Lesson #3 - Common Computer Technician Tools

A fair amount of the A+ exam is based on the skills necessary to troubleshoot computer systems, but it is just as important to have the skills to know the diagnosis tools required to do that troubleshooting.  Without the right equipment, all you can do is guess about the problems inside a computer.  From personal experience, I can guarantee you that guessing will not solve most of the problems you will run across.  Only a good core of knowledge mixed with the ability to get the most information about the problem will help you solve most of the problems you will run across.

There are three different groups of tools you will require to become a A+ certified technician; Hardware tools, Software tools, and Measurement tools.  You won't find many questions about specific tools on the exam.  In fact, you probably won't see a single question asking you how to use a tool.  Instead, you will be asked what tool is right for what job, and what the measurements a particular tool give you mean.  Therefore, just knowing what the tools are is not enough to help you on these exams.

Hardware Tools

There are only a couple tools that you ABSOLUTELY need in this category, and many more that you can pick up over time.  Because the components of computers have become so standardized over the past decade, these tools are also relatively cheap to purchase.  Therefore, you should purchase as many of these tools as you can afford before you start working on computer systems.

The first item you need is an ESD wrist strap.  As discussed last week, Electro-static Discharge is the largest threat to computer systems in existence, so you might as well nip it in the bud as quick as possible.  They come in either snap or Velcro formats, and have an alligator clip at the end of a wire attached to the strap.  When you wear the strap over your wrist and connect the alligator clip to the chassis of the computer, you are virtually guaranteeing the safety of the system from ESD.  

The second item you need is a set of screwdrivers.  There are two requirements for screwdrivers when working on computer systems.  First, they must be non-magnetized.  With all the magnetic parts inside a computer system, introducing a new magnetic field can wreak havoc on a computer.  Secondly, make sure you have 2 or 3 sizes of Phillips (Star) shaped bits.  Most components in the computer use the Phillips standard with few exceptions.  A slot might be helpful in some cases, and it can never hurt to have one, but Phillips bits are a necessity.

Next, a good set of needle-nose pliers are also a must.  Again, make sure they are non-magnetized as magnets and computers do not function well together.  Also, try to find a set with straight prongs and curved prongs.  I don't know how many times I couldn't quite reach in a crevice with the straight pliers, so the curved type can be a God-send.

The last of the necessary items is the flash light.  The small, low-voltage ones are best, because they have small heads that can sneak into small spaces that bigger flashlights can't reach.  Try to use a plastic one as well, as metal ones can short out equipment if they touch critical elements.

Optional Equipment

Every good technician has dropped a screw inside a motherboard, and every good technician has a way of getting it out.  Some use a parts retriever, which is a metal claw on a spring-loaded coil that can reach around and grab small items from hard-to-reach places.  Some people would call this a necessity, but I've put it in the optional category for now because a set of pliers can do the same job.  But if you've ever lost a screw in the crevice between a motherboard and a chassis, this item can be incredibly useful.

Wire cutters/strippers are another optional item that you'll probably never use.  Most pliers come with cutters in the handle, and if you're good enough you can strip wires with them as well.  But wire strippers make it easier and faster, and if you expect to do a fair amount of work with wires they are a real time saver.  Plus, they are great for cutting open those plastic or nylon ties that most of the computer manufacturers are using these days.

I have never had a bad serial port or parallel port in my computer experience, so I have never even taken my loop-back plugs out of my tool box more then 3 or 4 times.  This doesn't mean that some day you won't run into this problem.  Loop-back plugs allow you to connect to a serial or parallel port and diagnose problems with those ports.  Although not necessary, one day you will find a use for them.

The days of bringing a soldering iron with you to a job are fast-fading.  In most instances, you'll be working on FRUs (Field replaceable units) that you simple diagnose and switch for a new unit rather then repair.  Again, although you may never use it, the one time you need it it can save a fair amount of aggravation.  

The use of dental mirrors can sometimes help find stuff in small crevices, but they are something I'd only worry about if you find them cheap or have a specific need.  IC chip pullers used to be vitally important to computers, but most of the components you find nowadays are soldered on the board, and an IC puller will not help.  Lastly, I always carry compressed air with me where ever I go.  You'd be surprised how effective blowing the dust out of circuit boards can be to diagnosing computer problems.  Just getting out the dust from fans and video cards will solve a fair number of heat and rubbing issues.

Software Tools

Where you pack most of your hardware tools in a tool box, software tools are often integrated into a computers operating system.  Therefore there are very few pieces of software you should carry with you.  When you carry a piece of software on to a site, remember you are responsible for the copyrights for that software.

You should always have a virus-free boot disk to work with, although you must be careful about software copyright violations.  It is okay for you to carry boot disks for your own use, but copying these disks for use by others in some cases is a copy of the copyright agreement that you agreed to when you installed your operating system.  Also, there are so many different kinds of operating systems, keeping a boot disk for each one can be difficult.  It can never hurt to be too cautious in the case of boot disks.

Secondly, you should always have an anti-virus program handy.  A fair number of computer problems can be related to the spread of viruses, and a virus check on a system that isn't infected still can eliminate that worry from the customer's mind.  Make it a habit to scan customer's systems that aren't already virus-protected and ensure they know the dangers of viruses.

Sometimes, a good diagnostics program can be your best friend.  Not only will they test software issues, but can test hardware as well.  Find a good diagnostic tool and stick with it. 

Lastly, try to find a good uninstaller program that works to your liking, and study it in and out so you know what it does.  Sometimes fully uninstalling and reinstalled software can fix what seems like a complex problem. 

Included Tools

Most of the time the best software tools are already inside the computer you're working on.  

The first thing you should always do with a software problem is a scan disk.  Although this probably won't give you the answer you're looking for, it can pick out failing hard drives and bad clusters in time to recover most of the information from a hard drive.  It will also free up space being reported incorrectly or deleted files taking up valuable space.  Scan Disk is included with DOS, All versions of windows, and in Unix and OS2 under other names.

Secondly, always check your BIOS status screen and POST screen.  While the computer is turning on you can tell if the hard drives are running, if the memory is failing, serial and parallel port addresses, RAM Cache memory, keyboard and floppy drive errors, and much more.  So watch carefully for the information that comes up in the POST screens as it can save you a fair amount of time.

Another great utility that you should be in the habit of using is defrag.  Unfortunately, defrag won't solve very many computer problems.  It will however avoid hard drive slow-down as clusters become more and more fragmented.  If used as preventative medicine, it can avoid problems that could cost your customer their information later on.  Try to get your customers using defrag once a month.

The last and probably most important software tool you will find is the System's Device Manager.  As Microsoft has discovered the usefulness of this feature, they have expanded it's abilities and created quick a helpful utility.  If you don't know what the device manager is, go to Start, then settings, and into control panels.  Then click on system and Device Manager.  (In Win2K click on hardware to in the system menu to find the device manager.)  The device manager tells you the I/O, IRQ, COM, and DMA of every piece of equipment in the computer, as well as the driver file information.  It also has utilities to update your driver files and correct conflicting equipment.  Learning how the device manager works is vital to working on Windows-Based computers.

Measurement Tools

Measurement tools are basically multi-meters.  If you're serious about becoming a computer technician, you should get a digital multi-meter, although analog multi-meters will do some of the necessary functions.  For the A+ certification exam, you must know what the functions of a digital multi-meter are, and what the individual settings stand for and mean.
First off, make sure you have at least the following settings on your multi-meter; AC and DC voltage, resistance, continuity, and wattage and amperage. You can test continuity with resistance, but get a multi-meter with separate continuity controls.  If you need a refresher on basic electricity, please see last week's tutorial.

Finally, you must know how to read the ranges presented by your multi-meter.  This is more a matter of reading your instruction manual carefully, and learning every function of your multi-meter.  The better the multi-meter, the easier it is to read. (Although the instruction manual will probably be longer.)  Remember one trick I learned quickly at Radio Shack during my tenure there; If your multi-meter stops working, check the fuse.  Most people aren't aware of the fuse that protects the internal parts of a multi-meter.