PC Help Desk in a Book: The Do-it-Yourself Guide to PC Troubleshooting and Repair (Paperback)

by Mark Edward Soper (Author) "IF Windows doesn't start properly, you can't get anything done with your computer, because the Windows operating system manages your screen, your peripherals, your drives,..." (more)
Key Phrases: writeable drive, integrated pointing device, system properties sheet, Device Manager, Fast Track, Windows Update (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Each year, thousands of harmless PCs suffer the pain and humiliation of buggy Windows installations, bad cable connections, mismanaged system resources, viruses, and slow Internet connections. All too often, these downtrodden PCs end up being scrapped before their time by owners who just can't care for them any longer. The real travesty is that with a little love, these wounded PCs could become useful members of society. That's where PC HelpDesk in a Book comes in. Using a unique, medical dictionary approach, this book walks users through the symptoms to diagnose and treat the problem. End-users will be armed to perform cost-effective upgrades, repair fouled Windows installations, and squeeze out a little more performance from a slow Internet connection in lieu of purchasing a new computer.

From the Back Cover

Each year, thousands of harmless PCs suffer the pain and humiliation of buggy Windows installations, bad cable connections, mismanaged system resources, viruses, and slow Internet connections. All too often, these downtrodden PCs end up being scrapped before their time by owners who just can't care for them any longer. The real travesty is that with a little love, these wounded PCs could become useful members of society. That's where PC HelpDesk in a Book comes in. Using a unique, medical dictionary approach, this book walks users through the symptoms to diagnose and treat the problem. End-users will be armed to perform cost-effective upgrades, repair fouled Windows installations, and squeeze out a little more performance from a slow Internet connection in lieu of purchasing a new computer.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Que (November 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789727560
• ISBN-13: 978-0789727565
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #167,999 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #6 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Web Development > Security & Encryption > Viruses
  #18 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Business & Culture > Technical Support
  #31 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Hardware > Maintenance, Repair & Upgrading

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am not a friend of the author, but I praise him!!, November 19, 2003

By	Noel Meterparel (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Mark Edward Soper, can you just kind of "pick up your shoe and I'll kiss the bottom?" I hold a BSEE, a MSEE and I am a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (2002). I cannot praise this author enough for this work, I have utilized his complete information from BIOS to preparing/formatting hard drives to troubleshooting the PC and it's subsystems from Windows 9x to XP all the way from A to Z. I can't thank the author enough, I wrote to him personally and thanked him. Thanks again!!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great help, June 6, 2004

By	Philip J. Bohlken (Caldwell, Idaho) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had looked at this book for a long time, but delayed buying it. I finally bought it as a supplement to other, more technical books I have. It gives me the information I need without numbing my mind in geek-speak. During the first 24 hours after buying it, this book got me out of several difficult problems quickly and effortlessly. Surprisingly, it is not the diagnostic flow charts I have found most helpful, but the book's running text located by way of index entries has been the most helpful to me in solving the problems I had, one of which was the Blue Screen of Death related to the recognition of a hard drive on an OS installation.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Using a unique, medical dictionary approach, February 10, 2003

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

When your personal computer suffer from buggy Windows installations, has bad cable connections, is plagued with mismanaged system resources, viruses, and/or slow Internet connections, don't be quick to toss it out! With a little knowledgeable care, your dysfunctional computer could with the help of Mark Soper's PC Help Desk In A Book: The Do-it-Yourself Guide To PC Troubleshooting and Repair, become useful again. Using a unique, medical dictionary approach, PC Help Desk In A Book walks users through the symptoms to diagnose and treat the problem. End-users will be armed to perform cost-effective upgrades, repair fouled Windows installations, and squeeze out a little more performance from a slow Internet connection in lieu of purchasing a new computer. 576 pp., User Level Beginner-to-Intermediate