Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 656 pages
- Published by: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
- Edition: 2nd Edition October 13, 2000
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 007212945X
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0072129458
-
Book Dimensions:
7.8 x 4.6 x 1.8 inches
- Weighs: 1.3 pounds
Product Review
I don't know where the folks at Osborne buy their clothes, but on my planet a pocket is only slightly greater than a hand. I can put my wallet in my pocket. I can carry three or so Zip disks. But I've tried and tried, and I just can't jam in all 600+ pages of
Bigelow's PC Technician's Troubleshooting Pocket Reference into any pocket I have. The thing is an inch and a half thick--definitely not pocket-sized. It's satchel-sized. It's put-it-under-the-tire-to-keep-the-trailer-from-rolling-downhill-sized.
Form factors aside, Bigelow's book lives up to its title; it's all troubleshooting information. Wonderful! This book assuredly was not meant to be read front to back. It works like this: start with a problem, and then look up the solution. Bigelow divided the book into sections for various parts of the PC or devices that are connected to it. You look up the device, read about it, heed some general maintenance wisdom, and then peruse the various "symptoms" and cures. Very nice, and just about the best information on troubleshooting that I've seen.
There are two problems. The first (again) is the book's size. Simply put, it's
not a pocket-sized book. Osborne should forget that aspect, and publish the book in a size that easily lies flat. Trust me, the information is valuable enough to sell the book; don't get cute with the size. The second is that I'd like to see the symptoms summarized before they're presented. That would make finding specific information easier, and I wouldn't have to thumb through several dozen symptoms/solutions before finding what I want.
On the key subject of disk partitioning, this book fits the bill--but only in troubleshooting partitioning problems. On that subject, Bigelow does a fine job, and even suggests third-party solutions. In fact, the book does contain many third-party solutions, as well as advice on what to do in Windows for troubleshooting.
This book is not for everyone. Most of the introduction is aimed at computer technicians or troubleshooting professionals. But at $19.99 it's a good investment. At the very least, it'll make you the hero on your block, when it comes to troubleshooting PCs.
--Dan Gookin
Product Description
*Fully revised updated edition. first edition was strong seller - over 30,000 sold. *Ties into the booming A+ Certification market. A+ technicians specialize in PC hardware troubleshooting. *Follows success of Pocket Reference Series by Bigelow, which has sold over 70,000 copies. *Handy format - designed for technicians, in a convenient, portable, pocket-sized edition. *Leading author - Bigelow's last three books have sold well over 250,000 copies.
Reader ReviewsI purchased this book because of the several glowing reviews of it on Amazon. Now that I have a copy (which I will be returning shortly) I can only guess that those reviews were written by friends of the author. This book is little more but a long and rambling antidotal collection of PC repair stories roughly organized into general failing areas. No symptom analysis, no error code explanations, no organized flowcharts of logical procedures, no tables of settings and types. Just paragraph after paragraph of "if you notice this, try that". In my mind this should be called something like the "Jeff Foxworthy you might be a redneck PC repair tech manual". However, if you are new to PC repair and have no idea where to start looking for the resolution of a problem, this MIGHT be just the book you need - because you can sit and thumb through it and look like you are doing something useful while you await the arrival of the guy who knows what he's doing. You might even stumble on an antidote that actually applies to the problem you are currently experiencing.
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