Thank fuck for the internet.
I’m a network administrator at a small company, which means if it has anything to do with technology I’m the person that gets called when something goes astray.
Today’s dilemma was actually computer related and caused by me. I installed a new printer on the network. Loading the printer driver onto the print server crashed the print spooler service. Nothing would get it back up and running. So I go from 1 network printer short(the new printer replaces a heavily used one) to all network printing being down and out.
In a word… SHIT!
I’m not classically trained. I don’t have a computer science degree, I did have MCSE certification, but it’s 8-10 years out of date. When I got certified, Windows NT was the server of choice and things were just moving to Windows 2000 server.
Everything moving to Windows Server 2003 and soon higher, you are left with a plethora of operating systems you may have to have knowledge about because very rarely do offices upgrade everything at once, or in some cases everything at all.
Sometimes when you’ve purchased specialized software, it will only function on a particular operating system. New operating systems come around but the people who made the specialized software made their money and moved on to other things. These are called legacy systems.
Once you’re starting to work with these, the people that have gone before you and left notes are your lifeblood.
If you know how to use Google well, you can find the answer to 98% of all technical difficulties on line. You may have to read through 10-15 books worth of information, but 98% of the time the solution is out there.
So, 15-20 minutes to set up a workaround for people that have to print RIGHT NOW! and then 30 minutes of searching for solutions of geeks past and I’m back to normal.
So to the geeks who have gone before, I am deeply indebted and you have my thanks.
