Upgrading Work Computers (HELP NEEDED)

[CrestfallenDesign]

Hi Everyone,

My boss wants me to learn to upgrade the PC's at work whenever they decide to crash on us.
I've built my own gaming rig myself before but that was a completely new system.
What im required to do here is upgrade all our computer hardware whilst still keeping the operating system and data intact (we run Windows XP).

Is that just a matter of upgrading all the hardware and keeping the HDD?
I just want to make sure im confident that i can do it before i get the boss to spend a few hundred dollars on new equipment.
Also, are there any other variables i need to consider?

Quick responses will be greatly appreciated.

 

[neon neophyte]

best way to go about it would be to back up all the data, do fresh installs on the new systems and then move the backed up data back onto the hdd. reinstall all programs etc. i dont know if this is even an option for you.

swapping out a whole system and just sticking the hdd in... could... have complications, or may not work at all. especially on an older operating system like xp.

 

[Guest]

there are a lot of varibles here.
upgrade what hardware? cpu? gpu? motherboard? the monitor?
a whole new box and he wants you to just stick in the old hard drive?
(actually with XP thats easy; pull HD out of old box, stick in new, boot and install drivers)

are these stand alone workstations or on a network.
if on a network he needs to HIRE A PROFFESIONAL! (no offense because now you may have to configure a server along with each workstaion)

and the most important question:
are you getting paid enough to do this?!?

 

[CrestfallenDesign]

as in the older operating system may not be compatible with the new hardware or the hdd it is installed on?

I guess the OS is installed to work with the original components and things like drivers and whatnot need to be taken into consideration.

its just our local techies that my boss hires realized my town of country folk need them and raised their prices a fair bit.

what i originally figured was that because the OS is on the HDD i could just change that over clean but now that you've mentioned it i guess that i have jumped the gun a bit.

 

[CrestfallenDesign]

i havent bought any of the hardware yet ill post a list of what i was looking at getting

~CoolerMaster Elite 431 Plus with 500w
~Gigabyte GeForce GT430 1GB Overclocked Edition
~Corsair CMP4GX3M2A1600C9 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3
~ASUS P8B75-M Motherboard
~Intel Core i3 2120T

wow, thanks for that i didnt even consider the networking! is there a way i could learn to do this fairly quick? i might just do a tafe course to learn this. maybe night course on networking.

 

[Guest]

what is the age of this stuff? i forgot in my first post that microsoft is not supporting XP anymore even though it still is prevalent in the business environment.

though i think you may want to sit down with your boss and get together a upgrade strategy (what, how, when) so this isn't a painful experience for both of you.

 

[Guest]

i havent bought any of the hardware yet ill post a list of what i was looking at getting

~CoolerMaster Elite 431 Plus with 500w
~Gigabyte GeForce GT430 1GB Overclocked Edition
~Corsair CMP4GX3M2A1600C9 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3
~ASUS P8B75-M Motherboard
~Intel Core i3 2120T

wow, thanks for that i didnt even consider the networking! is there a way i could learn to do this fairly quick? i might just do a tafe course to learn this. maybe night course on networking.

coolermaster BAD!

anything i did the first time at networking was sitting in front a a server with SBS 2003 and googling how to add a user and computer to the network and then following the directions from the web page. that stuff is easy. active directories are a pain.

 

[neon neophyte]

do you business computers really need a weak discrete video card? have you considered building something with a gpu built into the cpu?

 

[CrestfallenDesign]

yeah if i were to reinstall the os. well.. i couldnt because out techies did it and their the ones with the install disk.

i understand now that there is a lot more to consider now that you mentioned the networking.

i mean im sure most of the rigs here are core 2 duo and a majority of them could just do with a good cleanout

i have a feeling everyone has a sufficient amount of ram (considering 32bit only supports is it 3.5gb) but we do also have some pretty old machines. i might get onto doing a course in networking.

 

[CrestfallenDesign]

most everyone has dual monitors i figured using a dedicated card would increase lifespan of the hardware? haha

also whats the deal with coolermaster? i figured they were a trustworthy brand? im trying to find a case with built in PSU to minimise cost. i mean if im wrong in either of these theories let me know, i did come here to learn afterall.

 

[CrestfallenDesign]

also im in charge of advertising so i use programs like illustrator and PS on a regular basis so i'd probably get a card slightly better for myself.

 

[neon neophyte]

antec sonata III comes with a 500w antec earthwatts, which is a good psu

 

[Guest]

most everyone has dual monitors i figured using a dedicated card would increase lifespan of the hardware? haha

also whats the deal with coolermaster? i figured they were a trustworthy brand? im trying to find a case with built in PSU to minimise cost. i mean if im wrong in either of these theories let me know, i did come here to learn afterall.

coolermasters are just a FAIL for higher end systems. but these are el-cheapo workstations with low power requirements. if its in a case that comes with a deal; do it.

the gt 430s are not junk cards, you are actually treating people who are just going to be looking at a desktop and email. the asus boards can support a multi monitor set up with the d-sub and dvi out. might be cheaper to get a dvi cable than a gt 430 for everyone.

 

[vrumor]

Best thing you can tell you boss is that he needs to hire someone to consult with on the hwardware, no offense but you seem pretty clueless.

 

[CrestfallenDesign]

thats what i came here for, i wanted to get people who were more proficient in the field to tell me what they think, but at the same time i would like to learn so i can do it myself.

Even the it specialists started somewhere man. i guess its better then me saying
"I bought all these things and tried to change the HDD and its not working?"

what looniam and neon have said has helped a shitload so cheers guys!

 

[Guest]

on a side note: go check out if dell has any deals. a few years ago i guy i worked for picked 3 boxes with a E4500, onboard graphics, 2 gigs of RAM and a 120 gig HD for $350 a piece.
compared to the pentium III they upgraded from those excel spreadsheets, quickbooks, outlook and word was just BLAZING.

yes prebuilts cost more than building yourself but if you would rather do other stuff at work and then your boss doesn't have to pay for your time to build, it might be cost effective.

 

[CrestfallenDesign]

I enjoy building systems and ironing out the creases, so i was just going to do that on top of my job (Graphic Designer), maybe if i start falling behind, request a pay rise but otherwise im just looking for the experience and to be able to lend a hand.

I'm only 18 so any kind of experience in this area will benefit me and my future.

I've finished an IT Multimedia Cert IV course but we really only learned the obvious components of a home computer and how to construct it, then the rest was things like, Filming, Video Editing, Design, Animation, Photo Manipulation and basic Web Design (HTML, DHTML,CSS, JavaScript.)

Considering our network servers are already setup and whatnot how much effort would go into connecting a new Pc to the system?

So in laymans terms what would this network have to bind with in order for this to work, the bios?

I wish it was as easy as just connecting the ethernet cord.

 

[Guest]

go here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum-42-238.html
just ask how to add the new boxes on the network.