-
two small
screwdrivers, flat-head and Phillips-head, and
make sure they aren't magnetized
-
a Torx driver
with a star-shaped head for getting hard drive
screws
-
tweezers with a
good grip
-
a small
flashlight
-
parts container,
preferably with a lid
-
needle-nose
pliers
-
an antistatic
sheet or wrist-strap, especially if you're
handling memory modules or adapter cards. In an
emergency, you can cover your work surface with
aluminum foil
-
contact cleaning
solution to remove the rust and crud from the
metal contacts on expansion cards
-
a can of
compressed air for blowing out the accumulated
crud
-
a handheld vacuum
cleaner for keeping your work environment clean
-- just don't crack the PC case and use the
vacuum in there!
-
lint-free wipes
and swabs -- forget the paper towels and Q-tips,
they leave wisps of cotton or paper behind
-
PC cleaning
solution, for gently cleaning motherboards and
various computer innards safely
-
small brushes for
getting into the nooks and crannies
-
emergency boot
disk with FDISK.EXE, SYS.COM, FORMAT.COM, and
driver software for your SCSI adapter (if any)
and CD-ROM drive, including MSCDEX.EXE
-
a BIOS POST card
(for more advanced users only) for when the
Power On Self Test won't function properly and
the beep codes don't reveal the problem. The
POST card gives a numeric readout that details
the problem.
-
a DOS-based
diagnostic program such as AMIDiag (don't
forget the loopback plugs - loopback plugs are
generally useful anyway)
-
a hard-drive
diagnostic/repair program such as GRC's
SpinRite (recently updated)
-
a DOS or
Windows-based file system check and repair
program such as Norton's Disk Doctor
-
a DOS or
Windows-based virus scanner; preferably both.
