| PCs
PC’s do not need major disaster preparation, but they
do need regular maintenance. Servers also need most if not
all of the same maintenance operations performed on a regular
basis. Completing the spreadsheet outlined will be sufficient
for many disaster recovery functions and be the base chart
for your maintenance.
Many companies have a server based antivirus solution and
this may contain spyware protection as well. Even with station
spyware protection, spyware gets through. To this date this
is no catch all protection program. I find it can take three
or more different programs to locate all the various spyware,
malware, Trojans, key loggers, hijackers, redirectors and
adware programs. This is well documented in tests by PC Magazine
and related publications.
Spyware is but one of the many maintenance requirements on
a station. Windows updates, Office updates, adobe updates,
bios updates, driver updates, A/V validation, temporary file
leftovers and defragmentation are process that should be performed
regularly.
I speak to many clients and I hear the same problems. My machine
is too slow. This can be due to many various issues, but if
after performing maintenance there is not an improvement,
it is time to call in the A team.
Spreadsheet requirements
Create these columns that will contain data which will rarely
change:
Computer Name
Mac Address
IP Address
Bios Level
Service Tag / Serial number
Users Name
Email Address
Users Phone Extension
Logon Name
Logon Password
Local machine User rights
Local Machine administrator’s password
Roaming Profile
Station and Workstation OS & Service Pack Level
CPU
Memory
RDP Ports
PCA ports
Outlook Version
Create these columns that will be checked off
or filled in during maintenance.
AnitVirus Date
Windows Defender
Spybot Update
Spybot Immunize
Spybot Scan
Spybot Active X
Spybot BHO
Spybot Browser Pgs
Spybot Winsock
Spybot Startup
Spybot Hosts
AdAware
Add Remove Programs
Window Update
Check Device Mgr
Office Updates
Windows Temp
%temp%
C:\Temp
Disk Cleanup
Defrag
Sort Programs
Check for BIOS Update
I will describe why each item listed is needed
and later where to obtain it. A portion of this sheet will
be linked to a second sheet which can be printed and used
as a check off system during maintenance.
Computer Name:
This name is the name that will be seen when browsing the
network. It will also be the name listed for remote access
by Remote Desktop Services or by PC Anywhere to name two.
If there is a domain controller, it is this name that is used
at the server to perform certain station management functions.
This name is not need on the maintenance spreadsheet, unless
performing maintenance remotely.
I recommend for all new stations, that the station name assigned
be suffixed with the month and year of installation. This
makes it easy to quickly view the network and know the age
of your equipment. In addition, there are times when a PC
is named for a person – say person1 – and later
they get a new machine and give the old one to a coworker.
Using a date suffix would still allow a name of – person1
– but now carrying the new identifying date. Lastly,
in repairing stations where the hard drive is not the fail
point, a quick look at the network will display stations purchased
in the same time area which will probably be identical machines.
This allows using parts or installing hard drives that are
of a priority nature. Sure beats running around to 30 or more
computers to see if it is the same model and then the same
internal configuration.
continued
below...
Mac Address
This is the physical address of the network card in the machine.
Every machine has a unique ID assigned at the factory. This
ID is used by technical support personnel to open ports in
the firewalls for certain services. Not all firewalls require
the Mac address, but most of the more expensive ones do (Sonic
Wall, Cisco and Symantec). Some technical support people use
this address to remotely turn on PCs that are off to perform
maintenance after hours. This turn on feature is available
in the setup of the PC on many business units and must be
engaged prior to first use (Units ship with this feature off,
if they are equipped with it). This name is not need on the
maintenance spreadsheet, unless performing maintenance remotely.
IP Address
This is important if you need to replace the station, connect
to it remotely when name resolution fails, and configure router
ports for necessary services. This chart can also be used
when configuring new stations so no address conflicts happen.
This IP address is the network address that is used to talk
to other computers and the internet. This address can be set
in three ways. The most common is called dynamic or automatic
which is set by the server (DHCP on Router or Server). Next
it can be fixed at the station which is called static. This
is used when services must find the station at a fixed location
such as PC Anywhere, Web Hosting, Remote Desktop, FTP Servicing,
copier / scanner machines. It is common to set the IP in companies
that have floor standing printer / copiers / scanners. Lastly,
an IP address can be automatically set, but to a predetermined
address by the hardware issuing the addresses. This address
is not need on the maintenance spreadsheet, unless performing
maintenance remotely.
Bios Level
Basically all computer hardware and accessories have a certain
amount of software installed. This software runs this device
and talks to your computers operating system. This embedded
software in some devices is upgradable. Two of these important
devices are the main board (motherboard) of all computers
and the RAID (hard disk) controllers in the servers. Manufactures
like Intel and Dell post these updates on their web site,
but there is no automatic way to check for these. Typically,
a PC can operate for months or years without needing an update.
However, a new software package, network connection or a new
device can cause the machine to act or behave improperly.
Updating the BIOS may solve this problem. This is task for
a qualified support person.
Service Tag / Serial number
Most warranty repair calls require the service tag (Dell)
or the serial number. This is not necessary for maintenance,
but very useful when calling for manufacturers support.
Users Name
This is an informational field only. Having this helps in
disaster recovery. It is useful to have this on the maintenance
form if maintenance is performed by an outside staff.
Email Address
This can be used to email the person about any maintenance
issues with their machine. It also makes disaster recovery
easier. This is more important for the outside support staff.
Users Phone Extension
As an outside support person myself, I know the value of having
the users phone extension on the maintenance form. Since most
phones display their own extension, it is a quick way to know
what station you’re working on when on site. If your
offsite, it is easier to reach the correct person to discuss
any problems found.
Logon Name & Logon
Password
This is a requirement to perform maintenance. Although stations
can be signed on with an admin logon, spyware must be cleared
on the individual profile. If a station is shared by multiple
people with different logins, then list each logon name and
password.
Local machine User rights
This is useful to glance over when work needs to be performed
in an administrative mode. Many systems grant full access
to a network user on the local machine (administrator rights),
while restricting network rights. In the case where restricted
right exist on the local machine; certain administrative functions
cannot be performed. This column of information is only needed
in systems where local users do not have full administrative
rights on the local computer.
Local Machine administrator’s
password
Every machine has an administrator account. Although this
account is rarely used in a network environment, it allows
full access to the local machines software and hardware configurations.
If the network user does not have administrator rights, then
the administrators account with this password will be able
to perform the necessary support using both sign on accounts.
This is necessary in disaster recovery, since domain logons
may be blocked if the server is off line. This is useful on
the maintenance sheet if the network user does not have administrator
rights to the local machine.
Roaming Profile
Network environments can be set up in many ways. There may
be no server, a shared workstation, a server with a workgroup
or a server with a domain. Most companies have a server with
a domain. When a station is joined to a domain the users profile
can be set up on the station as a fixed ‘local’
profile or as a network based roaming profile. A roaming profile
allows a person to log onto different stations and still see
their desktop and have access to common features.
Very few smaller companies use roaming profiles as a way to
allow people to move around to different stations. This is
due to the complexity in maintaining each station with the
same revision levels of software. As an example, one station
may have Office XP (2002), another Office 2003 Basic, a third
with Office 2003 Professional and another with the newest
Office 2007. A user normally working on a station with the
professional version of Office would not have fully working
icons for the Office programs like PowerPoint when logging
onto the station with Office 2003 Basic. Worse yet, the shortcuts
and menu items for Office would not work at all if that user
logged onto the station with Office XP (2002) or Office 2007.
There is a big advantage to setting up roaming
profiles, even if users do not roam to different stations.
Since a roaming profile is kept on a share on the server,
critical information may be available if the user station
hard drive fails and the data cannot be recovered. The information
stored which is most valuable is the users local documents
contained in the ‘my documents’ folder. Second
to this are the shortcuts or folders on the individuals desktop.
Some disadvantages to storing profiles on the server are the
storage use and the PC’s startup time. Increasing the
data on the server, increases the (tape / network / NAS) backup
time as well as any emergency restore times. The PC’s
individual startup time increases as more and more data is
added to their local documents since this data must be synchronized
at every log on or off.
This is important to note in maintenance so that a station
can be checked for all active profiles (multiple users on
the same station). Since malware, spyware and the like attaches
itself to the local profile as well as the PC, all profiles
should be checked or deleted if inactive. In addition disaster
recovery personnel would be less concerned about the stations
if it were know that roaming profiles exist. Since regenerating
the server would bring back the documents and desktops of
all users for new PC’s.
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