Upgrade & Maintain Your PC [Paperback]

James Karney (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1558285857 | ISBN-13: 978-1558285859 | Publication Date: August 18, 1998 | Edition: 3rd

International Bestseller! "An excellent resource that more than pays for itself in simply guiding the reader into selecting the right components." — Monterey Bay User's Group "I would recommend to novices as well as experienced computer buffs" — Orange Bytes How much memory do I need to run Windows 98? How do I install a Pentium II processor? How do I connect my machine to the Internet? Find everything you need to know to keep your computer running optimally in the latest edition of Upgrade and Maintain Your PC. Completely updated with essential information on new SCSI and bus standards, multimedia, and the latest peripheral devices, this hands-on, no-nonsense guide will help you troubleshoot problems, choose enhancements to add to your PC, maintain your system in tip-top shape — and save a lot of time, money, and headaches!

• Upgrade or install a new operating system — including Windows 98
• Maximize performance with a new Pentium II processor and additional memory
• Shop for and add a new hard drive, SCSI, or CD-ROM drive
• Turn your PC into a multimedia power house
• Connect to the Internet — modems and fax cards
• Share printers and other resources between two or more machines
• Troubleshoot system errors and tend to common failures
• Build your own PC from scratch

Powerful Tools and Utilities on CD-ROM!

• Norton Utilities for Windows 95 demo — including WinDoctor, Web Services and LiveUpdate Pro, System Doctor, Optimization Wizard, and Speed Disk
• Norton CrashGuard Deluxe 3.0 demo
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
• Netscape Navigator 4.0
• Acrobat Reader
• WinZip
• ASQ
• Cybermedia's First Aid and Oil Change demos
• Net.Medic from VitalSigns Software
• WS_FTP tryout
• DigiBand Radio 3.3, and VTuner

Shareware programs are fully functional, free trial versions of copyrighted programs. If you like particular programs, register with their authors for a nominal fee and receive licenses, enhanced versions, and technical support. Freeware programs are free, copyrighted games, applications, and utilities. You can copy them to as many PCs as you like — free — but they have no technical support.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Karney's thorough and well-illustrated bible to computer maintenance is full of detail yet is well organized and quite readable. The first three chapters introduce you to the computer and explain the sort of routine tasks you must perform to keep your machine operating normally. Chapters 4 through 6 deal with the motherboard, memory, and processors, pointing out your choices and describing how to make changes when you're ready. The discussion of storage devices in the next three chapters will help you decide to add on as your files and applications grow. Peripherals such as printers, modems, and monitors are discussed in the final chapters along with power consumption and backup systems. With your confidence well nourished, the last chapter provides instructions on building your own computer. Eight appendixes provide an overview of the book, forms, a resource list, explanations of error codes, and flow charts to figure out problems. If you're in the business of working on computers, this will be your reference source for lots of basic facts and a guide to do it right.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

About the Author James Karney has been training users in PC operations for more than ten years. He contributes regularly to PC Magazine and other trade publications and has written several books on PCs and software.

Product Details

• Paperback: 996 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 3rd edition (August 18, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558285857
• ISBN-13: 978-1558285859
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,249,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Karney is an accomplished computer journalist, authoring articles and reviews in PC Magazine, Windows Magazine, Computer Shopper and Internet World. His books include the Golden-Lee best-seller 'Upgrade and maintain Your PC', 'Mastering Digital Wedding Photography', 'The Power of CorelDRAW', 'The Power of PowerPoint', and the Microsoft Press 'Training Kit for A+ Certification'.

Mr. Karney's classroom career includes teaching Computer Science and Graphics at the college level, developing and teaching the 18-month photography accredited certificate program at South Georgia Tech, authoring college courseware on website design and management, and producing technical training for the US Department of Energy and the Navy Printing and Publishing Service.

His formal training includes a Master of Science in Computer Technology from Nova Southeastern University, a Bachelors Degree in Communications from Excelsior College, and he is a graduate of the US Navy Photographic School.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Beginner Info Book, April 25, 2000

By 

Jery Connors (South (By God) Dakota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Upgrade & Maintain Your PC (Paperback)

The author says a complete novice grandmother built her own system after reading this book. I believe it. I'm a novice and I found the book easy to read and the illustrations clear. The thickness of the book is intimidating but the page size is small and there are 200 pages of appendix plus a GOOD index. First 4 chapters are general info then each chapter covers a topic in depth (e.g., motherboard, power supply, printers, back-up methods). The appendix has info like error "beep codes" (when screen is dead), troubleshooting flow charts, other useful data). The author is a amooth and clear writer. I didn't try using the included CD. I borrowed a copy and now plan to buy a copy. Even though its now 18 months old, the procedures will be revelant for years and the guidance is general, not tied to any one system. A useful text for beginners and those who are not usually inclined to "look inside". The book will be helpful for a lot of common hardware problems. You will be able to use this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good- BUT could be so much better!, November 24, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Upgrade & Maintain Your PC (Paperback)

Whilst the book is clear & written in a way that the average(i.e.similar to me!) reader can get to the information needed-it IS somewhat out-of-date in many respects;e.g the section dealing with UNIX fails totally to recognize the benefits and low cost ways of using this important operating system. With the rapid change in technology this may? call for the need for regular up-dates to the content.any easy thing to do if the reader registers with the publisher/author! HOWEVER the CD as supplied is a TOTAL disaster!! PLEASE whatever you do..do NOT purchase this book in order to utilise the CD..the majority of the programs supplied are Shareware etc(subject to a Fee) and are so out-of-date as to make the average user get a totally wrong impression of just how good Shareware really CAN be!!..as for the much-vaunted( in the book that is!!) WinSleuth program?..lets simply say that it "froze " my Pentium 200(Win95) each & every time I attempted to use ANYTHING other than the opening screen:each time I had to re-boot by SWITCHING off my machine! - a VERY dangerous procedure. To repeat.."Do NOT use this program". After my experience I will not use any more of the supplied programs. Pity as I found the book itself very useful albeit the usefulness dimmed by the supplied CD! John Hulligan: Training Consultant: TC(UK)Ltd

5.0 out of 5 stars upgrade & maintain your PC 3rd edition, July 11, 2001

By 

albert lezcano (TAMPA, florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Upgrade & Maintain Your PC (Paperback)

this is the best book ever I learn more here then the other books I have, And the shipping was fast too--thank you very much--albert