Troubleshooting Your PC (3rd Edition) [Paperback]

Jim Aspinwall (Author), Mike Todd (Author)

Book Description

Series: 3rd Edition | Publication Date: September 1996

For all common hardware problems with the ma jority of PCs and compatibles this book will be an essential tool for diagnosing and repairing most faults. The book als o contains a CD Rom disk with diagnostic software included '

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An unfortunately large percentage of the population regards repairing a personal computer as comparable in difficulty to fixing a Boeing 747. The truth is, it's not nearly that hard--anyone can debug the components that make up a modern PC. Troubleshooting Your PC makes the task easier by providing readers with information on the systems that make up an IBM-compatible microcomputer.

This book excels at providing background information on various kinds of components. It also does a fine job of decrypting acronyms and explaining how different subsystems relate to one another. The authors attack systems--such as the video system, disk drives, and serial devices--individually, listing symptoms, likely causes, and potential fixes for each. Unfortunately, they don't outline solutions in much detail: they advise replacing your hard drive in certain situations, for example, but don't adequately describe how.

Some of the information in these pages seems stale--there's no explicit explanation of how to install RAM modules, and there's no mention at all of modern PC-100 RAM. Similarly, the authors neglect not only the Intel Pentium III but also the well-established Celeron and Xeon chips. It's as if they updated an old edition of this book a little too cursorily. A companion CD-ROM includes a collection of software, plus an evaluation version of Symantec Norton Utilities 3.0. --David Wall --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

Inside you'll find complete coverage of PC troubleshooting:

Assemble the tools of the trade, from software utilities to tweezers Prevent problems before they happen: backups, tuneups, and virus protection Diagnose problems using the unique "Symptoms, Suspects, and Solutions" features Decipher cryptic Windows error messages and resolve typical OS difficulties Handle networking and Internet glitches, from security to IP addressing Resolve system configuration, BIOS, memory addressing, and other hardware issues Deal with disk difficulties, from bad drives to partitioning and caching woes Solve compatibility, configuration, and other audio-video troubles Tackle printer, scanner, keyboard, and SCSI snafus with confidence Troubleshoot connections, from COM ports and modems to USB and wireless

BONUS CD-ROM includes:
Trial versions of Norton Utilities 2000 and Diskeeper 5.0
WinGate shareware
Demo versions of PC-Doctor for Windows and Windows NT --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 864 pages
• Publisher: Mis Pr; 3rd edition (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558284931
• ISBN-13: 978-1558284937
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,453,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A lovely wife, 4 step-kids, 3 grandkids, two dogs, a cat, two donkeys.

Once called the "Jeff Foxworthy of tech..."

Nearly every power and electronics tool imaginable - of course no room in the garage for any of it. More PC chassis than an electronics store and enough parts to rebuild them all twice. Enough ham radio gear to support a hurricane or earthquake disaster, and license to use it all.

Just wait until you see what I'm writing next...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Include a lot of out-of-dated information, October 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Troubleshooting Your PC (Paperback)

Even though this is the 4th edition and was just published this January, I still found there are a lot of out-of-dated information in this book. The author has referred a lot on the very old system, such as 8086, 80286... but give very little information about the new systems. For example, the author even didn't mention the use of DIMMS in the memory chapter but solely mentioned EDOs or previously released memory.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Worth the Money, January 7, 2001

By 

"jwj0008" (Oviedo, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Troubleshooting Your PC Bible (Paperback)

A generally useful text that is like a supplement to this series' Complete Guide to Upgrade and Repair, and though it rates a general five stars, in my opinion, it is more like a slightly outdated manual for the rapidly advancing industry. I don't know how any large books can keep up with this field, because by the time they are written and published most of the equipment they cover will be outdated. This is like a background text and you have to go to the web sites to view the latest information and changes. You have to do your own work, at some point, and can't have it spoon-fed to you. I'd recommend the book for this price and don't agree with the fellow who gave it two stars, which is a very harsh rating and speaks of superiority in a way. All of us regular guys will find the book useful.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dont waste your money, April 20, 2001

By 

PATRICIA QUATRELLA (EASTON, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Troubleshooting Your PC Bible (Paperback)

This book is a rambling bunch of garbage with no true criteria to help a technician. With jumble facts to find utilization of repair and upgrading computers, it is hard to make sense of it all. I a recommend all of Bigelow's books