What makes a good on-the-go PC repair kit

[absolutemayhem]

This question is really for Patrick, but please feel free to post your own repair kit list. I know most of Patricks friends likely could fix the PC themself, but when Patrick gets that phone call from a family member, you know the kind impossible to trn down, what does he take with him? .. or does he get the PC and bring it back to his place .. just wondering.

I'm sure more than a few of us on the board get the "can you come over and look at my PC because <fill in issue here>"

I'm not talking about trying to take an entire lab to your buddy's place, but you know a resonable amount of PC repair gear.

Here's my basic on the road kit:

1. My laptop
2. Usb cable kit, has like 6-7 various kinds of connectors
3. 2.5" USB harddrive (120GB) i also bring the usb power cable (usb/PS2)
4. Universal usb 2.0 hard drive adpater (http://www.newertech.com/products/usb2_adaptv2.php)
5. Power supply tester (http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=246)
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=246
6. I have a really nice assorted screw driver's kit, small but good grip jeweler's type, I also have a backup philips for those older more stubbern case screws
7. Electrical tape
8. anti-staic wrist band gaurd
9. various blank dvds and cds, a xp boot cd and a win95 boot cd (for those older machines that sometime are still around)
10. 2gb usb thumb drive with a boot image on it
11. a small bag of assorted PC screw and thumb screws
12. I also have a small zip lock bag that has a combination of zipties and ties. You never know when some stupid cable is in your way and need a third hand to get it out of your way

I think thats basically it, everything fitz in a nice little case about the size of a laptop, when I get the call I usally grab this and stuff it into my larger laptop carrying case.

I was just kind of wondering if there are any other cool little tools or gadgets people found handy to take with them.

-MayheM

[mikec]

What about a few network cables? A small brush to help clean dust/crud off? Don't forget about diagonal cutters, in case you leave a cable tie in, you want to be able to cut the extra length of tie off flush. (Or if you have to remove an existing tie.) Scissors do work but not as easily.

[absolutemayhem]

Good points.

[bani-banan]

Various Linux live distros are extremely good to have.

Spinrite - No explanations needed (www.grc.com)

What other kinds of software do you have? Except for OS.

When I go out 'n' about on repair missions I usually bring my EEE PC, loaded with Ubuntu and bluesnarf + airsnort (to verify over-the-air router traffic;) )
Screwdrivers, 2 USB tumbdrivers, one with ubuntu and one with Windows xp sp2.

CAT5 cables are good enough. I don't think you will need more than 10/100.

pre-cache this site: http://www.routerpasswords.com/ (in case your clients lose the instructions manual for their routers)

To sum things up; You already have the hardware side of things, now you have to stock up on software.

Hey, bring a small LCD monitor with you.

I once was at a friends house trying to fix his computer, there was this one weird thing about it. It started up, but it didn't display anything on the monitor. I did the standards procedure, checked the PSU, checked that everything was in tacked etc. Everything was a-ok except for dust ( which I removed).

I later figured "Hey, maybe the graphics-card got fed up with the ol' CRT monitor, why not take the other computers monitor and hook it up?".
I did that and guess what! It worked. The computer booted up!

I now shut the computer down, (CTRL + ALT + DEL in Windows xp to get the "special task" window up, I held down CTRL and hit "SHUT DOWN". That shuts the computer down immediately) to then connect the primary monitor. It worked! Mah god!

Instead of a monitor you could bring a "VGA TO USB" adapter.
Start capturing while the computer is booting in case you will ever stumble across something similar.

KTHXBAI
Hope it helped

[slonkak]

Depending on what you're fixing, carrying a hub with you is a good idea. If you believe that a host is compromised, take it off the net and plug it, along with your laptop, into the hub so that you can capture the traffic in order to analyze the attack/effects.

[cablegeek]

It seems like a lot however you might want to keep an extra keyboard and mouse, (also a couple of usb to ps2 adapters for older computers.) also usb network adapter, networks Cards and adaptors have a tendency to just go bad. For those no serf issues.

[absolutemayhem]

maybe one of those usb keyboards that are either rubber or like cloth that roll up.

-MayheM

[mikec]

If you get a keyboard that rolls up, protect it so that it can't get flattened and break contacts. There are some small sized keyboards, about 2/3rds the size of a standard keyboard. (the ones I have used are the size of a laptop keyboard.)


As for NICs and USB cards... I might keep one or two at the house but not carry it unless the person mentioned that they can't use USB or connect via the network card. If these are friends and not clients, how much of your money do you want to spend stockpiling parts?

[absolutemayhem]

Its not for clients or anything professional, just a portable repair kit that covers the basics. Its for those phone calls we all get.

I'm not talking about motherboard replacements, or dragging spare LCDs, sodering kits or spare parts.

I might be able to add an old spare dlink G wireless hub, but the power adapter is massive.

-MayheM

[scoobyhut]

You might think about haven some the small jumper's for CD/DVD, Harddrive and Motherboard... a small pair of Headphones or speakers for audio problems?
Maybe a universal power adapter CHECK at local thrift store for stuff also CHEAP!
Maybe anti-virus bootup and system scan? incase of Virus...
Maybe a some PC repair software for REG. scanners and cleaners? There are good ones that have a FREE trial?
I hope this works?





You can always find your stuff in the last place you look.

[smeerkaas]

Bring a Hiren disk. Extremely useful (and illegal btw)

[absolutemayhem]

Headset, nice .. for those audio issues. Never thought of that.

As for any software/boot stuff. I take my laptop with me and blank DVDs and CRs. Also software related, my laptop and even my usb drive have every known software tool under the sun.

I was specifically looking for hardware/devices, again not talking about dragging a parts store to a friend or relative's place to check out a problem.

The reason I made the post was because over the years I have seen other people's "tuck under the arm, Emergency PC repair kits" and some times they have a neat device/tool/adapter I did not know about. Like the universal hard drive adapter.

I was also thinking about asking about carrying cases but my two main ones are pretty rad. My fav is an old silver case that used to house an osiliscope or something. but it died and I kept the carrying case. The other one I use is like a 12"12" nylon case with a good zipper and good padding.

-MayheM

[absolutemayhem]

Here is a few picks of the silver case. I took the picture with the case on my desk so you get an idea of the size. You can sometimes find cases like this at pawn shops or even army surplus stores too.

http://www.absolutemayhem.com/pics/humor/case1.JPG

http://www.absolutemayhem.com/pics/humor/case2.JPG