The BIOS Companion with CDROM [Paperback]

Phil Croucher (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

This is the most complete technical reference available for the system BIOS in today's PCs. Most motherboards come with little or no documentation describing the BIOS and what little exists is usually written in difficult to follow broken E -"Invaluable..." is how Jerry Pournelle reviewed this book in Byte Magazine. Tom's Hardware web site refers to Phil Croucher's BIOS Companion as "excellent and extremely comprehensive" and a "must read" -The only book of its type that is current and written on current generation BIOS The author's self published version of the book has sold over 5000 copies through the internet, small distributors, and word of mouth alone -Phil Croucher is the most recognized expert in this area and has a tremendous following on the Internet. He is such a recognized expert, that major BIOS vendors use his book for their support technicians -Part of Que's highly visible Scott Mueller Library series, building on the success of Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing PCs

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I thought the BIOS Companion was quite good. Just chock full of the kind of info I had been looking for. First book I've gotten that was worth the more than price I paid. -- Tony

Just thought I'd give you my 2 cents on "The Bios Companion" The front cover pretty much says it all -- "The book that should have come with your motherboard" I am quite impressed with the vast bios settings covered and the background information provided about memory, buses etc. Some settings were only touched upon but, I think the important information came through when I needed it and there's sooo much in there, after all. Thanks to Phil Croucher for a respectable piece of work. -- Anthony Moretta

Regards the BIOS book, I used it the day it arrived and at least twice a week since. I work seven days a week. I will, I have no doubt, continue to use it for as long as the pages don't fall out and become un-readable. PS My wife is a technician as well and refers to the book as often as I. -- Bob --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Phil Croucher provides technical writing and training services, and the books and courses are the result of several years' experience of freelance network management, system building and repairs.

Clients include (or have included): The Ministry of Defence, Barnardo's, Esselte Letraset Ltd, Rank Hovis, Royal Mail, Enterprise Oil plc, Line-Up Aviation Personnel, Triton Chemicals, Erith College, South Thames College, Kingsway College, Executive Airlines, Martini Airfreight Services and numerous small businesses.

He has been involved with computing since 1986, starting off with a variation of Acorn's BBC computer, the Torch, using its own version of CP/M, called CPN. From there he has fond memories of the Sirius and the Macintosh, but has mostly been involved with IBM compatibles of all shapes and sizes, specialising in Concurrent DOS and its later versions, including REAL/32. He writes regularly for Computer Shopper and PC Plus magazines (UK) and is the resident technical expert for the AM1290 Talk Radio show Experts On Call.

Phil is also qualified to fly helicopters and aeroplanes, having over 6500 hours on 32 types of aircraft. He has at various times been a Chief Pilot and General Manager of several companies, including a third level airline in the UK. He is the author of The Professional Pilot's Manual (Airlife), and Operational Flying.

He can be contacted at [e-mail]. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 450 pages
• Publisher: Advice Press; 3rd CD-Rom edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889671207
• ISBN-13: 978-1889671208
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,902,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb book, January 21, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Glenview, IL, US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The BIOS Companion (Paperback)

For those who need or want to fine tune, or simply understand, the basic and advanced features of their PC's BIOS, this book is an invaluable guide. It has a very broad range and covers both fundamental and more advanced topics as well as issues specific to particular bios types ( AMI, PHOENIX, etc. ) and versions. This is one book you need to have as a PC technician and a valuable resource for trouble shooting and configuring your personal PC even if your not.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great but beginning to need update, August 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The BIOS Companion with CDROM (Paperback)

This book is worth far more than is charged for it. Very well written. Probably the most-used reference book in my shop. However, it is beginning to need an update to keep up with most of the latest BIOS versions. Still a great value as the feature explainations trigger your thinking and allow you to figure out many related BIOS features in some of the newer versions. When Phil updates it again, I will buy it again.