Windows 7… Yes you can!
Over the past year we have carefully watched the development of Microsoft Windows 7 and worked diligently positioning PAS to install and run properly on the new operating system. We are happy to report that our tests confirm all our hard work has paid off. PAS installs and runs perfectly on Windows 7.
If you are purchasing a new replacement computer with the Windows 7 OS please let us know and we will send you the latest PAS install CD that addresses Windows 7 install requirements and we will schedule a time to assist you with moving PAS from one computer to another. Do NOT use older versions of a PAS install CD’s on Windows 7.
If you are planning to upgrade an existing computer from either the XP or the Vista OS we would recommend a complete Windows 7 reinstall of the OS including a reformatting of the computer’s hard drive. This approach requires backing up all your programs and data to remote media and reinstalling those programs and data on the new OS and is the only way to be completely confident about the stability of the new OS and restored programs.
Performing only an upgrade of the operating system (e.g. to Windows 7) may, or may not work and any resulting operating errors are suspicious and may not be resolvable because of unknown and unidentifiable causes deep within the upgraded OS. In particular PAS uses the Microsoft SQL database server which is deeply integrated with the Windows OS. Any failure when upgrading to the Windows 7 OS is likely to be reflected in the SQL and cause problems.
That said, we did test the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade on a notebook computer starting with the Windows Vista OS and with PAS currently installed. PAS survived the upgrade to Windows 7 with no errors and no special downloads required. However, with that same Windows 7 upgrade several other programs failed to transfer or work properly. The Windows Vista to Windows 7 upgrade was laborious, time consuming (~7 hours with follow-up time pursuing dll files for printers and a few programs) but, in the end, not too daunting.
If you are considering changing your current computer to the Windows 7 operating system the Microsoft Windows 7 Advisor is the place to start as it will evaluate the issues your computer may face during the change. Try the link posted below to get started…
We also tested a new install of PAS on Windows 7 with successful results. PAS installed flawlessly.
Windows 7 is definitely an improvement over Windows Vista though, in the end, simply a Vista upgrade. Nonetheless, you may find changing to the gentler, kinder Windows 7 worth the effort and minor cost. If you are purchasing a new computer we now recommend Windows 7 as the best available OS. As always, be sure to backup all PAS data and files to remote media before you start.