Once again we dig into our archives to show you some of our best articles you may have missed (the first two times are located here and here). This time our focus is on the technical theory stuff that most computer technicians need to know.

Computer Technicians 100 Series

• Computer Technicians 101: The Essential Toolbox – So, you’ve decided to become a computer technician. Whether it’s the will to help people, computers, to earn cash, to make a name for yourself, or any combination of that, it’s a good thing. I hope you realize you’ll have quite a bit to learn if you’re completely new to the business.
• Computer Technicians 102: The Essential Utility Kit – In our introduction to the CT series we explained the basics of assembling a good toolbox that’ll help you deal with hardware issues. However, as you already know, there’s the other side of the computer duality. Software, while not something you can touch, feel, or throw against the wall, is generally bound to give you more trouble. If you arrive to a computer that won’t power up, you know it’s a hardware failure for sure. If, however, it won’t boot into the OS, or boots up to trouble, the odds are in favor of a software issue. And since you were summoned, you need to make sure you have as many utilities at your disposal as possible.
• Computer Technicians 103: Knowing your power (supply) – Last week, on Technibble: CT 102 we discussed the best way to prepare your software toolkit. Today, however, we’re back on the hardware railroad to discuss the one component your whole computer depends on: the Power Supply Unit. Any computer, no matter how perfectly planned, prepared or assembled, will fail to boot, sputter, smoke and eventually die if connected to an inadequate, weak or just plain faulty power supply.
• Computer Technicians 104: Making Computer Diagnoses – Previously, on TNCT 103, we explained the most critical component in a computer system. While knowing the insides of every component is crucial to becoming a knowledgeable (if not even good) technician, one of the biggest challenges when repairing any computer is definitely making a diagnosis.

Computer Technicians 200 Series

• Computer Technicians 201: Expanding your market – SoHo repairs – In our previous articles in the TN 10x series we discussed some basic, local tactics that will enable you to get a computer fixed on a small, local scale, in order to get your job done, as well as get your paycheck. In this series of articles we will cover more advanced repair topics as well as some long-term strategies for planning and marketing, as well as some other topics relevant to an advanced computer technician. Although not nearly as short-term as on-site planning, expanding your market onto SoHos can be your first major step in achieving a constant supply of clients, experience and, of course, income.
• Computer Technicians 202: BIOS Functions and Firmware Flashing – Today we’ll discuss the nature of BIOS, its general functions – which vary between manufacturers and models – some common chokepoints, and finally, ways of upgrading or fixing it. Learning to use and upgrade your BIOS and other flash firmware is primarily for optimization purposes, but can come handy in overcoming some very basic hardware problems.
• Computer Technicians 202.5: Optical Drives and Firmware Flashing – In this course we’ll examine the workings of optical drive firmware, the reasons to upgrade it and the general procedure how to do it, because like the BIOS, there are some advantages to having a flashed drive.
• Computer Technicians 203: Hard Disk Failures – One of the most hazardous, annoying, and generally panic-inducing failures that happen on any computer are hard-drive failures. While they can be moderately to extremely hard to fix, diagnosing them comes first, so you could be able to determine just how much damage the disk sustained and can sustain before it finally dies.
• Computer Technicians 204: RAID Guide – One of the buzzwords that appeared while explaining a server setup was RAID. Originally called Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks, RAID arrays have become a neccessity in every storage-intensive field, in order to both speed access up, as well as provide additional protection for stored data.

Computer Technicians 300 Series

• Computer Technicians 301: Planning computer configurations – the right tool for the right task – Welcome to the expert section of the Computer Technician series. Although the topics we’re going to deal with here are mostly organizational in nature (with a couple of really troublesome, migraine-inducing problems), the ‘expert section’ title isn’t misleading. Both small and large-scale, short or long-term, planning always takes a lot of knowledge and a great deal of intuition.
  In some cases, more knowledge than fixing a computer problem, because the variables you have to count in are much more numerous. With any science, be it electronics, chemistry or digital circuitry, synthesis (creation) is much more complicated than analysis (disassembly).
  In this issue we will discuss tailoring a computer configuration to a specific task, currently available components, and, of course, the depth of the client’s pocket. By doing a bit of planning you can ensure you know exactly what kind of workplace needs what kind of machine.