Which hardware have become indispensable to your business?

Blue Banana

Blue Banana

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I'm talking about specific devices and hardware you have bought that you can't do without in your business. Everybody has to have at least one thing they can't do without except the obvious screwdriver. One of the first items I bought to make my repairs faster was a SATA and IDE to USB converter, for 2.5 and 3.5" drives. It has saved me so much time and works like a charm.

Thinking about getting the laptop repair videos over here, can anyone vouch for them?
 
1. usb > sata/ide and usb sata docks
2. usb nic that works in WinXP without installing drivers...
3. 90 watt universal power adapter for laptops
4. PS/2 > usb cable
5. dvi > vga adapter
6. a good dedicated tech bench pc

those are the MAIN things...
 
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FoolishTech said:
1. usb > sata/ide and usb sata docks
2. usb nic that works in WinXP without installing drivers...
3. 90 watt universal power adapter for laptops
4. PS/2 > usb cable
5. dvi > vga adapter
6. a good dedicated tech bench pc

those are the MAIN things...
Click to expand...

I gotta get a USB NIC now. Very helpful if you do a nuke and pave and
there's no drivers for the NIC installed.
 
FoolishTech said:
1. usb > sata/ide and usb sata docks
2. usb nic that works in WinXP without installing drivers...
3. 90 watt universal power adapter for laptops
4. PS/2 > usb cable
5. dvi > vga adapter
6. a good dedicated tech bench pc

those are the MAIN things...
Click to expand...

I gotta get a USB NIC now. Very helpful if you do a nuke and pave and
there's no drivers for the NIC installed.

Or maybe make an XP nLite disc with a NIC driverpack ?
 
IDE/SATA CADDY
Oscilloscope (handy for testing power supply stability)
USB mouse (due to RSI I find track pads a pain to use)
USB mini keyboard (takes up little space and very handy as a lot of modern machines have no PS/2 ports)
External DVD drive (for laptops with no optical drive)
VGA/DVI converter
My wireless Ethernet bridge, it is a an access point which connects to the router wireless, and has an Ethernet port on the other side, giving me an Ethernet port in every room of the house.
 
Coolmax Power Supply Tester :)

A standard screwdriver set and a set of the thin screwdrivers for laptops

External USB hard drive
 
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Write-Protected USB drive for transferring my cleaning apps to infected PC's

Dual KVM for working on 2 PC's at once

USB to IDE/SATA
 
External HD, External DVD drive, Multimeter,universal regulated portable power supply for laptops,my numerous tool kits and replacement parts to test.
 
Appletax said:
I gotta get a USB NIC now. Very helpful if you do a nuke and pave and
there's no drivers for the NIC installed.
Click to expand...

Driver pack? know it, use it, love it...

8 port KVM - 6 ports used for day to day tech work, 1 ports for server, 1 port for TEST Rig

Power supply tester
Multimeter
Multimeter for testing capacitors
Soldering iron
 
The most indispensible thing I use on a daily basis is my Leatherman Wave. I feel nude if it's not on my belt, and it usually triggers a mad cleaning frenzy to find it if it's not there.

We give our Techs a Leatherman when they've been with us for a while, I feel it's like giving them their 'stripes'.
 
Blue Banana said:
That is awesome. You wouldn't happen to have a link to where I can buy this?
Click to expand...

The USB NIC I use that works in XP (and 2000, as I recall) without drivers is like 10 years old and *knock on wood* still works like a champ. It's a "Netline PN796" but I haven't seen any for sale in years. It's probably been my best kept piece of hardware. It's funny, you have to plug it in, remove it, and replug it for it to recognize properly, but then it works great so no biggie. The down side is, although XP supports it natively, Vista doesn't!

A bit more rare of a need these days, still I need some for my other techs, so they will quit borrowing mine. I just ordered a Linksys from Newegg that looks promising though. I'll report back if it works.
 
For me since I am always carrying my backpack around my tools needs to be rather small and compact. Plus since I live in New York City being portable is key for me. I have listed some of the tools that I need for my business:
---ipad and samsung tab (handy for mapping out a network)
---external usb 2.5inch 320GB hard drive ( .iso image, OS updates, and more)
---my cd wallet full of software tools from Spinrite, my multi boot cd/dvds
---thumb drives
---very small and thin cordless screwdriver
---Dropbox (just incase I forget my external usb drive)
---and my most important tool of all is my mobile hot spot. This has come in handy more often that I can remember. Many times while working at a clients location with no internet access the hot spot saves the day.

***Forgot to list the Targus Laptop Backpack.... :)
 
I feel that the following tools help me to be most productive.

4.6v drill for screwing the cases off and on, removing drives...assembly new pc's.
USB pen drive with all tools and driver search and wireless network adapter
Wireless network adapter USB
2.5" 500 Gb drive for transferring backups and keeping images of xp, vista, 7.
ubuntu disc to diagnose and help backup trashed OS systems.
power supply tester tests 20/24, 4 pin, 3 pin, molex
Acronis workstation image
Dedicated workbench so we can work on multiple pc's at once.
Instore inventory for repairs
Box of spare inventory of parts in my car/van for outcalls.
 
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My tools

screens with vga/dvi adapters
pc with linux
pc with acronis
2 external dvd burners, handy when OS reinstall is needed, the customer's optical drive does not work, and they don't want to fix that.
2 external HD for backup/imaging
spare Ide/Sata laptop and pc hard drives
Power supply tester, and spare power supplies for testing,
usb wireless card, and the driver for it in a flash drive, saves me from running cables to a nic
 
In addition to everything mentioned here, the most used tool that I use that hasn't been mentioned is the PC Doctor diagnostic kit. Great for pointing out specific hardware failures.
 
The tool I use the most is my PQI usb flash drive with a write protect switch. I found a script around here I think & modified it some to do a silent install of Adobe Reader & Flash (both versions), Java, Firefox & Malwarebytes. This saves me several minutes on every pc I work on not needing to download & manually install all these programs.

Some other useful tools are my usb to ide/sata hard drive adapter, Iogear KVM, & FSP universal laptop AC adapter.

I've been considering getting one of those "toaster" type adapters that you plug a hard drive into. Any suggestions?
 
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