It's probably not officially this way but it's more or less true. It seems there's not very many "actual staff" for FHC support and they don't man the phones, probably because most calls are from non-techie folks whose questions can be easily answered by missionaries armed with a little technical training and a knowledge database, and don't require the experience or technical savvy of an employee. Personally I think it's a good way to be wise with the tithing $, although it can make it hard sometimes to get deeper technical support.russellhltn wrote:It's as if they were under instruction to minimize the number of calls referred to the actual staff.
Also true; I think they used to have an extension up until recently that went right to their voice mailbox, but it seems it was decided that it would be better if live missionaries answered.drepouille wrote:there is a difference between FamilySearch Support and Family History Center Support, but I believe you have to call the FamilySearch Support number and ask them to connect you to Family History Center Support.
dtlindsa wrote:Further reviewing my notes from the previous director, I notice that he said that the 7 Win 10 PCs arrived late in 2018. He said they had no notice that they were coming -- they just arrived in the FHC. Apparently they had been delivered by the FM group.
Yeah most equipment seems to come through the FM who are typically instructed to remove the old stuff and set up the new, unless the stake has told them otherwise. The FM and maybe even the Stake Technology Specialist get an email on shipment, but that doesn't mean they always forward the info on. The main exception seems to be when one-off replacements of individual computers or toner cartridges are sent to the center director, who then receives the email notification.russellhltn wrote:Supposedly an email is sent when the computers ship, but none happened in this case.
To be fair I don't think the employees know of any distinctions on this either. It's very likely that the computers may simply be treated the same as the rest as far as the overall lifecycle process. And I've heard of many cases where the stake leadership was told they could do what they wanted with the old computers, with the caveat of course that they would not be one-off replaced again should they break down. I think SL just likes to have the tech specialist check in first before keeping things.dtlindsa wrote:I can't say what happens to machines that are bought with donations. It's possible they're to be discarded with the rest and you try to buy new machines.
They still do, but I believe Salt Lake looks at both; the computer monitoring shows the computer usage, while the reports show how many actual FH-related visits there were. It's important especially since many stakes let e.g. missionaries or employment specialists and their groups use the computers, for things besides family history. It probably also helps to equalize the computer-use reporting a little between stakes that opt to keep old computers, and those that recycle them.drepouille wrote:the management software helped to automate the inventory and usage reporting. So it is possible that FHC directors may no longer need to submit reports.
Whew, long tangent ramble over. But, to try to answer the original question,
By using the Windows 10 image in the FHC Application Finder. They use a special volume activation system, so it is likely that other methods of upgrading to/activating Win10 won't work, and certainly aren't supported. No forms need to be sent in or anything like that nowdays, but under the image link in the App Finder it does specify a very specific list of models that can be upgraded. Any other models in the center were likely held over locally from a previous replacement cycle and are not supported (such as is the case with any XP machines still out there), or will be replaced shortly (because they've been sending out Win10 machines for quite a while now) and can't be upgraded.dtlindsa wrote:Does the church have a way to upgrade these older Win 7 PCs to Win 10? If so, what is the process?