CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide

Figure 1-9 Typical technician toolkit
I’ll add a few more tools to this toolkit as the book progresses that you’ll
want for a not-so-basic toolkit. Those more advanced tools will be introduced
as your knowledge grows.
You already own another great tool, the camera in your smartphone or
tablet. It’s amazing how handy it is to photograph screw locations, cable
connections, or other conditions so that you can later retrieve those images
when you reinstall something.
A lot of techs throw in an extension magnet to grab hard-to-reach bits that
drop into cases (an exception to the “no magnets” rule). Many also add a
magnifying glass and a flashlight for those hard-to-read numbers and text on
the printed circuit boards (PCBs) that make up a large percentage of devices
inside the system unit. Contrary to what you might think, techs rarely need a
hammer.
Mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones require more complex kits
that include specialized tools, such as prying tools (called spudgers—isn’t
that a great word?). There are many excellent toolkits available for purchase;
I recommend the toolkits sold by iFixit (www.ifixit.com) and use one myself
(Figure 1-10). These kits are inexpensive and reliable, plus iFixit has
hundreds of free videos that walk you through many scenarios using the kits.