I work in a small computer repair shop. I also have a 3D printer, a desire to make something useful, and just enough CAD skills to be dangerous. Only problem is that I'm short on ideas that might be useful. What 3d-printable tools or doodads would make your life better as a computer tech?

In my 30 odd years of messing around with computers, I encountered two-three instances of "good" BIOSes (Microsoft's flavor of UEFI that they use in their Surfaces, MrCromebox.tech's flavor of Coreboot for Chrmoebooks/Chromeboxes and maybe Intel's Visual UEFI in NUCs - when they still made those).

Everything else has been a range of:

• Seriously buggy stuff, up to and including bricking when changing what should be innocuous settings (I had this happen recently - barely avoided bricking)
• Dog slow booting for no discernible reason: server anything is the usual culprit, but some vendors manage to do a "fine" job even with motherboards with far less components. I have a couple of Qotom's network appliance/firewall boxes like this one and they take a good 90-120 secs before anything shows up on screen and POST even starts. Actual OS load time is a fraction of that
• Stupid design decisions: consumer AMD x470 boards that would require disabling the fTPM - which clears the keys - as well as resetting all settings to defaults for updating the BIOS. "Fun" when you happen to use Bitlocker

And that's before the fucked up default values

• It was only when Windows 11 released that OEMs started disabling CSM and enabling fTPM/PTT and Secure Boot by default. Before that if you didn't know better you'd likely end up installing Windows in BIOS boot mode with MBR
• To this day, let alone enabling the IOMMU and VT-D or SR-IOV, leaving VT-X (aka basic virtualization support), above 4G decoding and resizable BAR (which modern GPUs really appreciate) off
• Leaving a lot of legacy settings on, even as the OS they were made for (Windows XP or even Vista/7) cannot be run on those boards anyways because there are no drivers. What is the point of even having those options available, let alone on by default?
• The stupid ass "utilities" that install via the WPBT, though - you can bet those settings are on by default

And server grade stuff is just as jank if not more - I had a brand new Asrock Board die on me while updating the BIOS as I followed their upgrade instructions to the letter

Tempting as it is, I am not writing this to rant - I am genuinely curious as to how this ends up happening so often across the whole industry.

Especially since as far as I understand OEMs get most of the work already done for them:

• The low level code to handle the CPU and base platform comes from Intel or AMD themselves (e.g. AGESA)
• American Megatrends (RIP Award) provides most of the rest of the BIOS code, including what runs the menus one interacts with
• As far as I can tell, the OEM only tweaks around the edges to implement things like ACPI tables that are specific to the board and the components it has

So if someone with actual knowledge happens to be reading - I've been dying to know for years now.

Hey everyone I am a field service engineer for Lenovo, Asus, Dell and HP.

I’m back to using my iFixit kit after my Aliexpress electric screwdriver died again, it’s a cheap tool but I love it for my wrist, it uses an N30 motor with .35nm torque and 300 rpm.

These n30s are awesome, they break threadlocker easily and don’t cam out, but the brushes inside keep dying.

I have replaced countless of brushes for both myself and fellow technicians.

Frankly after busting off another resistor trying to pry these suckers open I am sick of it.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a screwdriver that won’t break the bank but will break threadlock?

I do not want the iFixit one, they send some to our office that thing eats batteries like an Atari lynx.

The xiaomi wowstick is overpriced and can’t handle threadlock

For reference this is the screwdrivers we use:

https://imgur.com/a/UPg22A8

A little bit of background: I've been fixing my own computer, and some from my family and friends, for a handful of years now. I wouldn't call myself an expert by any means, but I feel like I have a solid grasp on the basics.

With that small pool of knowledge and the tools for my own repairs I had the idea of developing a small side gig out of it, for both money and knowledge. Still not quite ready to go yet; I'm still reading stuff like ExamCompass and watching people like Messer and Meyers to really choke those basics out, and I've also been messing with a broken device I had lying around to lose the fear of fucking up.

And then I found this subreddit, with lots of useful answers and resources, which gave me the idea of asking about my most persistent doubts in this little venture. Those being related to what it says in the title: Living in a low income/low resources place where one may not DoorDash spare parts out of Walmart, most people make less than begging money and stuff breaks down all the time. For an american comparison, think Alaska but not at all snowy.

With that said, I would like to know if any of my seniors here can give me suggestions about these topics:

• Old and Outdated Devices: Specifically, how to keep them in a working state without needing possibly expensive upgrades or an entire replacement. Not necessarily as good as modern devices, but as functional as could be expected for 10+ years old devices. I understand some cases might be too far gone, but having ideas about how to help would be nice.
• Reusing Components: Getting damaged devices around is simple, and they often have parts needed for other devices. Which parts are often worth reusing and which are just better to replace with new stuff, how to tell if a component might be damaged and whether is savvy to break down one thing to fix another.
• Soldiering: Worth it for someone starting out? I've seen some agreement that circuit board soldiering is where good money can be made, but tools seem to be expensive and I may lack the foundational knowledge needed to take a stab at it.

In summary, I would like to know ways to DIY and scrap together as much as possible, in such a way that my prices could be more about labor and less about spares and upgrades. I would also like to be as independent as a one-me operation could possibly get, since I might not be able to refer clients to, for example, a data recovery site. So any good practices, must-have tools, savvy business and general knowledge from people who have been doing this way longer than myself would be greatly appreciated.

And thanks for reading this long ass post :D

I’m currently a sophomore in high school and I am currently infatuated with computer science. I’ve designed a few parts of a cpu before but this is my first main project. It is a 4 bit cpu at 2Khz with addition, subtraction, and AND logical computations. It has a 12 bit memory bus that has 172 bytes of storage and 32 bytes of ram. I want to make an 8 bit cpu at 4-8Khz based on the same architecture soon. I’m wondering about how stacks work in the cpu I get their for the steps of a problem but I just need more explanation, and any idea how dual core chips differ from single cores Ive been wanting to make one for a while now.also I’m looking into Photolithography and I’m wondering if anyone has any tips on how to start that process for a diy chip making process. I understand the basics but I just need some more help. I’m hoping a nice silicon chip with at the most 10000 transistors on a rather large piece. Thanks for the read and I hope to see your response.

(Edit) I know 10000 transistors is extremely difficult to reach on a homemade level, but I’m aiming for something that’s impressive enough for people to care about, as my early cpu designs have been glossed over by basically everyone I’ve shown it to. I’m also looking to talk to college professors soon for recommendations into MIT I hope so I would like to have something very noteworthy to present.

CreationSpace has had a few electric screwdriver products and other tools on Kickstarter, but nothing new since May. The products they created seem to be available on AliExpress, like the CS0802A, which had some really good reviews a few months ago, but are these the actual CreationSpace devices, or are they counterfeits?

Hiya, hopefully not to broad a question but I'm looking to put my Desktop Support experience to work and offer PC repairs as a home business.

I'm UK based, just wondered where to start really?

So I wonder how you are all handling the elephant in the room that is exactly this?

Do you stick to the strict line of Microsoft Windows 11 won't support your hardware so "no soup for you"? Here's a new laptop/desktop you can buy. It is one hell of a sales opportunity right? I know my distributor will love me forever and all that. They will love you too. But where does all this old hardware go?!?

Or are you likely to help your customer in bypassing 11's requirements? Because Microsoft themselves pretty much offer the method to do exactly that. With caveats. You know that this isn't quite kosher or such. The bar is too high for the requirements anyhow. All that business.

There are systems out there that even pass all requirements for 11 including TPM 2.0 but because their CPU isn't on the list.. There are some pretty dare I say tardy machines that somehow are listed but other high powered hardware that isn't. Example being a cheap Pentium Silver N5000 Asus laptop I have just been working on. Fully meets 11 specs. But an i7 7th gen machine doesn't. Despite it costing 10 times as much? Wtf It's a head scratcher.

My own feelings on this is treating it as partly an opportunity to retire hardware that truly ought to be retired. But I also have little hesitation in getting those systems that ought to have been entitled to run 11. Such as the 7th gen i7 machines Definitely. Bypass the requirements by whatever means necessary. Anything less is doing a disservice to your customer. Of course still make them aware. Even some older PC's than that. Plus not everyone has the money to buy a new system or do a major upgrade.

Or let the customer stick with 10 without security updates. Beyond October next year. Or guide them into switching to Linux or that Google OS? Whatever it's called. Or some will be happy to pay for extended support for 10. Its just another subscription. Even though price for that will be increasing every year.

Hi guys. Is comptia a+ enough to become efficient at repairing computers and phones?

Hi, me and my friend want to start a small bussiness in the future repairing / maintaining PCs, laptops and mobile devices. I have been wondering what are some nesscessary tools to complete the diagnostics ?
At home and doing repairs for friends I usually use :

HWINFO - for general information about the device and fo temperature readings
Furmark + GPU Shark - for testing GPU performance and temps
Linux bootable USB - for both removing windows passwords and to boot a device without hard drive

I wanted to either make a pendrive with all the nescessary software or make a bootable kali linux pendrive with the software preinstalled. the latter might have problems with older bioses however and testing things on kali might not be the optimal way when the user is running something like windows 11.

So I wanted to ask your opinion. How would you prepare it and which programs are nescessary for this type of job ? Also when it comes to mobile repair I am more versed doing repairs rather than testing them. So I can swap battery or screen etc. but I dont know any programs to properly troubleshoot and test devices. Apreciate any help !

What are good companies/jobs to apply to? Any tips/advice?

This isn’t a request for tech support - more a bit of a question. I’m a tech (on the side) but this is for my own device.

I have a ThinkPad T14 Gen 1 and, as part of a keyboard service, Lenovo have also sent a motherboard. It’s the same spec as the original one.

Wondering, as I have the part, if it’s worth swapping it out. No issues with the incumbent board (besides a tiny bit of coil whine). Warranty runs out in three months. I know there’s going to be a Windows activation headache but as it’s linked to my Microsoft account, hoping it’s not too much of a pain.

Any views? I’m erring on the side of doing it as a new board is a new board and not had stuff plugged in/out so might as well…

Looking to begin with the end in mind. This is a precursor for me. starting a ASS program in cybersec soon within 3-6 months. How did you guys land your job in help desk? Any mistakes you can share that you learnt?

I am curious to the rest of you in the game. PC support & sales tech support etc I mean. Do you offer this service at all?

Today I had a client. Older guy. He'd partly fallen for one of these FB messages from one of his contacts wanting help but then had his FB account taken over by some Nigerian scammer. Who had also scammed his friend. Anyway after a considerable amount of faffing around. I managed to get his account logged in. FB had at least disabled it because it had been flagged for suspicion. Once done I turned on multifactor authentication. And that ensured he had a recovery email account. The things I would do for my own account in safeguarding security.

FB as part of identification process was wanting him to supply an old credit card number which was listed in his account. That card had been canceled due to another scam incident had been through earlier in the year. Which was another job for me back then. This is really why I felt partly obligated to help him out again and didn't just politely show him the door and wish him good luck in getting his FB account back. Anyway I had him call his bank which issued the card. But they weren't able to help with that old credit card number. So it was an hour on hold for no result there. Anyhow after all of that. I got him logged back in. I did clear the payment info facebook had stored so that won't be an issue again.

I wonder though what others thoughts are on doing this kind of work? Given how difficult it is to speak to a human at Facebook, Google or any of these companies. And the AI processes to do with account recovery are not intuitive at all. Many times I have tried to help and ended up giving up. Today's experience was a rare positive one for me. Another customer I attempted to help get her FB account back ended in failure. And she just ended up having to use a new FB account.

There are those kinds of customers that will be completely clueless about their email password etc or even what email was used for their social media. I would rather not even attempt to help them. Because I know it's going to be a failure. At least my guy today knew exactly what his passwords were. I sure know it's impossible to help people that won't help themselves.

Not sure where to ask this, but I found a cisco meraki AP at goodwill for $5. They retail for $500 brand new, I've installed a few dozen of them through my time.

Am I able to sell this for closer to used value? I'm not sure if I can use it, but it does power on. I tried to download the app and lol n behold, it's an enterprise account only situation. I then got worried about selling it, cause idk if there's some kind of lease on it from Cisco or what have you. Not sure what to do with it now..

(I did install them, but I didn't stage them, so I'm not sure where to start it I actually wanted to try to use it. Not asking to break rule 1. I'll figure something out, but I'd rather sell it..)

Ok guys weird one here, we have omni bridge devices deployed on Xerox printers and it is randomly throwing a weird MAC address that is just 1 off from the real one...

Real 68:7Cxxxxx Random 64:7C....

Throw me your best ideas as to why

I find myself needing to clone a failing ssd on a critical machine. The reasons why I need to try a clone is 1) We don't have a direct back up and 2) Reinstalling the necessary software is going to be much harder and higher cost to accomplish.

The problem was actually discovered when trying to install our new backup agent on the machine and it kept failing.The failing drive passes all health tests but Windows reports several bad blocks which also appears to cause Clonezilla from doing a direct drive to drive copy.

UPDATE: I ended dup using Clonezilla with the Rescue option and was able to clone the drive.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to clone this drive?

I've put together a pretty extensive training syllabus (the syllabus itself is 30 pages long) for real-world computer repair scenarios that we see every day in our shops. It's designed to take a beginner through everything from part identification and function all the way through virtualization, networking/port forwarding, scripting, and remote administration. It includes ~25 of the most common repairs, ~10 of which are laptop-specific, with extensive information on identifying root causes of each (of which there tends to be several).

The training is divided into four parts and I've estimated it would take a person ~200-250 hours to successfully pass all four courses. The training is intended to be hybrid online learning through the first course (8 hours), and in-person training for everything after the first course. All courses, once purchased, would be available for reference and useable as training materials (which is why I'm also asking Break/Fix owners).

For a little background, I run a break/fix | MSP hybrid company, I've been in the industry for 23 years, my company is one of the highest rated in my state with almost 700 reviews, all of which are 5-star. I love teaching, I love teaching my craft to teens and enthusiasts, and I'm looking to make a structured course from beginning to end. Some of our past "shop helpers" have taken what they learned from us in 1-2 months of unstructured training and started freelancing or enrolled in schools to further their particular areas of interest (like programming or network admin/engineer).

Before you say "Computer repair is dying", I would like to say that my company is still growing 10% YOY and we're at ~$250K gross and around $150K net currently (accounting for rent, recurring bills, misc parts), minus employee wages (which is just my in-shop tech and myself)

What do you feel is reasonable for 200-250 hours of training so someone could get real-world experience for a resume and start doing computer repair or entry-level IT work?

I'm a CS graduate. Graduated uni last year, if you ask me what is my tech stack, I've nothing to show for in that regard. This is the state of myself. My degree is of no use. At this point. As I see advert and all things in description seems greek to me. I need some help, some plan to turn around. Something to start from scratch. To focus.

Please help me with your valuable thoughts.

Thank You

Over the last 1.5 years I've been buying up precision electric screwdrivers that I felt were decent value, mostly for building RC cars and electronics. Several would make great PC build screwdrivers, while others are advertised as such but don't have enough torque. I've torque tested each, and made some recommendations.

https://youtu.be/DfiWH-6eoxU

I've repaired a computer for a business that had a failed hard drive in a raid 1 config. I've imaged the good hard drive and backed their data up, replaced the bad hard drive and rebuilt the raid. I normally charge around $100-$150 an hour but most of this job was downtime and waiting. I was wondering if anyone has had a similar repair and had any advice on what to charge. Thanks for any advice!

Edit: Thank you guys for all the advice!

I dabble in my computer repair business. I get all hyped about helping people and people love working with me. But then I run into what I like to call “Stupid software shit.” Which are issues that people want fixed that are so minor and odd that it’s hard to give a good answer. I had one this week, a person stopped over with their gaming PC because a game in Steam would crash every time he tried to load it. It was a brand-new PC and I did a bunch of checks in Windows, reinstalled Steam and the game, updated the drivers. No luck. He seemed annoyed that I couldn’t get it fixed but he didn’t want to spend anymore money on my time, and he left. I feel like I run into this type of thing a lot, I don’t really enjoy fixing those types of issues but always willing to look and see. It always blows up my confidence. How do others handle these types of situations?

I usually leave the latest version of Windows Defender on any machines I tuneup since it’s got a nice detection rate and rapid remediation but I’ve been seeing older posts of others in this sub resell AV licenses for Norton, MalwareBytes, etc.

Is this still a thing? Or has MSE caught up enough that it hasn’t been a conversation for a while?

What provider do you you for sending scans out of MFP/Copiers?

I've had success in the past with Google/Gmail, but now they're tightening security.

I have a portfolio of clients that need to send scans to 3-4 different destination accounts, for each specific location.

I still have a decent number of clients who want local installed office (don't want google docs/oss solutions), and also don't want a subscription to 365.

With office 2024 announced as a standalone product soon to be released, I am trying to figure out how to position things for these clients. I think the answer is no, but does anyone know is there a free upgrade path for 2021 licensed purchased close to the release of 2024, or if someone needs office today, and wants a standalone purchase, they are stuck spending 150 bucks on a product that is end of life in 2026?

I don't really try to push any of my clients towards one specific service, I just give them the pros and cons of all of them and let them choose, but now with office standalone in limbo with a 3 year old version you can buy now and a new version coming any time now, I am not sure how to position the office standalone option.

So my customer did the upgrade to 11 from 10. Now they have zero Taskbar or start menu. It's just not there at all. Can still run task manager and apps from desktop.

I did an sfc /scannow which found zero problems. I also tried stopping and starting windows explorer. But still no menu or Taskbar.

I can probably try a windows installation over the top. In place repair. Or just try rolling back to 10. I cloned the system drive to another in case the disk itself was possibly going bad. It's only a spinning drive not an SSD. I will likely upgrade it to an SSD once this issue is sorted.

Update: I did a repair install (in place upgrade) Taskbar and start menu are back. Thanks everyone. 👍