[steakleyl]

I'm looking for tips and tricks to fix minor electronic malfunctions (getting locked out of a rental car, extracting a stuck DVD from a laptop, etc.) using common objects (paper clips, safety pen, industrial plastic ties, Q-tips, whatever). If you know any such tips or tricks please e-mail me.

[JohnWill]

A hammer is always a useful tool to have around.

[Laura87]

I'm a big fan of the butter knife works like a charm for most things - one safety tip: not for use with live electricity .

[ekim68]

Half of my tools are my swiss army knife..

[Rockn]

Originally Posted by Laura87

I'm a big fan of the butter knife works like a charm for most things - one safety tip: not for use with live electricity .

One of my pet peeves BTW...

[Knotbored]

Masking tape to secure tiny screws to screwdriver till they get started, Also slipping a drinking straw onto a screwdriver to do the same thing (about a 2" length.)
Using a drop of woodglue to temp secure washers to tiny screws that won't stay in place (especially vertical screws pointing down.)

[belithrawien]

Oh yes, I have that butter knife kit too! :P , and of course
my shoe/hammer thingy and I use a spatula to reach things on the top shelf and toss them over the edge of the shelf, flinch and grab as it falls. Why ARE cupboards so high up?

[MNG0304]

Basic to Advanced tips
Repair info central

My 2 cents:

• Always work in a clean, well lit and spacious area. Preferably with lipped edges so those small parts don't fall onto the floor.
• If you start getting frustrated stop what you're doing and take a break, stepping outside to look for a sledgehammer usually calms me down.
• Baby food jars and 35mm film cannisters are great for storing small, common screws.

[Yorkshire Guy]

*** For securing screws to your screwdriver you can also use Blu Tak, works great when the screwhole is hard to reach.

*** This one I heard about years ago, and I was suprised:
Dot matrix printer playing up, missing characters, alignment screwd etc
User sprayed the whole innards with WD 40 oil, cleaned up the excess especially paper transport - printer worked a dream afterwards.

*** Memory, PCI cards etc not recognised:
Extract card, lightly go over contacts with wife's nail file, clean any residue, reinsert.

*** baring wire ends - use my teeth, I know I shouldn't but I always have my teeth with me - ha ha

*** HD failure - remove and wrap device in plastic and seal it, store in freezer overnight, connect and extract data quickly before it warms up. Theory is coldness reduces bearings etc to tolerances; however I only tried it once and it didn't work; suppose it depends on what is wrong in the first place. Big WARNING, this could serioulsy damage your PC.

*** Circuit tester: couple of lengths of wire, battery, small bulb (not on LIVE equipment.


Have fun,
Hew

[Rockn]

A nail file for card contact? Not a good idea, a better cleaner is a pencil eraser.