We have posted in the past what an experienced computer technician carries with him onsite to a computer repair job. We also have an entire section dedicated to computer repair utilities that a computer techie may take with him and use on a job. Another thing that we carry around that doesn’t fall under the “computer repair category” are application installers (eg, iTunes). There is a list of what application installers I carry with me because they are frequently requested by clients.

7-Zip – Free Compression/DeCompression Tool, can extract/make Zip, Rar, Gzip, Tar, Cab, Iso, Arj Files etc..

AVG Antivirus Free – Antivirus Software

FoxIt Reader – Small and Functional PDF reader (does a better job at 2mb than Acrobat Reader does with 22mb)

Flash Player Stand Alone Installer – Plugin to play Flash movies (good for when in-browser installation doesnt work)

Flash Player Uninstaller – Uninstaller for Flash Player (good for when there are issues with older versions of Flash on a system)

 – Internet Browser (good for when someone wants a more powerful, less prone to infection browser. Also good is Internet Explorer doesnt work)

Goodsync – Automatic backup utility

iTunes – Music Management Software, commonly used with iPods

Internet Explorer 6 Standalone Setup – Internet Browser. You cant use the Windows update site unless you have at least IE6, and you cant update to IE6 via the Windows Update Site.

Image Resizer Powertoy – Resize any photos with a simple right click of the mouse (good for resizing massive digital photos for sending via email or for websites like ebay)

Java Installer – A prerequisite for some software and websites.

.Net Framework 1.1 and .Net Framework 2.0 – A prerequisite for alot of software.

Nero Burning Rom Updates – Updates for Nero CD/DVD Burning software (updating often fixes burning issues)

nVidias Forceware Drivers – Drivers for nVidia based video cards

Misc Codecs – Bunch of various codecs for playing various video formats (DivX, Xvid etc.)

MSN Live Messenger Installer – Instant Messaging Program

PDF Creator – Free software for creating PDF files.

Quicktime Installer – For viewing .MOV files and other Apple related formats

Skype – Voice Over IP Software (frequently requested by clients)

Thunderbird – E-Mail Software (good for when Outlook/OE are totally dead on a system or when the client system is frequently exploited though Outlook/OE

Winamp – Music Player. Plays Mp3’s, CDs, Videos etc..

Yahoo Messenger – Instant Messenging Program, I carry both the latest version and some older versions (because some old computers have issues with the new one).

Zonealarm Free Version – Firewall Software

Technibble Reader Suggestions:

VLC Media Player – Free and Light Video Player (great Media Player replacement, faster and better. Even plays smoothly over a LAN.)

Real Alternative – An alternative player for the popular Real format (.rm, .ram). The mainstream Realplayer is slow and full of adware so this is a great alternative. This installs Media Player Classic and the RealPlayer format codec.

Leave a comment if there is anything that isn’t listed here that you think should be carried by onsite technicians and I will most likely add it.