Fix Your Own PC [Paperback]

Corey Sandler (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470107871 | ISBN-13: 978-0470107874 | Publication Date: June 12, 2007 | Edition: 8

• Packed with crisp black-and-white photographs and illustrations, this bestselling guide walks people step by step through all aspects of troubleshooting, upgrading, and repairing a PC
• Includes an all-new chapter on "Working Outside the Box," which focuses on external communication devices and controllers
• Covers hardware upgrades and repair-memory, hard drives, CD and DVD drives, video cards, monitors, USB connections, modems, routers, and more-as well as tools for diagnosing and fixing software problems, including antivirus software, diagnostic programs, and system restore and driver update utilities
• The CD-ROM includes essential video clips of the most common Fix-Your-Own techniques and hard-to-find information on older machines as well as a searchable PDF version of the book, making the book valuable to owners of both old and new machines

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Do you have the urge to take the casing off your Windows-based PC and tinker around, but you're a little intimidated? If so, get this book first. The text is clear and well-indexed, and this book will give you the information, and then, confidence, that you need. (It would also be a great book for anyone who wants to help recycle old computers for schools or non-profits). Two Torx blades up! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Recommended  “…does a good job…a very handy reference tool when it comes to fixing those inevitable problems with your little beige chum…”  (PC Utilities, May 2003) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 555 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 8 edition (June 12, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470107871
• ISBN-13: 978-0470107874
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 10.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #931,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #96 in Books > Computers & Technology > Hardware > Maintenance, Repair & Upgrading

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Extremely Helpful, Informative Book, January 24, 2000

By 

Sylvia Whittum (farmington, n. h., usa) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fix Your Own PC (Paperback)

This book covers everything you need to repair, maintain or upgrade a personal computer. The text covers legacy and more recent hardware. It's informative and is enhanced with plenty of photos and charts to make computer repair/upgrading easier for both veteran and novice. I built my computer using this book. The appendices include trouble-shooting flow charts, lists of companies selling what you need and lists of valuable software utilities available, amoung other items. It even covers all you need to know about peripherals. In the four months since I've purchased it, it's proven to be an invailuable reference.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It worked for me!, January 11, 2002

By 

Kenneth Walker (Virginia Beach, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fix Your Own PC (Paperback)

This book as is good as it's title: I did manage to fix my own (Pentium II) PC by reading it! It gave me the knowledge to find the problem (a bad motherboard) and the courage to replace it. Operations that at first glance looked intimidating, were made relatively simple by the book's clear discussions, explanations and photos. It's range covers the inner workings of old PC's up through the Pentium II (as well as a little bit of info on the Pentium III.) Not a perfect book, though: the photo printing could be better; and the section on power supplies isn't complete or accurate, particularly when it comes to ATX-type supplies--oddly, the type found in most Pentium machines, for which the book is otherwise a good repair guide. (The power supply is a vital component in a PC, and is oftentimes the first gizmo to go bad.) I had to go outside the book to find that critical info. But criticism aside, I wouldn't have been able to repair my computer without this book, period, so I would recommend it. Perhaps a newer edition will correct the minor shortcomings.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Become a D.I.Y. expert, February 24, 2006

By 

Stephen Yeo (Manila, Philippines) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Fix Your Own PC (Paperback)

Written with non-technical PC users in mind, Fix Your Own PC is a valuable guide to diagnosing, fixing, and understanding your PC. That is hardly surprising, given that the book is into its sixth edition with over 200,000 copies in print.

In the author's opinion, repairing a PC is actually a job that exercises the muscles between your ears. True to his words, he makes this job appear less physically daunting than fixing, say, a car.

With nearly 250 photos, illustrations and troubleshooting flowcharts, Fix Your Own PC introduces you to the alphabet soup of the PC world in layman terms. The book comes with easily identified icons highlighting useful tips and important notes about the subject, as well as handy cross-references that point to more details elsewhere.

If you want to know how to change a hard drive, fix balky memory, or figure out why your monitor has gone black, this book will give you the sense of pride that comes with accomplishing work on your own. Plus, it might save you time and money!

Perhaps the only drawback is the format of the book, which can be difficult to browse on a cluttered tabletop.