===Upgrading ARDI - Windows===

On Windows-based systems, you will need to login to the desktop on the machine, either physically, via your virtualisation system, or through remote desktop software.

===Upgrading the Server===

==Download the Package==

If you’ve subscribed, you should receive an email announcing when the newest release of ARDI is available.

This email will include a link to download the software.

If the system is not online, we suggest downloading the package to a USB stick or other physical media.

If you have misplaced your email, you can find the installer at https://ardi.com.au/download/ardi-server-installer-windows/

==Step Two: Install the Software==

Copy the installer to the server, log in to the server either physically or via remote, and double-click the installer to run it.

Once the installer finishes, the upgrade process is complete.

===Upgrading Drivers===

Like the base software, you can subscribe for notifications of new versions of your drivers. When this occurs, there is an additional step you should take. 

Since most ARDI drivers are Python based, you'll be able to overwrite them in-place. However, some drivers are executable or have runtime libraries that can't be overwritten when they are in use.

In these cases, you will need to shut down your ARDI drivers before you can upgrade them.

==Turn Drivers Off==

You can turn your drivers off from the Start menu – look for ‘Remove ARDI Driver Services’ under the ARDI menu. You can also open **Services** on your Windows system and turn the individual drivers on and off.

==Install Drivers==

Run the installers for your various drivers. In most cases, there will be little to no interaction with the user – they will automatically be installed into the appropriate directory.

==Restart Drivers==

You can restart your drivers once all installers are complete. You can do this with the ‘Install ARDI Driver Services’ link from the Start menu.

If you've installed new versions of drivers //without// needing to stop your drivers manually, you can also re-load your ARDI drivers by going to **Administration | Drivers | Restart/Update**

===Checking the Results===

After the automated upgrade is complete, you should visit **every** [[ARDI database|ARDI database]]  to ensure that any updates are applied and all are still working as expected.

New features sometimes require changes to the database or cache structure. These changes are applied the first time someone visits the web-interface for each database. This means that verifying that each database is working is actually a //vital// part of the update process.