Reviews (4)

Scott Mueller is always worth the money
As a computer Technician this is a must have referance guide.

Great Book Very Informative!!!
I purchased this book after cautiously and carefully reviewing this book and others on the subject of repairing and upgrading PCs. When the book arrived I was intimidated by the sheer size of the book alone however when I opened it and began reading it i was very, very impressed. Not only is the book "ultra "informative it is also very easy to follow. All in all this book DELIVERS. I will be purchasing books from Scott Mueller from now on!

A "must have" title for the serious computer geek...
This is perhaps my favorite PC repair book, and it's a classic...Upgrading and Repairing PCs (17th Edition) by Scott Mueller.What other PC book do you know of that's been around for 17 editions?
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Subjects:  1. Computer Architecture - Repair & Maintenance    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Engineering    4. Computers    5. Computers - General Information    6. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    7. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    8. Computers / Personal Computers & Microcomputers / General    9. Personal computers   

Reviews (3)

If you're having Windows trouble, or Planning to ....
I got in this imposing 700+ page book, looked at it a little and put it on my desk to get to later. Well, you know how that works. Then I was trying to delete some files. And I got a message that the directory was messed up and to run CHKDSK. What's that, and how do you run it, and can I run it while I'm doing other things. So I picked up the book. The index sent me to page 513. There's CHKDSK. Here's how you run it. But it doesn't run under Windows, you have to schedule it to run and then re-boot windows, and then you get a message saying that this might take a long time. It worked and I could go delete the files.
Recommended for the New Jersey Computer Club
Upgrading and Repairing Microsoft Windows
Not bad for a first edition, but not quite there
I should first state that I am a BIG fan of Scott Mueller and his book series "Upgrading and Repairing PCs".Mueller is THE authority when it comes to PC hardware and I've been his fan since 1995.Thus, I decided to order his first book on the Windows operating system.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Architecture - Repair & Maintenance    2. Computer Books: Operating Systems    3. Computers    4. Computers - Operating Systems    5. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    6. Language    7. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    8. Microcomputer Operating Environments    9. Microsoft Windows (Computer file)    10. Microsoft Windows (Computer software)    11. Operating Systems - Windows    12. Operating systems (Computers)    13. Computer Communications & Networking    14. Computers / Operating Systems / Windows   

Reviews (4)

Superb PC Reference
I am an EET studying for certifications. Also I use this book for a general troubleshooting reference. This is one of the best out there. I have several others and most just ramble about the technologies as an overview but do not get into applications needed. Meyers conveys the information as he is addressing people who are working in the real world. Good diagrams and the book is very well put together. Hey it is McGraw Hill. A top notch Publisher. A+

Great Book, Great Bargain
While I would not count on the book to teach me everything I must know to pass the A+ exams, I would definitely trust it to give me a strong foundation.Meyers includes all the basics and then some, and he goes into detail in a manner that should cater to almost all experience levels.The thing I liked the best about this book was how easy it was to read from beginning to end.Highly recommended to those who are looking for a place to start.

Very Readable with Lots of Detail
The text is well presented with about 40% white space on each page. The important items in each topic are highlighted and reviewed at the end of the chapter. My only suggestion for improvement would be to provide an answer key. Each question and key word has the page the topic was covered and hopefully the answer is there staring you in the face.
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Subjects:  1. Certification Guides - General    2. Computer Books And Software    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Computers - General Information    6. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    7. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    8. Utilities    9. Computer hardware & operating systems    10. Computers / Technical Skills    11. Microprocessors    12. Personal computers   

Subjects:  1. Apple And Macintosh Maintenance And Repair    2. Apple And Macintosh Programming    3. Computer - Apple/Macintosh    4. Computer Architecture - Repair & Maintenance    5. Computer Books: Operating Systems    6. Computers    7. Hardware - Personal Computers - Macintosh    8. Operating Systems - Macintosh    9. Computers / Operating Systems / Macintosh    10. Macintosh OS   

Reviews (11)

Excellent Reference
This is a great book if you are like me and want to know where to find out all that esoteric information about computer junk.What do all those acronyms mean?I was able to go from being scared to open a computer case to building now three different computers.I love that it has all the old information in there.It is sort of a history of computers from the early PCs to today.This book is just now starting to be obsolete.Some of the newer chipsets are not listed, but it is still a great resource.

Not for advanced users!
Pretty good book in general.I'm an intermediate computer user and I have to say I didn't learn to terribly much from this very large extensive product.For advanced users I wouldn't recommend it, for beginners looking for info on basic troubleshooting and building of pc's I would recommend it.A large wealth of the history of computers, and other now obsolete information that I'd rather not waste my time or brain capacity with.Also EXTREMELY BIAST on Intel products, basically giving less info on AMD chipsets mobo's and processors, and treating AMD like it's not worth the space in this 1500 page book.Let's face it, if your building your own PC, your probably gonna shoot for an AMD processor, for it's specs and it's value of the buck.

A Bible for PCs
This is an excellent book writing by a real authority on this matter. A 'Must Have" for eveyone involved in Hardware. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Architecture - Repair & Maintenance    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Engineering    4. Computers    5. Computers - General Information    6. Equipment and supplies    7. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    8. Maintenance and repair    9. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    10. Microcomputers    11. Upgrading    12. Computers / Personal Computers & Microcomputers / General    13. Personal computers   

Reviews (7)

Windows XP Speed Solutions
PC Magazine is always a great source for computer technical information, and this book is a good example.It is technical yet easy enough for lay people to read and understand.Each topic is independent of the others, so if you are looking for a specific solution, you can find it.I recommend it.

Not what I expected
Some fix's were not explained in enought detail. Some solutions were very complicated

Windows XP Speed Solutions
Simple, easy to understand steps to improve the performance of Windows XP. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Operating Systems    2. Computers    3. Computers - Operating Systems    4. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    5. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    6. Microcomputer Operating Environments    7. Microsoft Windows (Computer fi    8. Microsoft Windows (Computer file)    9. Operating Systems - NT    10. Operating Systems - Windows    11. Operating systems (Computers)    12. Computers / Operating Systems / NT    13. Operating systems & graphical user interfaces (GUIs)   

Editorial Review

Loaded with solid advice in the fun style typical of this series, Read more

Reviews (11)

I'm paralyzed without my copy.
I just cannot find my copy of this book. With this book, I've been brave enough to pop open my computer and install things like a TV-tuner card, more powerful memory cards, cd-burners. People think I'm a computer whiz.
Upgrading and Troubleshooting for Dummies 6th Edition
Really only for someone who knows nothing about computers. Very basic information.

Beautiful introduction- brilliant overview! 6th edition
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! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Architecture - Repair & Maintenance    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Hardware - Personal Computers - PCs    6. Internet - General    7. Maintenance and repair    8. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    9. Microcomputers    10. Upgrading    11. Computers / Personal Computers & Microcomputers / IBM-Compatible    12. Personal computers   

Editorial Review

Laptops--call them notebooks, portable computers, or whatever else you like--are tightly engineered items. It's Read more

Reviews (8)

Upgrading and Repairing Laptop Computers
This book is very very Stupid
A very big book...
This is one of the most misnamed books I've ever read, although "Upgrading and Repairing Laptops" is probably a better title than "Just About Everything Relating To Computer Hardware, Up To And Sometimes Including The Operating System, Focusing On But Not Limited To Laptops". There really is that much information contained in this book.
Don't waste your money
Modern word processor let people produce books quickly by copy-and-paste. As commented by an earlier reviewer, who gives one star for the book, this is a typical example. Amazon should allow the reviewer to give 0 star, which I think this book deserves.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Architecture - Repair & Maintenance    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    6. Laptop Computers    7. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    8. Microprocessors    9. Computers / Microprocessors   

Subjects:  1. Computer Architecture - Repair & Maintenance    2. Computer Bks - General Information    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Computers - General Information    6. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    7. Computers / Personal Computers & Microcomputers / General    8. PCs (IBM-compatible personal computers)   

Reviews (1)

Very Helpful Things to Make Life Easier
The machine I'm using to write this review is the slowest machine to shut down that I've ever seen. When I was first flipping through this book, I saw Technique 6: Shut Down, Restart, and Switch Users Quickly. It turns out that there is an undocumented feature built into XP called shutdown. The book says that the machine will shut down in half the time. I found that it shuts down much faster than that.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Operating Systems    2. Computers    3. Computers - Operating Systems    4. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    5. Microcomputer Operating Environments    6. Microsoft Windows (Computer file)    7. Microsoft Windows (Computer software)    8. Operating Systems - Windows    9. Operating Systems - Windows XP    10. Operating systems (Computers)    11. Computers / Operating Systems / Windows    12. Microsoft Windows   

Editorial Review

Covering everything from general troubleshooting strategies to specific problem-solving procedures, Read more

Reviews (22)

PC repair for everyone, even computer illiterates like me
I'm not a computer technician. Heck, I can barely operate a computer! I "grew up" (computer-wise) with Macs, which never seem to need fixing and seldom wear out, but because my husband had a typical PC person's prejudice against Macs, I started using PCs. Toshibas, IBMs, Dells -- each and every one sooner or later had problems. Tired of talking to technicians from Wales to Holland, I decided to take an online course in computer repair and this book was required reading. Better than Certified Technical Support !
I bought a HP Pavillion 8785C and within the year had so many problems that the PC was racking up more mileage than me! complete but take time to find what you want
very complet book but it's hard to find easely what you need. The failures' list are complete but not very well indexed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business Software - General    2. Computer Architecture - Repair & Maintenance    3. Computers - Communications / Networking    4. IBM-compatible computers    5. Maintenance and repair    6. Management Information Systems    7. Microcomputers    8. Microprocessors    9. PCs (IBM-compatible personal computers)    10. Reference works    11. Systems management   

Reviews (38)

What a great book!
I bought this book because I wanted to build a computer but was a little nervous about doing it.This book tells you everything you need to know and gives you the confidence to build your own pc.My pc build went flawlessly and I have this book to thank for it.The illustrations are very helpful and informative.I had a general knowledge of computers but had never built one from scratch.This book is great for people that don't have much experience with computers because it explains everything in detail, describing all of the parts and has 3 different build configurations.Pretty much everything is covered between the 3 different build so that no matter what kind you will build, it will be covered in this book.I highly recommend this book.

Build your own PC
This is the best book of its kind I have read, and it describes fully what you need and what to do with the equipment..
A great read
This is a very helpful book to those who want to learn to builda pc. It has somewhere near to 200 illistrations to help guide you along, and it is easy to read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Architecture - Repair & Maintenance    2. Computer Bks - General Information    3. Computer Books: General    4. Computers    5. Computers - General Information    6. Design and construction    7. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    8. Hardware - Personal Computers - PCs    9. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    10. Microcomputers    11. Computers / Computer Science    12. PCs (IBM-compatible personal computers)   

Reviews (4)

It might be good, but you may not see it.
It is not printable. It is only good to buy it if your eye sight is very good and you are prepare to spend hours reading in front of the screen.

Good Beginner/Intermediate Level Book
Good starting book for those who know about computers and are ready to start learning the ins and outs of how the components work and how they work together.
Building or not, useful for evaluating hardware
I'm not a hardware guy, so when I wanted to build a maxed-out PC I didn't have a clear idea of what to look for. Using this book together with Scott Mueller's 'Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 15th Anniversary Edition', I was able to quickly prepare myself to evaluate what was on the market.
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Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computer Engineering    4. Computers    5. Computers - General Information    6. Design and construction    7. Handbooks, manuals, etc    8. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    9. Microcomputers    10. Computers / Input-Output Equipment    11. Personal computers   

Reviews (4)

Very usefull tool to have in your mac repair kit
I have relied on this book a few times now when repairing the older clamshell style ibooks and also some of the newer G3 and G4 white ibooks. It's got a pretty helpful guide for taking them apart and putting them back together. I have also used this book as a reference tool to determine what configurations various Macs I am selling or working on had when they were first introduced. For example I sold my G4 powermac sawtooth and wanted to know exactly what specifications it had, so I looked in the book and found the 500 mhz powermac G4 (gigabit ethernet) and found it was released in 2000, it also showed the cache, number of memory slots, expansion slots, basic stuff like that for a quick reference. And it covers all models of ibooks and powermacs, imacs, but not all powerbooks unfortunately. It does not have any info on the pismos, lombards or wallstreets powerbooks or any older macs. That would be the only draw-back, I wish it had some information on the G3 powerbooks. It also has chapter tests at the end of each chapter, that are unfortunately pretty basic simple questions. Great big useful book for any mac tech or just plain apple computer users who want a little more info on their computer.

Great Apple Hardware Manual
This book is part of the AppleCare training curriculum, designed to be a training manual for people who want to get certified by Apple to be an AppleCare-certified technician. As such, each chapter in the book is a Lesson. Early lessons cover topices such as "General Troubleshooting Theory," and "Safe Working Procedures and General Maintenance."
Everything in one Book
Apple makes it very simple. If you are not certified by Apple and you do almost anything inside of an Apple computer and the warranty is void. This is the book that Apple uses in their certification classes for desktop and portable systems.
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Subjects:  1. Apple And Macintosh Programming    2. Computer - Apple/Macintosh    3. Computer Books: Operating Systems    4. Computer Engineering    5. Computers    6. Desktop Publishing - General    7. Handbooks, manuals, etc    8. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    9. Macintosh (Computer)    10. Macintosh PowerBook notebook computers    11. Maintenance and repair    12. Operating Systems - Macintosh    13. iMac (Computer)    14. Computer Hardware & Operating Systems    15. Computers / Operating Systems / Macintosh   

Editorial Review

By buying components and assembling them yourself, you can save a little money and gain a lifetime of free technical support. Read more

Reviews (32)

Good enough for a beginner
I am the typical "dummy" when it comes to computer hardware. But, I managed to build my first PC with the guidance from this book. You will not become a professional but will gain sufficient knowledge for you to learn the mechanics of assembling your own computer. The book also includes a glossary that serves as a useful reference tool.
Superficial, dated
I found this on the "new books" shelf at the local library and took it home for a look-see.
Computer building for the hardware technophobe...
(This is a review of the 5th edition)
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Subjects:  1. Amateurs' manuals    2. Computer Architecture - Repair & Maintenance    3. Computer Bks - General Information    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computers    6. Computers - General Information    7. Design and construction    8. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    9. Hardware - Personal Computers - PCs    10. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    11. Microcomputers    12. Reference - General    13. Computer architecture & logic design    14. Microprocessors    15. PCs (IBM-compatible personal computers)   

Reviews (4)

I hate raining on the parades
This is a very good book for troubleshooting, and if you think you could use this, you probably could. Do you know how to defrag a hard drive? If not, this is for you (it's easy, really).
Great choice as a first line of reference to fix things...
[2nd edition review]
A must-have book for Windows users!
Containing great humor and experience(!), this book is written mainly for users of Windows XP/ME/and 98, although users of Windows 95/NT/and especially 2000 will find that most of this 1st edition still applies. 2nd edition= XP exclusively. Dan Gookin wrote the original Dos for Dummies book- all Dummies books started with him! Chapters 1-5 cover the basics, with 6-and-on being intense! This is the strength of the book: hands-on, down & dirty problem solving! Solutions include: getting around in Windows; minor irks & quirks; slow PC; audio-video; startup-shutdown; keyboard, mouse, monitor & printer; disk disaster; internet connection; Internet Explorer; Outlook Express; general Windows disruption- too much to list here! (This is mainly a software-related book- for an intro to detailed hardware-related issues, I highly recommend Upgrading & Fixing PCs for Dummies by Andy Rathbone, or for advanced issues Scott Mueller's Upgrading & Repairing PCs). My favorite thing here: Registry Editing 101! Many books mention the Registry- Dan actually walks you through some basic, yet sometimes necessary, editing procedures in a few very specific instances. This is beyond basic info, and is downright technical in nature. It's insane how much information he's crammed into one book! Finishing Chapters include PM- preventive maintenance- for disks in general, and using Backup. I use Norton Ghost for Backup myself- I can't stress enough how great it is! You can get it with Norton AntiVirus too if you purchase SystemWorks 2003 Professional (my favorite!). They're all worth their weight in gold(!). To Dan Gookin: In a good-natured way, I recommend Argument 4 in favor of reinstalling Windows: it brings peace of mind! With all the latest Internet threats today in the news- Viruses, Worms & Spyware- some people just don't trust that their computers are clean & secure without the reinstalling of Windows(!). Of course, with the proper use of disk imaging/backup software, this really shouldn't be an issue, but some people never get around to this kind of PM. Some people may not trust AntiVirus/Spyware apps to work for them, and reinstalling Windows can bring enormous peace of mind. Don't blame me for mentioning it- paranoia can be a powerful thing! Suggestions for next edition: maybe in PM section & Internet disaster prevention, including basic definitions & tips on safe Internet use? Phishing, Pharming, Identity Theft & Email-scams may not *directly* damage computers, but they sure do affect their users(!). Also- How about advanced videogame troubleshooting? Even people with up-to-date hardware experience crashes & restarts during games. In the Windows 2000 Getting Started book, a common solution to blue-screen stop messages is to "Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing". Believe it or not, it worked for me! Far fewer crashes during fast moving video & videogames. These are my best suggestions! Thank you for this incredible & long-overdue book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computers    3. Computers - General Information    4. Computers - IBM    5. Hardware - Personal Computers - PCs    6. Maintenance and repair    7. Microcomputers    8. Computers / Personal Computers & Microcomputers / IBM-Compatible    9. Personal computers   

Reviews (5)

There Are Much Better Books On The Subject
Hendrik Olaerts is 100% correct in his review (19 May 2006), when he describes this book as "outdated." But I feel more needs to be said, and my opinion of this book differs greatly from most of the earlier reviewers. What I fear is that someone might be looking for a good technical book on legacy PCs. Gilster's book would NOT be a good choice!
outdated
Well, this is a book for and from the previous millennium ; talks about A:/fdisk; disks smaller then 512 Mbyte. Pages all about IDE-hard disk,their connectors with photographs and all; in short: out of time.

More than a tech manual is this book.
Being involved with computers for over 15 years now, I have learned that there is always something new to learn. Everyday this industry changes and keeping up it can and is a full time job. The book is written by someone with over 35 year experience and the material covered is nothing short of great.Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Architecture - Repair & Maintenance    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    6. Hardware - Personal Computers - PCs    7. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    8. Computer Hardware & Operating Systems    9. Computers / Personal Computers & Microcomputers / IBM-Compatible    10. Microprocessors   

Reviews (8)

The Ultimate Hardware Book
Some of the best advice I've ever had about computer books came from a pair of friends who happened to be married to each other.The husband told me, "If you're looking for a reference manual, always buy the smallest one on the market so that you'll carry it around with you."The wife said "Always buy the biggest, fattest book on the market because it has all the answers."In this case, the wife happened to be right- -with its 1400 pages and 2 CDs, this book is certainly the biggest, fattest PC hardware book that I've seen on the market.It also contains the clearest writing and most useful information that I've seen for books of its type.This book will tell you how to upgrade your hard drive, choose a new video card, protect your computer from lightning strikes, and a lot of other important facts besides.But it's too big and bulky to make it easy to carry around. Title s/b upgrade your very old pc to one not quite so old
This book may be of some use to someone that has a 386 or 486 and wants to know something about them.If you are seriously looking to upgrade to a pentium III or IV, it is useless.

Fantastic book if you want to upgrade your 486
I bought this book expecting to find some useful information about how to upgrade my PII. It barely acknowledges that PII'S exist.My advice is if you want a good book that covers all the bases thoroughly buy Scott Mueller's UPGRADING AND REPAIRING PCs ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Architecture - Repair & Maintenance    2. Computer Books: General    3. Computers    4. Computers - General Information    5. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    6. Maintenance and repair    7. Microcomputer Maintenance And Repair (General)    8. Microcomputers    9. Upgrading    10. PCs (IBM-compatible personal computers)    11. Systems management