PC Repair tools

[DBSSP]

I have been playing with the idea of having my own Pc repair and design business. But I would like to know what kind of equipment would be recommended to start with (KVM's, servers,tool kits, diagnostics, etc.) I think i have a good idea but some opinions, ideas, and resources would be very helpful. Thanks in advance!

Jay

 

[ceh4702]

Hands on experience is always best. Go to work for someone in that business. This is a business that is hard to make money at. A business such as this would be expected to service everything they make. Equipment varies. It depends on what you want to make and sell. Just PC's isnt too hard. However, servers and business clients for things like internet hardware is a whole nother level. I would imagine some small business would want networking too. This requires a wide range of expertise. If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[garwain]

my shop consists of:
a couple PC toolkits (standard screwdrivers, pliers, tweezers), a lan tester kit, acrimping tool, a small solder gun and a syringe of Arctic Silver III

I have 1 KVM switch plus a couple extra monitors, keyboards (ps2 and DIN) and mice (ps2 and Serial)

spare power cables, ide cables, Y-splitters for the 12V connectors, ethernet cables (straightthrough and crossover)

a few modems, NICs, HDDs, FDDs, vid cards, sound cards etc

several cans of compressed air

a couple boxes of blank disks and blank CD's

assortment of disks for ms office97+2K, win95,98,2K,ME (haven't got XP yet, but it's coming soon), an assortment of *NIX disks and utilities, Norton Antivirus, Norton Ghost, PQ Partition Magic

Catelogs from various distributers and a list of phone numbers for their sales departments

The only thing I'm missing is workspace... I'm hoping to be able to switch my shop into another room soon to fix this problem...

my road kit includes 1 pc toolkit (see above), Artic Silver III, a couple cables, copies of the CD's and disks listed above, a couple small catelogs for quick referance, a pad of note paper, and a folder of blank documents (timesheets, invoices, contracts (I don't work on a machine that contains important data unless I cover my backside) and some stickers (if I take a machine back to my shop, I want to have it clearly labled))

The last tool I have is my laptop with a combo NIC/ethernet card so that I can check my online resources (msdn, microsoft, tek-tips.com, etc) wherever I am

The next things I'll be adding are a infared thermoprobe and a multimeter

I'd assume that you would probably have most the the basic stuff that you would need already, and anything else could be picked up as needed.

 

[DBSSP]

Thank you for your help gang. It is very much appreciated. I have experience in Pc repair in building, I just don't have the experience what to have in my own shop. I know that a variety of things can happen. So I have most of the things I'll be needing minus a kvm switch. That seems to be one of the most versatile tools I need to pick up that I don't already have. Any idea where I can pick up some good utilities for diagnostics? I have Sandra, Norton and various tweak tools, but I want something that's going to be good across a broad range. You guys are giving me great ideas!

Jay

 

[ceh4702]

There are probably some testing equipment that would be nice like a way to test the ports on the computer like mouse, keyboard, serial, printer. Of course if you have extra parts that helps. It is obvious if the mouse works on another machine that it is not the mouse that is bad. Some companies make software to test all of that. Then you need a business name people will recognize and some other things to do paperwork on like contracts and receipts. Don't forget to keep the tax man happy. A lawyer on the side is probably a good idea also.

I would think one could start into this slowly as a hobby building computers for friends and buddies, and people you know in your spare time. Start a computer club or something. If you didn't make money at first it could be used as a tax write-off. If nothing else you could use it to buy some nice workbench and a few computer tools you need anyway.

Probably real money to be made if you can get contracts to assemble computers for schools or medium sized businesses or some contracts for specialized servers or something like that. It wouldn't hurt to have a website to teach about networking computers at home or to offer low-cost classes. My local ISP teaches some of these classes like How to surf the internet and web page 101, How to set up a business with a shopping cart, etc.

One local computer shop also orders parts for people on a walk-in basis, rents computer time on the display models like an internet Cafe, and sells cellular phones on the side. I think they also allow some internet guys to locate a server in one corner for local service. There are ways you can kind of branch out if you can't make enough money doing one specific thing.

I built my last computer on an old beat up card table under a hanging 60 Watt lightbulb with the tools in my old toolbox. Usually I only use a screw driver or maybe a pair of plyers.

Just don't sell any software without a license. Someone will eventually get jealous and turn you in. If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[Antimatter]

Tufftest pro is a good piece of software for testing hardware. Serial and parallel loopback plugs can be used with this.
A working test-bed machine is a good idea for testing components. I use an MS-5164 with an AMD-333 for this. The ALI chipset on this board is very good for testing most SIMMs & DIMMs of up to 256MB.
According to Ruslan on Windrivers forums, Asus P2-B boards are very good for this type of work(especially for hot-swap BIOS reprogramming).
It's always useful to have a machine like this for running Ontrack EZrecovery so your main system isn't disrupted by lengthy data recovery operations.
If you feel rich, a universal BIOS reprogrammer like the Conitec Galep-III is a good idea(especially if you're unsure about hot-swapping).
A multimeter is definately an essential item for checking PSU, Vcore and VIO.
A POST card like the Micro 2000 Postprobe is a very good investment for diagnosing startup problems quickly.

 

[jexster]

Thank god for those little cans of compressed air.

 

[DBSSP]

Thank you all for your inputs! These are are great ideas people! I think as long as I have people like you guys helping me out I can be very successful. Again, thank you all!

Jay

 

[garwain]

as ceh4702 said, teaching courses helps out a lot. Thats really how I got my buisness started. Started leaving buisness cards and posters around town advertizing computer repairs and 1-on-1 tutoring. Now alongside my regular job, I spend most of my evenings working on a computer for someone. I also do programming and web-site design, and have taken on a few other part time employees. Some day I'll be turning this into my fulltime job and hopefully getting a real shop to work from.

Regarding the compressed air, yeah they are definatly a must have! (if you clean out computers that have never had the case opened then maybe a vaccume cleaner would be a good item to have on hand to clean up the workbench/wall/floor after getting the dust out of the computer.

Another musthave that I just realized is a cell phone. When I leave my shop on call, I can set up call forwarding from the shop line to my cell and never miss a call.

 

[DBSSP]

I have one of those little mini vacuums and it works real well, but nothin' beats that compressed air! lol What are everybody's feelings on Microscope 2000 and it's other sister products from the Micro 2000 Co.? Anybody know where I might get these products cheap?

Jay

 

[CitrixEngineer]

I didn't know you could still get MicroScope - I have a 1989 version that I still use for older computers. It used to be the best - but I've not used recent versions.

BelArc Hardware advisor is useful, but the MadOnion benchmarks are the best. Sandra is incredibly useful, with its helpful tips and reoprts. These are the best "freebies".

If you live in the UK,

http://www.scan.co.uk

do a very basic KVM for £25. It comes with 4 sets of cables - so the whole thing is the same price as a single set of cables for, say, a Belkin Omni View Pro (and the cables fit an Omni View!). They also do a cool 5-port 10/100 switch for about the same money.

Homebase do a really cool multi-purpose screwdriver kit that I use with my regular toolkit; all the interchangable tips are magnetic, and there are those odd star shapes that you get with HP Netservers and other odd kit.

You may be able to pick up a cheap oscilloscope from an on-line auction, but a multimeter is a minimal best for tracking down electrical faults. An oscilloscope looks cool in the lab as well, from a customer's point ot view ;-)

I'd recommend at least three computers of a known working condition; a laptop, an AT-base and an ATX base. Some "workhorse" kit is essential, for testing "broken" components. Some customers just don't get the "roll your own" bit, and will return stuff because they want the latest, or because they don't have the knowledge to get it working.

You'd do well to have a benchmark AMD board, and a range of benchmark Intel boards for CPU testing, and benchmark CPUs and RAM.

Oh, and a generic boot disk is always handy. Check out

http://www.bootdisk.com

CitrixEngineer@yahoo.co.uk

 

[DBSSP]

All these ideas! I never knew, lol. Keep em coming. I still would like to know about those Micro 2000 products. I have Sandra but as it is Sandra is a good "basic" tool.

I do have an older PII 333 I just need to put the components into a case. Would that work for a test platform?

Jay