Summary

In summary, our troubleshooting toolkit contains a variety of applications, all of which are free, and many of these tools will not take a great amount of time to get to grips with but will undoubtedly save us time so that is a great trade-off. Also included is something that isn't strictly a tool but can be just as important when trying to solve problems—product knowledge. It goes without saying that if we already understand how the product works, then our troubleshooting will generally be quicker and more successful. There aren't any training courses that will teach us how to deal with the unexpected that can sometimes occur in any software product, so fast-tracking that knowledge gain by getting involved with people in the know seems only logical. It can not only help us get over problems but also avoid them by improving our practices in the product to prevent problems in the future. In the next chapter, we will a look at the log files that underpin the troubleshooting of Configuration Manager and which files we would commonly use during everyday troubleshooting of this, sometimes overwhelming, product.