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What Tools and Stock Should a Mobile Technician Carry in Their Toolkit?
What do you carry around in your mobile toolkit? What about hardware and replacement networking devices for clients? What products do you carry around for clients to purchase on the spot from you? How prepared are you for each service call? Let’s take stock of items you should carry around on service calls with you in addition to your usual toolkit of software tools.
- Power Supply Unit – PSU failure is a common non-booting PC issue, and it will save you running to the shop to get one if you carry one with you.
- PSU Tester – Again, when you have a non-booting machine, the first diagnostic step is usually to check the power source.
- ADSL Modems, Filters, and Phone Butt – Most ISP’s supply these and have certain settings configured on them, but if this is a general Tech replacement in your area, carry a few of these with you. If testing phone sockets for line issues is something else you need to cover in your area, bring a phone butt with you.
- Cable Ties – I personally feel that cords and cables deliberately tangle on me out of spite for some unexplained reason, and that’s probably because that’s what happens when I don’t make an effort to tidy them up with cable ties. Cable ties make it that much easier to keep things organized, tidy, and ready for your next service call should you need to work on that location again. It can also help the client keep their AC adapter wires from tangling, which can often help them keep their adapters from being swapped to devices they don’t belong with.
- Motherboard Tester – If you suspect the motherboard has failed, there are motherboard test cards available to see what specific issues there are with the motherboard.
- Cable Tester – If you deal with phone lines and networking cables, you should carry a cable tester around like this one. There are testers for either type of cable, but if you get one that does all the types of cable you work with, you have less tools to carry around with you.
- Network Cables, Phone Cables, USB Cables – It’s always great to have a stock of bulk cable with you so you can replace lines on the spot if that’s where the issue lies. Monoprice.com is a great place to get networking cables and other cables. USB cables are used with most external devices, so carry a few around with you as well. Phone cables are good if you deal with phone lines and DSL and ADSL service customers who need work done on their lines.
- Screwdrivers – You’ll need everything from the basic phillips bits to straight bits and Torx bits of various sizes for machine and device repair. Get a mini screwdriver kit for those extra small screws manufacturers like to use in the machines too. Keep a few small containers handy for keeping those screws organized when you’re working on a machine or device. Those small plastic tacklebox type boxes are great for that, because you can label each compartment.
- HD Docking Stand for IDE and SATA – This is a useful device for connecting up hard drives to another machine. Alternatively you can get cables that provide connectivity between USB and both drive types.
- Spare Hard Drives – You might want to carry a spare 3.5 and 2.5 SATA drive with you for replacement, especially if you have service calls far from your shop. Bring a larger drive such as 1TB to 3TB for backing up data. Of course, you should have your USB Toolkit drive with you as well with your software toolkit, which we discussed here. Diskettes have been all but phased out of existence, but I know at least one client who still prefers them over more modern storage media, so you might consider carrying a USB diskette drive with you.
- Device Repair Tools – If you cover tablet and mobile device repair, consider getting gtools from WholesaleGadgetParts.com, as those are good tools for device repair.
- Video Adapters – VGA/DVI-A adapters have been useful to me more than once, and USB HDMI adapters are good to carry around with you as well.
- Laptop and/or Tablet with 3G/4G/WiFi – If you need to look up error codes or test the network or do troubleshooting with another device, bring your laptop or your tablet. Tablets are more preferred for some tasks, and then again you might need to test with another machine that has ports for other hardware, and that’s why I prefer to bring a laptop.
- CD Wallet and USB Drives with Installation Media – Bring your favorite utility CD such as the UltimateBootCD, common and popular Windows OS installation media, and some Office installation media, from 2003 to 2013. Some clients may still be using the older office versions and simply want to reinstall on a new machine with the old key instead of upgrading.
These are just some basic ideas of tools you should carry with you on service calls, but each Technician’s service area will of course be different, so these aren’t hard and fast rules. For instance, I never deal with phone lines as the service providers always provide technicians that perform those tasks as a part of the contract, so I never have to deal with testing phone lines, and I only deal with Cat. 5 cables.
If you have any tools to add or suggestions, drop a comment below!
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Motherboard Tester? I know of no technician that does this kind of repair, even so, the price of a replacement board is so inexpensive. Also, so many different chipsets have proliferated the market, you would need several testers and I do not think the cost is justified.
I’ve actually never seen a card that claims to test all aspects of a motherboard. I often use bootable flash drives and optical disks with alternate operating systems to distinguish between hardware and Windows issues. The only hardware diagnostics I trust fully are for RAM and hard drives.
I’ve actually never seen a card that claims to test all aspects of a motherboard. I often use bootable flash drives and optical disks with alternate operating systems to distinguish between hardware and OS issues. The only hardware diagnostics I trust fully are for RAM and hard drives.
I believe the reference is to a POST code tester. POST meaning Power On Self Test. When a motherboard is starting up it checks the essential requirements to work. If one of those is missing (for example, no memory installed) there will be a POST code indicating such. There are a few of these on Amazon and ebay. It’s a PCI card with a numeric display. If a computer doesn’t pass the POST the step number of the failure will be shown and you can look up the code to see what it means. Search Amazon for “HDE PC and Network Test Kit” just to see what it looks like. Pretty clever.
Here are some of the software titles I carry with me (burned to CD/DVD, a few I keep on USB)
– ALWAYS CARRY A CLONING TOOL! (Clonezilla, Macrium Reflect free, Redo Backup)
– SpinRite 6.0 (can recover a bad sector when nothing else will, but is limited in some ways. Very handy for specific need.)
– Windows Boot Discs (XP, Vista-32, Vista-64, 7-32, 7-64, 8, Server, etc) in case you need a specific file or attempt repair. Having the company branded disc (e.g. Dell) is not required to do access the Repair services.
– Parted Magic (newer versions have a nominal cost – worth it! Also contains Clonezilla and several other tools listed here.
– Hirens Boot CD v15.2 (Latest is 2012 release, but it has a TON of very useful tools)
– Offline NT Password and Registry Editor (Setting forgotten passwords to blank)
– Knoppix
– Linux Live CD (your preference of Distro but I like CentOS, Fedora, Mint, and Ubuntu)
– Several blank CD’s and DVD’s, a couple of blank USB flash drives
– Sysinternals tools
Always carry a USB external DVD drive – preferably USB powered. Many newer computers have no optical drive.
Other essentials I carry:
– An 8-port network switch (I prefer the Netgear GS108T) so you can turn a single jack into 7 more if needed. This has been one of the handiest things I carry. Obviously, patch cables too. The best price on patch cables I’ve found in a pinch locally is the Home Depot. (not Lowes) I like the GS108T because it can be VLAN’d as well as each port can be individually set to speed, plus it’s fanless and doesn’t get hot.
– A network extension cable (make it yourself with a T568A or B jack on each end of a length of good CAT5e.) With this you can do many things – bypass a wall jack to see if it’s failed, setup a replacement computer while a staffer is using the old one, make an extra long temporary patch cable (use a short patch cable on each end), run a temporary phone line, etc etc
– A smartphone with a good resolution camera is absolutely essential. Not only does it serve as your Google reference device, but you can do your own screen shots for error messages and license keys, record motherboard cabling before removal, hard drive labels, service tags, quick and dirty document scanner, etc.
The number one tool you can carry with you is your ability to look for perfect clients. If you’re self employed doing I.T. work, then your goal should be to locate the best clients for you and ditch the rest. Otherwise you’ll go insane after a few years. Surprisingly, you might not know your perfect clients until you find them. Your particular skill set is suited to work in certain environments. You’ll feel great working with those clients. Finding clients that pay promptly, don’t complain, and who you can rely on for steady work is your ultimate goal in this business. When you find them, strive to please them without being a door mat. And, when you make the invoice, put line items for things you did for free so they’ll see you’re a good value.
This is a tad off topic, but one item mentioned in the list struck a nerve with me. As time passes, I’ve noticed that customers (long standing & new) are becoming more stubborn, unyielding, argumentative…while still claiming “they know nothing about computers”. Our conflicts arise when we discuss what the customer perceives as something “new”. “Change” is also a dirty word. Most recently we’ve dealt with Windows XP and our refusal to service the machines any longer once Microsoft pulled support. The reference to floppy disks in the article prompted me to recall that I’ve had calls about those in the last 2 years in addition to: Windows 95, Windows 98. I have a few strict policies: (1) no service on products whose value is less than our minimum service charge (2) no service involving products where the manufacturer has dropped support (3) no embracing of technologies that make tasks more difficult, time consuming or high risk. I remember one customer who asked if I’d assist him in backing up his Quicken data file to a DVD. I refused as I explained that a flash drive was easier, more reliable, etc. I believe that consulting is part of my role along with saving customers from themselves.
A lot of that true. Working on obsolete technology not only wastes your time, but you run the risk of damaging your reputation by not being competent. I recall one of our law firms insisted on using one of those freebie cloud services for backup. I explained it was NOT secure, and they had better increase their liability insurance. I offered several secure backup options, all low cost, to which they refused. I then sent them a polite registered letter stating our company waives “any and all liability due to any and all losses incurred…” by refusing our best recommendations for a secure backup. They asked why so formal. I simply said, we have a business to protect, a reputation, and of course, we’re insured as well. As attorneys, surely you can appreciate my position.
They changed their minds, we gave them the recommended backup solution. A few months later, the iCloud hacks made headline news. They subsequently thanked me.
Point is, there’s almost always a way to nudge people into doing what’s in their own best interest, despite their obstinance. Our job is to find that way.
Truer words were never spoken! It’s amazing how much risk home users and business owners will expose themselves to over a small amount of money. If I could go back in time (from an education standpoint), I’d focus on psychology and sociology. The technical side of my business doesn’t really present a challenge any longer. On the other hand, customers and their thought processes are getting increasingly bizarre and difficult to handle!
“customers and their thought processes are getting increasingly bizarre…”
Ture, we all can appreciate that. I wouldn’t waste time trying to figure people out; it’s an exercise in futility. Part of it is the economy, and understandably, everyone’s looking to cut costs. Part of it is misinformation from amateur computer hobbyists, as in the ubiquitous, “my son, neighbor, etc., knows a lot about computers…” I try to ignore that, and ask if they do it for a living.
First and foremost, its all about gaining the client/customer’s trust. It may take some work, but it must pay off. If it doesn’t, then time to move on toward more ‘fruitful’ pastures. In the end, regardless of the business you’re in, we’re almost all of us in the people business. If you adapt to navigate that well enough, you’ll be successful.
On the other hand, doesn’t it seem counterproductive to turn down potential business, regarding older machines ? You KNOW some people just REFUSE to embrace newer technologies, even when a new system can cost LESS than what they’re looking to repair.
Depends on the level of competition around and the state of your own shop I guess. Servicing XP machines is a significant part of this business, still.
Unfortunately; my customers think $120 worth of service on a XP machine will turn it into a super computer and/or extend its life by several years. I find that the ensuing phone calls and emails over the failure to achieve “perfection” with old PCs isn’t worth the hassle. I still have customers who believe that anti-virus programs are perfect. This is despite the breaches with major retailers like Target and Home Depot. I try to guard against unrealistic expectations. We’re technicians, not magicians!
I agree in all of your points, and I think that applies to most computer users, be it business or residential. And all of the computer repair shops in my area are following similar practices, in my case, I have business customers with expensive machines that need to interact with a computer with XP and a serial port, I even have a customer that sells some sort of medical equipment that he pairs with a computer running windows NT, and the only reason some of them have become my customers is because their previous “go to” IT guy decided to give up on them. Mind you those computers do not connect to the internet, do not need updates of any kind, so I love getting their business.
I also have residential customers that love XP and do not mind paying for service, it is not about the money, they just like it, so to protect them as much is possible, I sell them external drives, and I have an acronis image of their systems in case they get infected. Sometimes it is not about the money
I think it’s important to carry out the anti static wristband on the field, it will not only protect you from bad voltage of people home but also look professional when you work with that.
Most skilled technicians would know when a motherboard has gone bad without using a card.
Anybody knows a good pc tech bag to carry all of our tools?
I think something like this case from our local auto-parts can fit the bill if it holds all you need. The interior spaces can be adjusted.
http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-store/products/SCA-Aluminium-Tool-Case-Black.aspx?pid=3122#Cross
We always carry a motherboard tester around with us, one for the laptops and tower main boards. I would expect this to be the normal for the genuine official Techs.
As its very easy diagnose main board faults onsite or in the workshop.
could you recommend a good motherboard tester, for desktops and laptops.
But also decent techs would know a board fault, when diagnosing cpu and gpu, ram issues etc.
I service residential clients only. I’m also in a retirement area, so many are pensioners. RE: XP, if they like it- they keep it & I harden it as best I can (get them on a standard user acct., Firefox w/WOT, AV, Malwarebytes). I also back up their data & show them how to do it themselves (even leave a little instruction video of it on their PC for reference). Hey- it’s their coin & they’re happy. However, I do advise alternatives if dollar value gets silly (like a $90 PSU for an ancient tower w/512mb RAM, ffs).
If they’re happy to go new, I placate w/ClassicShell. It’s close enough that they don’t panic- lol.
Now, what do I carry? A Dell Mini 9, a portable 640GB HDD, a neckchain w/a 32GB USB (quick data transfer if required), a 16GB with basic tools (defragger, Adobe, Mbam, AVG & Avast free, LibreOffice, ClassicShell, etc), and a 16GB with Linux Mint- as a tester for “is it hardware, or is it MS”? I usually have network cables, USB cables, a Modem/router, bootable Knoppix for PC’s that can’t boot from USB, Lazesoft Recovery (clears passwords + has gained CMD when others couldn’t, for whatever reason), cheap webcam, & my mobile for internet hotspot if there’s none when I get there.
I have Office & OS discs, but generally don’t bother carrying them unless I know in advance that’s the issue. Honestly, if it’s time for a reinstall or needing that much time, the unit is going back to the shop with me.
I think it might be different if it’s a business who just wants you there until it’s done– but I just tell the folks it’ll be a while & it’s easier for me to have it where I can access my fast internet & all tools. This also allows me to work on multiple units at once which is what keeps my prices so reasonable. They appreciate it. I generally have a 24 hr. turn-around. Most of the time, if I do bring it back to the shop- they pick it up when it’s ready.
RE: PSU, RAM etc…I don’t stock it because I don’t want to have to carry the warranty side of it if it’s DOA. I do “occasional” RAM upgrades & have replaced PSU’s, but with a 1 yr. warranty– if I keep it for 4 months before install, the client is shorted. I have local suppliers & I simply explain to the client what they need, get them the price, then buy it cash with receipt to them.
So yeah- that’s about it. Oh, I leave three biz cards with each client. I get a lot of work from that! :)
hi tracy i liked your reply very informative i carry most of the same stuff in my toolbag (well tool box i think you cant have enough tool) Im just starting out but have been building , upgrading and fixing pc’s for almost 20 years now I have my own home based business selling just about anything and everything online so i do have a business background and know how to deal with clients/customers and i have always wanted to do someithing that i love and get paid for it and help and educate people along the way i actually do the same thing as you as i live in a retirement area so i leave little videos i make with my phone and then transfer it to the clients computer. and yes i agree even if its outdated its no reason to not work on it like a few have said you just put as much useful software that can protect an xp machine as you can and i do like the idea about external HDD. and the thing is i can relate to some of the retirees not wanting to part with there pc’s i had (what is now the family pc in our living room) since 2004 i always clean it out ever 6 months the only things i have had to replace in the 10 years i have had it was the Hard Drive in 2010 ( yes the original HDD lasted 6 years way longer then i would have even imagined!) and the DVD Rom drive i only think i had to replace it because i do a lot of disc burning so i definatly got the use out of it. oh and i upgraded memory from 512 to 2g (it was like going to a new world lol) so yes i can relate to them. as for viruses I always tell my clients Techs can get viruses Of your computer but they can never guarantee that you will not get another and if they say they can they are lying all True Techs Know that. in my contract if a viruses removal or wipe and reload is need i ALWAYS state that and explain it to the client/customer so there is no confusion and they know exactly the service they are paying for and im doing. Thanks to all how have posted Very Useful information about running a PC repair business am definatly going to take some of your knowledge and put it into practice!