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Tip of the Week: EDExpress Upgrade Installations

PublicationDate: 5/28/99
Summary: Tip of the Week: EDExpress Upgrade Installations
Author: CPS - Central Processing System (CPS)

TO: All Destination Points
FROM: CPS Customer Service
RE: Tip of the Week: EDExpress Upgrade Installations

This week's tip highlights a crucial process for users of the 1999-2000
EDExpress: EDExpress Upgrade Installations

We wish to reiterate for the 1999-2000 EDExpress user community several
important tips concerning upgrade installations, as many institutions have
received and are installing Version 5.2.

The upgrade installation process has changed significantly for the 1999-2000
software due to the shift to the 32-bit processing platform. While the
installation screens themselves are very similar to previous cycles, the
steps you should take before and AFTER performing an upgrade installation
must be followed very closely to protect the integrity and use of your
EDExpress database.

Before you upgrade your EDExpress software:

1) You MUST create a reliable back-up copy of your EDExpress database
(Expres90.mdb). This is extremely important! If you are using EDExpress in a
standalone environment, your database will be located on your hard drive
(the default installation location is C:Files\EDESuite
for Windows). If you have EDExpress installed on a network server, your
database will be located on the network drive and directory you specified
during your network server install. NOTE: If you are unable to locate your
EDExpress database, open the software. The database location is always
listed along the bottom of the main software screen.

2) Ensure you and any other users are logged out of EDExpress for the
entirety of the installation process.

3) Verify which EDExpress version you currently have installed. If you are
still using EDExpress Version 5.0, you MUST upgrade to Version 5.1 before
installing Version 5.2. You cannot skip incremental upgrades as in some
circumstances in previous cycles. You should also verify the type of
environment you are running EDExpress in --- did you perform standalone or
network installations of the current and/or previous versions of EDExpress
you have on your system?

4) Your PC (and other PCs you plan to perform an upgrade installation
on) should meet the minimum standards outlined in Action Letter #2
(October, 1997). Your operating system must be Microsoft Windows 95, NT, or
98. You should close all running applications or programs before performing
any installation on a PC.

Once you have verified the items above, you should be ready to perform your
upgrade installation(s):

1) To upgrade from Version 5.0 to Version 5.1 (or from Version 5.1 to
Version 5.2), select the custom install option during your standalone or
workstation installation, and mark the checkbox for Direct Loan, Pell and
any other modules you use (so module fixes can also be installed). Do NOT
mark the "Database" checkbox unless you are performing a first-time
installation or wish to overwrite your current database. (Remember, if you
choose to overwrite your EDExpress database, all data and setup previously
entered will be lost.)

2) If you are running EDExpress in a network environment, you should perform
ALL of your workstation installations on ALL relevant production PCs at the
same time. Do not leave any workstations that will be accessing your
productional database in an earlier version of EDExpress than your other
workstations.

3) When you have completed an upgrade installation on a PC, you should
restart the PC to allow the new .DLL files installed to be properly updated
in your Windows registry.

4) When your upgrade installation(s) and PC reboot(s) are complete, you need
to access the EDExpress software from ONE PC workstation to allow a
one-time-only update of your EDExpress database to run. This applies to
Version 5.1, Version 5.2, and the upcoming Version 5.3. This update process
makes criticial changes to the structure of your software database --- if
the process does not complete successfully, it could adversely affect your
ability to use the software. Once this database update is successfully
completed, you and other users (if you are networked) can log into the
software and proceed with normal processing activities.

NOTE: If you are upgrading from Version 5.0 to Version 5.1 to Version 5.2,
you must stop after each upgrade is complete and perform step #4. Do not
proceed to the next version without accessing the software first to allow
the database update to perform. If you experience any problems while this
update database process is running, please contact CPS Customer Service
immediately for assistance.

If you have any questions, please contact CPS Customer Service at
800-330-5947, or via email at CPS@NCS.COM.