This article aims to identify the Best pc maintenance tools which every maintenance technician uses in the workshop.
What are the maintenance tools?
Maintenance tools are the means by which a maintenance technician performs maintenance and repair of computers, and these methods are found in almost all types of maintenance.
This article is divided into two parts:
First Part: Hardware maintenance tools
Tools that are used in hardware maintenance (meaning all the parts inside the computer)
What are the most important tools that the maintenance technician needs in repairing the tangible physical aspect of the Pc (hardware) in the maintenance workshop?
We will list the most important tools that a maintenance technician uses to repair hardware according to their importance, frequent use, and the way to deal with them:
1 – screwdriver :
There is no doubt that it is among the most important tools that the maintenance technician
But what is the best quality for this work?
The most suitable quality for this work is to buy a screwdriver box in which all kinds of screwdrivers are from small to medium, and we do not need a large screwdriver here because we are dealing with small and medium screws only. In this picture there is a box of screwdrivers that is most suitable for our work and we recommend that it be magnetic, meaning that there is a magnet inside it.
In addition to this box, You must have two medium screwdrivers of two different types, as in the picture, we will use them when we work on a desktop computer.
2 – Avometer :
The tool that maintenance technician uses a lot is the avometer. In the market there are many types of avometers, but in our case, what is the most appropriate avometer for us?
1 -According to my humble experience, I suggest that the avometer should be of a digital type.
2 -And that the shutdown is AUTO POWER OFF, which means that it turns off automatically when we forget that. This helps us a lot in preserving the battery for a longer period.
3 -Since we are dealing with micro-elements at the level of the motherboard, such as flat resistors and very small mesh resistors, we must make a simple adjustment at the ends of the cable outlets coming out of the avometer by welding each end of needle as in the picture
In this way, we can measure the microelements better.
The other characteristic that the avometer must have is the bell characteristic : we use the bell characteristic a lot to measure the contact of the extremities, as it is very important for us in detecting the contact of the positive and negative sides in the motherboard.
There are some avometers, despite the pesence of a sign of the bell on it, but it does not emit a sound or its sound is poor. The sound must be clear and pure.
I use this type of avometer in the picture that has all the features we need to maintain the Pc.
3 – Soldering iron and its accessories :
We will use it to disassemble and solder some electronic components from the motherboard. Since we always deal with minute elements, it is required that they have a pointed and thin end, and that it is easy to change it when damaged : some soldering irons cannot change their tip when it is damaged, so you have to buy one again, so you must pay attention to this point and make sure that there is a screw that secures side of the iron. The iron should be 220 Volt 60 Watts.
Soldering iron accessories :
Soldering iron holder :
It helps you carry the iron and reach it easily and maintain your safety and the safety of the devices you work on.
Soldering iron head cleaner :
Always keep the tip of iron clean, as this helps the elements to solder well. I personally use the spherical cleaning wire. You can put the cleaning wire inside a small metal box and dip the tip of the iron each time.
Small forceps :
We use Small forceps to pick up items when they are welded on the motherboard; And its ends should be pointed.
The soldering :
Tin or Lead welding has different sizes. We will use between 0.5, 06 or 0.8 millimeters. As for the weight, you choose what suits you in grams.
Desoldering pump :
It removes the tin from the motherboard.
Flux :
One of its advantages is that it makes welding in excellent quality and helps us not to stick tin between the legs of the electronic elements. There are many types of it, and we will use flex cream like the one in the picture.
4 – Hot air :
Hot air is one of the most important tools in the maintenance workshop, as it helps us to remove, weld and heat the electronic elements.
5 – Toools are used for cleaning.
Medium sized painting brush :
We will need it to clean the dust off the motherboard + toothbrush that we will need to clean the flux off the motherboard
Fluids for cleaning the electronic boards :
Thinner – jupiter- diluant- alcohol- all these fluids must be used carefully as they are flammable and has a strong odor. So it is better to be poured in small bottle and you keep them in large bottle in safe place away from your work palce.
Cloth+ Cleaning papers :
6 – Thermal paste :
It is a paste that is applied between the processor and the copper piece to get them sticked to each other and to transfer the emitted heat from the processor to the copper piece quickly, after that the role of the fan comes, to cool the copper piece.
7 – BIOS (basic input output system) programmer :
It is a device with which the BIOS is programmed. It is very important in our work, as it helps us fix various errors, including power outages and data outages, in addition to helping us remove the password for all computers..
There are several types of BIOS programmers on the market because some of us don’t know how to choose the right type. I recommend purchasing the RT809F programmer. One of its advantages is that it programs a wide range of cards, including BIOS and EC.
As for the programmer that I use, it is the Minipro TL866 programmer, it is considered the most popular, as it is easy to use and has a reasonable price. It does not need a charger, as the USB cable works to connect 5 Volts and data together.
You can visit those topics for more information :
8 – Power supply :
It is a device that helps us adjust the amount of voltage we need to operate or repair any device. It also helps us to know how much ampere the device pulls. Since we are dealing with a laptop that operates at a voltage of 19 volts, the power supply must be able to output this value, so I suggest you to have the power supply with these specifications : to be able to produce more than 19 Volts and 5 amps.
Most of these devices are expensive. Since most beginners in the field of maintenance are not able to buy this device, I will try to explain how to make such a device in a separate lesson and with the same specifications that are found in this device for less than about 20 dollars.
We will make a device like this one in the picture :
9 – Various examination tools :
There are several tools for checking the computer, they save us time and effort in finding malfunctions, as they differ in terms of the role they play and their importance. I will list the most important examination tools that you must have, which are :
– Ram socket tester :
It plays several roles, it checks the integrity of the RAM socket+ it measures the RAM voltage, VDD and SPD- SDA- SCL signals without having to open the device completely, so it saves us a lot of time in checking the integrity of the RAM circut.
There are two types of RAM testers ; laptop tester and desktop tester, you can just buy laptop RAM testers and attach them to an adapter to convert the laptop RAM socket to the desktop RAM socket in order to use it to check the desktop socket in this way you can save a little money.
– The processor socket tester :
It checks the integrity of the RAM stocket : there are a large number of them, because each tester has a type of processor it checks. Therefore, you will only buy the testers that check the most popular processor sockets in your area.
– Locating the place of the malfuction in the motherboard tester :
There are testers that locate the place of the malfuction in the motherboard, but this type is not effective in finding malfuctions, so I do not recommend it. There is another way that is better than using this type of testers, as you can use the power supply, and I will develop a special lesson for this method soon.
10 – Tools that help us see small electronic elements better :
– Magnifying :
It’s veritably necessary to enlarge the jotting that we can not read with the naked eye, similar as the letters written over some of the INEGRATED CIRCUIT. It also helps us to notice the delicate legs of the IC and make sure they aren’t touching the ground during the welding process. It also helps us not to strain our sight.
– Microscope :
Due to the great development witnessed in the field of electronics at the level of manufacturing electronic components in very small sizes. It is now necessary to have more efficient tool that helps you to see the electronic components on the motherboard in better way. This tool is the microscope. Since we are in the field of electronic devices maintenance (computer maintenance, laptop maintenance, phone maintenance…) I suggest that you must have the microscope on a good quality camera that displays the things that are being enlarged on an external screen, such as the microscope in the picture.
There are other types, but they are not suitable for our feild, as they do not give us enough space to work on the motherboard.
11 – desk lamps :
The lighting must be suitable in the place where we work, to see all the elements of the motherboard clearly, so you need desk lamp or a lamp that is approximately 50 centimeters above the motherboard, and its lighting is not very strong so that the rays of the lamp do not affect you during work. This type of lamp does not emit high heat and is very economical in terms of its consumption of electrical energy.
12 – IC sucker :
We will use it when we want to lift the EC / KBC easily after heating from the motherboard :
13 – Different types of adhesive :
There are four types you should have in your work shop, for example, a strong water-based adhesive, adhesive tape, waxy adhesive, thermal insulator.
These are the most important necessary tools that you must have in the maintenance workshop, and there also secondary tools that you can own, such as :
14 – Electronic component installer :
It helps us fix the items we want to weld.
15 – You can also have a different set of soldering iron heads :
16 – Shield wire :
Shield wire is a special copper wire for absorbing tin or excess solder, and it is used in narrow spaces where tin extractors are not useful for suction.
17 – Cutting tools :
There are also other tools that I can say that they are tools for the advanced workers in the field of maintenance, such as :
18 – Oscillocope :
It is a device that checks the signal in electronic circuits and draws its shape on its screen. It is either pocketable or square, and the price of this device is very high. The following picture shows its shape
And since its price is high, there are other devices that perform almost the same role and their price is more suitable, such as this device in the picture where you connect it to your computer and then run a special program for this device that enables you to see the screen of the oscilloscope and the control keys through the computer, this device isn’t able to check devices that use high voltage. It only can check devices that use low voltage such as computers and mobile phones.
19 – BGA decoding and installation device :
It is a device that removes and installs BGA rework station, its price is very high, as the picture shows this device
You can remove and install the BGA rework station using the Hotgen, as it is similar to the Hotair, and it makes a holder, in which you install the Hotgen as in the picture, and place the motherboard directly under it.
Second Part : Tools that are used in the maintenance of the software (This means the software side of the device)
1. the Windows CDs:
You must have all versions of Windows
2 – Linux CD preferably UBUNTU version:
You can download the free version from the official website by clicking this link
https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop
3 – The Universal CD / DVD Driver Package
DriverPack Solution : A copy can be downloaded from the official website from here : https://drp.su
4 – DVD/CD/FLASH MEMORY: Contains a set of important programs for Windows :
- Winrar او WinZip
- Flash Player
- Adobe AIR
- Net framework
- Java
- DericX
- Microsoft Office : Word – Excel … all versions
- PDF Reader : PDF Viewer / Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Internet browser : Chrome / Opera / Firefox
- Media player : VLC
- Nero
- CCleaner
- Anti virus
5 – HIREN’S BOOT CD :
This CD contains a set of programs that are used to solve specific problems in Windows
The free version can be downloaded from the official website: http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download
6 – External DVD :
We use this External DVD in case of computer disk drive failure
7 – USB :
We will need it to transfer the files.
