Hudson Highland Dentistry have been a long and valued client of SmileIT, dating back to 2003 and in those 22+ years we have been involved in several technology refreshes and upgrades.
THE ISSUE:
Cyber Security and compliance have always been a priority for this practice, so planning for the Windows 10 End of Life started early and an installation date was put on the calendar. During the installation our tech team discovered that; despite what was identified during discovery, the practices ScanX dental x-ray scanner DID NOT meet the manufacturers requirements for Windows 11, therefore the Windows 10 computer would have to remain in service or the ScanX scanner would have to be retired to remain compliant as Microsoft Extended Security updates are not eligible.
THE TECH CHALLENGE:
Fortunately, the practice’s model ScanX – manufactured in June 2013 – could continue to operate in Windows 11 IF the original installation, drivers and setup were retained THEN the computer could be upgraded to Windows 11 – retaining all setup – BUT because the current ScanX computer was installed in 2008, there was no way possible to get Windows 11 installed on that computer.
THE FINANCIAL DILEMA:
The practice owner was fully prepared for the Windows 11 refresh but when the prospects of having to replace the ScanX dental scanner – which was also the scanner for the practices film based panorex x-ray – the impact became real. The office manager called several national and independent dental dealers, but the best solution she could find for a replacement ScanX was costing more $20,000 – an expenditure the practice was not prepared for on top of the technology refresh!
MAKING THE PIECES FIT:
Our tech team devised a creative plan; that we have now used more than a hundred times since, which is as follows:
- Create a Cove Image Backup of the current ScanX computer
- Locate an appropriate donor replacement computer – which needs to be newer, but not too new – ideally the same brand – which is easy for SmileIT as we are exclusively a Dell dealer.
- Perform a Cove Image Restore onto the donor computer
- Modify the Windows 10 installation for Windows 11 compatibility (MBR2GPT)
- Modify the computer BIOS setup for SECURE BOOT and UEFI for Windows 11 compatibility
- With the donor computer connected to the ScanX – perform the Windows 11 in-place upgrade
INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS = HUGE SAVINGS
Instead of giving up, our tech team was determined to find a solution – and despite requiring several failed attempts – a workable, compliant solution was discovered and the practice saved almost $20,000+