Upgrading and Repairing PCs

Upgrading & Repairing PCs is more likely to have the answers to your PC hardware questions than other books on the market. If you're in the business of assembling, upgrading or troubleshooting machines based on the IBM/Intel architecture, you must have this book near your workbench. The newest edition of this hardware classic contains information on the latest offerings from the chipmakers (including CPUs & support chipsets). Mueller also has improved his SCSI coverage by including the most complete documentation of SCSI-1, SCSI-2 & SCSI-3, as well as explanations of the pseudonyms by which those technologies go (Wide SCSI, Ultra Wide SCSI, Fast SCSI etc.)--something hard to find. He includes tables of SCSI signals for troubleshooting purposes, which is rare to find in print. As always, he earns points for his clear statements of what connects with what & how. There are tables that correlate standard processor receptacles with the chips (from Intel, AMD, Cyrix) that fit into them. There are thoro & well-annotated lists of memory addresses, beep codes & harddisk specifications. He's used clear line drawings instead of the murky photos that diminish the value of many hardware books. Furthermore, he's an excellent writing style. Mostly, you'll value Upgrading & Repairing PCs as a reference, but it also includes tutorials on certain topics, including the assembly of a custom PC.--David Wall (editing)
Topics covered: New RAM technologies, new motherboard standards (including ATX), new ATA bus specifications; peripheral goodies such as SuperDisk, rewritable CD-ROM drives, DVD drives & LCD monitors; SCSI-1, SCSI-2 & SCSI-3.

Scott Mueller has long been known for the quality of the PC-hardware reference books that he writes. Upgrading and Repairing PCs, which now is in its twelfth edition, remains relevant even as the personal computing market is changing faster than ever. This book represents the most comprehensive single source of information on what used to be called IBM-compatible PC hardware. Look here for data--useful to repair technicians--about processors (e.g., Intel's Itanium and AMD's Duron parts), memory (e.g., RDRAM and DDR SDRAM), video cards, disk drives, removable storage media of all kinds, and network interface cards. If it can be plugged into a PC, Mueller addresses it.

A new emphasis on networking makes an appearance in this last edition. Whereas earlier versions of the book more or less stopped at the PC case, this one explores the technology that underlies cable modems, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connections, and other high-speed data communications options. It also explains how to make all of the custom-length Ethernet cables that you want--a simple but valuable addition. Builders of home and small-office networks probably will wish for more coverage of turnkey firewall hardware; but, because most of these devices aren't based on the PC platform, their absence is understandable. Mueller ties up the hardware-related discussion in a well-illustrated chapter on building a PC from scratch. It's solid work, although it would've been even better if he'd spelled out "best of breed" components by make and model. --David Wall

Topics covered: The latest and greatest in IBM-compatible PC hardware, as well as legacy hardware that the PC specification still supports. Processors, memory, video chips, network cards, CD-ROM players and recorders, DVD players and recorders, modems, all sorts of specialized components, plus instructions on building a PC, and troubleshooting strategies.