Upgrading & Fixing Laptops For Dummies [Paperback]

Corey Sandler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 7, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0764589598 | ISBN-13: 978-0764589591 | Edition: 1

Keep your laptop on top of its game!

Find out how to care for your laptop, what can go wrong, and what you can fix

A laptop is much more than a PC that shrank. It has unique needs, and this book shows you how to meet them. You'll discover how to diagnose and fix common problems, replace parts, add external upgrades, and develop workarounds. You'll even get the lowdown on networks, and find out when to repair and when to replace your laptop.

Discover how to
* Treat your laptop properly
* Identify common problems
* Know when repair may not make economic sense
* Install a new operating system
* Troubleshoot CD and DVD drives
* Add cool peripherals

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Keep your laptop on top of its game!

Find out how to care for your laptop, what can go wrong, and what you can fix

A laptop is much more than a PC that shrank. It has unique needs, and this book shows you how to meet them. You'll discover how to diagnose and fix common problems, replace parts, add external upgrades, and develop workarounds. You'll even get the lowdown on networks, and find out when to repair and when to replace your laptop.

Discover how to

• Treat your laptop properly
• Identify common problems
• Know when repair may not make economic sense
• Install a new operating system
• Troubleshoot CD and DVD drives
• Add cool peripherals

About the Author

Corey Sandler was the first executive editor of PC Magazine. The author of more than 150 books, he has appeared on local and national broadcasts, including NBC's Today Show.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (November 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764589598
• ISBN-13: 978-0764589591
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #112,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Computers & Technology > Hardware > Maintenance, Repair & Upgrading
  • #59 in Books > Computers & Technology > Hardware > Design & Architecture
  • #75 in Books > Computers & Technology > Hardware > PCs

More About the Author

Corey Sandler is the author of more than 100 books on history, travel, computer, and business topics with more than two million copies in print. He has appeared on NBC's "Today Show" and National Public Radio, and has been profiled on CNN.

His fascination with the mystery of the life and death of Henry Hudson took him on a year-long, 25,000-mile journey to England, the North Pole, and deep into Canadian wilderness areas accessible only by boat or bush plane. His book, "Henry Hudson Dreams and Obsession" retraces the four known voyages of the Age of Exploration's least-known adventurer.

He is co-author, with Red Sox broadcaster and former star second baseman Jerry Remy, of "Watching Baseball."

Earlier in his career, his experience as a reporter for the Associated Press and Gannett Newspapers made him one of the pioneers of computer journalism. He was the first Executive Editor of "PC Magazine".

He turned his passion for travel into the "Econoguide Travel Book" series.

His websites:
www.hudsondreams.com

www.econoguide.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Could end up being money well spent..., November 4, 2005

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Upgrading & Fixing Laptops For Dummies (Paperback)

While I may be getting more comfortable with opening up my desktop machine, I'm still less-than-thrilled if the laptop starts acting up. Upgrading & Fixing Laptops for Dummies by Corey Sandler does a very nice job in covering the hardware components of laptops and how to make sure they keep working when you need them to...

Contents:
Part 1 - Putting a Computer in Your Lap: A Field Guide to the Common Laptop; How to Treat a Laptop
Part 2 - Explaining What Could Possibly Go Wrong: Things That Go Bump in the Night (or Day); When to Repair and When to Recycle; Surviving Basic Training; Brain Matters: Memory, Microprocessors, and BIOS
Part 3 - Laying Hands on the Major Parts: Easing In to Hard Disks; Floppy Drives: Relics and Memories; Going Round and Around: CD and DVD Drives; Tripping the Keyboard Fantastic; Putting Your Finger on Pointing Devices; Seeing the Light: LCDs and Video
Part 4 - Failing to Communicate: Networks, Gateways, and Routers; Feeling Up in the Air; Modems: The Essential Translators; Breaking Out of the Box: PC Cards, USB, and FireWire
Part 5 - The Software Side of Life: Installing a New Operating System or Migrating Upwards; Adding or Removing Software, for Better or for Worse; Essential Utilities for Laptop Users
Part 6 - The Part of Tens; Ten Quick Solutions; Ten Essential Dos and Dont's; Ten of My Favorite Things
Index

Many of my cohorts in the IT world are long-time laptop users. They're consultants, they're on the road a lot, and they live and die with their laptops. The vast majority of these people have probably done most of the things in this book at least once, and there might not be much new information for them. But take my dad. He's past retirement age, he travels around, and he got a laptop so he could "check email while they're on the road". For him, it's all a confusing jumble of technology that doesn't make a lot of sense. A book like this would allow him to understand the core parts of the laptop, know how they should be maintained, and more importantly know when things aren't working quite right. For instance, defragging a hard drive is second nature to me. For him, it's "de-what?". Clean the screen with Windex? No, Dad... Why can't you play a DVD? Because you have a CD reader... not a DVD reader. Things like that... :)

If you're more at ease with technology, you still might find some benefits here. I fortunately haven't had many issues with my laptop. But what if the screen started to fade? This book would give me a clue as to what was happening and what options I might want to pursue. Water spill on the keyboard... repairable? (The kids did it, and in this case it was.) While you might not find the exact answer you're looking for here, it will at least reduce your stress level as you figure things out.

Nice book, fun read, and the material just could prevent some problems down the road...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helps, June 19, 2007

By 

K. Johnson (US/Asia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Upgrading & Fixing Laptops For Dummies (Paperback)

The organization and layout makes getting the information you want easy and quick. There's obviously no need to read this book from front-to-back (as with all dummy-series books). The introduction also gives the reader advice on how to use this book wisely.

There are six parts:

Part 1: Putting a Computer in Your Lap.
Part 2: Explaining What Could Possibly Go Wrong
Part 3: Laying Hand on the Major Parts
Part 4: Failing to Communicate
Part 5: The Software Side of Life
Part 6: The Part of Tens

If you have a laptop and want to maintain it, prevent future dilemmas, and correctly troubleshoot problems, "Upgrading and Fixing Laptops for Dummies" can help newbies and/or the computer illiterate.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Review, June 13, 2007

By 

R. Clow - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Upgrading & Fixing Laptops For Dummies (Paperback)

Easy to read, but does not have much factual information. Frequently
asks the reader to refer to instructions that came with the computer, but
maybe it does make it a little easier to read those instructions.