Before the medieval London Bridge was replaced in 1835, the River Thames was liable to freeze over at least once every 10 years, because the narrow arches of the bridge slowed down the flow of water so it froze more readily. Freezing brought river traffic to a standstill, so it was a relief when the new London Bridge was built and the water flowed too fast to freeze.
Just as it was important to update London Bridge, it’s important to update computer operating systems. Working on old versions of Windows can slow down performance and cause operating problems, but instead of reloading everything on your PCs from scratch each time, patches update your systems in small incremental steps.
Usually a patch installs smoothly, although sometimes they can turn out to have a different effect to what was intended. Patching your computers is important to make sure they run efficiently and have the most up-to-date security protection, but patches can also introduce incompatibilities and conflicts within Windows and between different software packages. The results can vary from your computer refusing to start up to all sorts of glitches, from minor annoyances, such as changes to settings, to big ones, like important software not working.
While most patches will install smoothly without you noticing any difference, big problems, such as your computers not starting up, can be caused by very small glitches and identifying these can take up a lot of time, often leading you on a wild goose chase.
You have the option of patching your Windows computers manually or automatically, but either option can lead to problems. How can you install patches to optimise your IT systems without experiencing potential headaches?
The answer is patch management. Use your IT specialists or IT support provider to manage patches to all your computers. Some devices may run software that will be incompatible with a specific patch and may need special attention. Patch management will pick this up and ensure that those devices are maintained in a way that keeps them up and running. Patch management will also ensure key settings are maintained so that your IT systems continue to run as you want them. More importantly, it will save you hours, or even days, in tracking down the source of niggling problems that can disrupt your business.
If installing patches has become a problem for you or if you want advice on patch management, FX7 Solutions is happy to discuss this with you to ensure your IT systems are updated with minimal disruption and your systems do no freeze because they’re running old software.