Great news!!!
Microsoft has recently announced the release and FREE upgrade from win 7 and 8 (8.1), either 64 bit or 32 bit, to windows 10 64 bit or 32 bit.
Better still is the knowledge that windows 10 will have an EXTENDED lifetime, which means no more new versions, just upgrades in the future.
Well, that’s also GREAT NEWS for PowerPOS Users. Because it means that NO MATTER if you have Windows 7 or 8 (8.1) AND no matter if it is 32 bit or 64 bit versions you will be able to load a Windows 10 32bit version on your existing PC’s and be able to run PowerPOS into the unforseen future. Once the release of Windows 10 begins on July 29, 2015, you will be able to download the windows 10 32 bit version, and install it with your EXISTING windows 7 or 8 (8.1) license Key.
Some versions of Windows 8 DO NOT display your license key, because it is imbedded in the system BIOS. any new load of windows “SHOULD” be able to read that key during the installation process. But “SHOULD” is a little scarry, so we recommend that your use ProdUKey (FREE) to actually display and save your windows license key.
What if I have all my data and programs in an existing 64 bit version of Windows 7 or 8 (8.1)?
There is a FREE program called EaseUS todo Backup, that can backup and restore ALL your existing Data and 32 bit programs from Windows 7 or 8 (8.1) to windows 10. Please note that 64 bit programs will NOT RUN on a 32 bit version of windows (many programs are delivered with BOTH 64 and 32 bit versions on the same cd, so just install the 32 bit version after restoring your backup onto Windows 10 32 bit).
What about Win XP and older?
If you are currently using Windows XP, 98, Vista, or DOS, it is likely that your PC hardware will NOT be up to the requirements to run Windows 10, so you will probably need to purchase new pc’s with Windows 10, preinstalled. If you do this, PLEASE take the time to REINSTALL the windows 10 32 bit version on your new hardware (with your existing Windows 10 product key) before you install everything else, including PowerPOS. This way you will be able to move forward into the future without having to fool with Virtual Machines and reinstalling when the next update to windows 10 is released.
Here is a link to a document that describes how to tune windows 7 32 bit (this also applies to Windows 8 and 10) so Power POS performs best.