Do you keep a diary for your computers?

Haydon said:

What about you?

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I always

- keep a note of which version of Windows / OEM products with their registration details;
- back-up all changes with Macrium Reflect on a daily basis;
- keep copies of major Windows Updates / Cummulative Updates; and
- keep up-to-date copies of my OEM drivers and updates.

Overkill - possibly?
However, it saves a lot of downloading, and head scratching, in case in case of a system crash!!

'The cost of insurance is never cheap; however it's invaluable when you need it.'

I have a directory with notes, and a subdirectory with notes, registry patches and scripts for windows. Among the notes is a long story about everything I did to install and configure archlinux, and another fairly long story on making windows somewhat inhabitable; I update them as needed and keep backups off-site.

The notes serve to facilitate maintenance, and are also somewhat of an insurance in case of catastrophic failures such as a fire.

No just lists on pieces of paper

OldMainframeGuy said:

Having worked in IT all my life where change management is important, having a diary of sorts is not a bad idea if you keep it up to date. I have a simple Notepad text file with '.LOG' on the first line; Notepad automatically inserts the time and date when you open it. It's easy to make seemingly innocuous changes that come back to bite you and you can't remember what you changed (especially when you're old!)

Rob

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Very neat trick The message is excellent too

Yeah, diary sounds like something that your teenage daughter writes that her mom likes to read (resulting in no peace in your household) Perhaps log is a better word for a machine. But I am nosey like the mom :)

In all seriousness, I do make an updated list of stuff from time to time...
... that, and an image backup and a bootable usb!

Haydon said:

Long time ago, I talked to the head of the groundskeepers of the municipal parks here in town. He said: "We do the work whether there are problems or not." If he were the head of an IT department, he would say the exact same words.

Wonder what he writes up every week to earn the paychecks for himself and his crew.

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Are you trying to say that they don't do anything to earn their pay? I know for a fact that when it comes to groundskeeping there is always something that needs to be done.

Winuser said:

Are you trying to say that they don't do anything to earn their pay? I know for a fact that when it comes to groundskeeping there is always something that needs to be done.

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I am trying to say that when it comes to IT there is always something that needs to be done AND a log is kept

Edit: See for example my post #4 in this thread that I quote below

"Hm ... what do the pros here do? Surely, they have service contracts requiring logs? What kind of things appear in the logs?"

FWIW-
On new PC's I keep an information log on the machine--Hardware set-up, date of service ,Part Number listing,user accounts, disabled services, list of deleted bloatware and location of reference materials such as PDF files of the USER and SERVICE manuals.
I also keep a log of changes and personalization made to the machine--what was changed, how it was changed and OE settings.
I also make and store a repair dics and complete system image
I also make and maintain a copy of my password manager
I keep a log on when I open up the machine for cleaning and repairs.
And finally I make a list of required monthly machine maintenance--a detailed HOW TO list.

Haydon said:

I am trying to say that when it comes to IT there is always something that needs to be done AND a log is kept

Edit: See for example my post #4 in this thread that I quote below

"Hm ... what do the pros here do? Surely, they have service contracts requiring logs? What kind of things appear in the logs?"

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Groundskeeping has nothing to do with IT. With close to 50 years working in Public Works I find your comment insulting.

Winuser said:

Groundskeeping has nothing to do with IT. With close to 50 years working in Public Works I find your comment insulting.

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Sorry you feel that way, but groundskeeping and IT do have something in common, i.e. at the pro level they both require logs. In fact all pro level work require logs. Sometimes, solo entrepreneurs and very small groups, have their logs are in their heads, but they are logs nonetheless. It is these logs in IT that is the topic of this thread.

Haydon said:

Sorry you feel that way, but groundskeeping and IT do have something in common, i.e. at the pro level they both require logs. In fact all pro level work require logs. Sometimes, solo entrepreneurs and very small groups, have their logs are in their heads, but they are logs nonetheless. It is these logs in IT that is the topic of this thread.

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I'm sorry but your post makes it sound like all public works employees do nothing to earn a paycheck and I take that personal.

Haydon said:

Hm ... what do the pros here do? Surely, they have service contracts requiring logs? What kind of things appear in the logs?

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Logs? What logs are you talking about? We keep notes on the work we're doing and some of that is on our devices but I never thought of them as logs

When I get a new computer, I make a Microsoft OneNote Tab for it. That's my diary. I update the entry whenever needed. I love that OneNote is available on any of my devices at any time. For example, if I'm at BestBuy and I need to know something about my computer, I whip out my phone, and I've got the info I need! That sure beats a file folder in a cabinet at home.

Winuser said:

I'm sorry but your post makes it sound like all public works employees do nothing to earn a paycheck and I take that personal.

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You misunderstood my posting completely. The head of the groundskeeping crew, like the head of the head of the IT department, writes up weekly work reports which is the basis for the paychecks.

The signer of the paychecks does not go out in the field, he reads the reports. Over time, the contents of the IT reports constitute the diary in the title of this thread.

That is all that I can explain, though.

TraderGary said:

When I get a new computer, I make a Microsoft OneNote Tab for it. That's my diary. I update the entry whenever needed. I love that OneNote is available on any of my devices at any time. For example, if I'm at BestBuy and I need to know something about my computer, I whip out my phone, and I've got the info I need! That sure beats a file folder in a cabinet at home.

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That is very good place to store the diaries, one Tab dedicated for the diary of one specific device

Haydon said:

You misunderstood my posting completely. The head of the groundskeeping crew, like the head of the head of the IT department, writes up weekly work reports which is the basis for the paychecks.

The signer of the paychecks does not go out in the field, he reads the reports. Over time, the contents of the IT reports constitute the diary in the title of this thread.

That is all that I can explain, though.

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That's not how it works, at least in local government. A daily time sheet is kept at the local office. At the end of the pay peroid, the times are double check then sent to payroll. Before the checks are written the town committee has to approve the payroll. In your example the head of the buildings and grounds has to make up an excuse for the employees to get paid. This is a touchy subject for me, so I'm now done replying.

Well, you just added the payroll mechanics. You may not be personally responsible for writing the report, but the report is always needed to show what work is done for what kind of $. The report is thus a rightful justification to get a paycheck. The report is not an excuse to get a paycheck, that's a strange notion.

Anyway, the report is a good source of what work is done in IT.