Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 408 pages
- Published by: For Dummies
- Edition: 7th Edition May 7, 2007
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0470121025
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0470121023
-
Book Dimensions:
9 x 7.4 x 1 inches
- Weighs: 1.1 pounds
Product Review
Loaded with solid advice in the fun style typical of this series,
Upgrading & Fixing PCs for Dummies is an great introduction to what makes your computer go. If you're sure you can put your new modem or video card in by yourself (and you can), this book will provide you with the help you need.
Rathbone starts with an introduction to all the mysterious connections on the back of your computer's case, teaching you how to distinguish a game port from a serial port and an audio jack from a network connection. He then moves inside the case, using drawings and diagrams to illustrate processors, peripheral cards, memory modules, and other internal components. Troubleshooting occupies much of this book, and the author explains the basic "identify and isolate" strategy very well. He also points out what to look and listen for, describing, for example, the meaning of the beeps you hear when you turn your computer on.
Some of Rathbone's organizational decisions seem weird. He covers the procedure for replacing an internal modem in a chapter about all kinds of internal expansion cards, rather than in the modem chapter. But the information is there and it is well presented, so
Upgrading & Fixing PCs for Dummies makes an great resource for hardware novices.
--David Wall
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Computer Shopper, London, June 2000
They layout is cleverit is useful as a quick reference book.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: Upgrading and Fixing PCs for Dummies, Sixth Edition (Paperback)
Kind of a combination introduction/overview to the state of PC technology today, with an emphasis on helping readers new to the subject in maximizing any PCs performance. This is an excellent book! Covers all the latest in Windows XP configuration and upkeep, as well as buzzwords like DVD-RW, DVD+RW, CDRW/DVD, 802.11b, 802.11a, wireless access points, fast Ethernet, FireWire, USB 2.0, MP3s, WMAs, LCDs, DVI-I, DV camcorders, digital cameras, scanners, printers, modems, NTFS, ATX, AGP 3.0 8x, DDR SDRAM,... etc. EVERYTHING current to today's PCs is given a brief mention. I especially like the Appendix, "The Rathbone Reference of Fine Ports", which clearly explains the most common of today's PC connections, as well as the ones that are going out of style. Very helpful! This book strikes a great balance between being too simple and being too advanced. It's the perfect companion to the "Windows for Dummies" series, right along with another recent book, "Troubleshooting Your PC for Dummies", by Dan Gookin. Highly recommended!
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