Customer Reviews

Upgrading and Repairing Laptops

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is one of the most misnamed books I've ever read, although "Upgrading and Repairing Laptops" is probably a better title than "Just About Everything Relating To Computer Hardware, Up To And Sometimes Including The Operating System, Focusing On But Not Limited To Laptops". There really is that much information contained in this book.

Unfortunately it is not possible to recommend the book based on the title or the information on the back cover as the 'upgrading' and 'repairing' and to a lesser extent 'laptop' keywords are misleading. It does contain an astounding amount of information of the inner workings of computers, but there is simply too much additional information to say that it is about the topics mentioned. They are more a side note than the main focus. The information constantly refers back to laptops, but again is too far ranging to say that laptops are the primary topic.

That said, the information is broad, concise, structured and obtainable. If you're interested in the deep mysteries of computer hardware this is a great resource including in-depth discussions on processors, motherboards (and chip sets), memory, storage (including CD and DVD media formats) and just about everything else. Just be aware of what the book covers before purchasing it.

Upgrading and Repairing Laptops is just a version of Upgrading and Repairing PCs cut in half with about 50 pages on laptop related matters and a few grammar changes added to the book to make it sound laptop specific. Most of the information in the book has been copied out of Upgrading and Repairing PCs (some parts even sound as though you are meant to be using a desktop computer instead of a laptop computer). In some parts of the book there is hardly any talk of laptop computers. For the next edition of this book, the laptop-related parts of the book should be combined and the information that was copied from URPCs should be taken out. If you want to learn how your laptop works, get the service manual for your system and the current edition of URPCs.

Scott Mueller's book "Upgrading and Repairing Laptops" probably should read "The History of the Computer and How it Works". This book is over 800 pages and I quickly got lost in superfluous material dealing with how data is stored on a hard drive to a detailed description on how a video cable is made. What I was hoping for were specs of the top laptop manufacturers with detailed descriptions of removing and repairing, but found only minimal pages on the subject. Scott's solution is to download this information from the manufacturer which leaves me in a quandry why I bought the book. The CD disk I found useful but again deals with only one particular laptop.

There is some very useful information in this book but getting it is chore.

In the 15 years I have been involved with computers there has never been a book written that covers the Laptop or portable computer with any real in depth information. That was until now; with the release of Scott Mueller's U&R laptop and this is certainly one to have in every technician's library.

The 875 plus page reference manual has just about everything you need to take care of laptop computer, from assembly to hardware and upgrades. The author has certainly taken care of the research as there are a number of laptops covered. The material is very much up to date with the latest information and the technical accuracy of the book is highly evident.

The book covers more that what to replace, it takes you through what to look for, what you can and can not do with certain hardware, how to ensure success in the upgrade or replacement and so much more. I have read the U&R PCs and this book is an extension of the material covered there.

What is the most impressive part of the package might just be the Cd rom included since it has over an hour of video material that further enhance the learning process. There is material in here that is covered no where else today. Overall this is simply the best book on laptop repair I have read.

I bought this book hoping it would help with laptop diagnosis and disassembly. I was very disappointed. There is almost nothing laptop-specific in this book, and it does not cover some very common laptop problems. A lot of laptops I work on have video problems that are usually caused by a bad LCD screen, bad inverter, or bad motherboard. There is absolutely nothing in this book that helps diagnose which it could be, nor is there any info for disassembly of those parts. There is also very little info for major laptop disassembly.

Overall, I would not recommend this book unless you are looking for an in-depth description of how various hardware components work. There is very little in this book that applies only to laptops, and there is very little diagnostic help with laptop-specific problems.

I agree with an earlier reviewer. Many of the problems I've run into with laptops involve video components, such as the backlight, inverter, LCD screen, video chip issues, etc. They are just not covered in any real depth in this book, though I highly recommend Mueller's PC repair books. Morris Rosenthal's book on Laptop repair is better in the diagnostic and tshoot arenas and is just under 200 pages. Compact enough to carry in your backpack to repair sites. I've used it several times already and so far Morris hasn't steered me wrong.

Modern word processor let people produce books quickly by copy-and-paste. As commented by an earlier reviewer, who gives one star for the book, this is a typical example. Amazon should allow the reviewer to give 0 star, which I think this book deserves.

In my view, the main difficulty in reparing and upgrading a laptop is disasseble it. Once it is taking apart, nearly everyone with some experience in playing desktop computers would know what to do next. However, this book and the companion disk do a very poor job in this. It shows how to diassemble an IBM notebook, which is perhaps the easierest to disasseble. I hope to see the author to show at least one example from a few major vendors, such as Dell, HP, Toshiba, Sony, Acer. Unfortunately, it told us to get service manuals. If this is the advice, why this book is written?

This book is an excellent tool to have on hand for anyone even remotely interested in working on laptops, whether for a living or just because your personal machine is out of warranty.

Very thorough, it informs you without talking down to you on numerous topics relating to laptops, from where most laptops are built, the components inside, specific things to look for when purchasing, and how to fix it if a problem occurs.

Ive been building and reparing my own PCs for the last 5 yers. thanks to Scott Mullers books. He is the most direct to the point and clear author in this field. Ive trashed 3 other books before coming across Scott.

Frankly the book is been very helpful, easy to understand, a great book if planning to overhaul your laptop in any way.

Frank.