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Troubleshooting Your PC Bible (5th Edition) by Jim Aspinwall, Mike Todd |
| To order now, go to Amazon.com (only one left at last check...) 5th Edition, Book&cdrom |
Synopsis:
Previously published as "Troubleshooting Your PC", this comprehensive do-it-yourself guide has now been thoroughly updated to cover today's operating systems-including Windows Millennium/2000 and Linux-as well as all the hottest hardware, from USB2 and FireWire to Pentium III and the Athalon. The CD-ROM contains software to help diagnose PC problems..
How this Book is Organized:
Problem Index. The place to quickly find Solutions to Problems you have identified by their Symptoms and the components you Suspect.
Part I: Getting Started
You will find the "Getting Started" chapters in Part I. While these chapters are mostly oriented to folks who are new to PCs, many seasoned PC veterans have found great value in this perspective. A refresher seldom hurts.
Chapter 1: Troubleshooting. We cover the general concepts of troubleshooting and demystify the process of finding and solving problems in your system.
Chapter 2: Tools of the Trade. We describe the hardware and software tools you need to work on your PC, including emergency diskettes, prerecovery preparations, recovery tools for Windows, program removal tools, and hand tools.
Chapter 3: Protecting Yourself and Your PC. We cover erased file protection; virus protection; communications problems; data recovery; and ways to protect yourself, your files, and programs.
Chapter 4: Your Personal Computer. Chapter 4 provides an overview of your PC system; definitions of the major components, subsystems, and other items found inside your PC; and definitions and examples of PC peripherals.
Chapter 5: Physical Versus Logical Devices. What's physical, what's logical? Chapter 5 answers this, and it discusses translating logical devices into physical addresses, associating IRQ assignments with logical names, and how Windows handles device names and addresses.
Part II: The Soft Side of your PC Delves into the soft side of you PC by taking you through the legacy of DOS and early versions of Windows, the current manifestations of Windows 2000 and Windows Millennium, and then it takes off into Networks and the Internet.
Chapter 6: Operating Systems, File Systems, and User Interfaces. This chapter covers control programs and procedures, and ways that both can take full advantage of the power of PCs. This small introduction helps you prepare to install, configure, and use the devices that integrate into our PC systems.
Chapter 7: DOS Parts. Chapter 7 starts with a brief history of DOS, introduces configuring your operating system, surveys DOS Shells, and ends with multitasking user interfaces.
Chapter 8: Windows for Home and Desktop. Chapter 8 departs a bit from this book's presentation style. As a premise, we start with an old PC, one that began life as a 386, DOS system, and we upgrade it all the way to Windows NT/2000, installing Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, and Windows 98 along the way.
Chapter 9: Windows for the Enterprise. Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows NT Server, Windows 2000 Server, and Windows 2000 Advanced Server are presented primarily from the standpoint of installing and configuring. Of course, we do address problems but, aside from some new and exciting installation challenges, these Windows versions are much more stable than any earlier version of Windows.
Chapter 10: Networking. Networking has become a function of just about every PC. This chapter starts with the reasons to share files, printers, and other resources. Windows networking is emphasized because it is installed or installable on the majority of PCs in use and being sold today. While this chapter is not meant to provide comprehensive network management and optimization information, it does address the types of problems that can prevent access to networks, and it offers solutions.
Chapter 11: The Internet. Chapter 11 builds on the networking introduction in Chapter 10 and takes some of the mystery and complexity out of setting up your system to connect with the Net. It does not attempt to make you an instant expert on the Internet, but it does address common setup and troubleshooting issues. Chapter 11 also address Internet security and encourage you to use a personal firewall.
Part III: The Hard Side of your PC Starts with applying the power to your PC and continues on with hardware installation and configuration, and it spends time on system boards and memory.
Chapter 12: Bootup Problems. This chapter begins by discussing what happens when you turn on the power to your PC, and it continues on into problems related to the AC and DC power used by your system. It deals with battery problems; portable and handheld computers; and general system problems, such a video, CMOS, memory, motherboard, and hard disk system problems related to starting your computer.
Chapter 13: Configuration Problems. Chapter 13 addresses configuring your PC through its startup files. Because DOS is where PCs started, this is where we begin. We provide a basic look at configuring and starting your system, using the multiboot options to give you the ability to use multiple operating systems, and we take a look at configuration conflicts. The focus is on the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, but many concepts still apply to problems found in Windows, OS/2, and even Unix and mainframe systems. Windows configuration problems are covered more directly in Chapters 8 and 9.
Chapter 14: System Boards. Regardless of which operating system you decide to use, the system board in your PC is the platform on which it runs. This chapter introduces you to all of the components and features that compose the system board, as well as explaining how they work together. We also cover the connections to the system board, including the system bus; and I/O connections, including Universal Serial Bus , the FireWire, keyboard, and mouse. We present ways to make Plug and Play work for you and your computer, or at least ways to keep it from preventing you from using your hardware. The BIOS setup gets the full treatment, and we even cover how to work with Flash ROM and how to use special recovery procedure, if you run into problems. We wrap up this chapter with the problems you may encounter and how to fix them, of course.
Chapter 15: System Memory. This chapter describes ROM, RAM, and other types of memory (CMOS, VRAM, cache, and even virtual). It discusses memory parity and how to test your system's memory leads to memory configuration, as well as exploring common problems and solutions. We also help you upgrade your memory for optimum performance.
Part IV: Disk Drives Dedicated to disk drives and explores their variety, as well as their commonality. Because computers are not very useful without reliable data storage, we help you make sure your investment in disk drives is protected and optimized.
Chapter 16: Disk Drive Basics. This chapter comprehensively describes disk drive types, BIOS and DOS limitations and features, disk partitioning, and formatting. We delve into the technology that makes your hard disk, CD-ROM, and diskette drives work.
Chapter 17: Disk Drive Utilities and Diagnostics. Chapter 17 presents disk drive utilities and describes how they keep drive systems running at top performance.
Chapter 18: Hard Drives. Chapter 18 covers installing, adding, or changing hard drives; partitioning and formatting hard drives; and, of course, hard drive problems.
Chapter 19: Diskette, CD-ROM, and other Drives. Chapter 19 is about working with diskettes, CD-ROM drives, and alternative drives. This chapter covers taking care of drives and disks, and it covers comprehensive presentations of the problems and solutions for fixing drive systems.
Part V: "Other" Parts of Your PC Deals with the components of PCs that provide the means to actually use them. Screens, keyboards, speakers, microphones, printers, scanners, modems, and wireless devices are covered. How to install, configure, and integrate these components into a functional unit is the goal.
Chapter 20: Sights and Sounds. Chapter 20 starts with a little history of PC video to help with orientation, standards, and terminology. We cover new video capabilities, installing sound and video, common video and video-display problems, sound card installation, and common audio problems.
Chapter 21: Basic Input and Output. Chapter 21 addresses the devices most often connected to your computer for getting information and data into and out of your computer system. We start with printers, which, outside of video, is the most common way of viewing your computer's information. We also discuss mice, trackballs, and pen pads, even though they provide few problems. Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) provides some configuration challenges, so we cover these problems, as well. Scanners can also be a challenge, but careful setup and configuration can produce rewarding results. The USB provides some new problems, but the solutions make sense.
Chapter 22: Serial Input and Output. This chapter deals with installing, configuring, and using computer serial ports. Because the use of modems is the most common use of COM ports, the majority of this chapter deals with modems and the types of problems you may encounter when using them. We also deal with the problems associated with phone lines and connecting modems. We round out the chapter with alternate ways of engaging serial communications.
Part VI: Maintaining Your PC Wraps up the concept of avoiding troubleshooting with a proactive approach to building barriers to problems and maintaining the ability to respond more quickly to the inevitable challenges that you may face at one time or another.
Chapter 23: Do it Yourself - With Confidence! This final chapter surveys types of diagnostic and utility software, and it explores how this software provides information about your system, analyzes your system, diagnoses problems, and in some cases, fixes those problems. We also cover software used to diagnose and fix Year-2000 problems and show where to find this software. We cover do-it-yourself advice that helps you prevent problems and keep your system running smoothly. Much information and a form to document your system are provided to help you get the right kind of support, even if you provide it yourself. We end with recommendations for upgrading your computer for optimum performance.
Appendixes All through Troubleshooting Your PC Bible we offer advice to help you install, configure, and optimize your PC and its components. We lead you into problem solving by way of identifying Symptoms that lead you to the Suspects contributing to the problem, and then we provide the Solutions that get your PC back into operation.
Use the Problem Index at the beginning of the book to help you locate discussion of specific problems in the chapters. In these discussions you'll find not only the solutions to problems, but also the background information that will help you avoid further problems.
Use the Glossary to expand your vocabulary and learning quotient.
Use the Appendix section to find specific details regarding memory, IRQs, keyboard codes, the ultimate ASCII-EBCDIC-Binary-Octal-decimal-HEX-PC character-code chart, Video colors and modes, hard drive types, beep codes, error messages, cabling diagrams, your very own Technical Support Form, and our favorite and most helpful Internet sites.
Appendix J contains the guide to the files on the CD-ROM.
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