Computer Gurus..........

[BPTactical]

With the end of support for XP (Naturally all 3 of mine are XP machines) what is my best plan? I can't afford a new machine and I am not sure if the ones I have would handle OS upgrades.
Thanks.

[StagLefty]

I've got the same situation Bert. My son says my laptop should be good but it's 10 years old anyway. I've looked at some affordable laptops at Micro Center and may go that way eventually.

[Caithford]

Check the Dell Outlet store. You can get business machines with Windows 7 Pro on them for a reasonable price. They also come with warranties (and warranties can be upgraded). Don't do Windows 8 if you can avoid it, which means avoiding the retail outlets (Best Buy, etc.)

If you can't afford a new machine from the Dell outlet, then you have two options. One you can attempt to upgrade. I'm not sure if you can still find retail Win 7 upgrades, but I'd check newegg.com tigerdirect.com and any other online vendors.

To see if any of your machines can be upgraded, use the Microsoft tool: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downl...ils.aspx?id=20

The second best option is to save up to replace your machine(s). Put it in your budget asap.

If you can't do either, then you need to make sure you have good commercial (not free) anti-virus software installed, preferably with some sort of heuristics / behavior monitoring, keep the AV up to date, and save up for a replacement.

[merl]

Do the computers have to be connected to the internet or just to each other? If they can be disconnected there is little issue.

You'll be safe for a while, it just means when you hear of the next big exploit in the news it may not get fixed.

[TheWeeze]

Amazon's warehouse deals seem to be a good place to find a good deal on open box or cosmetically damaged computers. I got my Asus there and haven't had a single issue with it. I'd recommend checking here when you're ready for new hardware.

http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=sv_plati...ode=3545095011

[kawiracer14]

Desktops can usually be had for less than $500 if you wait a week or two for a deal. I usually use http://www.techbargains.com/ to find stuff.

Remember it's for your business, so it's a write off at least.

[Logan]

It kinda depends on how you're setup and what the function of these machines is. If they are Point of Sale systems, they should be behind a router/firewall and be on a private subnet (ie, 192.168.x.x). This allows an onion-esque level of security in that the first device in the architecture (the router/fw) would have to be compromised before there would be access to the individual machines. This will probably keep you safe from worms, and script kiddie scans which is the most likely scenario. Make sure you keep that router/fw patched; it's your first line of defense. Still run firewalls on the PCs and keep anti-virus software up-to-date. You shouldn't be using POS systems to surf the web or download anything. They're POS systems, not web surfing machines. This is best practice and offers the best way to keep protected. Assuming this model, you downloading something malicious and introducing it into your environment is most likely. Up-to-date AV software is your best defense here (along with common sense - no porn, no file sharing networks, etc. Hopefully you ran updates prior to the XP shutoff deadline. If you're recently patched/updated you should be safe, relatively speaking.

[asmo]

I know you don't want to hear that its time to upgrade the hardware -- but if it can't handle Windows 7 or 8, its probably time.. Dell outlet is a great option - just like the amazon warehouse..

Don't ever expect to get more than 5 years out of consumer hardware. Yes you can do it, but its not usually a good idea.

Now if you *REALLY* cant upgrade the HW, then your other option is to install Linux (like Ubuntu). Its viable if your only doing email and surfing the web..

[Irving]

Nitroxboss on here owns two computer stores in the metro area and can probably help you out. I want to say the name is Action PC.

[buffalobo]

Nitroxboss on here owns two computer stores in the metro area and can probably help you out. I want to say the name is Action PC.

I think Irving is correct.

I had really good experience with them last summer under similar circumstances.

They checked out my old dead laptop(tech spent about an hour trying to revive it) and hooked me up with a used machine with new OS. They kept price under $300 and did not charge me for techs time spent trying to revive old machine or time spent prepping the new used machine.





Lobbed from my electronic ball and chain.