I don't know if you are like me, but once in a while I face a strange problem with my PC and I need to search google for solutions and eventually the problem is resolved... But I would like to keep track of changes I did to my PC, and remember the fixes I have applied...

Could RTM be useful for this?

Of course.

After facing 2 problems today following an upgrade to Itunes 9.1 on my PC I thought that how I am using RTM in such circumstances could eventually benefits others. So here is how RTM helped me on a real life experience...

So, immediately after installing Itunes 9.1 I had to reboot my machine and during the reboot I received an error about a missing DLL. Oups! something is broken. So I have added a new RTM task to track this:

Fix Itunes : Error when booting the PC: iconv.dll applesyncnotifier.exe
I have put the task under my "ComputerMaintenance" list and assigned it a @PC tag

The "ComputerMaintenance" list receive all the tasks done on my computer, including any problems and fixes as well as scheduled tasks.

Once I have investigated the problem and found the solution, I have updated the task with some URL information and manual steps performed to solve the problem... The task has been marked as completed.

But a new problem occurred when I tried to start Itunes, not related to the first one. So I have created a new task and assigned it to the same "ComputerMaintenance" list. Eventually, the problem has been solved (a .dll has been renamed!!) and I have created a note containing all the information about how to fix the problem. The task has been set as completed. If I am not 100% pleased with the solution, I could set a due date in the future to research again for a better solution.

Now, what the big deal with RTM?

With RTM I can easily track all the problems I faced with my computer and I can search past solutions using the search tool of RTM :

1) Why is the abc.dll renamed to abc.renamed.dll on my computer? Search "abc.dll" in RTM
2) What problems did I faced with Itunes recently? Search Itunes in RTM...
3) Haven't I faced a problem with applesyncnotifier.exe in the past? Search applesyncnotifier.exe in RTM...

All search are done using the "Show Search Options" of RTM, which provides a lot of searching criteria. I make sure to include notes and archive in my search...


RTM is more than just tracking what need to be done. It could also be used to keep track of what has been done and how... I definitively don't need to keep a journal of my computer maintenance anymore, I let RTM do that for me...

I Hope this could be useful to others!

- Pierre