An "Adventure" Journey with Equipment Upgrade

The Cause: Old Equipment Struggling

The company's contact angle measurement device could be described as a "veteran configuration" - this computer was the one that came with the instrument back in the day. It's been a trail of tears: not only was it under-configured from the start, but years of accumulated use have made it increasingly sluggish. Most frustrating were those USB 2.0 ports with data transfer speeds so slow it made you want to stomp your feet.

Seeing that there was still some budget left at year-end, I mustered up the courage to approach my boss about replacing the computer. Unexpectedly, the boss had the same concern, and we hit it off immediately! So we quickly acquired a new computer with mainstream configuration, equipped with dual 2TB solid-state drives - quite a sincere upgrade.

The Surprise: Roadblocks on the Upgrade Path

The situation at the time still makes me break out in a cold sweat when I think about it now. The original system was Windows 7 64-bit, while the new computer came pre-installed with the latest Windows 11. We confidently began installing the software, thinking: "If the software can be installed, there should be no problem, right?"

Little did we know this was just the beginning of the "adventure."

Problems emerged one after another like preset obstacles: camera drivers incompatible, FTDI drivers unsupported... With each problem discovered, my heart sank a bit more. This was important laboratory equipment - if I couldn't fix it, I'd be in big trouble!

A Silver Lining: Never-Give-Up Attempts

Facing these difficulties, I began a "two-pronged" assault: on one hand, maintaining close communication with the company IT department, and on the other hand, contacting the equipment engineer for professional support. At the same time, I kept the original Win 7 computer as a "test field," constantly trying and exploring.

Hard work pays off! After repeated testing and debugging, I finally perfectly replicated all functions on the Win 7 system. Even more gratifying, I discovered that Win 11 wasn't completely hopeless either - because in previous attempts, I had successfully connected to the device, it just needed further optimization and stability testing.

This upgrade journey not only breathed new life into the equipment but also taught me a profound lesson: when it comes to technology, patience and persistence are often more important than luck.