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What should every computer tech have in their toolbox

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by jdtins 2 views

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I own a consulting company and I am looking to make a checklist for all my technicians to have in their vehicle. I assume that it would be quite extensive, but I'm tired of my guys forgetting something basic or running out of CAT5 ends and then having to waste time running back to the office. I would rather have a checklist that they could go through weekly to ensure that they have everything they might need on a job site.

I'm looking for what you think is essential in a toolkit.

12 replies

by jmgarvin

Hardware:
-------------------------------
50m CAT5E
20 RJ45 Connectors
Crimps
Multi-head screwdriver
Hex screws (metric/standard)
Wrist strap
Grabber
Dust cloth
Hammer
Dry wall saw
Face plates and blanks
CDROM/DVDROM Drive
Floppy Drive
Blank CDs
IDE/SATA cables
1 stick 512mb RAM
Fluke meter
Fish tape
Drill and bits
Gloves
HDD
Laptop

Software:
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Windows XP
MS Office
Basic files (eg VPN files, configs, etc)
Netstumbler
Backtrack 2 boot disk (http://www.remote-exploit.org/backtrack.html)

by charliespencer

Software:
Operating system CDs - Windows 2K, XP, Vista, OS X
Bart-PE, Linux, or other bootable CD; with hard drive and RAM diagnostics, anti-malware and hard drive imaging utilities.
Make sure all boot and diagnostic disks are CD; not all customers will have DVD drives or USB-bootable systems.

Hardware
IDE and SATA hard and optical drives and cables
Mice, keyboards, joystick, other input devices
Small monitor for video troubleshooting
Video, modem, and network cards
Wireless router and PCMCIA card
Generic power supplies
Surge protection strip
Cheap speakers

Expendable supplies
CAT-5 cables, plugs, jacks, crimper, tester
Screen wipes (makes a huge impression for little time and cost)
Power, USB, video (VGA and DVI), audio, and parallel printer cables
Isopropyl alcohol

Tools
Electric screwdriver with assortment of bits
Ground strap
Floppy and optical drive cleaners
Temporary colored stickers (used to mark good and bad components)
USB CD \ DVD burner
External modem and serial cable.

If you know the customer's system in advance:
Printer cartridges
System restore disks
RAM

It's a start. Have your tech's keep track of the tools they use during a two-week period, and of the things they most frequently have to come back after.
That should get you started.

by entawanabi

A Multi-meter, diital/without ohm circuit as well as the dial kind; the other thing is an Ohm Meter that has a gaurenteed pulse set and in this day and age an IP(Identification Protocal) so you know that you read YOUR sent signal.
As for parts and such Darnned if I know!!!

Enta Wanabi

by mjd420nova

I could go through an inventory of my truck, but it would take to long to list. Most suggestions are really good but a couple things could be added. Along with flat head and phillips screwheads, torx should be added. A good grounded tip low wattage (23 watts) soldering iron. Solder sucker or solder wick. Some oily finger nail polish remover (mostly acetone). Along with the never ending list of platform specific parts, generic video card, spare keyboard and mouse, floppy drive cable and a generic USB card for those units without a USB option. Diagnostic software is again platform specific and most generic types will not work for all. I also use a 5 1/4 floppy, 3 1/2 inch diskette, CD rom of the bootable type to load first and then work with onboard software to confirm hardware validity before tackling software issues.

by jdtins

Why do you have nail polish remover? Do you still find a use for 5 1/4 floppy?

by charliespencer

As mjd420nova noted, the primary component of fingernail polish remover is acetone. It's a useful solvent / cleaner. A bottle of isopropyl alcohol would be handy for the same reason.

by cg it

I have SP2 on CD amazed at how many don't have SP2 installed. IE 7 as well.

I bought passware's enterprise kit about 4 years ago and I can't tell you how often I use it. Paid for itself the first year.

AV on CD. for most desktops where the problem seems to be a virus and the damn thing won't boot to the O/S.
USB External CD/RW drive to make copies of CDs
USB External CD drive
USB External Floppy Drive
Cisco console cable and USB to DB9 adapter
I have a package of RJ-45 and RJ 11 plugs and a crimper.
66 and 110 punchdown tool
I have a Traveldrive with assorted network tools that over time I found that not having them when going to a job site was a pain in the butt. Beats having to download em while at the site. The tools basically come from MS's resource kit and Cisco's resources. A TFTP program for uploading and downloading images is a must if one works on Cisco equipment.
basic hand tools
electrostatic strap
drywall knife for cutting up boxes that equipment is shipped in because invariably I end up responsible for throwing the boxes away. Easier to work with and toss in the dumpster if their cut up.
power screw driver/drill.
Cat 5 tester [Paladin]
I have about a 25' lenght of ethernet patch cable. First 2 times out as a field tech 20 some odd years ago, I didn't have any and needed to make either a cross over or straight thru cable. Never leave home without em.
Flashlight because of having to climb up into ceilings or under desks where's there is little light. I've got one of them there LED lights on a little stand as well. Beats holding the damn thing with the teeth.
Kneepads. Didn't need them when I was in my 30s but now, don't leave home without em.
A 4 year old laptop with Windows 2000 loaded on it. It's got a TFTP server on it and that's it. If it's ripped off I don't care.
A disposable digital camera. I always take pictures of before and after. CYA!!

by nicknielsen

If all they are doing is PC/network support work, they can probably get by with this list.

Hand Tools

Screwdrivers
- Standard - 1/8? x2?, \1/4? x 4
- Phillips - \#1, #2
Nutdrivers ? 1/8?, 3/16?
Torx drivers ? T5, T10
Long nose pliers
Side cutters ? at least 4?, but I carry a 7? as well
Crimping tool ? RJ-45 at least, but it's always good to have RJ-11 and RJ-22 capability
UTP/STP Cable stripper

Test Equipment

Outlet tester
Fluke 110 or equivalent meter
Cat 5 circuit tester (Note: You can get one of these for about $60-$70 US, but all it will be is a continuity tester. You may find you need something equivalent to the Fluke Microscanner2. For more heavy-duty work, spring for at least one Fluke NetTool or equivalent.)

Hardware/Small Parts

Spare Cat 5 cables ? 3ft, 5ft, 10ft, 15ft, and 25ft
RJ-45 ends ? 50 to start
Cat-5 ? small box (250 ft)
cable ties

Spare parts
- at least one each PS/2 & USB keyboard, mouse
- display adapter
- audio card

Software
- Ultimate Boot CD. I love this thing. I haven't run into a hard drive yet that the OEM test software isn't on the CD. Many other very useful utilities as well, including hardware testing and drive partitioning software
- Imaging software of your choice: Ghost, TrueImage, DriveImage, whatever
- Win98 boot floppies (still VERY useful for those older PCs that won't boot from CD or USB)
- Memtest86
- Hardware testing software of your choice

This is what I have in my ?PC/network support? toolbag. I have a much longer list of tools, parts, and hardware that I use in project work and installations; if you're interested, PM me.

by jdtins

For each technician I think I'll just have a continuity tester. It's hard to justify the cost of a Fluke NetTool. The MicroScanner is not too bad though. What about cabling. I had my guys take a steel tape and a fiberfish. Any other thoughts?

by jmgarvin

I like the Fluke because it is so feature rich. We only had a couple when I was pulling cable, but they were worth it.

Oh that note, a cheap tone generator from Radio Shack works too ;-)

by nicknielsen

I only carry a 25' fish tape, but my cabling work is mostly only through or over walls. The customer normally uses a different contractor for serious pulling.

The continuity tester is OK, but it has deficiencies that the Microscanner can help eliminate. For example, the continuity tester will only tell you that a pair is open or reversed; the TDR function in the Microscanner can tell you approximately where the problem is (near end, distant end, etc.). You will also know the length of runs. (I'm actually using a Fluke 620 that I bought used for about $250. It doesn't have ALL the features of the Microscanner, but it does what I need it to do.)

As I said, you might want to invest in a single NetTool. I've seen runs where the device connection was unreliable, but the continuity tester says "Yea, verily!" A borrowed NetTool showed excessive line noise. Turns out the cable was running past motorized equipment or light fixtures and every time anything was on, there was all that EMI. Replacing the UTP with STP fixed the problem.

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