Customer Reviews

PC Technician Black Book: The PC Technician's Secret Weapon

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The cover says "Ideal for A+ certified technicians," which I am not, but I could imagine they'd be even more frustrated with this book that I am.

I bought this book after acquiring a large collection of older PC parts. I thought it would be handy to have a troubleshooting reference nearby while working with the parts. I've had this book a number of months now, built 2 fully operational computers from scratch, and have not found this book helpful ONCE. I'd recommend saving your money and buying another book or searching Google Groups for your answers.

Just to be fair, there is a lot of interesting information about how certain technologies evolved and is fairly comprehensive. (Such as full page pictures of what midtower cases and toolless screws look like.) But when it comes to troubleshooting issues while working on a computer, it's just about worthless. (Plot spoiler: just about all the "Immediate Solutions" sections tell you to check the cables, or something that obvious.)

I'll admit I'm a software technician by trade and enjoy fiddling with stuff. This book may very well be good for the novice or intermediate user. But if you've built computers before or know your way around troubleshooting an issue, look elsewhere for a hardware reference.

This book is as up to date as possible considering the fast changing technology and publishing times.It is a huge book and covers everything. It has answered a hundred questions I didn't even know to ask. The detail with which it answers these questions is wonderful. I only hope the author will see fit to give us a yearly update supplement.

There are many things in this book of interest to either the beginner or the experienced technician. I found the background information to be informative without going way into the history and technical details of legacy gear. It had just enough of the past to make the present meaningful. The troubleshooting tips included many things I would not have thought to even ask and cleared up some things I was confused about. I recommend this to anyone wanting to know more about their computer and how to keep it running.

This book is as up to date as possible considering the fast changing technology and publishing times.It is a huge book and covers everything. It has answered a hundred questions I didn't even know to ask. The detail with which it answers these questions is wonderful. I only hope the author will see fit to give us a yearly update supplement.

I BOUGHT THIS BOOK THINKING I WAS GOING TO BE ENLIGHTED WITH SOME ADVANCED TROUBLESHOOTING KNOWLEDGE. I AM A PC TECH AND THIS BOOK JUST GOES INTO DETAIL ABOUT ALL THE COMPONENTS THAT MAKE UP THE SYSTEM AND THEIR HISTORY.IF YOU ARE A+ CERTIFIED YOU ALREADY LEARNED ALL THIS INFORMATION AND YOU`LL JUST LOOSE INTEREST RIGHT FROM THE START BECAUSE THE WRITER IS JUST REHASHING ALL THIS SAME INFO.THIS BOOK IS 713 PAGES AND THE LITTLE BIT OF TROUBLESHOOTING INFORMATION IN THE BOOK WOULD FILL NO MORE THAN FIFTY PAGES,JUST A LOT FLUFF SO THEY CAN MAKE THE BOOK AS THICK AS THEY CAN.THIS BOOK MIGHT ACTUALLY BE SOME GOOD FOR A PERSON WHO MAYBE IS JUST STARTING OUT,AND WANTS TO LEARNED EVERYTHING FROM THE BEGINING AND GETTING READY TO LEARN A+.IF YOU ARE ALREADY A TECHNICIAN YOU`LL JUST GET BURNED.ALOT OF AUTHORS SEEM TO BE TRYING TO MAKE A QUICK BUCK WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
"PC TECHNICIAN BLACKBOOK" THERE ARE NO SECRETS HIDDEN IN THIS BOOK GUY`S.

After taking Cisco CCNA 1 and gaining a summer job at a school district, I have found this book very helpful. Though the information is taught in CCNA and A+ classes is the same, this book is a nice refresher and good step by step problem solving guide nevertheless.