The Winn L. Rosch Hardware Bible, 6th Edition (2 Vol. Set) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This new edition of Winn L. Rosch's well-known work offers an unparalleled and up-to-date hardware reference, covering everything from display adapters to disk drives to audio hardware. For each technology covered, you'll find thorough coverage of interfaces, tables of settings, and other excruciating detail about every arcane corner of the PC. It is also a complete lesson in how the Intel-based computer works. Anyone attempting to write programs dealing with the PC at a relatively low level will find it useful as a reference. Besides the explanatory text, the book has a fine selection of infographics, and the various tables and reference sections are also available in electronic format on the impressive CD-ROM. Overall, the Winn Rosch Hardware Bible is big, definitive, and handsomely packaged. The hardcover Premier Edition is built to last as a well-thumbed reference source for the serious PC user who wants (or needs) to know how everything works. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

The Winn L. Rosch Hardware Bible provides a background on how things work, puts competing technologies, standards, and products in perspective, and serves as a reference that provides quick answers for common computer and technology questions. It functions as a buying guide, telling not only what to buy, but why. It also lays the foundation for upgrading or repairing a computer, but stops short of the step-by-step mechanics of the process. The chief purpose of the Hardware Bible remains educational. Some new features in this edition include rewritable DVD technology as well as Blu-ray Discs, wireless networking including 802.11a and 802.11b, Bluetooth wireless communications, and extended coverage of digital cameras, scanners, and telecommunications...and much more!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1152 pages
• Publisher: Que; 6 edition (March 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789728591
• ISBN-13: 978-0789728593
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #681,306 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hardware matters, April 3, 1998

By	Rose Vines - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Winn L. Rosch Hardware Bible: Premier Edition (Hardcover)

There are two types of drivers: those who look under the hood and those who haven't yet discovered the hood catch.

The same goes for computer users. Some folk will use their computer for years in happy ignorance of its inner workings - and failings. Then there are those of us for whom ignorance and bliss never equate.

If you belong to the latter group, you'll want Winn L. Rosch's Hardware Bible at your side. For a decade, the Hardware Bible has been the definitive hardware resource for anyone wanting to understand what happens under the hood of their PC and its outlying equipment.

Surprisingly, this is not a handbook for techheads, although techheads will love it. Rosch's approachable style makes it perfect for adventurous beginners as well as intermediate and advanced computer users bent on extending their understanding of the PC's inner workings.

Rosch covers just about everything you can think of: microprocessors, motherboards, memory, busses, the BIOS, support circuitry, the power supply, input devices, the display system, monitors, audio, ports, printers, hard drives, modems, networking, and on and on.

This recently revised edition is right up to date with the latest hardware and includes a CD-ROM with diagnostic and troubleshooting software, plus a couple of megs of additional reference material thrown in for good measure.

If you want to know your LIFO from your FIFO or why your hard disk growls when it should be purring, Winn L. Rosch's Hardware Bible is for you.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those looking for the overall Hardware book this is it., May 23, 2003

By	Michael J Woznicki "Michael J Woznicki" (Holland, MA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In over 15 years of I work I am always looking for new material and books relating to the latest technology both hardware and software.

This is the first time I have looked at the Hardware Bible and as a Computer Technical Instructor this book has already come in handy for a couple of A+ classes I am teaching.

While the book is not written to any specific exam, I found that is would definitely help with the A+ and CST exams. The author's extensive hardware knowledge is evident throughout the book.

One thing that impressed me throughout the book was the author not only gives detailed information about the most current technology, but also gives you a firm background on older technologies as well.

While the book is the "Hardware" bible, there is far more than just hardware information, you'll also find TCP/IP and the internet, as well as memory management included in the overall coverage.

I found this to be a fairly complete text to work with. You can also register online and find both the 5th and 6th editions available. About the only thing that wasn't included was a cd with hardware utilities, but looking at what you do get this is a minor drawback. Overall this book is a certainly worth the look.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could be much better with some editing., January 1, 2005

By	Eric (Holland, MI) - See all my reviews

I was hoping this book would be as good as "Upgrading and Repairing PC's", but it doesn't measure up. The depth of detail on certain topics is not well balanced.

For instance, the author refers to floppy discs as necessary to modern computers as an appendix, but spends a many pages detailing it as well and it's all but obsolete relatives like the Iomega Zipdisk. Granted the zipdisk was relevant in the 1990's but it is irrelevant today. OTOH hard disc construction and it's evolution, a far more interesting and relevant topic today is not written in such deep detail.

Many dated topics pertaining to only MS-DOS need to edited down to be more concise. A detailed breakdown of all the registers in a CMOS clock chip, and all the different frequencies produced by the system timer is not needed by the average computer programmer and system builder today. It almost seems the newer the technology, the fewer the pages devoted to it.

Some information is downright wrong. The author has a limited understanding of digital video and makes many inaccurate statements regarding that topic. For all pages in the book devoted to technical minutia, I wouldn't trust it to be entirely authoritative.

Although this book is giant sized and expensive, many pages are wasted. Seperating the interesting bits of information from all the long winded filler is a chore. I would recommend browsing "Upgrading and Repairing PC's" over this book.