We get this question a lot from fledgling computer technicians: “What tools do you recommend I get?” The list is pretty long, but not super expensive. Initial startup cost if you buy EVERYTHING listed here is going to be around $350 plus tax, in the USA from Amazon. That said, the most important things you need a screwdriver kit, a flash drive, and a hard drive dock and M.2 transfer tool for reading and cloning SATA and NVMe drives, which should set you back around $150 plus tax. The rest of it you can acquire on an as-needed basis.

Hardware Tools That All Computer Technicians Should Own

These tools are great for the money and should last you an extremely long time with proper care. I’ve broken the list down into ESSENTIALS that you should get IMMEDIATELY and “As-Needed”, tools you can get when the occasion arises that you need them.

Essential Tools to Buy When Starting a Computer Repair Business

• iFixIt Toolkit: https://amzn.to/43NqE32
• 2.5″/3.5″ HDD cloning station https://amzn.to/3q8cE6l
• 2.5″ to USB 3.0 adapter (for clones and data transfers): https://amzn.to/3DMhARf
• M.2 (both SATA / NVME) to USB reader (for clones and data transfers): https://amzn.to/42R9dBZ
• A Ventoy bootable flashdrive, load that up with ISOs for Windows 10 and 11, a Linux live disc, and a pre-boot environment.
  • After years of using Samsung bar drives, I switched to SanDisk and find they’re MUCH more durable over time (we were replacing Samsung Bar drives every 8-10 months because they just die. SanDisks are lasting us almost 2 years now). This is the one we use, because it has both USB-A AND USB-C, plus attaches to a keychain which is SUPER convenient: https://amzn.to/3DI0DHG

Computer Repair Tools to Buy Once They’re Needed

• USB-C Rechargeable multimeter if you plan on doing DC Jack repairs https://amzn.to/3Si4MfW
• Decent Soldering Iron if you plan on doing DC Jack repairs https://amzn.to/3Qkvsdf
  • Flux https://amzn.to/3rWSyfR
  • Solder https://amzn.to/3qo5ASZ
  • Cleaning wool https://amzn.to/3rTx57B
  • Desoldering braid https://amzn.to/45vm0rV
  • 99.9% Isopropyl Alcohol (anything above 90% is generally good for DC Jack repair) https://amzn.to/42MbbU5
  • Lint free swabs https://amzn.to/43UPxdl
• Plastic Steel epoxy if you’re going to do hinge repairs (this is the ONLY Epoxy I recommend now) https://amzn.to/3OEVeHH .. I’d also recommend you watch some Plastic Welding videos to learn how to reinforce the plastic during the repairs, especially when it’s cracked the frame of the laptop
• Thermal Paste: https://amzn.to/44TBkhQ

There’s definitely some tools and products we left off, but we’ll write another blog to cover those and their use cases. This bottle of Lucas Oil Products “White Lithium Grease”, which we bought at Autozone, for example, is used to re-lubricate hinges when doing hinge repairs, but is only needed for Samsung and LG Laptop Hinges. Go figure.

Nice to Haves

Adding this section in for tools that aren’t really “needed” but definitely make life easier. Use cases explained with the tool.

• 4 Claws Tweezer / IC Extractor: Useful when working on older iMacs that have magnets around the frame that pull the screws off the screwdriver https://amzn.to/49BKwvS
• USB-C Rechargeable Air Duster: way better than buying cans of compressed air to clean out desktops and laptops: https://amzn.to/4uLPM8y
• 500 Piece laptop screw pack… because you’ll lose one or some will have fallen out without the customer’s knowledge: https://amzn.to/4o6DcOM
• 46 Piece NVME / M.2 SSD mounting screws (and mounts). Sometimes you need one. This is a variety pack for all circumstances: https://amzn.to/3Si4MfW

Software We Recommend for New Computer Technicians

Nearly every software tool we use in my shop is free, but one tool I’d HIGHLY recommend buying is Fab’s Autobackup PRO (https://store.fpnet.fr ). It’s been a godsend for when we need to reinstall an OS that won’t boot. Data and configuration transfer from old profiles to new ones is a breeze, and it severely reduces the number of calls from customers who had a wipe/reload performed because they can actually find everything including their browser bookmarks. And Fabrice, the developer of “Fab’s”, is amazing with updates and bug fixes. You can find him in the ITBusinessOwnersGroup on Facebook posting updates pretty frequently.

We recommend putting these tools on your Ventoy Bootable Flash Drive

• PortableApps on that same flash drive
  • 7-Zip Portable
  • Advanced IP Scanner if you’re doing onsites
  • CPUZ
  • GPUZ
  • CrystalDiskInfo
  • Everything (by VoidTools)
  • Fab’s Autobackup Pro
    • This is one of  the only paid softwares we use and it’s miraculous!
  • OpenHardwareMonitor
  • WizTree
• Chocolatey scripts
• Official Windows 10 and Windows 11 ISOs

What Other Tools Would a Computer Technician Need?

We do ~90% of our repairs with the tools listed. Ultimately it’s around $300-400USD for everything listed, after tax and shipping. If you have to prioritize, get the flash drive, Fab’s Autobackup, the free Portable Apps and Chocolatey Open Source, a 2.5″ to USB 3.0 Adapter, M.2 reader (SATA and NVMe), and the cheaper iFixIt Toolkit. For less than $150 you’d be pretty set on doing ~80% of the repairs you’ll see, and if you charge customers up front, you can get the remaining tools as-needed as you order parts for the customers.

I originally posted this to the r/computertechs subreddit here, but Amazon said “You can’t post your affiliate links on anything other than your website”, so I’m moving the entire post over here. Thanks Amazon.