PC Repair Bench Book

PC Repair Bench Book
by Ron Gilster

PC Repair Bench Book
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Book Summary Information

Author: Ron Gilster
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-03-03
ISBN: 0764525786
Number of pages: 768
Publisher: Wiley

Book Reviews of PC Repair Bench Book

Book Review: There Are Much Better Books On The Subject
Summary: 2 Stars

Hendrik Olaerts is 100% correct in his review (19 May 2006), when he describes this book as "outdated." But I feel more needs to be said, and my opinion of this book differs greatly from most of the earlier reviewers. What I fear is that someone might be looking for a good technical book on legacy PCs. Gilster's book would NOT be a good choice!

I've spent most of the last eleven years traveling in third world countries, after leaving a long-term job running and maintaining a PC lab at a community college. I fear that someone working in these more remote places might want to buy this book as a technical introduction to legacy PCs, because such PCs are common in much of the world outside the U.S. and a few other industrialized countries. One can still find PC ATs and even XTs.

Having read the whole book, I feel the author has made a number of technical errors, used misleading and confused explanations for many technical subjects, glossed over numerous important nitty-gritty configuration topics, and dwelt much too often on unnecessarily detailed treatment of relatively trivial matters. For anyone new to PC technology (i.e., anyone without enough technical knowledge to be able to recognize the mistakes and misconceptions), this book would be a very poor choice.

For only about $6 more, you can buy the latest edition (currently 17th) of Scott Mueller's excellent book: Upgrading & Repairing PCs, which I highly recommend. For those interested in legacy systems, Mueller's book has always included a CD with earlier editions in PDF format. You can go as far back in PC history as you like.

Let the uninitiated be forewarned. There's probably a good reason why Wiley Publishing, Inc., has never issued a second edition of this book. I'm used to expecting better than this from Wiley.

Summary of PC Repair Bench Book

  • A get-in, get-out Power Pack guide that focuses strictly on what PC technicians and serious hobbyists need to know to maintain, upgrade, and repair PCs
  • Each chapter focuses on one particular hardware feature, briefly explaining its design, operation, characteristics, features, and purpose, with information and tips on installing, upgrading, troubleshooting, diagnosing, and problem solving
  • Highly-illustrated approach-at least one figure for every two pages
  • Find-a-Fix tool takes readers through all the most common symptoms of computer problems, helps them refine a diagnosis, and provides immediate solutions
  • Ron Gilster is bestselling author of A+ Certification For Dummies, Second Edition (0-7645-0812-1) with more than 250,000 copies sold in all editions
  • CD-ROM provides valuable diagnostic software, searchable text of the entire book and Find-a-Fix tool

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