2018-04-12 ; 4hrs; Inv #2745
The visit today had a number of items to work on:
Install new UPS and move Synology NAS power to this device
Install USB video adapter and new monitor on Angelica’s PC
Make a long network cable so Angelica’s PC could be moved
Setup calendar sharing on Angelica’s PC
Starting with Angelica’s PC, I had to reboot after installing the USB video adapter. The PC took so long to do this that I left and came back. When I got back I had to shutdown the PC so I could move it and this also took a long time. Once again I left and came back. I made a long network cable so that the PC could be moved (no charge for the cable).
I created a new gmail account “bob.hennikerseptic@gmail.com” for Angelica to use on her PC to gain access to the shared calendars. Natalie has the password.
The PC behind on the desk to the right of Natalie also gave me troubles today. There are a number of Windows updates that need to be applied but I was unable to get the PC to install them. Every attempt resulted in an error. I downloaded and ran the Microsoft Windows Update Fix tool and it was unable to repair all of the issues. I’m at a loss of what to do next. I recommend that you don’t do any generic Internet surfing on that PC.
I also tried to run Windows Update on Chicky’s PC. This failed too. The error suggested I reboot and try again. Since it was already late in the day, I decided against that. This PC should be rebooted at some point, and Windows Update should be tried again to see if it works.
A budget for computer replacements should be made. Windows 7 will be out of support on 1/14/20. My recommendation for replacement PCs is the Lenovo Tiny PCs. These are the size of a small hardcover book but just as powerful as any tower PC. Cost for an appropriate sized system (8GB, Win 10, Dual video) is around $700. If you do not have Office 2010 installation media, you would have to get the then current version of Office. It is not known to me whether Access 2010 and the latest Access software can both access a database. If they can’t, then you would need to update all the PCs at the same time. You might get a new PC with the latest Access and do a test to see what the result is.
Another thought is to convert your Access database into a web based application. This would allow you to access the information from anywhere, including from smart phones. Cost to do this would have to be determined. This is something that Dimentech could do. I would have to first understand exactly how you use the database so I could develop similar functionality. In this scenario, the data would be hosted on a Dimentech cloud server for a yearly fee, in addition to the initial development costs.