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Keep A Diary Of Your Computer

Keeping a diary of your computer can be a valuable asset if

something goes wrong. Imagine for a moment the consequences

if your hard drive failed or worse, someone stole your

computer. And whilst having a reliable and recent backup is

an essential step on your way to recovery, having a diary

is a major advantage.

If you use a computer for your business then like me your

computer has probably become a tool that you rely on. I am

in the internet business and frankly without my computer I

am out of business. Picture the consequences to your

business and your livelihood if suddenly you arrived home

to find the place on your desk where your computer was a

blank space.

Thieves love computers. They are reasonably portable, and

readily salable. If the owner stores all their CDs in an

attractive rack close by, that's easy to carry away too,

and all the better the price.

So why would you keep a diary, what is a diary, what does

it contain?

Why keep a diary?

Let's assume worse case; you're computer is stolen. Replacing

it is reasonably simple; a visit to the local PC shop and in

all likelihood a far better (and cheaper) machine than you

had before. But now you have the new computer home, how are

you going to set it up so that you can have all of the things

you had before? Your email messages for example, that proposal

you were writing for Monday's deadline, and that E-Book

that you're halfway through and will make a fortune in

six months time.

You'll have probably had a dozen or more projects in

progress (can you remember what they all were?). What about

your web site and the software you use to make changes to it?

And there may be accounting records for debtors, inventory

and purchases.

Most backups don't include software. Backups are almost

invariably copies of the data files. My message is that

as well as restoring all of your data, you also need to

restore your 'software environment'. Without this you

can't work with your data.

So the purpose of a diary is to keep a track of what your

software and hardware environment is made up of.

What is a diary and what does it contain?

I have a simple notebook in which I enter changes that are

made to the physical computer (it's hardware) and but

especially changes or additions to the software. There

is a single page for each component (software and hardware

of the machine).

For example if you needed to install a new software program

then you would create a new page heading and make a diary

entry of the purchase. This would include the name of the

software product, version, and where it was sourced, date

and payment method. Some software has a serial number so

this should also be recorded. And if you register the

software also keep a note of the date and method

of registration.

The source of software might have been the purchase of a CD

from a shop in which case recovery is a simple matter

(assuming you've kept the CD somewhere safe). But if you

download software, or the CD was stolen with your computer,

then getting another copy and reinstalling can be difficult

and frustrating.

If you downloaded the software then you at least need the

URL where you purchased the software from.

If you have a record of the software's acquisition then you

can prove to the original supplier the fact of your purchase

and most suppliers will provide a copy (perhaps with a small

handling charge). Obviously if you can't prove your purchase

then bad luck you're going to have to buy it again!

As an aside, whenever possible make a backup copy of all

software you purchase before you install it. Most software

is readily copyable, both technically and legally. Every

software license agreement I have ever seen allows the

software to be copied for a legitimate backup purpose. And

as with any backup, it should kept at a different location

than the computer.

In addition, if you make any upgrades to the software then

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full details of these should also be recorded.

Similar records should be maintained of your hardware. As a

minimum, record serial numbers of all hardware items, along

with cost, date and where purchased. For an insurance claim

or Police report these are vital facts.

I also find it useful to keep a page devoted to my internet

connection. This includes all the details needed to connect

such as TCP/IP address (or phone number if on dial-up),

sign-in and email address and passwords, server details such

as pop and smtp names and any security options you've

selected. Whilst all of this information is relatively simple

to setup again, without the details it can be very

time consuming.

Another page should be devoted to the operating system. My

current computer was purchased about 18 months ago and came

with a copy of Windows 98. I subsequently upgraded to

Windows 98 SE, then earlier last year I bought an upgrade

copy of Windows XP. And so to rebuild the software environment

I'd need to reinstall Windows 98, perform the upgrade to SE

and then perform the upgrade to Windows XP. Without a few

notes in my diary I'd probably not remember the sequence of

events. Likely my new computer would have a copy of Windows

with it and so this page would be unnecessary. But if you're

only replacing a failed hard drive then this information

is necessary.

Perhaps you think hard drives don't fail. I live in a small

town with a population of 30,000 people. A good friend owns

the only computer shop. He advises that not a day goes by

when at least one person doesn't come in with a broken

hard drive.

One last thought, throughout your diary make notes of any

special options or features that you install or set.

About the Author

About the Author:

Grant McNamara has over 20 years experience in IT,and specializes

in multi-lingual web site and software development and training.

His web sites are http://www.selling-it.com/ and

http://www.translateme.co.nz/ mailto:grant.mcnamara@selling-it.com