PC Hardware Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things about Your Computer Hardware (Paperback)

by Stephen Bigelow (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Operating a personal computer requires more than just dealing with the PC itself. As anyone with even a modicum of computer experience can attest, there are all types of hardware devices which you must become familiar with disk drives, printers, monitors, and sound cards, just to name a few. And, naturally, each is fraught with its own set of bugs and snares. PC Hardware Annoyances, the latest installment of O'Reilly's highly successful Annoyances series, aims to optimize these peripheral systems by offering easy fixes to their most annoying traits. With over 40 titles to his credit, author Stephen Bigelow identifies all those annoyances that make you cringe in frustration. Then, through the use of snappy, entertaining, and practical solutions, he shows you how to clear each obstacle one step at a time. After that, the rest is up to you. Designed for PC users of all levels, this handy guide doesn't bore you with long dissertations on the workings of the technology at hand. Instead, it offers straightforward, easy-to-understand troubleshooting solutions. For maximum ease of use, PC Hardware Annoyances is broken up into several broad hardware categories. They include desktops, laptops and PDAs, graphics, sound, hard drives, CD/DVD drives, network, and printers and scanners. And while you may not use each of these accessories currently, chances are it's only a matter of time before you'll need their technological services whether it's for work or recreation. What makes PC Hardware Annoyances especially timely is the growing trend among computer owners to simply upgrade their PCs as they age, rather than replacing them altogether. With peripheral devices becoming increasingly affordable, there's no reason not to. But as with any do-it-yourself project, trouble lurks around the corner if you don't have the right guide. Having difficulty setting up your color inkjet printer? Trying to burn a music CD? Is your modem misbehaving? The remedy: PC Hardware Annoyances, of course!

About the Author
Stephen J. Bigelow (Leicester, MA) is the founder and President of Dynamic Learning Systems, a technical research and writing firm specializing in PC and peripheral service. An experienced electronics engineer, he is the author of several best-selling computer books including Troubleshooting, Maintaining and Repairing PCs, now in its fourth edition and is the editor of The PC Tolbox Newsletter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 266 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; illustrated edition edition (November 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596007159
• ISBN-13: 978-0596007157
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #816,140 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, June 28, 2006

By	Chad Swiklinski - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one of the most useful books I have ever bought. I had three particular problems in mind, and I wasn't buying this book specifically for them; it was more for reference. But I opened it up and it had clear, concise, and easy instructions for doing what I needed- much better than the information I had gotten through hours of internet searches into the problems.

This is a must own for any PC owner, ESPECIALLY if you have Windows.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars resource-full book, but little for the average computer user, April 27, 2007

By	Sunny "Sunny" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Do you know how to get to Mouse Properties in the control panel without instructions? If not, then you might not be able to follow half the material in this book.

Examples of Annoyances addressed in this book:
"I replaced my CMOS backup battery just a few months ago, but I still see occasional CMOS battery errors..."
"I updated my BIOS and need to clear the CMOS RAM, but my motherboard lacks the proper jumper..."
"I want to overclock my PC..."
"Will my system crash if two PCI devices share the same IRQ line?"
"I tried to install DDR333 DIMMs along with my existing DDR400 DIMMs... I thought the modules were compatible..."
"I ran the System File Checker for Windows XP and got a DLL cache error."

There are a few easier topics that an average computer user like me can find useful and understandable ("My CD-RW drive refuses to eject my audio CD."), but the examples above are typical of the difficulty level of the content.

I'm a big fan of the Annoyances series, and this is a book meant for those who are keenly interested in computers, so I'll make sure to go back and read it after I've accumulated more knowledge. In the meantime, it'll serve as a standby reference to consult if a particular hardware problem comes up.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting resource for hardware hackers, May 1, 2005

By	Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I liked this book, but that's easy because it's a topic that interests me. If hardware hacking is something that you enjoy you will probably find a lot to like in this book. Because in general it's all about the tips and tricks.

That being said this book, like all of the Annoyances books, is not a complete reference. You won't find the list of PC cards, but you will find tips on how to fix flaky USB connections and the like.