It appears that the first PC's are shipping with Windows 2000 as of today.
From our testing internally we can confirm that AlphaCAM functions perfectly with Windows 2000.
If you are considering upgrading to Windows 2000 then here are a few tips from those in the know:
As with any Operating System upgrade be cautious.
Before you attempt to upgrade it is vital that you back up ALL files that are important to you. Basically if you can't afford to lose it then back it up!
If you are running Windows NT then update your repair disk - you will need a formatted floppy disk, then go to the start button select run, and in the box that appears type rdisk.exe then hit enter. This will make an up-to-date repair disk for your computer.
When you are installing Windows 2000 it will ask you if you want to upgrade your existing Windows Installation or to install Windows 2000 in a new directory. Regardless of what Microsoft say you should ALWAYS install Windows 2000 into a new directory rather than upgrade your existing installation. Yes, I know that this means you will have to install all your existing software all over again but there is a very good chance that Upgrading an existing Windows Installation will leave you with an unstable computer.
It also means that if there are any problems with the upgrade you can easily get your computer back into a usable state as it will allow you to start either Windows 2000 or the operating system you have upgraded from.
For those of you inclined to upgrade I believe that Windows 2000 is the most stable version of Windows to date and have been running the beta version of Windows 2000 on my laptop for the last 2 months with no problems to report. Well, apart from losing my Infra red port .
Upgrading to Windows 2000 - Laptops
One minor problem has arisen with the use of PC Card Dongles for Laptops.
There is currently a driver problem with PC Card Dongles and the DK38 AlphaCAM Dongle, the guys at DES tell me that they are working on it.
A work around if you want to upgrade your laptop to Windows 2000 and are using a PC Card key then contact your local dealer for a temporary replacement external key which will work fine.
An announcement will be made when driver support for the DK38 dongle is available.
Any further information on AlphaCAM and Windows 2000 will appear in these forums.
Good Luck.
Chris Clark - Licom Systems
cmc@uk.licom.com
http://www.licom.com
