Overview
"...perhaps the most comprehensive book on the subject we've ever seen. It's incredibly well researched, well written, and jam packed with useful information."
—Josh Norem, Reviews Editor, Maximum PC
Upgrading and Repairing PCs is the definitive guide to the inner workings of your PC. Whether you're adding a faster processor or bigger hard drive, tracking down a problem, or just want to understand how the components of your computer work together, this book explains everything you need to know. Trust the one book that has become the de facto standard among PC professionals and enthusiasts around the world.
World-renowned PC hardware expert Scott Mueller has taught thousands in his week-long seminars and millions through his books, videos, and magazine articles. Major changes in the PC hardware industry—including coverage of new Core 2 processors from Intel, Socket AM2 processors from AMD, and significant advances in motherboard chipsets, Blu-ray, and HD-DVD—make Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 18th Edition, an indispensable addition to every serious computer user's bookshelf...that is, if it ever leaves their desks. Readers from around the world trust their computers to Scott. Upgrading and Repairing PCs is found on the desks of teachers, students, hobbyists, repair technicians, and even law enforcement agencies that use this book to aid them in tracking criminals.
New in This Book
- Deep coverage of the new Core 2 (8th gen or "886") processors, featuring the new "Core Microarchitecture"
- Cutting edge coverage of quad-core desktop (Kentsfield) processor versions
- Detailed coverage ofAMD’s Socket AM2 processors
- Coverage of evolutionary changes in chipsets, including new versions of Intel's 9xx series chipsets and new 3x series Intel chipsets; coverage of new chipsets from Nvidia, VIA, and SiS has also been added
- Coverage of the new DTX and Mini-DTX motherboard form factors from the newly formed alliance between AMD and ATI
- Beefed-up coverage of Blu-ray and HD-DVD drives/players
- Extensive coverage of new GPUs in addition to heavy-duty coverage of SLI and Crossfire
- Building a PC from scratch—from assembling the hardware to BIOS setup and installing Microsoft Windows XP or Vista
On the DVD
DVD contains 2 hours of all new, studio-quality video—playable in your set-top DVD player and your computer! Scott digs deep into networking, showing all the components needed to build a SOHO (Small Office Home Office) network. Coverage includes network adapters, routers, switches, access points, cable/DSL modems, and cabling. Upgrading an existing network to gigabit speeds is also covered, as well as the latest wireless network technology. The DVD also contains a previously published edition of the book as well as technical reference material, a glossary, and an acronym index. Whether you’re building a hot new PC for home or work, or nursing an aging and ailing PC back to health, these materials prove to be worth their weight in gold to the serious PC technician or hobbyist.
www.upgradingandrepairingpcs.com
If you don’t have a DVD player or only have a set-top DVD, visit www.upgradingandrepairingpcs.com to download all the video from the DVD in Windows Media Player format as well as the PDFs and other materials on the DVD! Plus, check out monthly articles, FAQs, and video from earlier editions you might have missed!
Introduction 1
1 Development of the PC 7
2 PC Components, Features and System Design 25
3 Microprocessor Types and Specifications 39
4 Motherboards and Buses 235
5 BIOS 441
6 Memory 509
7 The ATA/IDE Interface 581
8 Magnetic Storage Principles 637
9 Hard Disk Storage 663
10 Removable Storage 707
11 Optical Storage 747
12 Physical Drive Installation and Configuration 851
13 Video Hardware 885
14 Audio Hardware 987
15 I/O Interfaces from Serial and Parallel to IEEE-1394 and USB 1025
16 Input Devices 1059
17 Internet Connectivity 1103
18 Local Area Networking 1151
19 Power Supplies 1207
20 Building or Upgrading Systems 1295
21 PC Mods: Overclocking and Cooling 1335
22 PC Diagnostics, Testing and Maintenance 1367
ON THE DVD:
A Glossary
B List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Now in its 18th Edition, Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing PCs remains the definitive PC hardware reference and how-to guide. If you work with new or recent PC technologies, its hundreds of pages of updates make it an indispensable upgrade.Just for instance, Mueller's added extensive coverage of new multicore processors; new motherboard and video chipsets, including NVIDIA's and ATI's latest; and new power supplies.
As always, there's detailed troubleshooting, repair, and installation information for motherboards, storage, video, audio, I/O, and memory, with plenty of diagrams (many revised and improved).
You'll learn things nobody else tells you (how to back up your BIOS). You'll be warned away from multiple disasters (never plug in a drive's standard and SATA power connectors at once). You'll find relevant answers constantly. (And that's just the book. The DVD offers loads more content, including two hours of new video on networking.) Bill Camarda, from the December 2007 Read Only
Necessarily subject to frequent new editions, this hefty manual discusses all areas of computer system improvement—upgrading, repairing, maintaining, and troubleshooting—as well as software issues. Mueller, president of an international research and corporate training firm, presents 25 chapters covering state-of-the-art hardware and accessories and discussing the fine points of motherboards, processors, memory, and case and power-supply improvements; proper system and component care; diagnostics hardware and software; and the important differences between major system architectures from the original Industry Standard Architecture to the latest in PCI and AGP systems. The included CD-ROM conteains some two hours of how-to video with the author. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)