The Reckoner, which says what an update broke

What the Reckoner does#

The reckoner kept the manor's account, and after each change reckoned it line by line against the last tally that balanced. The Reckoner does the same for your devices.

Every hour it takes stock of the devices that matter to you, and after an update, it reckons: what went missing, what now has a problem, and which drivers changed, each named with the update that came just before it. It only looks: it never changes a device, a driver or a setting.

It holds its office on an everyday PC. On a gamer's PC, the Marshal holds it, and the Reckoner works behind it.

The Reckoner comes with the Household license.

What it takes stock of#

• Devices: sound, camera, display, network, Bluetooth, printers, Windows Hello, and any device with a problem, with their drivers.
• Network adapters: up, turned off, or gone.
• Printers: online or offline.
• The default speaker and microphone.
• Windows: its build, and what Windows Update installed.

A stock-take takes a few seconds.

After an update#

An update is a new Windows build, an install or removal in Windows Update's history, or a new driver on a device that matters. Antivirus definitions, Store apps and other routine updates don't count.

1. It waits for the update to settle: it takes stock again 5 minutes later, and again while changes keep coming, for up to 30 minutes.
2. It reckons the settled stock against the last one from before the update. A device that dropped out in the middle and came back isn't reported.
3. It lists what it found under Needs a look, each with the update that came just before.

What it finds:

"The update just before" is the nearest change, not a proven cause. It's where to start looking.

Things that come and go#

A device is called gone only if it was there in more than half the stock-takes over the last week. USB sticks, headphones switched off and phones don't raise alarms. Mark one Comes and goes and it's never reported gone; a problem on it still is.

What to do with a finding#

• Put it right, and it closes by itself as "fine again" at the next stock-take. For a bad update, the Watchman can take it out or restore Windows; for a graphics driver that leaves the screen dark, the Lamplighter rolls it back.
• Dismiss it, if you know about it and don't mind.
• Comes and goes, for a thing that's gone and that you often unplug.

The local AI's part#

When a reckoning finds a problem still standing, the local AI writes a few plain words on what it probably means for you, from the Reckoner's facts. It's labelled as unverified, with where it was written, beside the facts. Without the local AI, the findings are the same. See Set up the local AI.

Its page#

The Reckoner's page is at http://reckoner.localhost:20505/, and Open on its card in Castellan goes there. It shows the last stock-take and Check now, Needs a look, the reckonings, newest first, and the stock itself, grouped.

Its settings#

What it can't do#

• Only what Windows lists now. A device that was unplugged before the first stock-take has no history, so it can't be missed.
• Drivers from a maker's own tool count as a change by their version alone.
• A printer that sleeps may show offline: mark it Comes and goes if it does that often.