While every computer technician has his or her own methods and tools for working on computers systems, section 1.4 of theCompTIA A+ Exam (220-702) requires you to know the names and functions of certain tools that are most commonly used in computer repair and maintenance.
You may or may not use all of these tools in your particular methods, but it is important to know what they are and how to use them — and not just for the exam — you never know when you’ll come across an obscure problem that may require a certain tool to troubleshoot with.
So the more useful tools at your disposal, the more efficient and resourceful of a technician you can become.
Today we’ll take a look at multi-meters, power supply testers, cable testers, loopback plugs, extension magnets, anti-static mats and wrist straps.
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Multi-Meters
A multi-meter is an electronic ohm/voltage measuring tool most commonly used in testing computer power supplies.
Is the motherboard not powering on? You may want to use a multi-meter to test the power connector going to the motherboard. Are USB devices not powering up? Use a multi-meter to ensure that you’re getting a full 5v from each USB port.
Multi-meters come with either digital or analog displays. Be sure to get a multi-meter that can measure within the proper range, as some multi-meters are made specifically to handle much higher voltages (for example, to test power in houses or businesses) and won’t be as accurate as those made for lower voltages.
Power Supply Testers
Power supply testers are very similar to multi-meters, except instead of giving you an ohm/voltage reading from a positive and negative pin, it gives you a green or red LED or a specific message on a small screen, such as an error code. While this takes some of the guesswork out of figuring out voltages, it also gives much less of a detailed reading.
Rather than using positive and negative pins, power supply testers allow you to actually plug in PSU connections. This makes testing power supplies much faster, and easier than having to find the correct pins.
Cable Testers
Cable testers do just what the name suggests. The most common type of cable testers found in a technician’s toolkit is an Ethernet cable tester. These come particularly handy when making custom sized Ethernet cables. We all know how easily a twisted pair can become… twisted.
It is generally good practice, and can save some troubleshooting time in the future, to run newly crimped Ethernet cables through a cable tester before putting them to use. They are also great for testing cables in the field.
Damage to Ethernet cables is especially hard to spot, since they are housed in a protective sleeve. Without visible external markings, you can rarely tell if a cable has been pinched or otherwise damaged. Using a cable tester to find these faults can save you hours of troubleshooting time.
Loopback Plugs
Loopback plugs are small devices used to perform loopback tests. To put it simply, you can plug in a device that is meant to transmit and receive data on a network, and the loopback test will verify that the device can both send and receive data well enough to work on said network.
It does this by sending a signal (or packet) addressed back to the same device. The test will let you know if the packet was sent, and if it was also received. This can be extremely useful for testing and troubleshooting malfunctioning network hardware.
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Anti-Static Mats and Wrist Straps
Anti-static mats and wrist straps are used to ground yourself (usually to the computers case) so that static does not damage PC components while working inside of a computer system.
Many technicians that I know personally seem to argue the importance of using anti-static mats and wrist straps. Some technicians swear by them, others only use them to make their clients feel more comfortable and safe while the work is being done, and others never use them at all.
One thing is certain: static can harm electronics, including the many components within your computer system.
While I do own both anti-static mats and wrist straps, I too have been guilty of skipping this step on my personal machines. I have yet to damage a component, usually because I stay grounded by touching the computer’s case, but I do recognize that not using a form of anti-static grounding device can be dangerous to your (or your client’s) hardware.
In the end, it’s up to you to decide if you’ll use the mat (which is great for setting down loose components), the wrist strap (which is helpful so you can use both hands instead of using one to ground yourself to the case), or a different grounding method altogether.
I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that static does hurt electronics, and unless you practice some sort of grounding method, you run the risk of damaging a component or motherboard.
Extension Magnet
Originally, I had written about using low-powered extension magnets inside of computer system. IT Professional Dave Levinter brought up a concern that made me decide to rewrite this section.
While low-powered extension magnets are acceptable in most cases, and many computer technicians use extension magnets or magnetized screwdrivers inside computer systems, saying that they’re safe isn’t exactly a safe statement in of itself. Magnets vary in power and some parts of computer systems, like the hard drive, can become damaged by stronger magnets. Anything more powerful than a standard magnetized screwdriver should only be used outside of a computer system. In fact, the CompTIA A+ Exam recommends using a pair of plastic tweezers instead, whenever possible.
More powerful magnets are still quite useful for IT Professionals, but for other uses. Finding dropped screws for example, or reaching screws or even tools dropped behind desks and furniture.
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