How to Be Prepared for Common Technology Problems

Computers: General

1. 
   Carry a small pair of screwdrivers: one standard, one Phillips (standard has a "-" shaped head, Phillips has a "+" shaped one). These (particularly the Phillips one) come in very handy when disassembling a computer.
2. 
   Carry short lengths of cable, and several adapters. I recommend one Cat5e ethernet cable, one USB cable (the ones with one rectangular end and one square end, both male type, are preferred as these are the most common for connecting peripherals like CD/DVD drives, external hard drives, etc.), one USB to PS2 adapter (PS2 is an older connector which was common for keyboards, mice, etc.), and one 1/8" audio cable (both ends male type), which will allow you to connect an mp3 player or CD player to a computer or speaker system which has an 'aux in' port.
3. 
   Carry a set of four AA batteries, and a set of four AAA batteries. Many devices, including some digital cameras, use these batteries.
4. 
   Carry a blank flash drive (or at least one with some space left on it). You can use it to move files from computer to computer.
5. 
   Carry a blank CD (in it's case). This is useful if you ever need to burn a bootable CD, for example, if someone needs a CD so that they can install Linux.
6. 
   If you can, carry a grounding band. This is a watchband-like wrist strap with a metal inner lining. The lining is connected to a cable, which gets plugged into the ground pin of an electrical outlet. SAFETY HAZARD: read the warnings section!
7. 
   If you carry a grounding band, also pick up some ESD bags. These are greyish zip-lock type bags which can be used to store sensitive electronic parts. They shield the part from sparks (e.g. one you might get from static electricity).
8. 
   Carry a small USB Hub. Most peripherals can be connected by USB cables and computers frequently don't have enough ports (particularly laptops).