[labnetwork] Software End of Life Ramifications

[Thomas Lohman]

Hi,

Your best bet would be to make complete OS disk images of the computer's 
disk if possible.  There are freely available products that will allow 
you to do this.  Storing multiple copies of these images on a file 
server or offline storage somewhere would then allow you to restore the 
entire image if for example the existing disk dies.  We've done this 
here for a number of our older tools as well as research group owned tools.


--tom

> With the death of windows XP most equipment vendors have been forced to
> stop supporting their own software that runs tools on that platform.
> Since some of us cannot afford to upgrade our entire enterprise with
> typically new PC’s with vendor specific interface hardware and software
> is there a method to share obsolete applications without the fear of
> repercussions from the vendors? I understand the need for licensing new
> supported software, but once a company washes it’s hands of a product
> and offers no support other than to sell you a newer version can owners
> that paid once already share copies to keep running for a while?
>
> For example, if we had a failed Window XP PC on a Dektak 8 and needed to
> reload the software and drivers to run our perfectly good Dektak could
> someone share a copy of that software?
>
> Just curious.
>
> Mark Heiden
>
> NanoFab Cleanroom Manager
>
> Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering
>
> University of California, Riverside
>
> 951-827-2551
>
>
>
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