For my retro PCs, I keep a directory full of the drivers, and I'll sometimes create a text file if there's something that I want to remember. I only document stuff like driver issues and fixes that I needed to use.I also use a markdown tool called Obsidian to keep track of any notes I have on stuff like DOS or Win9x. I am a huge fan of using text files and markdown for most things. It's quicker to write and easy to transfer to a new computer. However, I usually forget to use it and I tend to end up googling stuff that I already had written down.

For my servers, I keep a log file that I use to document any changes that I make to them. Again, everything is done in markdown, which works well for administering a Linux system.

Since you're taking notes by hand first, it might be worth looking at an OCR solution like a Rocketbook: https://getrocketbook.com/. I have one and the OCR is decent. I never ended up using it much, as I find it more convenient just to type out my notes.

To expand on the markdown stuff I mentioned, a lot of the editors/viewers support images. If you are mainly typing notes, but need to add the occasional drawing, they might be an option. I'm a fan of Obsidian (https://obsidian.md/), but there are many options. You could even use github to store your notes if you go that route. It also supports markdown and you would be able to access them on any computer.

Yes I write everything down. I used to use a Palm handheld device. Now I type everything up in Word/Excel.

Organize everything using Google Sheets. List builds along side years various games and bits of hardware were released. Not a journal per se.

I document everything on my website. At first this was mostly limited to providing general information on some of my more exotic machines (AlphaServers, MicroVAXen, SPARCstations, RS/6000, etc) that might be of interest to others, but more recently I've been inventorying my PCs and started putting up pages for those too.

I don't expect someone to ever find a page about some random custom-built PC interesting, but its a convenient enough way for me to organise any information about particular machine and it means I can easily access it from anywhere.

Yes I use a Google sheet to keep track of the hardware I own and what each build looks like. I've been using it for ~10 years but unfortunately I haven't kept a track of all of the things I've bought and sold over that time, I just delete them from the sheet. Having the prices would be interesting data.

I've also been writing a general, 'dear diary' type journal for 10 years or so and this includes comments about whatever I've worked on over the years.

Not a journal per se, but I do keep notes on various things.

Stuff like optimal driver versions and proper install order for each of my retro systems. Also, tidbits like "need to remove this wrapper .DLL from that folder for the GOG version of the game to run on Win98" and so on.

Ensign Nemo wrote on 2024-05-14, 23:24:

Since you're taking notes by hand first, it might be worth looking at an OCR solution like a Rocketbook: https://getrocketbook.com/. I have one and the OCR is decent. I never ended up using it much, as I find it more convenient just to type out my notes.

To expand on the markdown stuff I mentioned, a lot of the editors/viewers support images. If you are mainly typing notes, but need to add the occasional drawing, they might be an option. I'm a fan of Obsidian (https://obsidian.md/), but there are many options. You could even use github to store your notes if you go that route. It also supports markdown and you would be able to access them on any computer.

I'll definitely gonna look into these two. Thanks

@ all others: I've read and thanks! It's interesting to see that we have the same issues 😀

After a non short while on the internet, the most used method so far is spreadsheets.
I don't think that it is the best.

Plain Word-like programs are on par or second by not much, ease of use is probably the cause while spreadsheets are good for lists.

I have a dokuwiki install on my website, so I use it to collect my thoughts, fixes, projects etc, as well more structured work like development work.

Its a lower bar to entry than writing html, as I'd rather focus on the content than the layout, but it doesn't wrap your data up in a obnoxious database structure like something like wordpress. Underneath it all it is flat text files.

https://www.target-earth.net/wiki/doku.php?id=start

Markdown is definitely a good thing to consider, and if you plan (or already have) any software then it's worthwhile putting some time into learning it. With only a couple of basic syntax conventions you can get nice, clean, structured looking html output... But which is still viewable in its raw form.

Not sure if this is of interest, but I found I had a need to keep track of my collection and purchases, so I started with a simple setup in Airtable.
Basically just columns containing: description, some photo's, purchase price, notes (long text field) and a category. All fields are optional, except for the description, so when a field is irrelevant (or if I'm lazy), I can just leave it out.

Later I switched to Baserow as an open source equivalent that can also be self-hosted, because I thought the pictures eventually would exceed the storage of the free online plan. But actually I'm still using the free online plan now (due to aforementioned laziness). I occasionally add an extra column or table, depending on what I want to keep track of. Like a table for ISA/PCI cards with references to the box number where it's stored.

I like it as an easy way to maintain a data collection with some structure, but the structure is not actually so rigid that it gets in the way of updating and maintaining the information.

Like you I use single documents for things, and the pile of documents has snowballed into thousands of documents over the decades. I have been using OpenOffice (Writer and Calc mostly), but it is not a good solution for large storage. The upper bound on a Calc spreadsheet is around 30000 rows, so for some applications I keep having to split lists (spreadsheets) into smaller lists.

One of the things to be concerned about long-term is what formats to use for storage. OpenOffice still properly supports ancient StarOffice formats, so I have not had to do any major conversions for many years. Regardless of who makes the product(s) you use, you don't know for a fact if support for your existing formats will be there five minutes from now, let alone five years from now.

What works also depends on the context. The element14 community has a forum for people who do electronic hardware development, and a lot of the most prolific participants create posts to document their efforts and they comment on the posts of others in the various forums. For that type of work, I find that a very effective way to document what you do, and I have documented a few of my efforts in the past. But there is a specific focus in the forums that limits what is covered, so it would not be suitable for more general use.

That raises another question, namely, are you trying to document what you are doing for yourself, or are you trying to make the information available to others? Some who have already given answers are obviously trying to track things strictly for their own benefit, but others are trying to make their efforts available to other folks, so the means and format makes a big difference.

akula65 wrote on 2024-05-15, 21:10:

Like you I use single documents for things, and the pile of documents has snowballed into thousands of documents over the decades. I have been using OpenOffice (Writer and Calc mostly), but it is not a good solution for large storage. The upper bound on a Calc spreadsheet is around 30000 rows, so for some applications I keep having to split lists (spreadsheets) into smaller lists.

One of the things to be concerned about long-term is what formats to use for storage. OpenOffice still properly supports ancient StarOffice formats, so I have not had to do any major conversions for many years. Regardless of who makes the product(s) you use, you don't know for a fact if support for your existing formats will be there five minutes from now, let alone five years from now.

I think that these problems could be mitigated a bit with a plain text approach. I'm going to fanboy over markdown again, but it might work great here. It solves the issue of long-term compatibility, as markdown files are just plain text. You can add text formatting using a simple to learn syntax. You could organize your files into directories, which could be browsed hierarchically in an editor.

While you can create tables in markdown, I've found them to be fairly cumbersome, so it might not replace your spreadsheet program. That aside, you could switch to csv files, which are plain text and would allow for long-term compatibility. There's no limit on the number of rows. One drawback is that you wouldn't have multiple sheets in a single file anymore, as these would need to be stored in separate files. Also, if you need to perform calculations, only the results would be saved. Therefore, you'd have to code something in a language like Python and R to perform repeated calculations.

As an aside, another drawback of spreadsheet programs is the default use of autocorrection. These programs often infer the types of data stored in each column and will make corrections that the user doesn't notice. This has been a major problem in genetics research, as Excel has autocorrected a lot of gene names that were published in scientific articles.

I don't keep a journal but I do keep a google spreadsheet with my results from all of the dos benchmarks in phils pack

Also keep a folder on a modern PC with all the downloaded files I've had to seek out (drivers, etc.) for each build

Your answers are very interesting. I have to rethink a few things.

akula65 wrote on 2024-05-15, 21:10:

That raises another question, namely, are you trying to document what you are doing for yourself, or are you trying to make the information available to others? Some who have already given answers are obviously trying to track things strictly for their own benefit, but others are trying to make their efforts available to other folks, so the means and format makes a big difference.

Good point. Mixed.
Search sometimes isn't enough here, solutions aren't following a model. I need to think about it.

Wow, you people put stuff on the plate...

I have my "hardware" spreadsheet which now lives in google it lists
Hardware type (sound, video, etc) Make, Model, Part number, Buy price, Sell price, Location (PC name or stored)
It's useful for as I can't remember which soundcard is in which PC or when people ask here about prices or finding drivers without having to open the PC to find the part number

The drivers folder on my PC will have a txt file with any notes specific to that PC, eg a setting that needs changing from default.

I'm also starting a google doc on install notes for specific systems that need something special rather then just hitting next, next, next.

It's also good to photograph parts before you put them in machines or in storage. This way you can retrieve things like serial numbers or part numbers without having to pull things apart.

Photos are very handy. I regretted not doing them when I went through and inventoried all my displays and loose expansion cards. Not making that mistake again - now everything gets photos! These days I'm trying to document things I have in enough detail that I don't need to actually go and find the thing (which likely isn't even at my house) to answer a question about it.

For example, this is what I have recorded in the database for some computer:

Additional photos and details for the case, PSU, motherboard, cards and drives are stored separately against those items rather than against the computer they happen to be installed in this moment in time.

If I had to start taking pics of my stuff I'd waste a full straight 96 hours on it. I count editing in it.

That's why I even thought of some free/low cost online resource that I can directly upload and edit stuff to.
Doing all by hand is time consuming. Most of the time I have to move pics from my phone or camera memory...... upload to yt or add to my personal folders... 🤣

I'm happy to read your answers.