PC Repair toolkit

Having the right tools for the job is essential for a computer technician, and having them stored in an easily accessible place can be invaluable. In this article, we will look at what I like to keep in my CD wallet - from UBCD4Win and Ultimate Boot CD (DOS) to Offline NT Password & Registry Editor and DriverPacks.net CDs; these are the tools that I rely on when it comes to repairing computers.

Here on Technibble we have covered computer repair applications for your USB drive fairly extensively, but what about a technicians CD wallet? Here is a list of disks that I carry around in my onsite CD wallet. UBCD4Win – UBCD4Win is my preferred GUI repair environment because its Windows based and have already been loaded with many repair applications. Of course, you can use a Linux LiveCD flavor if that is more your style. Ultimate Boot CD (dos version) – Ultimate Boot CD is a DOS based menu that allows you to do low level work to a system like testing the RAM for errors, doing a low level format or testing the condition of a hard drive. It contains the DOS versions of some commonly used applications such as Aida, Memtest86+, Dariks Boot and Nuke and more. Offline NT Password & Registry Editor – Offline NT Password & Registry Editor is a freeware utility that allows you to change or blank the password of any user that has a valid account on a local NT/2000/XP/2003/Server 2008/Vista 32 & 64bit system. Offline Update – Offline Update is a freeware tool that downloads all of the existing patches for the operating system you specify (choice of Windows 2000, XP and Server 2003) and creates an ISO file, for which you can later burn to a CD or DVD. The DriverPacks.net CDs – The DriverPacks.net project is an open source project. The goal is to simplify the creation of a “uniform” Windows installation CD, i.e. an installation CD that works on every piece of hardware, without having to go look for other drivers after the installation. Windows Installer CD's - A copy of: Windows XP Home OEM/Retail/Genuine Advantage Windows XP Professional OEM/Retail/VLK 32bit/64bit Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit / 64bit (contains all Vista versions) More...

Computer Technician Work Process

I've been fixing computers for many years, and I've come up with a procedure to make sure they're fixed as quickly and effectively as possible. Before starting work, this procedure entails asking the client what the problem is, looking over the computer, and creating a system restore point. After that, I make sure it's plugged in and turned on, among other simple fixes. Once I've identified and implemented the solution, I test it by attempting to duplicate the issue and restarting the computer. In this article we will discuss my experience with fixing computers. I would like to share with you my (and many other technicians) process of working on a computer and dealing with a client. I have built up this process over many years after making many mistakes of my own and putting extra steps to make sure they don’t happen again. This is my process: Ask What the Problem Is when I first answer the phone, I will try and determine what the problem is as much as I can before I go onsite to make sure its something I can fix. However, what they say on the phone can often be wildly different to what the problem actually is. Once I arrive at the clients location, I ask what the problem is again and ask them a few extra questions to help pinpoint what the problem could be. Depending on the problem, I would ask something along the lines of: Did you install any new software or hardware recently? Was the computer making strange noises before this happened? Was there a power outage recently? Inspect the Computer if they leave the computer at your location, physically inspect it with them watching and look for any cracks, scuffs or any other sort of damage. If you find something, point it out to them and write it down on your work order. This will save you tons headaches down the track if they say you damaged the computer while it was in your possession, even though the damage was already there when you received it. Another important thing to do is try to power up the computer in front of them for two reasons: 1, So you can try and reproduce the problem with them. 2, To prove it does (or doesn’t) power up when it arrived. More...