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Editor. s Note: This is the third of three books I shall be taking a look at on the subject of upgrading; all with different approaches to style and all with different price tags; read on for the full & final Monty:Upgrading and Repairing PCsReviewed by: Stuart K. Fairclough, AMIMI (stuart@mpcc.org.uk )
Description / general overview : This most complete edition ever of the PC hardware resource trusted by more people worldwide than any other book contains hundreds of new pages of coverage on the BIOS, Intel's Socket 370 and 810 chipset, RDRAM, ATA/66, and flex-ATX and WTX motherboards, and more. Troubleshoot your system with new tips and advice including
memory errors, drive configuration, and tricky power supply
problems. Metcom says.. This is the eleventh edition of Que. s . Big Boy. of upgrader's manuals. Big, because not only is it supposed to cover everything you ever wanted to ask about upgrading, but bigger, because it is also supposed to contain an answer for just about every technical question or troubleshooting problem you may ever have or were afraid you had to ask in the first place. Coming from the pen of Scott Mueller who is also president of Mueller Technical Research (Web: http://www.m-tr.com), you should expect a book of distinction, quality and style and not mention, quantity. The book indeed covers everything from the potted history of the humble PC; PC Components; Processor Types & Specs.; Motherboards; BIOS; Memory; IDE & SCSI Interface; Storage both Hard Disk, Floppy, Removable & Optical; Drive installation and configuration; Video/Audio hardware; Serial/Parallel/Input devices; The Internet; Networking; Printers & Scanners; Laptops; Building/Upgrading systems; Diagnostics/Testing & Maintenance; Operating System & Troubleshooting etc. Truly a monster of a book and in some way a bit too heavy for some users. Some of the technical referencing is deep and can become complicated, so this is not a book for the would be beginner. This is a book for someone who wants to take upgrading and repairing just that bit stage further and therefore requires something with more technical content. For those of you who seek that, then this book will adequately fulfil those needs. At just over £35 this is a book that represents incredible value and you do really get your money. s worth. The slight downside on this book is that although it includes a very large proportion dedicated to repairing it doesn't answer every question and/or solve every problem. I posed a particular problem relating to Power Management and the failure of my machine to suddenly stop auto powering off; Que's offering unfortunately could not help me but there again I've yet to come across a book elsewhere that could! I suppose to be fair the book is not intended solely as a repair provider but an integrated manual that is designed to provide a thorough understanding of the PC as whole. Overall, a huge black and white manual that just about covers everything PC and you'd be hard pressed to currently find a better alternative. Pros - A DIY book for the serious enthusiast; plenty of line diagrams; complete with CD containing several full priced programs and utilities. Cons . Can. t think of any really but don't expect it to answer all your problems, you. ll need to look elsewhere. Metcom 5 Star Rating:
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