- Computer could not access the network Problem: DHCP server refused to talk to the machine until its MAC address was added to the list of approved machines.
- Could not log on to the NT domain Problem: machine was not set up to log on to the NT domain. Had to set up the machine identity by typing in some magic words to various configuration settings.
- Could not access Exchange Server Problem: machine had not been set up to check the correct domains for the exchange server. More magic words needed to be entered into some secret options.
- Could not log on to the training website to sit through compulsory employee briefing in order to get security badge. Problem: needed to call training people and get them to add my user id to their list of approved ids.
Why am I whinging about this? Well, because I was handed this machine on Monday, and essentially left to get on with it. There were no instructions, and no guidance. Why give out machines but not tell people that to get on the IP network you'll need to register the MAC? Why not register the MACs of the new machines before handing them out? And why not set them up properly for use? Why do I get told to go to the training website to take a tedious course without the website being informed of my userid? In other words, this is exactly the shambles that I encounter every time I join a new organization: I have to spend chasing round, trying to figure out why I haven't been told certain things, or getting something set up. It's enough to give one a persecution complex, that the instruction manual is always missing. And the solution is always the same: do ennough work to get things working in such a way that you never need to interact with the people who omitted to give you the information that you need (hence: installing cygwin, setting MS Exchange to forward all emails to an account where I can use pine, etc.).
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