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Upgrading & Repairing PCs Eighth Edition

Introduction

Welcome to Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 8th Edition. This book is for people who want to upgrade, repair, maintain, and troubleshoot computers. It covers the full range of PC-compatible systems from the oldest 8-bit machines to the latest in high-end 64-bit workstations.

In addition, this book covers state-of-the-art hardware and accessories that make the most modern personal computers easier, faster, and more productive to use. Hardware coverage includes all of the Intel and Intel-compatible processors through the Pentium, Pentium Pro, and new Pentium II CPU chips; new cache and main memory technology; PCI local bus technology; CD-ROM drives; tape backups; sound boards; PC-Card and Cardbus devices for laptops; IDE and SCSI-interface devices; larger and faster hard drives; and new video adapter and display capabilities.

The comprehensive coverage of the PC-compatible personal computer in this book has consistently won acclaim since debuting as the first book of its kind on the market in 1988. Now with the release of this eighth edition, Upgrading and Repairing PCs continues its place as not only the best selling book of its type, but also the most comprehensive and easily used reference on even the most modern systems--those based on cutting-edge hardware and software. The book examines PCs in-depth, outlines the differences among them, and presents options for configuring each system at the time you purchase it.

Sections of this book provide detailed information about each internal component of a personal computer system, from the processor to the keyboard and video display. The book examines the options available in modern, high-performance PC configurations, and how to use them to your advantage; it focuses on much of the hardware and software available today and specifies the optimum configurations for achieving maximum benefit for the time and money you spend. At a glance, here are the major system components and peripherals covered in this edition of Upgrading and Repairing PCs:

This book also shows you how to troubleshoot the kind of hardware problems that can make PC upgrading and repairing difficult. Troubleshooting coverage includes IRQ, DMA channel, and I/O Port addressees, as well as memory address conflicts. This book tells you how to avoid problems with these system resources, and how to make installing a new adapter board in your computer a simple plug-and-play operation. This book also focuses on software problems, starting with the basics of how DOS or another operating system works with your hardware to start up your system. You also learn how to troubleshoot and avoid problems involving system hardware, the operating system, and applications software such as word processors or spreadsheets.

This book is the result of years of research and development in the production of my PC hardware, operating system, and data recovery seminars. Since 1982, I have personally taught (and still teach) thousands of people about PC troubleshooting, upgrading, maintenance, repair, and data recovery. This book represents the culmination of many years of field experience as well as knowledge culled from the experiences of thousands of others. What originally started out as a simple course workbook has grown over the years into a complete reference on the subject. Now you can benefit from this experience and research.

What Are the Main Objectives of This Book?

Upgrading and Repairing PCs focuses on several objectives. The primary objective is to help you learn how to maintain, upgrade, and repair your PC system. To that end, Upgrading and Repairing PCs helps you fully understand the family of computers that has grown from the original IBM PC, including all PC-compatible systems. This book discusses all areas of system improvement such as floppy disks, hard disks, central processing units, math coprocessors, and power-supply improvements. The book discusses proper system and component care; it specifies the most failure-prone items in different PC systems, and tells you how to locate and identify a failing component. You'll learn about powerful diagnostics hardware and software that enable a system to help you determine the cause of a problem and how to repair it.

The PC-compatible microcomputer family is rapidly moving forward in power and capabilities. Processor performance increases with every new chip design. Upgrading and Repairing PCs helps you gain an understanding of each of the CPU chips used in PC-compatible computer systems.

This book covers the important differences between major system architectures--the original Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA), and Micro Channel Architecture (MCA). The most modern systems use special local bus architectures and adapter cards to get top speed from system peripherals such as video adapter cards and hard drives. Besides ISA, EISA, and MCA, these local bus architectures include PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) and VL-Bus devices. Upgrading and Repairing PCs covers each of these system architectures and their adapter boards to help you make decisions about which kind of system you may want to buy in the future, and how to upgrade and troubleshoot such systems.

The amount of storage space available to modern PCs is increasing geometrically. Upgrading and Repairing PCs covers storage options ranging from larger, faster hard drives to state-of-the-art storage devices. In addition, this book provides detailed information on upgrading and troubleshooting the system's RAM.

When you finish reading this book, you should have the knowledge to upgrade as well as troubleshoot and repair almost all systems and components.

Who Should Use This Book?

Upgrading and Repairing PCs is designed for people who want a thorough understanding of how their PC systems work. Each section fully explains common and not-so common problems, what causes problems, and how to handle problems when they arise. You will gain an understanding of disk configuration and interfacing, for example, that can improve your diagnostic and troubleshooting skills. You'll develop a feel for what goes on in a system so that you can rely on your own judgment and observations and not some table of canned troubleshooting steps. This book is for people who are truly interested in their systems and how they operate.

Upgrading and Repairing PCs is written for people who select, install, configure, maintain, and repair systems they or their companies use. To accomplish these tasks, you need a level of knowledge much higher than that of an average system user. You must know exactly which tool to use for a task and how to use the tool correctly. This book can help you achieve this level of knowledge.

What Is in This Book?

Part I of this book serves primarily as an introduction. Chapter 1 begins with an introduction to the development of the original IBM PC and PC-compatibles. Chapter 2 provides information about the different types of systems you encounter and what separates one type of system from another, including the types of system buses that differentiate systems. Chapter 2 also provides an overview of the types of PC systems that help build a foundation of knowledge essential for the remainder of the book. Chapter 3 discusses the physical disassembly and reassembly of a system.

Part II covers the primary system components of a PC. Chapter 4 begins this part with a discussion of the components in a PC system by covering the motherboard. Chapter 5 continues this discussion by focusing on the different types of expansion slots and bus types found in PC systems. Chapter 6 goes into detail about the central processing unit (CPU), or main processor, including those from Intel as well as other companies. Chapter 7 gives a detailed discussion of PC memory, from basic architecture to the physical chips and SIMMs themselves. Chapter 8 is a detailed investigation of the power supply, which remains as the primary cause for PC system problems and failures.

Part III is about input/output hardware and begins with Chapter 9 on input devices. This chapter includes coverage of keyboards, pointing devices, and the game port. Chapter 10 discusses video display hardware, including video adapters and monitors. Chapter 11 is a detailed discussion of communications and networking hardware, while Chapter 12 focuses on audio hardware, including sound boards and speaker systems.

Part IV is about mass storage systems and leads off with Chapter 13 on floppy disk drives and controllers. Chapter 14 is a detailed discussion of hard disk drives and drive technology. Chapter 15 covers hard disk interfaces, including IDE and SCSI, in-depth. Chapter 16 details the installation requirements and procedures for a hard disk. This information is invaluable when you install drives as either replacements or upgrades in a system, and if you troubleshoot and repair malfunctioning drives. Chapter 17 is about CD-ROM drives, and Chapter 18 covers tape and other mass storage drives.

Part V covers system assembly and maintenance and starts off with Chapter 19 on buying or building a PC-compatible system as well as system upgrades and improvements. This information is especially useful if you make purchasing decisions and also serves as a general guideline for features that make a certain compatible computer a good or bad choice. The more adventurous can use this information to assemble their own custom system from scratch. Chapter 20 covers portable systems including laptop and notebook systems. It also focuses on all of the technology unique and peculiar to portable systems such as display, battery, and other technologies.

Part VI covers troubleshooting and diagnostics and starts off with Chapter 21 on diagnostic tools. Chapter 22 covers operating system software and troubleshooting, as well as data recovery. Chapter 23 covers in considerable depth the original classic IBM PC, XT, and AT computers. All modern compatibles are based on these systems, so this information can serve as a useful reference. This information is useful not only for supporting actual IBM equipment, but also for PC-compatible systems not supplied with extensive documentation. You learn how to compare systems with the original IBM standard, and see how far we have come since these original cornerstone systems were introduced.

Chapter 24 gives your experience closure by tying all the technologies together and providing suggestions on additional places to find information.

Appendix A provides an extremely well-detailed vendor list useful for finding suppliers and vendors for necessary hardware and software. Appendix B provides an informative glossary.

I believe that Upgrading and Repairing PCs will prove to be the best book of its kind on the market. It offers not only the breadth of PC-compatible equipment, but also much in-depth coverage of each topic. This book is valuable as a reference tool for understanding how various components in a system interact and operate, and as a guide to repairing and servicing problems you encounter. Upgrading and Repairing PCs is far more than just a repair manual; I sincerely hope that you also enjoy it.

Dedication

To my family:

Lynn, Amanda and Emerson

Yet another edition completed, just in time to begin writing the next one. This book has become a full-time job!

Biography

Scott Mueller is president of Mueller Technical Research, an international personal computer research and corporate training firm. Since 1982, MTR has specialized in the industry's longest running, most in-depth, accurate, and effective corporate technical training seminars, maintaining a client list that includes Fortune 500 companies, the U.S. and foreign governments, major software and hardware corporations, as well as PC enthusiasts and entrepreneurs. His seminars have been presented to thousands of PC professionals throughout the world.

Scott Mueller has developed and presented personal computer training courses in all areas of PC hardware and software. He is an expert in PC hardware, operating systems, data-recovery techniques, and local area networks. MTR seminars are available on an on-site contract basis or publicly through the American Research Group (ARG). For more information about a custom computer training seminar for your organization, contact:

Mueller Technical Research

21718 Mayfield Lane

Barrington, IL 60010-9733

(847) 726-0709

(847) 726-0710 Fax

Internet: [email protected]

For more information about attending a public seminar, contact:

American Research Group

114 Edinburgh South, Suite 200

Cary, NC 27512

(919) 461-8600

(919) 461-8846 Fax

http://www.arg.com

email: [email protected]

Scott has many popular books, articles, and course materials to his credit, including Upgrading and Repairing PCs, which has sold more than 1 million copies, making it by far the most popular PC hardware book on the market today. His 2-hour video, titled "Your PC-The Inside Story," is available through LearnKey, Inc. For ordering information, contact:

LearnKey, Inc.

1845 West Sunset Boulevard

St. George, UT 84770

(800) 937-3279

(801) 674-9733

(801) 674-9734 Fax

If you have questions about PC hardware, suggestions for the next version of the book, or any comments in general, send them to Scott via email. Correspondence through standard mail takes him much longer to answer!

When he is not working on PC related books or teaching seminars, Scott can usually be found in the garage working on his LT4 powered '94 Impala SS, LT4 powered '95 Caprice 9C1 (police package), or Buick Turbo V6 powered '89 Trans Am, as well as various other performance car related projects. He can also be found testing the vehicles at the local drag strip, or showing them off at car shows or the local cruise/drive-in scene.

Acknowledgments

This 8th edition is the product of a great deal of additional research and development over the previous editions. Several people have helped me with both the research and production of this book. I would like to thank the following people:

First, a very special thanks to my Wife and partner, Lynn. This book continues to be an incredible burden on both our business and family life, and she has put up with a lot! Lynn is excellent at dealing with the many companies we have to contact for product information and research. She is the backbone of MTR.

Thanks to Lisa Carlson of Mueller Technical Research for helping with product research and office management. She has fantastic organizational skills that have been a tremendous help in managing all of the information that comes into and goes out of this office. Thanks to John Rourke, who not only teaches many of the MTR seminars, and who also is the designer and creator of the Discovery card, which is the first card on the market for troubleshooting IRQ and DMA conflicts.

Thanks to all of the companies who have provided hardware, software, and research information that has been helpful in developing this book. Thanks to David Means for feedback from the trenches about various products and especially data recovery information.

I would like to offer a special thanks to the people at Que that have made this book possible. Thanks also to all of the editors and staff who work so hard to get these books out!

Thanks to all of the readers who have emailed me with suggestions concerning this book; I welcome all of your comments. A special thanks to Paul Reid, who always has many suggestions to offer for improving the book and making it more accurate.

Finally, I would like to thank the more than ten thousand people who have attended my Seminars; you may not realize how much I learn from each of you and your questions! Thanks also to those of you on the Internet and CompuServe forums with both questions and answers, from which I have also learned a great deal.

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