All Computer Techs - What software do you have in your binder?

Minimal stuff:
2 OS CDs (Win2k, Win98)
1 Office 2003 disc
1 Mcafee disc
1 disc with VCASEL, VNC and other updates
1 Screwdriver
1 Pair of pliers
And whatever else needed for that particular classroom
Almost forgot...AK-47 for the next teacher that harrasses me about their fucking rights on our network.

Yeah I work at a school district and get treated like shit by the teachers. We're peons so if we make the teachers mad we stand there and take it. Yeah we shouldn't but what good is it gonna do when everyone is sympathetic to teachers and not to security on computers. sigh. At least i don't have to work this week
 
you shouldnt use the words security and Win98 in the same post :p

you forgot a packet of raw meat to distract the kiddies :p
 
One tool no computer tech should be without.

sh.jpg
 
Ice Czar said:
you shouldnt use the words security and Win98 in the same post :p

you forgot a packet of raw meat to distract the kiddies :p
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Well we keep one with us for the machines that are too old to be upgraded to Win2k yet. As soon as we get new machines we swap them out so its no biggie. And the kids aren't much of a problem. At least to me. I am 19 and most of the kids know me at the high school. So I don't get problems from them. The teachers are the ones that give me probs. And besides, the kids know 5x more than the teachers do about these things...rofl
 
I dont doubt it
there arent many of us old farts around that are up to speed :p

Id bet your situation wont improve much
till you have several more years between you and the student body
unfortunately, and by then youll likely have moved on
 
markt435 said:
Well we keep one with us for the machines that are too old to be upgraded to Win2k yet. As soon as we get new machines we swap them out so its no biggie. And the kids aren't much of a problem. At least to me. I am 19 and most of the kids know me at the high school. So I don't get problems from them. The teachers are the ones that give me probs. And besides, the kids know 5x more than the teachers do about these things...rofl
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Windows xp will run on most machines that win2k wont, thanks mostly to better ram efficiency. But I doubt you have winxp so I'll shh now ;)

~Adam
 
Yeah we don't have it. I guess its one of those preference things. I myself would have liked winxp but the lead techs like win2k better so we just went with that. But hey, better than Win98? lol
 
I loved win2k, wish they'd of kept supporting it and added stuff to it instead of going to xp, or kept it as the server-level OS :(. Winxp causes my mouse to be oddly... loose.. too sensitive compared to win2k.

~Adam
 
The best CDs I've found to be usefull are teh following:

1 Each of Windows 95, 95B, 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP Home and Pro. All OEM versions

1 CD with Service Pack 4 for 2K, SP1 and possibly SP2 for XP, IE 6, Adaware, Spybot, 3DMark (minimum 2003, 2001 for older systems), Sisoft Sandar (for systems that can't handle 3D Mark), DX 9, Latest Intel Chipset, Latest Hyperion, Latest Catalyst and Forceware drivers. You'll obviously have to pick and choose since there is no way in hell all of this will fit on once CD, now a DVD they might.

1 Multisession CD, unclosed. You never know when you'll need a driver or have a computer that you need to install something on and can't connect to the network. Download it on another machine and add it to this CD. Then you can install it from the CD.

A live Linux CD. This is your choice on the version and type. If you're not familiar with Linux, this won't help you much really.

My last advice, a USB NIC. These are invaluable with any computer running 98SE or later. If you need updates or need to connect it to a network, plugging one of these in will save you having to physically opening the machine and installing a NIC. I recommend you keep the drivers for the USB nic on a floppy, or better yet, on the second CD I mentioned.
 
CleanSlate said:
ME was by far the worst OS ever, everyone I've talked to says so.

~Adam
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Oh come on! Just because Microsoft only produced CDs for it for only 9 months doesn't mean anything! What better OS than one that still has the 9x core with a 2000 interface and overlay? It's perfect! :rolleyes:
 
The_Mage18 said:
Oh come on! Just because Microsoft only produced CDs for it for only 9 months doesn't mean anything! What better OS than one that still has the 9x core with a 2000 interface and overlay? It's perfect! :rolleyes:
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Don't forget the bug that made people's computers with over 128 megs of ram crash randomly.

~Adam
 
CleanSlate said:
ME was by far the worst OS ever, everyone I've talked to says so.

~Adam
Click to expand...

ME wouldn't even boot on my system when it was released. Something to do with my chipset and vidcard combination. The company I was with refused to sell ME because of it :)
 
this thread is awesome, thanks guys!! i just burned the UBCD now and cant wait to check it out. Great stuff to make my life easier in the hell that is pc tech support ;)
 
What do professional technicians do when a computer needs an OS reinstall where the customer has no Windows CD and no Windows CD key? Does Micro$oft have a solution for this? Sell the customer a new OS? Install a pirate version?

It seems to me that it would be very difficult to try to justify a computer repair for 50$ - 100$ for labor and another 100$ on top of it for a new windows disc when a new low end computer costs less than 500$. Add the fact that i'm not even sure you can buy a 98 CD new anymore even in cases where the computer is not up to running XP.







Aliens made me ask this question.
 
They have to purchase a copy of XP and install that.

According to M$ they don't even want you using your own windows cd with the customer's key. To them you must have the key and the actual cd to legally install windows.
 
well there would be a CD Key sticker on the side of a legitimate OEM computer
and if its a computer with the OS pre-installed without a CD Key sticker
the license key is in the OS
you can then determine if its legitimate with Microsoft
and if not buy another

when someone is foolish enough to buy a computer without a valid key
they get stuck with having to pony up the $$ if they are dealing with a professional
 
As much as I hate to do it, if they do not have a valid Windows disc and key, I walk away. I can tell you that it is hard enough trying to run a small business without having to worry about getting shut down for shady operations. It's just not worth it.
 
Didn't read through the whole thread but did not see any suggestions of using some kind of USB-memory device such as a pen drive. Preferably a 512mb or higher, for data transfer and it really helps with quick loading and executing of spyware/virus removal tools. Espescially those little executables that do what you want it to do (HiJackThis, Host file reset tools, cleanup tools, etc).
 
^^ usb flash drives are must ... until you come across a win98 machine that may be able to support usb but the usb port is completely busted and you have to burn all your tools to a cd and hope the laptop owner dropped the modular cd drive off with it........

lots of good tools mentioned. another one that i've found astoundingly useful is WinSock XP Fix. often, people come in and their internet doesn't work, they get a bogus ip, if you try to renew it, it says something about something not being a socket, this fixes that.
 
Along with much of the software mentioned here, I always keep copies of Real and Quicktime Alternative for customers and clients who, for whatever insane reason, require AOL and the like on their machines. In fact, most of our home customers who have local cable Internet access for some reason or another have AOL on top of it. And naturally, AOL has hosed their computer with immense amounts of garbage.

Anytime there's a system cleanse or format, we install the alternative codecs first to ensure a much cleaner spam and ad-free video/audio codec package. Software like AOL, when installed, will detect the codecs and not bother installing their bundled original versions that have stupid reminders, pointless update settings, content management crap, and the infamous "Go Pro!" reminders from Apple.

There's nothing that bothers me more than systems that are caked with software that does crap Windows itself already does. Like notebook touchpad software, 15 popup blockers, stupid toolbars, 5 different CD burning suites, HP printer monitoring crap, and useless digital camera software.

And of course, every piece of software nowdays can't just be installed and used when needed. It needs to sit in the system tray, go in your favorties folder, your Quicklaunch, your start menu twice, and on your desktop. Anyway, enough ranting...

Then again, if it weren't for situations like this, we wouldn't be in business. However, sometimes the degree in which users deal with this is just ridiculous.
 
Another great utilitly no one has mentioned is
Ultimate Boot CD for Windows

This a great stand-alone bootable CD, that you utilizes Bart PE along with multiple other plugins developed with the author. You can also add your own plugins such as Partition Magic. Great thing is you can do all the backing up you want without a bootable HDD, can also recover windows passwords, and numerous other utilities. If you havent checked it out DO IT!! Best part like most things its freeware! W00T! :cool:
 
damn what kinda tech uses all that crap lol...

I repair about 16 laptops per day out on the field / office.
all I usally have one me is,

-5 differnt types of screw drivers
-my wonderful blue band
-plastic flat head stick
-1 pair of needle nose
-anti-static bags
-cpuburn software.

IDK the way I see it is, once you have done 2000+ units, no software is going to tell you waht you already dont know.
 
well Ive yet to see a reliable means to test RAM with a screwdriver :p
 
Stinger
HiJackThis
Remove Net.net
CWShredder
Ad-aware
Spybot
XP Home SP2
XP Pro SP2
XP Hem-hem
Windows 98SE
Windows 2000
Windows ME (hahaha ya right) :p
Can't recall name, but McAffe and Norton cleaner
Latest ATI/Nvidia Driver
Drivercleaner
Memtest
UBER BOOT DISK (HD diagnostic, Data Clone, Password recovery and lots more stuff)
SP4 for 2000
SP1 for 98se

All i can think of.
 
Ice Czar said:
well Ive yet to see a reliable means to test RAM with a screwdriver :p
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Just jab the screw driver through the stick of RAM, then you know its bad.
 
PopeKevinI said:
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.phpDrivers. I've got somewhere around 2.6 GB of drivers. Every piece of hardware I've ever encountered, I've got a driver for it. I keep them up to date on my PC at home, burn to CDs about once every six months to keep current, and keep the newest ones on one of my USB keys.
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Ever thought of making your collection available as a torrent? I've been collecting drivers as I need to use them, but it's always a hassle hunting down drivers when at a clients house.
 
ok so i just download the ultimate boot cd now how do i burn to cd
 
if your into "testing out" software from the net ;). get super norton 2005 its nice. get hiram or something, it like ultimate boot cd, but a little bit different. it has alot of memory testing apps and all kinds of other apps to test mobo,vga,HDD, etc. once i get home, ill post again.

i care all spyware cleaners and stuff on a pen drive, i also ALWAYS bring some music or a movie to watch while your waiting on another PC to finish scanning or something lol.

compressed air can and spare parts are nice too.
 
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