Hardware and Software Upgrades

Expect to do hardware and software upgrades. Planning when and how to do the upgrades can minimize the time they take and the risk that something will go wrong.

This sections lists things to consider in planning for upgrades. There is more information about many of these topics in other sections of this chapter. Chapter 5, "Preparing for and Performing Recovery," and Chapter 6, "Troubleshooting Startup and Disk Problems," also contain more information about many of these topics.

When doing hardware or software upgrades:

• Never upgrade without backing up data files that you must have.
• Be sure to back up the Registry, Master Boot Record, Partition Boot Sector, and other critical system data.
• Have a current Emergency Repair Disk for each computer.
• Have records of the configuration of the computer, such as jumper and DIP switch settings, IRQs, and the hard disk configuration.

The Windows NT Server Resource Guide and the Windows NT Workstation Resource Guide contain information about deploying Windows NT.