Saturday, August 09, 2014

Nothing is ever as it seems...

Windows 8.1 is here and mom and dad needed a new computer. Did I want to set them up on a totally new platform -- no I did not. However, buying a computer they are going to keep for the next eight years, I felt they needed to be on the latest OS there is.

Thankfully for the simple pc user, i.e. email, Facebook, home banking, it's okay. At first glance things look radically different but when you get to the nuts and bolts if you can get to the desktop - things seem the same. The Apps page is what I call mom and dad's "fun page."

"You need a new computer," seemed innocent enough but .... you don't think about the all the work that goes into the moving and installing.

First they had no need for Microsoft office so they used Works that came with their old computer. Now I have to try to find out a program that will open and edit their Works files.

Then I learned that Quicken 10 which they use for their checkbook register was not compatible with Windows 8. So I download a free checkbook register and mom started using it. Neither of us liked it,  so I tried installing their Quicken 10 on their new machine and viola it worked. A lot of aggravation for nothing, if you own old software that you like try installing it and see if it will run before hunting for a new solution.

Warning! If you buy a cheap computer that comes complete without an optical drive or monitor connections - your going to have your work cut out for you. First  their old monitor only has VGA and DVI connectors. I purchased an HDMI cable first only to discover the monitor would not accept that. Then I purchased a connector to USB off Amazon only to discover that I purchased a serial connector not VGA. Okay go in a talk to someone, so off to Staples I go and got a converter that will work with VGA and DVI and convert it to USB - $50. Then I got the idea that if there was a HDMI to VGA or DVI so once again I check Amazon and there it was! $11 and return of the USB converter.

How to install the software off a CD without a drive? Open the CD on a computer with an optical drive and copy the files off the CD and transfer them to the new computer in the method you have to transfer. On the new computer perform the auto install as normal by clicking the auto install file.

I am sure I will have weeks of working out the bugs but right now they are up and running, yeahhhhhh.

Enough for now...