Assemble the perfect system administrator's toolkit

Hi, 99% of the times i need a tool, I use the Swiss Army Cyber tool (http://www.swiss-knife.com/en/sk/translucent/cybertools.html). The 1% left, most of the times I'dd like to use a hamer and smash the dammed thing!!

So I have been looking at redoing my toolkit again, but I am looking for a good case/bag to build it in. What do you guys use? Right now I have an old softside bag, but I want something functional, professional, but that will not eat a paycheck to get.

The Job Picture this: You???ve been in IT for the past 15 years. The IT manager of a big firm, you manage a team of 10 IT staff that serves the in-house needs of more than 500 employees, and you know you do a great job at it. After another day hard at work planning the new PBX migration project, your mobile phone rings. It???s your CEO on the line. There???s a problem with his home PC, which refuses to boot. He needs to retrieve a critical document from it for a keynote presentation the next day. He lives down the road from you. So what do you do now? A) Tell him you???re an IT manager, and you don???t do PC servicing anymore. B) Tell him that you???re at as much of a loss as he is. C) Tell him not to worry and show up at his house an hour later with the team leader. D) Tell him not to worry and that you???re be right over in 5 minutes yourself. If your answer is option A, B, and maybe even option C, then I suggest you head down to Toni???s excellent Career blog for some advice on getting a new job. If your answer is D, then perhaps this Right Tool post is for you. Sometimes, there???s no other way but to rollup your sleeve and get your hands dirty. Nothing beats being prepared, however. To help you along, I have put together a list of items that you can assemble into your very own system administrator survival toolkit. The list is presented in no particular order. The Tools Screwdrivers As you might have noticed by now, today???s Right Tool post is somewhat different. Instead of the tool, I???m presenting you with a list of 20 tools that you might want to consider throwing into your own system administrator???s toolkit. (Come on, you know real IT pros builds their own kits.) 1. Cable tester 2. Portable labeler 3. Bluetooth mouse 4. Anti-static strap 5. Releasable cable ties 6. Portable hard disk drive 7. Encrypted USB flash drive 8. Crimping tools 9. Hard disk wiper 10. Hard disk to USB adapter 11. USB hub 12. RJ11 cable 13. Patch cables 14. Multimeter 15. Screwdrivers 16. Multi-plug adapter 17. Original disc media 18. Serial to USB adapter 19. RJ-45 extender 20. Wireless modem 21. Hire Jason Desveaux 22. Hire James Mcfarland

Personally, I think the time of carrying around bundles of CD's is over. With the advent of huge hard drives, I simply keep copies of all of the appropriate CD's on a portable and/or network hard drive and install from there. Carry a laptop with you and keep a couple of pieces of CDRW/DVDRW media in the case - you can burn OS or other bootable CD's as necessary. For ease of use, have a bootable USB flash drive with UBCD or Knoppix on it. For hardware tools, you can also keep it pretty simple. Multi-bit screwdriver with T15/T8, Philips 1 & 0, & blade bits. LED flashlight, paperclip, hemostats. Make sure the hard drive for your software is in a case that you can put a different drive in so you can connect to the laptop if necessary. Spare network cable (should be in the laptop bag anyway). For emergency field repairs/recovery that should be enough. If it takes much more than that, take it in to the shop (your home or office, your choice). Notice I said emergency repairs - when I performed field diagnostics/repairs for a living I kept a much larger kit in the car, but didn't necessarily take it inside unless necessary.

How can you fix problems without a diagnostic toolkit package ? Diagnostics were very popular in 80 s and 90 s, however they left the spotlight. You can buy an excellent one for $400, PC Doctor Service Center 6. It suuports even Vista. http://www.pc-doctor.com/pcd_service_center.php Instead of trying to assemble a lot of things and tools and try to fit them together, starting from a solid base an extremely smart move. If someone is interested I may try to create a right tool report for it.

I agree with most of the list, and carry almost all the above tools wherever I go, including boxes of indoor and outdoor Cat5 cable, since NW installs are part of my job. Need a new patch cabe? Make one custom sized on the spot. In addition to bootable CDs, all my SW tools (AV installers, Spybot, AdAware, reg cleaners, etc) I carry on my Ipod classic. Enough room left over for my music, podcasts and transferring user files to another machine if need be, too.

Where is your software collection??? I have all or most of the above in a bag, but almost all computer problems these days are, by virtue of MICROSOFT making a mess of things, is software related. WINTERNALS ERD COMMANDER Diagnostic Boot CDRom such as Ultimate boot ORIGINAL CDROMS of ALL software Small tools, a plethora of them. Drivers NetStat, RPing, etc. Sheesh.

So, what is the most dangerous thing in a business? An IT guy may well say a programmer with a screw driver. So if the Admin comes from a programming background, it would typically be best if they got someone who knew what they where doing. That aside, I have a really cool USB to IDE/Sata/Notebook drive adapter that i find is invaluable for post mortem support. Couple that with a copy of "gasp" Hiren's Boot disk latest version plus a notebook and you are well on your way to tackle most problems.

First off I'd swap the Bluetooth mouse for one suited to more systems. Your bosss may not have a Bluetooth capable system. A USB/PS2 capable mouse would be more appropriate in my estimation. So you have most of the tools you'll need and can open the box and "wrench" on whatever you need to. So, tell me hotshot, what software are you packing to diagnose problems and correct them? I'd be packing the major operating systems in addition to diagnostic software as well as software to get rid of malware etc. that could be part, if not all, of the problem. OK, now, go modify your toolkit and let us know what you come up with.

Cant live without the following: MemTest PartedMagic Dell Diagnostics CD TCP/IP Boot Disc DBAN Live CD Ubuntu Live and alternative CDs Trusty Tool CD containg AVG, Spybot S&D, Hijack This, some helpful utilites for killing off troublesome viruses and spyware or locked files Other Tools: --------------- 5 - in - 1 Network Admin Cable Extra screws, RJ-45 ends, SATA and IDE cables, Power Supply Tester Cable Crimpers Spare CDROM/DVD drive for those just in case situations Star tip drivers or wrenches for those sometimes pesky Macs Thats all i can remember at the moment however im sure i missed a few, i also made sure to leave out a few live/install cds that i use for only certain clients such as SME Server, smoothwall, etc.

Never used one, never needed it.

It is fine to have all that 'Stuff' in your 'Tool Kit', but it is even more essential to have a Laptop that can be used as a Tool with that list. I myself like the IBM Thinkpad X32 cause it has built in Ethernet, Wireless, Bluetooth, Modem , 1394 , USB, and an LPT output. It's small , thin and thus light wieght for easy carrying! I find a Laptop allows you to more quickly ensure things are working right and with it and that Hard disk to USB adapter you can at least get the CEO accessto his critical document and get it printed out or heck I would just lend him the laptop!

There's too much crud in that kit - remember you are fixing a PC not the Titanic. If it's not been said before in a previous post, take a spare working ADSL router too.

First off, I've used a lot of live recovery disks (Trinity rescue disk, UBCD4WIN, Kubuntu, etc), but none of those came remotely close to having the flexibility and reliability of LSoft's Active@ Boot Disk Win Edition. Based on the Windows Vista framework, this boot disk allows the user to do anything from data recovery (even when linux boot disks don't recognize the HDD) without the need for a password, to wiping the HDD with a program called Active@ Kill Disk. For two years now I have used this boot disk without a single hiccup. There is also one more boot disk that comes in very handy, and that is Alwil's Avast BART CD. This network administrator's dream software allows the user to once again bypass the hard disk on boot-up and search and destroy/quarantine malware. Both these pieces of software come in incredibly handy, and no IT administrator should go without them. They have saved my life many times. Find Active@ Boot Disk at: http://www.ntfs.com/boot-disk.htm Find Avast Bart CD at: http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_bart_cd.html

I've been out of this type of environment for about 7 years but people would often ask me why I still have a tool box (by this time I was the President over a company of about 30ish techs and engineers - we services the cruise industry so it was 24/7/365). The company grew like mad and this story is a good example of why.

This list is starting to look like what a PC tech would need, not a sys admin. Having said that, there a couple of things missing. A small pill bottle with some various screws. Needle nose pliers for pulling jumpers, but also picking up any of those screws that get dropped into the case.

sorry double post! Refer to one above

First things first. Ask him basic questions first to get a feel for the problem. Stuff like the if there are any lights on and if there are beeps and such. Then you will know what to carry. I would have a power supply tester, some known good RAM, needle nose pliers (reset BIOS jumper)POST card, an eraser (to clean RAM contacts), screwdriver set, Flash drive with all my needed software, linux password reset CD,standalone bootable utility CD. I would not walk with the network stuff, after all it is a home PC and the file is local. No remote connectivity needed as the file is local so no RJ11 or modem either. Bluetooth mouse ??? Hard disk wiper? More likely data recovery software you want to retrieve not destroy. Labeler ? we probably know which wires go where or else you should not even open the case. Bottom line is don't walk with what you don't need. If the problem is really huge then take the system to your home workshop (yeah all techs have that)and fix from there. Or simply yank the drive and, connect to another PC and extract file (unless encrypted). Good tech keep it real simple and real quick. The list above is really a system admin tool kit, not a PC tech toolkit .The PC tech kit is what you need in this situation. Possibly a PC tech as well!!

Obviously a trick question. In a typical company where a CEO's total comp is >10x the average workers' salary, he does not live down the road from you. At best, he's across town. More likely, he's in another county living in a gated community.

I'd add a copy of SpinRite from grc.com This little gem has revived many a hard drive that's failed to boot or was on the verge of giving up the ghost. Not freeware but well worth the investment.

All this are hardware related. I recommend Ultimate BootCD for the software part.

What about the coffee? Or chocolate? In all seriousness though, how often are you called out to a job that "should" take 20 minutes and turns into 6 hours? Have a snickers in your toolbox and you'll be fine!

Bluetooth mouse? Give me a break----how many people are you going to run into that even know what it is, or that their computer can support it? And where are the needle nose pliers???? These are very handy. Long handle, medium and very fine pointed, non-magnetic are available from Crafsman, Snap-on Tools, MAC Tools. These are some of the best tool companies out there, and their products are top of the line. CHeck out there catalogs online, or, if you know a mechanic or anybody in the automotive or electronics trades, they will tell you where to get good screwdrivers, needle-nose pliers and anything else you may need. I was and have been in the automotive industry for a little while, enough time to collect about 30K in tools over the years while I do LAN administration and fix PC's for my new occupation.

Last time this happenned to me I thought i had the right tools and the pc stayed in my hands booting 12 hours later only.

he needs to add a mac to that list and an iPod and pliers

Screen your calls. When you get in make your apology, ???I was chasing dingbats in my back yard or what ever.??? Personally, I don't do work on people's personal machines or work machines when I am not at work: 1. I am a manager and not a tech; I get paid to do that, period. 2. You don???t want to get jacked up because his home machine is a nightmare and fall into the trap of not being able to deliver. 3. Whatever tool you need will not be the one you have. 4. You actually make a mistake, hey, it happens to the best of use (see number 2) 5. You have a life and deserve to live what little you can in the free time you have. 6. You have just established an unhealthy relationship. I try to keep work and personal life separate so I don???t open myself up to situations like this.