Preparing the Work Area
You will require an adequate workspace and the correct tools before you perform any work on a computer. The work area must be flat so that small parts do not roll around and possibly get lost or damaged. The work area must be sturdy. A typical computer weighs about 25 pounds. Printers and other peripherals will add to that weight. The work area must be able to support that weight. In addition, the area must be well lit, clean, and large enough to hold all the disassembled components and all necessary tools.
You should make sure that you have all necessary tools and that they are in working order before you begin taking the computer apart. It may also help to lay out some of the more commonly used disassembly tools such as screwdrivers, nut drivers, and antistatic bags so they can be easily found. Three items that will be particularly useful are an egg carton, a pen and notepad. An egg carton is perfect for organizing screws and small parts that might otherwise get lost while a pen and notepad should be used to record anything that may easily be forgotten, such as cable positions, DIP switch settings, and the location from which you removed the components.
| The hand tools most commonly required when working on a computer | |
| Tool | Description |
| Screwdrivers | You should have a large flathead screwdriver, a small flathead screwdriver, and a Phillips screwdriver. Avoid magnetic tip screwdrivers as their magnetism can cause problems. |
| Torx driver | You would require a torx driver to remove the odd star-shaped
screws found on some proprietary computers and components. Sizes T-8, T- 10 and T-15 should meet the needs of most computers. |
| Nut driver | In addition to the screwdriver, you could also use a nut driver
that fits over the hexagonal collar on many computer screws. Sizes 3/16-inch, 7/32-inch, and 1/4-inch should meet the needs of most computers. |
| Tweezers | These are very convenient for picking up small parts like screws.
You might consider the long plastic variety; these do not conduct electricity and hence will not create any short circuits. |
| Needlenose pliers | These can be used to pick up dropped items and to hold or loosen screws, nuts, and bolts. |
| Chip removers | These are very useful when changing DIP ROM chips, video RAM
or RAM chips that are inserted in DIP sockets. |
| Tube or plastic bag for small parts | A short plastic tube with a cap on both ends will keep loose screws and small parts from getting lost. |
| Compressed air | A can of compressed air is helpful to remove dust. |
| ESD tools | An antistatic wristband is an essential tool. Antistatic mats
and antistatic bags are also helpful to reduce the risk of ESD. |
| Multimeter | A small, digital meter that is capable of measuring AC and DC
volts as well as ohms. |
| Flashlight | A small bright flashlight can be used to brighten parts of the
computer that the normal light cannot penetrate sufficiently. |
| Hemostats | These are useful for picking up and holding small parts. Straight hemostats will work most of the time. However, curved ones will get into those small places that the straight ones cannot reach. |
| POST card | A Power On Self Test (POST) card can be used to see what the
error messages during system start are when no data is being sent to the display. |
In addition to this hand tools you should also have some software. It is not necessary to carry an entire arsenal of arcane software. Instead, collect the software that supports the computers you normally work on, including the operating system start up disks and common drivers. You should have a bootable floppy disk for each operating system that you encounter. These should contain the following files: attrib.exe; command.com; defrag.exe; edit.com; emm386.exe; expand.com; fdisk.exe or fdisk.com; format.exe or format.com; himem.sys; label.com; mem.exe; memmaker.exe; mscdex.exe; msd.exe or msd.com; qbasic.exe; scandisk.exe; share.exe; sizer.exe; smartdrv.exe; and sys.com
Also make sure that the original operating system disk or CD with the serial number is available. If it becomes necessary to install one or more software components, the computer might require the serial number, installation ID, or the original distribution disk before any additional files can be installed.