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44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
Lives up to the reputation of its predecessors
With each revision of this series, Scott Mueller brings together more comprehensive, useful information about PC hardware, repair, maintenance, and upgrades than anyone else. "Upgrading & Repairing PCs", now in its 17th edition, is replete with new coverage. For instance, this edition includes a complete guide to Intel and AMD's new dual-core processors, the newest...
Published on April 13, 2006 by calvinnme
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Left feeling so-so
First off, let me say that if you are buying this book as a reference manual, then I think it deserves 5 stars. If you are using it to supplement your studies for something like A+ certification, its not the best for that. The problem lies in the fact that, like another reviewer here pointed out, he deals way to much with history. I feel like this took away a lot from...
Published 22 months ago by Jeff S
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44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
Lives up to the reputation of its predecessors, April 13, 2006
With each revision of this series, Scott Mueller brings together more comprehensive, useful information about PC hardware, repair, maintenance, and upgrades than anyone else. "Upgrading & Repairing PCs", now in its 17th edition, is replete with new coverage. For instance, this edition includes a complete guide to Intel and AMD's new dual-core processors, the newest chipsets, and today's state-of-the-art video cards. For those obsessed with performance, there's also a full chapter on overclocking and system cooling.
In nearly 1600 pages of small print and great technical illustrations, there's room for nearly everything: motherboards, BIOSes, memory, disks, interfaces, removable storage, video, audio, USB, Internet connectivity, LANs, power, and more. There's even more information on the included DVD: from coverage of notebooks and printers to complete PDFs of Mueller's last eight editions.
My favorite feature of this new edition is a detailed and up-to-date troubleshooting index that identifies hundreds of common hardware problems, offers likely causes and solutions in a quick phrase or two, and points you to more detailed coverage inside. Covered problems include the audio card sounding strange, the computer is invisible on the network, the USB peripherals are not recognized, and the wireless keyboard doesn't work. Mueller puts you quickly on the right track to solving each of these problems.
Finally, Mueller's DVD contains two full hours of all-new digital video. He takes pride in reshooting for every edition, since these are today's PC maintenance and repair techniques. Best of all, it'll run on your home DVD player too, since you are most likely to need help when your PC isn't working. Amazon does not show the table of contents, so I do that here:
Introduction 1
PC Hardware Introduction and Overview 7
Primary System Components 79
Input/Output Hardware 325
Mass Storage Systems 513
System Assembly and Maintenance 833
Troubleshooting Hardware and Software Problems 945
IBM System Technical Reference Section 1047
Appendixes 1335
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38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
A "must have" title for the serious computer geek..., April 21, 2006
This is perhaps my favorite PC repair book, and it's a classic... Upgrading and Repairing PCs (17th Edition) by Scott Mueller. What other PC book do you know of that's been around for 17 editions?
Contents: Development of the PC; PC Components, Features, and System Design; Microprocessor Types and Specifications; Motherboards and Buses; BIOS; Memory; The ATA/IDE Interface; Magnetic Storage Principles; Hard Disk Storage; Removable Storage; Optical Storage; Physical Drive Installation and Configuration; Video Hardware; Audio Hardware; I/O Interfaces from Serial and Parallel to IEEE 1394 and USB; Input Devices; Internet Connectivity; Local Area Networking; Power Supplies; Building or Upgrading Systems; PC Mods: Overclocking and Cooling; PC Diagnostics, Testing, and Maintenance; Glossary; Key Vendor Contact Information; Troubleshooting Index; List of Acronyms and Abbreviations; Index
Over 1500 pages of just about everything you've ever wanted to know about anything related to your PC. Add in two hours of DVD material, and there isn't much you'll encounter in the way of hardware repair and installation that isn't in here somewhere... The thing I like most about this book is the mix of practical repair information coupled with a full history and explanation of how things work. For instance, the microprocessor chapter is a full course in CPU architecture. Mueller takes the chance in the 17th edition to explain the new dual core CPUs, why you'd benefit from them, as well as every spec you'd ever want to know. I'd venture to say that if it's not in here, the only other place to find the information you need is via Google and the manufacturer's website. Other books might be more approachable to the relative newcomer to PC repair and upgrading. But for someone who has been around PCs for some time and needs something deeper than a "Joe Consumer" coverage, this book absolutely can not be topped.
To me, this is a "must have" book for the computer geek. The information has a very long track record of success, and it's well deserved. So long as Scott keeps coming out with new editions, I'll make sure to keep my version upgraded...
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
Great Book Very Informative!!!, May 8, 2006
I purchased this book after cautiously and carefully reviewing this book and others on the subject of repairing and upgrading PCs. When the book arrived I was intimidated by the sheer size of the book alone however when I opened it and began reading it i was very, very impressed. Not only is the book "ultra "informative it is also very easy to follow. All in all this book DELIVERS. I will be purchasing books from Scott Mueller from now on!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Amazing amazing book, November 5, 2006
This book is amazing - not only does it contain everything current a person could ever need to know about current PCs (and if something new does come out, the author will talk about it on the included website), but the author is kind enough to include any previous edition of the book on the included DVD. I had thought that I was fairly knowledgeable about computers, and reading this has boosted that knowledge considerably. No repair tech or computer builder should be without this.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Left feeling so-so, September 12, 2007
First off, let me say that if you are buying this book as a reference manual, then I think it deserves 5 stars. If you are using it to supplement your studies for something like A+ certification, its not the best for that. The problem lies in the fact that, like another reviewer here pointed out, he deals way to much with history. I feel like this took away a lot from trying to learn from the book as it became a boring read after a while. I dont care about computers from 20 years ago. I want to know recent things. A HUGE problem I have is their website. NONE of the video archives work. This was a huge selling point for me and was/is a tremendous disappointment. I contacted the webmaster 3 weeks ago and the problem hasnt been fixed. They all lead to a 404 error-page not found. That is a joke and an outrage.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Complete and easy to understand, November 10, 2006
This book contains detailed information on practically all subjects required for working with PCs. If you need explanation on how to build a network, it is there. If you need information on how to change the CPU in your motherboard, it is also there. Historical additional details emphasize the didatic flavour of the book. Highly recommended.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Upgrading and Repairing PCs (17th Edition) Scott Mueller, March 31, 2007
Execellent and comprehensive coverage of the material. One problem is with the included DVD. Unfortunately, the DVD has been restricted for playing to zone 1 rather than making it universal. Not good for those of us who do not live in zone 1. This is very tedious. Why bother doing the right thing and paying the full price for the legitimate product only to find that you are as bad off as having bought the pirate copy? Please do better next time.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent Core Reference, July 5, 2007
I avoided this gargantuan book for several years because it seemed so intimidating . Then I took a class in PC repair and this was the textbook. Wow! did I learn a lot, not just about how to PCs work, but about how valuable this book is. Now it's my primary reference when I have a question about my system, or other systems or components. This has been Scott Mueller's life and he has done a splendid job of simplifying the mysteries of PC hardware for me. The book is not perfect. There's a lot of information here you'll never use, but there's a lot you will. Take it paragraph by paragraph, page by page and depending upon your interest, you will find it very illuminating. Information on older systems and components is purged with each updated edition, so the older editions have value for hobbyists who want to maintain older systems. Comes with a supplemental DVD which is also very worthwhile.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Great Reference, March 20, 2007
Aside from a few typos and graph errors which you would expect from any book of this sort, this is a great reference. The use of analogies really helps me understand what the author is talking about. The inclusion of specific data regarding particular models is also helpful. It's already helped me fix my computer once!
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
a wealth of technical information, March 24, 2007
This book covers every aspect of personal computers in great detail! It is all done by starting with the very basics of a subject and then continues to build on what was previously read. The author of this book sometimes explains things using great analogies that really helped me get a good grasp on some concepts. If you want to understand computers better this book is for you!
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