email services can no longer send email out through their mail servers.
Here is the excerpt from the ValueWeb support site:
How do I send E-mail through ValueWeb?
We no longer offer the use of an SMTP (Outgoing) Mail Server. Due to problems with spam being routed through ValueWeb’s mail server and unauthorized outsiders accessing the SMTP server, you must now use your internet service provider’s mail server to send outgoing mail. This should not affect functionality in the least bit. Simply leave the SMTP setting on your E-mail client as it was before you began service with us.
What this means is that if you’re using ValueWeb to receive e-mail but using Comcast or AT&T Internet service at your home or office, you will need to modify your email settings to send e-mail out through your Internet Service Provider instead of ValueWeb.
If you’re one of the ValueWeb cusotmers blind-sided by this development, PCS can help.
XP Availability
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Aug 9, 2009
PCS has been informed by our vendors that they will not be able to obtain copies of WindowsXP (of any flavor) after August 31. What this means is that vendors will be putting in one big XP order before this day arrives, but when supplies run out, that’s it - no more XP.
Please weigh this information against your office’s buying decisions over the next few weeks. As always, if you need assistance in helping to determine if Windows7 is right for your office environment or if WindowsXP is your solution for the foreseeable future, please drop us a line any time. We’re ready to help.
