PC Help Desk in a Book: The Do-it-Yourself Guide to PC Troubleshooting and Repair Review

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(More customer reviews)Mark Edward Soper, can you just kind of "pick up your shoe and I'll kiss the bottom?" I hold a BSEE, a MSEE and I am a Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (2002). I cannot praise this author enough for this work, I have utilized his complete information from BIOS to preparing/formatting hard drives to troubleshooting the PC and it's subsystems from Windows 9x to XP all the way from A to Z. I can't thank the author enough, I wrote to him personally and thanked him. Thanks again!!

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Each year, thousands of harmless PCs suffer the pain and humiliation of buggy Windows installations, bad cable connections, mismanaged system resources, viruses, and slow Internet connections. All too often, these downtrodden PCs end up being scrapped before their time by owners who just can't care for them any longer. The real travesty is that with a little love, these wounded PCs could become useful members of society. That's where PC HelpDesk in a Book comes in. Using a unique, medical dictionary approach, this book walks users through the symptoms to diagnose and treat the problem. End-users will be armed to perform cost-effective upgrades, repair fouled Windows installations, and squeeze out a little more performance from a slow Internet connection in lieu of purchasing a new computer.

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Troubleshooting Your PC for Dummies, 3rd Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)This is probably the most helpful book you can have. It has helped me to solve my computer problems, and also, to learn more about computers. I am not new to computers, but every once in a while something goes wrong, and, instead of reaching for the phone, I reach for this book. I recommend it without hesitation to anyone who would like to be independent and enjoy using one's computer.

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Troubleshooting your PC isn't as hard as you think. In fact, with a little help from Troubleshooting Your PC for Dummies, 3rd Edition, you can save yourself lots of time, money, and headaches by diagnosing and fixing those snags, glitches, and predicaments that would otherwise drive you crazy. Bringing a touch of humor and a strong dose of sanity into play PC expert Dan Gookin makes it easy!
This fully updated edition features new and expanded coverage of laptop woes as well as Internet and e-mail issues, broadband connections, spam blocking, and security concerns. You'll find answers to all of your questions about getting out of PC pickles, recognizing when you're headed for trouble, keeping Vista on the straight and narrow, creating a safe and secure PC environment, and even preventing problems down the road. Discover how to:
Remove documents from the file menu
Recognize warning signs of hard drive failure
Stop a program that's misbehaving
Reclaim missing Internet passwords
Distinguish hardware problems from software problems
Mediate conflicts between Windows and your applications
Solve startup problems
Diagnose email calamities
Troubleshoot Internet connection malfunctions
Understand puzzling error messages

Complete with lists of essential rules of tech support and things you should never or always do, Troubleshooting PCs For Dummies, 3rd Edition, gives you the tips, tricks, and solid knowledge you need to keep your PC healthy and strong for years to come.

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How to Build Your Own PC: Save a Buck and Learn a Lot Review

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(More customer reviews)Before I purchased this book, I was spending sleepless nights trying to get information on building my own computer. It seemed that everywhere I went, had "some" information that was useful to me, but I never had the feeling that I knew everything I needed. After reading this book, that all changed, and I felt 100% confident that I was ready to do what I orinally set out to do. This book has everything you need to know. There is no way you can go wrong. Althought this book does not talk about SATA hard drives, SLI, or even Athlon 64 processors, this book gives you enough basic knowledge to figure out those things with relative ease. Great book !!

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"How To Build Your Own PC: Save A Buck And Learn A Lot" will teach you everything you need to build your own desktop PC.You will learn how to:* Select And Choose PC Components* Put The CPU On The Mainboard* Protect Your System From Static Electricity* Install The Mainboard In The Case* Install Hard Drives And CD-RW Drives* Select A DVD Burner And Get Into Digital Filmmaking* Install PCI Expansion Cards* Install Windows XP* Install A Dual-Boot Operating System (XP and Linux)You will also learn about careers in PC repair and be given further resources to continue your study of computers and computer repair.

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CompTIA A+ 220-701 and 220-702 Exam Cram Review

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(More customer reviews)I used this and the A+ Complete Study Guide by Sybex, passed the 2009 tests no problem. Probably could have just used this book alone, but then again I've been working with PCs for a few years. For people that are new to computers, I recommend this AND the Sybex book. Read this book last.
The best things about this book are:
- Hands-on explanations. The author builds a computer as the book progresses and shows actual components. Very current stuff.
- Great test questions. There are hundreds of test questions, no additional purchases necessary. The questions are really good for prepping for the real exam.
- Support website: The author runs a website where he answers questions, etc... and helped me with a PC issue I was having!
This book is not as thorough as the A+ complete book (I guess being a "cram" has something to do with it) but it did cover everything I saw on the exams, and there were a lot of things in the book that I didn't know, great extra pieces of knowledge.
All in all, great book, I'm very satisfied with my purchase, and should get my bonus at work since I'm now A+ certified.


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CompTIA A+ Exam Cram, Fourth Edition, is the perfect study guide to help you pass CompTIA's newly-updated versions of the A+ exams. It provides coverage and practice questions for every exam topic. The book contains an extensive set of practice questions, including 200 printed questions in two full practice exams, while the CD-ROM test engine provides real-time practice and feedback with an additional 200 questions.Covers the critical information you'll need to know to score higher on your A+ exams!Understand PC components, including motherboards, processors, memory, power, storage, audio, video, and I/O devicesInstall, configure, maintain, troubleshoot, and fix desktop and notebook PC hardwareInstall and configure Windows Vista and other Windows operating systemsUse Windows utilities to troubleshoot and fix operating system problemsUnderstand essential networking technologies, devices, protocols, cabling, and connectionsSet up small office/home office networks, including Internet and Wi-Fi connectionsTroubleshoot and fix failed client-side network connectionsSecure computers and networks, identify security problems, and eliminate viruses and malwareDetect and solve the most common printing problemsPerform essential preventive maintenance Master essential safety and operational procedures for PC techniciansPrepare yourself effectively for exam dayCD Features 200 Practice QuestionsDetailed explanations of correct and incorrect answersMultiple test modesRandom questions and order of answersCoverage of each A+ exam objectiveU.S. $44.99 / CAN $53.99

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Build It. Fix It. Own It: A Beginner's Guide to Building and Upgrading a PC Review

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(More customer reviews)If a 63 year old retiree can do, so can you... with this book.
Building your own desktop is only slightly more difficult than lego blocks. If you read this book, you will see that the biggest problem you will have is your own greed for speed when you realize you can do it. While this book does not cover Intel's new I7, this book has chapters on numerous "builds" that convey how the building processes are 95% identical, so you can go on to a build using the (extraordinary!) I7 with confidence.
Numerous no-name computer assembler online sites specify their exact components: comparisons using (the essential) Newegg's prices show 50% margins -- all this $$ is yours if you have patience, can do lego blocks, and read this book and "Build your own desktop" blogs carefully. Trying to figure out Microsoft Word's formatting options is 10 times more difficult. Honest.
I have purchased 20+ Dell's and HP's over the years for myself and my children, and can say that the PC companies' product designs and especially their so-called "service" fail miserably to justify their 75% margins, and things are getting worse.
"Build a PC" by Scott Mueller is good as a second book (there are no others that are remotely up to date).
For what it is worth, I do not know either author, nor have I ever corresponded with either.


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BUILD IT. FIX it. OWN IT.A Beginner's Guide to Building and Upgrading a PCBuild It. Fix It. Own It. is the ultimate beginner's guide to building and fixing your own PC. With a friendly, knowledgeable tone, this book shows the beginning PC builder everything he or she needs to know to build a computer or upgrade an existing one. We step you through the parts that lurk inside a PC, from the motherboard and power supply to the CPU, memory, hard drive, video card, sound card, and networking hardware. In each case, you will learn how the hardware works, what it does, what types of hardware are available, and what to look for when buying the hardware.Then we walk you step-by-step though a series of PC building projects. We show you how to build five different types of PC: a basic business PC, a home theater PC, a high-performance PC, a killer gaming PC, and a budget PC. And if building a new PC from scratch isn't in your budget, we show you how to resurrect an old PC by swapping out a few key components.When you have your PC built and running, we show you how to set up a wireless network and the BIOS and maintain your new rig.Build It. Fix It. Own It. is the ultimate PC builder's guide, even if you've never ventured inside a PC case before!Author BioPaul McFedries is one of the industry's most well known and respected technical writers and is a passionate computer tinkerer. He is the author of more than 70 computer books that have sold more than three million copies worldwide. His recent titles include the Sams Publishing books Windows Vista Unleashed and Windows Home Server Unleashed and the Que Publishing books Networking with Microsoft Windows Vista, Formulas and Functions with Microsoft Excel 2007, Tricks of the Microsoft Office 2007 Gurus, and Microsoft Access 2007 Forms, Reports, and Queries. Paul also is the proprietor of Word Spy (www.wordspy.com), a website devoted to tracking new words and phrases as they enter the English language.Category HardwareCovers PC HardwareUser Level Beginner—Intermediate

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