facing problems with hardware.

hello everybody.
although i am electronics engg. but very weak at electronics cards testing due to lack of practical knowledge.
i m facing problem with the general testing of electronics componets.like how to come to know whether a component is not working on a particular card.(like mosfets , cmos, fets,thyristors,igbt etc.)
can you people suggest me some ideas or there's any site related to electronics component/card testing.
sorry if i am using any wrong conception!
your replies are precious..
thanx in advance.

I use an ESR meter for testing electrolytic capacitors (it can test in circuit - with power off!), and a Peak Atlas Semiconductor Analyser (peakelec.co.uk) for testing semiconductors. Other fault tracing requires use of a multimeter and/or CRO.

Board level component testing is a time consuming process that requires numerous tools etc.

My favorite tool is a Huntron Tracker; http://www.huntron.com/. Read about it, it tests in ckt and does "signature analysis".

The next thing would be an Oscilloscope, the higher the bandwidth and the more channels the better. Naturally you will need a GOOD multi-meter along with an assortment of other meters.

You will need DC variable power supply, best to have both voltage and current adjustable with a readout for both. In many case you may need more then one. A variac is also handy.

B&K makes o'scopes, power supplies and more: http://www.bkprecision.com/

A Soldering/Desoldering station will be required http://www.cooperhandtools.com/weller/

An assortment of small precision tools, I may list some later. Some boards use coatings that are hard to remove, you may need an assortment of chemicals.

NOTE: In many cases the components are OEM specific i.e. you can not get them except through the OEM.

This is a very time consuming and expensive endeavor, so may want to study if the effort is worth it.

hey thanks rsdoran.
your information is really fruitful.