Repairing and Upgrading Your PC

Hand Tools

Despite those snazzy-looking PC toolkits you see anywhere PC components are sold, you really don't need much in the way of tools to work on a standard PC. Figure 2-2 shows our standard toolkit—a #1 Phillips screwdriver, flashlight, and needlenose pliers—and we seldom need the pliers.

Figure 2-2. A basic toolkit: #1 Phillips screwdriver, flashlight, and needlenose pliers

A bottle or pen of Wite-Out and a Sharpie marker can be useful for labeling items. Depending on your system, you may also need a #0 or #2 Phillips screwdriver, although the #1 Phillips generally works fine for the screw heads used in standard PCs. If your system uses Torx fasteners, you may need a #10, #15, or #20 Torx screwdriver. There are other tools that are convenient rather than essential. If you're replacing a motherboard, for example, a 5 mm or 6 mm nut driver makes it faster to install the standoffs, and a screw starter makes it easier to insert screws in inaccessible places. But you can get along just fine with only a screwdriver or two, a flashlight, and needlenose pliers for setting jumpers. You needn't buy special "computer" tools, either.

Regular tools from the hardware store, Sears, or a home improvement center work just fine.