STARTING MY COMPTIA A+...TOOL KIT ADVICE

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HI guys...i am starting my A+ course and what toolkit would you guys suggest...i have been googling and there are just so many out there 10 piece 18 piece etc....any suggestions for a nice make and decent kit and also what kind of mat and antistaticwrist band do i need.......thanks again....

 

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it depends on what your gonna do.

If your just gonna be build a system you can get away with a phillips screw driver, anti static wrist band and some bits to build your system with.

If you gonna be doing full time building n things then I would say get a full 18 piece kit some of them even come with anti static bands.

 

Something like this will do you fine for starters - never needed or bought a toolkit in 10yrs in the business !

Stanley do a long (approx 20/25 cm( thin screwdrive with a bit adaptor at the end (sorry, couldn't find it on website or a p/no) which is really useful to get in cases. As you can pop in the appropriate bit too it's very handy. Magnetic as well so when you drop a screw inside a case it's easy to retrieve.

Apart from that I can a penknife (swiss army style).

Don't need a wrist strap if you're properly earthed and at same potential as the case.

 

I thought magnetic screwdrivers were frowned upon for general use.
How do you properly earth yourself and the case at the same time without a wriststrap?

 

Phillips screwdrivers. One stubby, one nice and long.

Never needed anything else, including anti-static nonsense.

 

Amen to that. Anti-static? Rubbish, I've worked on computers in all manner of locations - factories, warehouses, barns(?!) - whatever. And not once have I damaged, or seen a component damaged by static. Rubbish.

I mean, it probably does happen, but it's just so damn rarely that I barely even bother with it.

I'd go with a good phillips, and I use a very fine flat bladed precision screwdriver for taking laptops apart. It does almost all phillips screws, and works as a great level (You'll need one to get most laptops apart). Might want to get some cheapo paint brushes and some Ambersil canned air for blasting dust too.

 

it's better to be safe than sorry

 

I agree. With both sides on this really.

I've never encountered an incident where my not using an Anti-Static WristBand has caused a malfunction. As such I tend not to use it much (although I do own one).

However, As matt says, its a risk that can happen. As such, when you are doing work on a consumers machine, it is best to take those precautions.

If you work in a company and they dont care if you use it on their internal machines or not, thats one thing, but when you are getting paid to work on someones personal machine, take the precautions.

 

On the subject of static, an old colleague of mine could blow things up just by walking into the room.

When we needed more PC's for our training rooms I banned him from the building while I assembled them.

A lot depends on the kind of person you are and the environment you're working in, so you should take precautions until you know for sure!

 

Well you should use anti-static wrist bands etc or take other precautions before handling electronic components, the risk is real and the damage may not be instantaneous. Personally, i don't use a wrist strap, but i do make certain that my body is at the same potential as the PC case, i do this by touching it, and making sure I'm in contact with it.

Some environments are much more inclined to encourage static than others, you probably have experienced hotels and such, where you get a zap on every door knob you grab. the voltage that is discharged is in the 10s of thousands and easily capable of damaging your latest DDR2 toy.

 

I agree, some environment like a lab where its very clean is less likley to have static than someones bedroom with a carpet and other materials in it.

Static can be passed onto a component and not show itself for a while and when that component fails you are stuck with diagnosing why it failed because you havent realised about the static.

keep touching the case or PSU can help aswell as anti static equipment like mats and wrist straps.

Always better to be safe than sorry.

 

I like this firstly If you are studying an A+ with the view to going into the repair business most of what you are going to find out their is way behind the times. The books will all tell you to wear a strap/mat etc the reality of this is you wont get anything done lol ( mat clipped to bench your wriststrap connected to mat mother board srews at the other end of bench doh!) In terms of toolkit nowadays a phillips set of longnose pliers will sort most things unless you want to be a "real" technician in which case you will need to learn to solder (and well!) and as with most things a certificate in a nice frame looks nice on the wall but if you cannot fix the clients pc through lack of practical experience they will not care how many certificates you have. Not wishing to sound cynical. You appear to be where I was several yrs ago wishing to get on, my advice for what its worth is to get as much practical day to day hands on experience as and the theory will fit into place. Plenty out there with certificates including MCSE/CISCO and for they actually know in "real" terms I wouldn't let them make the tea!! hope this helps.