IT Support Placement at Hull College - Seven Real Tickets, Seven Repairs

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 In this project, I completed seven IT support and management tasks during my work placement at Hull College IT Services. I worked alongside qualified technicians to respond to live support tickets and carry out hardware, storage, GPU and network work across the college.

Each task followed the same core process which are to confirm the fault, work safely, document the evidence and verify the fix actually worked before closing it out. This reflects how support tickets are handled in a real IT department, where every repair needs to be traceable back to a confirmed diagnosis.

Placement Overview

The placement covered a mix of hardware repair and infrastructure tasks:

  • Fault logging and triage for a queue of faulty laptops
  • Battery diagnosis using a real-world test method
  • Battery and keyboard replacement on HP EliteBook laptops
  • SSD installation and formatting on a classroom desktop
  • GPU installation with before/after performance benchmarking
  • Network port cataloguing for a 24-PC classroom

Several factors were considered throughout:

  • Confirming the reported fault before opening any device
  • Following safe working practice and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
  • Recording before and after evidence for every task
  • Verifying the fix with a real test, not just a visual check

Tools Used

  • Precision screwdriver set and iFixit pry tool
  • ESD-safe mat
  • Windows Disk Management
  • CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD Benchmark
  • PugetBench for Photoshop
  • NVIDIA GeForce driver installer
  • College admin ticketing system

Task 1: User Issue and Fault Logging

A queue of HP EliteBook laptops arrived with handwritten fault notes Dead Battery and Keys Missing. Before any repair work began, each device was inspected to confirm the reported fault and triaged in priority order.

All devices were powered off and disconnected from power before handling and no device was opened until the fault was confirmed with the supervising technician. Logging the fault first meant every repair began from a documented, confirmed issue rather than a guess.





Task 2: Battery Fault Diagnosis

Windows diagnostic tools such as powercfg can give inaccurate readings on ageing batteries so I used the unplug test instead: boot the laptop on mains, let it stabilise, then disconnect the charger while it's running.

The EliteBook shut off instantly, confirming complete battery failure. This gave a definitive pass/fail result rather than relying on a software estimate, and the result was reported to the supervising technician before any disassembly began.



Task 3: Laptop Battery Replacement

With the fault confirmed, I sourced a replacement battery from a second EliteBook that had an unrepairable screen but a working battery.

Both laptops were fully powered off and disconnected from all power before disassembly. Using a precision screwdriver set and an iFixit pry tool, I removed the base cover, disconnected the dead battery, and transplanted the donor battery across. After reassembly, I repeated the unplug test and the laptop continued running after the charger was disconnected, confirming a successful repair.



Task 4: Laptop Keyboard Replacement

The second EliteBook had multiple detached keys. Individual keycap repair isn't reliable on this model, so the full keyboard assembly was replaced using a donor keyboard.

This introduced a ZIF (zero insertion force) ribbon connector, which required the latch to be fully unlocked before the cable was removed to avoid damage. Screws were organised by position on the bench so nothing went back in the wrong location. Once reassembled, every key was individually tested and confirmed functional.




Task 5: SSD Installation

This came in as a support ticket requesting a second SSD be installed into a specific desktop, in the front higher-up drive bay rather than the bottom of the case, with the process documented in photographs.

After confirming the PC was powered off and unplugged, I mounted the SSD, connected the SATA and power cables, then used Disk Management to initialise the disk, create a new volume and format it as NTFS. I then ran CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD Benchmark to confirm the drive was performing correctly, not just detected.









Task 6: GPU Installation and Performance Benchmarking (AS125)

The Digital & Creative department wanted to know whether installing a dedicated GPU would measurably improve their Adobe Creative Cloud workflows, specifically Photoshop.

I ran PugetBench for Photoshop to record a baseline score on integrated graphics, then installed an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 into the PCIe x16 slot, installed the latest driver and re-ran the benchmark. ESD precautions were followed throughout and the GPU was handled by its edges rather than the PCIe connector.

Recording a before and after score turned the upgrade into measurable evidence rather than a general claim that "it should be faster."










Task 7: Network Port Cataloguing (AS125)

The final task involved mapping all 24 computers in a classroom to their wall Ethernet port IDs and producing a reference table.

I first clarified the scope of the ticket through the ticket system, then checked with the lecturer that the room was free to work in. I traced each Ethernet cable from computer to wall port without disconnecting any cables, recording each pairing as I went.

This produces a documentation baseline that lets a future technician isolate a network fault in that classroom without having to trace cables from scratch.





Optimisation Decisions

Looking back across all seven tasks, a few changes would improve the workflow next time:

  • A standardised fault log template, filled in live rather than reconstructed afterward, for faster and more consistent evidence gathering
  • A pre-task compatibility checklist for hardware replacements, to avoid delays from sourcing the wrong part mid-repair
  • Wider health checks that include software and network connectivity, not just physical hardware
  • A standard escalation document template, so handovers to a senior technician are consistent instead of relying on notes taken in the moment

Key Takeaways

  1. Confirming a fault before opening a device using a real test rather than a software estimate prevents wasted parts and repeat repairs.
  2. Sourcing parts from decommissioned donor devices, like the battery and keyboard transplants, is a practical way to fix hardware at zero additional cost.
  3. Recording before and after evidence, whether it's a benchmark score or a formatted drive, turns a repair into measurable proof rather than a general claim.
  4. Documentation tasks like the port catalogue may not involve any hardware repair, but they build the reference material that makes future fault-finding faster.
  5. This placement reflects the same underlying loop used in SOC and technical support work generally: confirm, work safely, document, and verify the outcome.

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