The Underground Guide to Troubleshooting PC Hardware: Slightly Askew Advice on Maintaining, Repairing, and Upgrading your PC - Softcover

--Ed Perratore, Contributing Editor, Computer Shopper

WARNING They don't call it hardware for nothing! You can repair and upgrade your PC without an advanced degree, but before you take thatcover off your computer, arm yourself with the expert advice of Alfred Poor'sThe Underground Guide to Troubleshooting PC Hardware.

You've got hardware troubles. Maybe Windows® 95 has turned your "screamer"into a cement mixer and you need a RAM upgrade yesterday. Or you've finallydecided to spring for a Pentium, and a little open-heart chip replacementsurgery is in order. Or maybe your old computer and new printer are not onspeaking terms and you'd rather not pay that teenage know-it-all at thecomputer store to mediate the dispute. Whatever. You're smart, reasonablycoordinated, and you know that this is the sort of job you should be able to doyourself. But you hesitate, fearful of frying your hardware and sending uphundreds of hard-earned dollars in a puff of electrical smoke. It's time tocall in a specialist: Alfred Poor, hardware guru and do-it-yourself coach tomillions, will help you face your motherboard (and more!) with confidence.

* Get the executive briefing on every hardware component of your system: CPU,memory, hard drive, monitor, printer, CD-ROM, sound card, keyboard, mouse, andmore. Find out what it is, how it works, and how to tell a good one from a badone.

* Apply Alfred's hands-on tests to figure out where and what the problem iswhen things go wrong.

* Get how-to advice on upgrading any component--and learn which upgrades willdeliver a noticeable performance improvement, which aren't worth themoney, and when it's best to just trade up for a whole new system.

* Most importantly, learn how to experiment intelligently with your PCto identify and fix just about any hardware problem you encounter!

Every page has something you can use immediately. This book is packed wall towall with advice, warnings, tips, bugs reports, workarounds, and the kind ofnitty-gritty explanations that could come only from someone who eats, sleeps,and breathes PC hardware.

Series Editor Woody Leonhard and Addison-Wesley are proud to bring you theUnderground Guides--fun books for serious computer users.