Make Transitioning To Windows 8 Easier

Windows 8 has already made a splash in the tech world. The new operating system from Microsoft looks very different than any system that came before. The reviews so far have been mostly kind. And as a business owner, you’re ready to upgrade to the new system. You just hope the changeover goes smoothly. Fortunately, you can follow quite a few strategies, covered in a recent post on the Smallbiz Technology website, to be sure that your move to Windows 8 is a painless one relatively.

Do the Research

The first thing you should check before upgrading might seem obvious. Make sure your computer can run effectively on Windows 8. A machine must have the following requirements to be able to run Windows 8: 1GB of RAM, 16GB of hard-drive space, and a 1GHz processor. These are the same requirements as Windows 7. So if you are already running Windows 7, you don’t have to check.

Backups

Having secure backups of your most essential data is a good idea for many reasons. You never know what could happen. It is especially important to back-up your data before endeavoring to upgrade your systems. You can transfer your data to an external hard drive or you can use a secure cloud service a large number of MSPs (Managed Services Provider) offer. Using a secure cloud can be cheaper and more secure as you can lose or damage an external hard drive. But regardless of what path you take, this is one of the most important steps to make sure you do not lose all of your data if something goes wrong during the upgrading process.

Setup utility

To make sure your computer will support Windows 8, Microsoft offers a setup utility that searches your computer for the appropriate elements. This is important, particularly if you are running Windows XP as Microsoft will stop supporting XP in 2014. After you upgrade, you are going to need to reinstall all of your drivers and software. So you will need all of your installation disks. This may seem like a hassle, but the new features of Windows 8 are worth it and in the long run you will be glad you made the upgrade. But before you do, make sure you take the appropriate steps.

>