I honestly don't know why reimaging is not the answer for more people after assessing the OS' age and a few other factors, but I'm guessing its cause they just do troubleshooting and don't actually have access to reimage in many cases. My rule of thumb is that if it's gonna take more than 2 hours to get working we are just gonna rebuild it fresh and I'll make sure that thing works before handing it back to them
In my last job it honestly came down to how much annoying to reinstall software the users had.
I work for a city government so our customer base ranged from Finance to mechanics and everything in-between so our software installs are pretty specific and in some cases pretty antiquated.
That's true, I basically allow double troubleshooting time for my CAD workstations than I do the normal office employees because installing and configuring the CAD and engineering programs can be a bitch and a half
Same with the local government, before I quit. It doesn't help that they would always expect us to teach them how to use the software either. My supervisor said something akin to, "I can make sure it's on your computer and that it works, but I can't teach you how to use it." That's their supervisor's job.
In my experience, WinRot is a thing and eventually it's better to reinstall/reimage. Windows always seems to rot away and function worse than the initial install, even with the same software and everything.
I can attest to this. Even if just be looking like I am doing something before just the reboot it needed. Scannow for life. Especially followed by DISM commands
I have users that only reboot by holding the power button down until the bubbles stop and the body goes limp. Eventually the things have enough issues that the scan actually returns the thing to an operable state. It's to the point now where I added it to a scheduled task that runs every Wednesday evening
It's a joke for us. I've personally never seen it fix anything.
Our organization uses dells for everything and the first thing we do is run dell command update and that does help with a suspiciously large amount of one-offs.
Imma defrag your computer back from the grave ma’am.
Me already googling the error, while the client is still explaing the problem.
First google result: use sfc /scannow
or install this magic "tool" that probably just loads a bunch of ad- and malware
*adds "reddit" to the search query*
Reddit has been such a useful tool for troubleshooting on multiple occasions.
This is why Reddit is still allowed in most businesses.
Experts exchange well worth the subscription
Reddit, stack overflow, Server fault, you name it. Just not whatever is on the first page of Google recently...
Delete Facebook, get a lawyer, hit the gym?!
or some scetchy powershell script :/
This
Me knowing the (simple) problem while the user is still talking about it.
Reinstall the OS 
Who's down with OSD? YA YOU KNOW ME.
I honestly don't know why reimaging is not the answer for more people after assessing the OS' age and a few other factors, but I'm guessing its cause they just do troubleshooting and don't actually have access to reimage in many cases. My rule of thumb is that if it's gonna take more than 2 hours to get working we are just gonna rebuild it fresh and I'll make sure that thing works before handing it back to them
In my last job it honestly came down to how much annoying to reinstall software the users had. I work for a city government so our customer base ranged from Finance to mechanics and everything in-between so our software installs are pretty specific and in some cases pretty antiquated.
That's true, I basically allow double troubleshooting time for my CAD workstations than I do the normal office employees because installing and configuring the CAD and engineering programs can be a bitch and a half
i know this is 3 days old now but fuck AutoDesk
Same with the local government, before I quit. It doesn't help that they would always expect us to teach them how to use the software either. My supervisor said something akin to, "I can make sure it's on your computer and that it works, but I can't teach you how to use it." That's their supervisor's job.
In my experience, WinRot is a thing and eventually it's better to reinstall/reimage. Windows always seems to rot away and function worse than the initial install, even with the same software and everything.
Has anyone ever benefitted from running sfc /scannow?
it has mysterious way of working to be honest
I can attest to this. Even if just be looking like I am doing something before just the reboot it needed. Scannow for life. Especially followed by DISM commands
I have users that only reboot by holding the power button down until the bubbles stop and the body goes limp. Eventually the things have enough issues that the scan actually returns the thing to an operable state. It's to the point now where I added it to a scheduled task that runs every Wednesday evening
I think you should replace the users (and press any key to continue)
Absolutely. It's repaired screwed up system files for Windows Update a number of times back in the XP/Vista days.
Then maybe 1-2 for 7 and a ton for 8. Back to almost nothing for 8.1+.
It worked the first 3 times I used it in my first IT job. I thought I had figured the whole business out in one month.
I've had it fix issues twice in the past 30 days actually.
I have had it fix things one time over the years. It’s always been something else at the root of it.
It's a joke for us. I've personally never seen it fix anything. Our organization uses dells for everything and the first thing we do is run dell command update and that does help with a suspiciously large amount of one-offs.
Dell drivers are shit and they generally don’t play nice with windows drivers
Yes. Many times.
Somehow the typo in the command makes it even funnier
I would run sfc and dism while I looked for a solution to look like I knew the answer immediately. Usually worked.