RTFM Jim?

I know better. I even have rules.

I broke them all.

As a result, I got to spend the last 13 hours of my Thanksgiving weekend, and 2 more last night rebuilding my PC.

Tech troubleshooting and training is what I do. I enjoy the customer service side of my position, but the real nitty gritty, the core of what I do would be tech troubleshooting and training.

Could have used myself this weekend…

It started with what I thought was a balky jump drive earned from completing the Learn & Play at CML. But as soon as I'd sent a note to L&P telling them about the drive I started to determine that the real issue at hand wasn't the drive, but my PC.

(So Thanks L&P for the generous offer of a new drive, but this one should be fine.)

Now, I'm not gonna break down the entire list of technical issues I was facing in this space today, but I do want to share with the reader the importance of one very big element when troubleshooting PC problems.

You ready?

This one is big.

One of my most profound discoveries ever, ever, ever...

Here 'tis.

PATIENCE!

That's right. Plain ole common sense patience would have saved me hours of work. I always stress to my users at the Library - read the directions, follow along, don't get ahead of yourself, follow the steps, and most importantly - Be patient.

But for myself –

Oh no, I'm the expert. I will make it work. It will work because I want it to. Seriously, the last thing I said to the computer when I turned it off due to lack of response was, "I win."

To which the computer replied upon reboot - "Wanna bet? You needed those files you just corrupted by deleting in bits and pieces Jim. Who wins now fool?"

Sigh, if I had just taken time to read the fine manual, (RTFM) or gone out to the help forums, but oh no...

Have a mirror much Jimmer?

As computer meltdowns go this could have been much worse. I only really lost a (long) day.

Fortunately, I back-up fairly regularly. A week spent re-entering an entire year of Quicken transactions many years ago has made me more than a fair to middlin' "backer upper."

Some things do get lost in the shuffle - like scanner drivers. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you know the tale.

Making that scanner work again was quite the adventure. With Netter right in the middle of a giant scanning project I was more than a little anxious about restoring functionality. I was finally able to accomplish this yesterday evening.

Sometimes recent updates get lost as well - i.e. all those CD's I put into iTunes just last week. Poof. Thankfully those CD's are all still right there in the cabinet where I left them.

Ah well lesson learned... Maybe. ;-)

If you're interested I took this opportunity to create a checklist for restoring your computer.

Here it is; Jimmer's recipe to a perfect PC – Obviously Software may vary –

Install Windows, Download AVG Free, Firefox, Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash, Install necessary drivers - that I should have backed up previously, (In my case sound, scanner, printers, and copier), Roxio, (or Nero, or whatever CD/DVD burning software you use) Webcam, Office, (although I toyed with trying to get by with just Google docs for awhile) Quicken, Photoshop, iTunes. Download available updates as necessary as you are working.

Replace personal files that you also back-up on a regular basis. Right?