Operating Systems

Please note some Operating Systems (O/S) are no-longer supported by Microsoft:

  • Linux
  • Windows 95/98 (no-longer supported)
  • Windows ME (no-longer supported)
  • Windows 2000 (no-longer supported)
  • Windows XP
  • Windows Vista

When arranging to set-up/install or purchase a PC, consideration needs to be given to the type of O/S being used. It is important that attention it given to the recommended specification of the PC. But please note this is the suggested minimum requirement of the PC to allow only the O/S to run, and doesn't allow much tolerance should there be resource hungry (demanding) packages being installed.

There are also a number of limitations when using O/S Pre Windows 2000, as they are not able to deal correctly with certain types of Hardware i.e. Hard Disk Drives (HDD) greater than 63G, or memory greater than 512MB. There are also known problems that can be encountered when running Windows XP (i.e. HDD greater than 127G). However, this can be solved by installing Service Pack 1 (SP1).

It is also worth being aware that although later O/S like Windows XP perform very well for many modern applications, they do not work particularly well for playing some of the older games on the market. However, there are a number of software adaptations that can be installed to help limit some of these software issues.

Linux is an alternative to a Microsoft operating system; it is a free operating system that you may feel provides you with a suitable alternative. It usually comes with similar equivalent packages to Microsoft (i.e. office suite, graphics packages, web browsers, email). However, be aware that 'out of the box' Linux doesn't support windows based programs, so any applications/games that you may already have may not install.

For more information on Linux please visit.

Selecting an appropriate operating system is key to ensuring you are maximising the use you will get from your PC.

Please contact us for further information


Applications

When installing an application it is vitally important that you first check your system requirements meet the needs of the application, some of these include:

  • Processor speed of your PC
  • O/S requirements
  • Memory requirements
  • Sufficient HDD space for the application
  • Any specialist video requirement

Once you are confident that the requirements are met by your system, follow the installation instructions provided with the application. Be mindful that some installation processes require systems to be re-booted during the process, so it is often good practise NOT to have other applications running in the background that could cause conflict.

Should you have a problem with your PC after installing an application, it is worth checking that your system meets the recommended requirements of the application. Should you still be having a problem after a PC restart, it might be that the application did not install correctly to your system, so uninstalling and re-installing the application may be an option.

With regards to some games/applications not running correctly, you may also find that the developers of the product are aware of problems and may have already issued an update to solve the problem.

Please contact us for further information