You can see the video on YouTube, just follow this link.
A customer approached me last month about running an existing software package on new computer hardware. Rather than install old software on a current operating system, he wanted us to keep the settings exactly as they were on the old system. The solution we developed allowed a system built in 1999 to run on 2017 technology.
It all started because the end customer was being forced to spend $90,000.00 on upgrades the machine did not need. When the paperboard converting company received the machine builder’s quote it prompted them to look at alternative ideas. They talked to a local integrator who contracted my company’s help.
My initial thought was to simply upgrade from Windows NT to XP on newer hardware. Problem was, much of today’s hardware isn’t necessarily compatible with XP. Further compounding the issue, NT and XP are organized differently so the proprietary software didn’t run after the upgrade.
Our team then approached the problem by decompiling the 1999 software and rewriting it for Windows XP. Things seemed like they were working properly expect for an occasional glitch. These glitches were unacceptable because they could cause expensive manufacturing errors.
We put the project on hold to rethink how we were going to create a solution that keeps the operator interface identical in form and function while saving the customer money. Our approach is not new; however, how we integrated the old with the new and had it work flawlessly is ingenious. We figured out we can repeat the same process for DOS based machines all the way through XP.
My example started with a Windows NT based industrial pendant station or operator interface but could be adapted to any proprietary software in any industry. The system shown in the video was built around an Intel quad core, 4GB of RAM and a 120GB solid state drive (SSD). Amazingly enough we adapted a suit case sized 100MHz computer and shrunk it to fit in a package smaller than a DVD drive.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. ww.localcomputerwiz.com.)
