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HARDWARE

By Ben Myers

Whether you maintain your own computer, run your family IT department, or manage lots of computers, having the right tools makes the work so much easier.

No matter which task you need to do, tools are essential — whether a spoon to stir your morning coffee or a hammer to pound a nail. So it is with computers, which need to be taken apart, put back together, cleaned, and sometimes connected to other devices to get the job done.

This is a survey and a how-to guide in two parts, both practical and sometimes lighthearted. Part one covers nearly everything you need to know to work on a large computer — desktop, tower, or all-in-one. Part two is about laptops and useful widgets needed to connect electronics together.

The formal, primary definition of tool, from Merriam-Webster, is:

tool noun (1) 1 a: a handheld device that aids in accomplishing a task.

You might think I am stretching the Merriam-Webster definition at times, and maybe I am.

This is not a buyer’s guide for computer tools. If I mention a brand-name tool, that’s only because it has exceptional qualities. The tools I use have grown in quantity and changed over many years, as I have replaced tools with “better” ones, easier to use. And no — they do not match, nor do they have to.

I do teardowns of desktops, towers, laptops, and — quite reluctantly — all-in-one computers. I do not see enough Apple Macs and tablets to do more than the very basic repairs and upgrades.

Let’s break down tools into three major categories:

Some tools do not quite fit these categories but still prove to be extremely useful. Tools needed to take apart a laptop or tablet are usually much smaller and sometimes very specific (Tim Cook, are you reading this?), compared to the common large tools used to tear down a tower or desktop computer.

What about motorized electric tools? I do not use them. When I remove a screw, I must do it carefully to avoid stripping the screw head, often using brute force to push down on the screw with the screwdriver firmly in place, and making that first twist to deal with stiction. When I put a screw back in, I can feel when it is tight enough but not overly tight. Motorized tools do not provide that level of feel and control.

As a reminder to keep my temper in check when working on a project, I keep a sledgehammer handy (Figure 1) to tell me to keep my cool and never to use it on a computer.

Figure 1. My quiet friend, Sister Sledge

Starting with the original IBM PC, and for quite a long time, most parts inside a computer were similar — if not exactly — the same. That’s no longer the case. It’s important to keep track of the screws and other small parts you remove. My tool to keep all the tiny parts from jumping onto the floor is a white plastic tray (Figure 2) with a flat bottom and inch-high sides, retained from a supermarket buy. Simple, inexpensive, and effective. Its color makes it easy to spot any screw or plastic piece I need. Find something similarly utilitarian. Keep two or three around, because they are handy. (Need I reveal the brand and product I bought and ate?)

Figure 2. Plastic tray for parts with wanderlust

I also use such trays to sort through my vast collection of tiny parts, which are usually stored in jars or bins. I pour a suitable number into the tray, where I can see and distinguish them better.

To take apart a typical tower or desktop computer, you need only basic tools that are probably already on your home workbench. Start with two sizes each of flathead (aka slotted) and Phillips-head screwdrivers. (See Figure 3.) The slotted screws are rarer than other types in electronic devices, but the flathead screwdrivers have other uses.

Figure 3. Workhorse screwdrivers

Compaq’s computers broke the mold a bit by using Torx screws. Hewlett-Packard acquired Compaq, and its computers continue this legacy. You’ll thus need Torx drivers, although sometimes a small flathead screwdriver will work. If you’re in and out of HP systems with any regularity, it’s better to go Torx because they are far less prone to slippage. HP desktops and towers use Torx size 15 (T15) screws.

If you are replacing a power supply or other piece inside a computer, you may need to snip a plastic tie used to hold a cable in place, or maybe cut something else. Figure 4 shows one type of cutting tool in action.

Figure 4. Detaching a power-supply cable

You may need to put a connector from the front panel onto a motherboard header deep in that corner where your fingers are too big to do the job. Needle-nose pliers (Figure 5) extend your reach with greater precision. A good, strong set of tweezers can also be used.

Figure 5. Connecting a 9-pin front-panel cable to a motherboard header

For the road, I also carry a 10-piece set of small Torx, Phillips, and flathead screwdrivers in a zippered case with a hard exterior (Figures 6 and 7). Lowe’s, which once sold this Kobalt kit, cheapened the product a couple of years ago by putting the screwdrivers into a flimsy plastic case instead. I am sure you can find a similar set of screwdrivers in a durable zippered case somewhere. I added some tiny screwdrivers and a paper clip, the latter for opening optical drives and releasing plastic inserts inside laptops. The leftmost screwdriver is the one I use most often, and its different look makes it easy to grab.

Figures 6 & 7. An open, and shut, case of screwdrivers

When in doubt, download the maintenance or repair manuals for brand-named computers, motherboards, and your favorite computer case so you can be sure of the steps to take them apart and put them back together again.

Putting a computer back together is tricky. And I find most product documentation to be inadequate, so I take photos before dismembering a computer. If necessary, I can use those photos during reassembly. I use a good quality camera, typically at least 16 megapixels, to take clear, sharp, and detailed photos. I like to use my “bridge” camera, an upscale point-and-shoot (Figure 8); alternatively, I’ll use a DSLR.

Figure 8. Selfie of me documenting a disassembly

The inside of any computer needs to be kept clean, mostly by removing dust and dirt from the parts inside. Pay special attention to all the fans — the one on top of a processor heat sink, the ones on graphics cards, and any fans affixed to the computer case. I use inexpensive artist brushes and long, cotton-tipped, industrial-quality swabs to dislodge the filth. You can use Q-tips, but the industrial swabs are stiffer and easier to handle because they have plastic or wooden shafts. When you rub and twist an applicator inside a cooling fan (Figure 9), it catches the dust bunnies inside with the cotton, making it easy to extract globs of dust.

Figure 9. How to catch a dust bunny

Use a dry cloth to remove excess dust from the inside of the computer case, then take it outside to blast away the dust and dirt with compressed air directed by a thin nozzle from a can, as in the action photo showing a fan spinning freely (Figure 10).

Figure 10. Compressed air removes dust, and fan spins freely

Use a cloth moistened with isopropyl alcohol, a nondestructive solvent, to rub away coffee spills, sticky fingerprints, and other markings from the outside of a computer case. Compressed air, industrial applicators, brushes, and enough elbow grease can also renew keyboards and mice. Other solvents, like Goo-Gone^®, may leave residues but also make it easier to remove stickers and other adhesive-backed items. After using such solvents, rub the area with a cloth and isopropyl alcohol to remove the residue.

You may need to remove boards and memory to get enough access to make a motherboard squeaky clean, or perhaps to clean the fans on graphics cards or exhaust fans attached to the case. Unless you are replacing a motherboard, a total teardown of a computer is rarely necessary.

Desktop computers are easy. Now let’s increase the degree of difficulty.

Generally, the word to describe all-in-one PCs is “difficult.” I get such devices for repair from time to time, and I approach this work slightly differently.

Do not attempt any work on an all-in-one without a manufacturer’s repair manual, a very good YouTube video, and/or the series of illustrated teardown steps from the iFixit website. You can easily remove the back of some all-in-ones by detaching the stand and removing a few screws. Others require pry tools or spudgers to release tabs holding the back of the case in place.

A laptop computer running side by side with your repair can be another practical tool. It can provide you with access to any repair videos, illustrated how-tos, and manufacturer’s service manuals while you work, and it can often be easier than printing pages from a PDF repair manual.

Apple iMacs, despite their superb screens, are the worst because you must remove the glass, affixed with adhesive over the front of the screen, then (carefully!!) remove the LCD screen. Only then can you get at the motherboard, memory, processor, storage, and Wi-Fi card. IFixit can supply a custom adhesive strip to put it all back together, along with other helpful tools.

All-in-one computers make up a small percentage of computers in use, and they vary widely in construction among brands. You have been warned.

In the second part of this two-part series, we get to play small ball with laptops. I’ll talk about one toolset I recently acquired, deserving of special mention for its elegant design. Most importantly, you might want to connect an external drive to a computer for data recovery. There are several different drive types, and each one requires a different tool to provide the needed connection.

Join the conversation! Your questions, comments, and feedback about this topic are always welcome in our forums!

For over 20 years, Ben Myers has offered “cradle-to-grave” computer services for small businesses and individual computer owners — including building, upgrading, refurbishing, testing, repairing, and recycling of computer and network gear, primarily with Windows, a bit of MacOS, Linux, and — wait for it — MS-DOS.

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