This book saved me so much money! It's great, it works and you don't have to be an expert to understand and follow the instructions.

Excellent book for understanding basic PC hardware. The book is well written and has many useful "hints". I highly recommand this book to anyone who wants a comprehensive book about PC hardware, upgrading and basic repairs.

Great book. Most repair books are just focused on the A+ exam. This one is wonderful for learning or improving your repair skills. It's not an exam cram its a how to book.

I bought this book about a year ago when I was contemplating stretching the life of my 4+ year old PC. The book proved very useful for me to zero in on the biggest bang-for-the-buck upgrades, and which ones were best to avoid because they yield low performance for the dollar.

About a month ago, I decided to build my own PC. This book again proved useful in helping guide me in making decisions on what equipment to choose.

It's rare that I spend over twenty bucks for a book. This book has paid for itself a few times over in helping me save money by not spending unnecessarily, or spending unwisely.

The instructions are written clearly. There are many photographs illustrating the steps being described, sometimes a few different photos of variations of different types of components. There is plenty of "theory of operation" on how various components work and how different standards compare (IDE vs SATA, for example). There are specific brand recommendations. There are specific techology type of recommendations. And there is just the right amount of humor throughout the book.

You may think this sort of book is only for guy geeks. Well, I'm a woman who's just about to pass the mid-century mark, and I found it to be a valuable reference for building, repairing, and upgrading PCs. You can pay the Geek squad lots of money to fix your stuff, or you can pay a bit over $20 and learn how to fix it yourself. That's a great feeling.

very good reference guide. Each chapter has some bit of information even for an expert.

very good reference guide. Each chapter has some bit of information even for an expert.

Repairing, upgrading and troubleshooting PCs has been my business for almost 20 years. I buy all such newly published books each year from mainstream authors Minasi, Mueller, Bigelow, etc. While my collection of those books (20) do have their own merits in technical specifications and documentation value, my purchase of this book by Robert & Barbara Thompson was by far the most pleasing. Why?

In just the first 2-hours of scanning subjects, I highlighted dozens of gems of advice or insights from the Thompson's long experience that I have NOT seen in any of the other books. I couldn't stop reading. The Thompson's book will not replace the other books mentioned, but it is the first one I consult for superb hardware insights and advice -- a GREAT supplement to the other books. Don't miss this one!

Repairing, upgrading and troubleshooting PCs has been my business for almost 20 years. I buy all such newly published books each year from mainstream authors Minasi, Mueller, Bigelow, etc. While my collection of those books (20) do have their own merits in technical specifications and documentation value, my purchase of this book by Robert & Barbara Thompson was by far the most pleasing. Why?

In just the first 2-hours of scanning subjects, I highlighted dozens of gems of advice or insights from the Thompson's long experience that I have NOT seen in any of the other books. I couldn't stop reading. The Thompson's book will not replace the other books mentioned, but it is the first one I consult for superb hardware insights and advice -- a GREAT supplement to the other books. Don't miss this one!

Are you a computer user that thinks that fiddling with the insides of your PC is taboo? If you are, then this book is for you! Authors Barbara Fritchman Thompson and Robert Thompson, have done an outstanding job of writing a book that helps you get your PC unstuck and running fat and running right.

Thompson and Thompson, begin by providing detailed advice on maintaining, securing, and working on your system. Then, the authors cover the core components of your PC--the motherboard, processor and memory. Next, they cover storage devices--hard disk drives, optical drives, and removable storage such as external hard drives and USB flash drives. The authors continue by covering the components that allow you to get information into and out of your PC. Finally, the authors cover three components--cases, power supplies, and power protection--that receive little attention, but are important for system reliability and usability.

In this most excellent book, the authors base their recommendations on their own experience. More importantly, they don't base that experience after using the product for a day or a week, but after extensive day-in-day-out use under realistic conditions.

The pictures and information in this book make it so easy that anyone can do it. It makes it almost impossible for someone not to succeed. All of the Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson books are good but this latest one excels.

Bob and Barbara Thompson have done it again. Repairing and Upgrading Your PC is the latest in their series of books on Do It Yourself PC building and upgrading. This book contains excellent advice on how choose, install and replace a wide variety of PC components, including motherboards, processors, memory, disk drives, CD/DVD drives, video cards, CRT and LCD displays, audio cards, wireless cards, cases and power supplies, as well as many others.

Included are many, many useful pictures to help you understand what precisely needs to be done before you buy replacement parts. In addition, the text is full of details and written in a very readable form. The book is quite good reading just for general information even if you have no particular task at hand. Well-written and well-illustrated with no-nonsense advice. What's there not to like? Highly recommended.

You'll find this book useful. The Thompsons cover just about every part of a modern PC and explain how each part works and how it all fits together to put more computer power on your desk (or lap) top than the United States government had when I was born 50-mumble years ago. Reading this, and thinking about how the bits work, will help you understand some of the problems that crop up even in the best designed systems.

If you want to be able to talk intelligently about what is inside the case, even if all you ever do is buy one off the shelf from your local big box retailer, you should get this book. And if you want to do anything inside that case, you must have this book.

The title of this book may intimidate some people. After all, repairing and upgrading PCs are things that computer geeks do, right? Well, yes - but with Repairing and Upgrading Your PC you can do it, too, with a little effort.

There are several sections that should be required reading for every computer-owner, whether they are interested in doing repair work or not. Chapter 3 on System Maintenance is a must read: it covers everything from cleaning your computer (dust is NOT your friend) to protecting it from ad-ware and viruses. Preventative maintenance is also covered, backups especially. With the advent of inexpensive DVD-R hardware and media, there is no excuse for anyone to have data on their computer that has not been backed up properly.

Every part of the computer gets its own chapter, from the "guts" of the system (motherboard, processor) to the audio and video. Even the case and power supply get coverage, so that you understand exactly what is important about each component of your computer - and what could potentially go wrong.

There is a lot of useful information in this book. I've often entertained notions of building my own system, and I learned quite a bit about processors and motherboards from the book - enough to know I need to consult the Thompsons' website for more information, and their book Building the Perfect PC. But for basic repairs and simple upgrades, Repairing and Upgrading Your PC is a must have. It will give the novice user the confidence they need to crack open that case, and the information to not completely mess the system up.

Having read other books by the Thompson's PC Hardware in a Nutshell and Building the Perfect PC I had very high expectations before I opened the cover on this book, their latest offering. I have to say that they have outdone themselves, which is no mean feat.

This book is an absolute mind of useful information. It covers just about every device or piece of hardware that one would ever reasonably want to install in or connect to a PC, pretty much every physical connection and great advice on assembly techniques. Although a lot of the book focuses on hardware, it also contains many useful operating systems and device driver debugging tips, including references to free software downloads. The book is also fairly agnostic in that it covers some Linux material as well as the expected Windows material.

When they say that they are going to tell you how to do something step by step, they really do mean it. Other books that I have read make the same promises but often make assumptions about your level of knowledge. Accordingly this truly is a book for all levels from beginner to professional.

What's more they have succeeded in presenting the material in a way that is easy for the beginner but not necessarily annoyingly simple for the more experienced amateur or professional. The book is very readable both from a prose and layout standpoint. The illustrations are well thought out to complement the prose and are clear and understandable. There is something for everyone in this book!

Their advice is very sound and reasoned. We benefit from the 20 years of experimentation and experience (40 person years in reality) that they have. For example, they really emphasize the routine maintenance tasks; you know the things that we all hate and keep putting off. This came home to me very recently when, having moved my PC's to new location in my home, we had unseasonably warm weather and suddenly the processor temperature alarm was going off at 70C on one of them! Yikes! A thorough clean and I was down to 55C, which is still too high. Tomorrow I will be going to buy more fans for my case and I will be looking in the book for their recommendations.

I was pleased to see that they have now moved to offering less specific vendor recommendations and moved more towards what component characteristics we should be looking for. There is nothing wrong with vendor recommendations and they certainly make some where they feel particularly strong about it. However, sometimes people are apt to read looking for recommendations and not absorb the far more important educational content.

The material is quite current and comprehensive, in so far as anything can be in the rapidly changing computer world. Knowing where to draw the line must always be difficult. However, I think that their timing is good since what they have covered is likely to be around for some time having now moved into the era of 64 bit dual core processors, DDR2 memory and the increasing popular SATA HD's, for example. There is also some fairly limited information on their thoughts about the requirements for Vista. It is clear that they used some material from "Building the Perfect PC", which I guess gave them a good base to probably get the book out quickly enough to remain current and they have clearly learned from the feedback on their previous publications.

My one disappointment, which admittedly comes with an apology from them, is the rather sparse section on Wireless Networking (Chapter 14). Their explanation was one of space constraints. I believe this to be a sufficiently important topic today for the home and SOHO user that this somehow should have been accommodated. There is supposed to be a pdf download on the O'Reilly site with additional information but so far I have been unable to locate it. This must be incorporated into any future Editions.

As a reasonably experienced home PC user/builder, if I could only have one practical, easily readable, objective book on PC repair and maintenance for reference when I needed advice or help, this would be it! If someone wishing to get started with their own PC work, asked me for a recommendation I would also have no hesitation in suggesting this book. In fact this book could easily be called, "Building, Repairing, Upgrading & Maintaining Your PC" and still fit the bill. I give it an enthusiastic 5 stars.

Graham Jones
President
Vancouver Technology User Group - www.vantug.com
Vancouver, Canada

At over 400 pages long, this is one of the absolute #1 best buys that you will find under the O'Reilly line. Even 15 pages into this book I was blown away by the quality of this text and the quantity of pages printed. Combining exceptional writing, HUGE pages, color pictures throughout, if you are interested in learning about general maintenance of your PC or you want learn more about the ins and outs of your computer, you MUST buy this book immediately!!

A five star effort if I have ever seen one.

***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION

Most of the pertinent details have been covered by other reviews. You may think you don't have the time, inclination, or interest to upgrade or repair your PC. This book shows in clearly written prose and with excellent illustrations that computers are quite simple to repair, and with a little maintenance, will last for a very long time. The book covers many topics, such as repair or upgrade, when it's reasonable to buy a new PC, and a topic that most of us forget, how to maintain our data integrity.

The Thompsons also maintain a web page where you can ask computer related questions. They also quickly answer those questions, usualy within 24 hours.

It's difficult to think of items or issues that they've left out. You may find it easier to develop competencies in this area than you thought.

Highly Recommended!

Robert and Barbara Thompson have written several books about PC. This book continues their tradition of writing great books about PCs. They write clear concise text that describes what you need to do upgrade or repair an ailing PC. The information is easily understood by a novice, but it also contains valuable information that even an experienced PC upgrader may not know. I especially liked the notes on the page edges from various people that described their hints and tips for PC repair and upgrades.

I have read may "how to" computer book and Repairing and Upgrading Your PC is the best. Robert Thompson and his wife, Barbara Fritchman do a great job making the book easy to understand for the new PC person, but a good technical resource for a PC technical person.
It is an easy read, very easy to understand and the color pictures are right on.
I would recommend this book to anybody it doesn't matter if they have PC experience or not.

*Repairing and Upgrading Your PC* is an excellent introduction to what lies inside your PC, and how you can economically and safely make your own repairs and upgrades. Even if you're not inclined to open the box yourself the detailed and well organised information in this book will give you the edge in negotiating with hardware vendors and repairers who want to sell you the parts that they want to shift, and gives them the best margin, rather than what's best for you. And there's plenty of valuable information that will make your system run more reliably and securely even if you're not planning on a hardware upgrade in the short term.

For the dedicated tinkerer there's information on how seemingly unrelated hardware interacts, how to choose memory that suits your computer best and how to get the best out of that new sound card or flat panel screen. For the less adventurous there are sections on securing your PC against intrusion, keeping your data safely backed up and keeping your PC clean, an oft neglected but crucial task that will increase reliability by keeping the inside of the PC and heat sensitive components cool.

If you're interested in or have wireless networking it's crucially important to understand Chapter 14 and the associated free download (a zipped PDF) from the O'Reilly website of material that was excluded due to space considerations, which discusses this technology in detail. The difference between the easily hacked WEP (Wired-Equivalent Privacy) and the much more secure WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) is discussed in detail. The Thompsons then walk through an example of configuring and securing a wireless network. They use a specific wireless router as an example, but the steps involved should not vary too much from other consumer grade wireless equipment. Understanding this material is vital if you want to set up a wireless network, or identity theft and stolen bandwidth could be the least of your problems.

A retired couple was visiting our house and the man asked me about whether, how often, and how to clean their PC. In the middle of my somewhat stumbling but I think reasonable response, a package was delivered to the door - my copy of Repairing & Upgrading Your PC had arrived. I opened it, turned to the table of contents, then to system cleaning, and handed the book to our friend. He read the short section on system cleaning, closed the book and said, approximately, "I'd better not get into this any further right now" (being polite company). Then, "I can understand this, is this book available? Where can I get a copy?" That is what I mean when I say the Thompson's write well. The information is as complete as one can expect in this rapidly changing world, but you don't need to be some sort of techno nerd to understand what they present. If you are going to delve into your own computer maintenance or add/replace components then this is a darn good place to start, and with this book in hand there is no reason why you should not do so. It will help you make better decisions about what, when, how, and even whether you should bother to upgrade, and probably save you money besides.

I am a Systems and Network Administrator, building machines for many purposes from workstation to Server throughout the year, as well as assembling a couple of machines each year on the home front. I count on the latest information that Bob and Barbara Thompson collect, wordsmith and illustrate (in full color and encyclopedic detail, no less) in their O'Reilly PC hardware books. This latest effort is chock full of do-it-yourself goodness.

I only purchase fully assembled computers when specifying laptop systems. Everything else I build, or upgrade. With the knowledge that I gain from Repairing and Upgrading Your PC, I can count on saving a fistful of dollars where possible, but never, ever compromising on quality. I have some five and six year old systems that are still at their peak of performance, "consumer-grade" systems carefully assembled from selected components with advice from the Thompsons. That may not seem so exceptional, but my systems all run 24x7, so virtually every component outside of the metal chassis could be considered to be well past its MTBF rating. But knowing what to buy, how power supplies are rated and tested, where to scrimp and save in order to buy the quality needed for consistent durable systems -- that's where this caliber of book is worth more than every penny.

I have a job. I use the right tools for the job. If I didn't use or recommend Bob and Barbara's work to anyone that I talk to, they'd still be my friends (probably), but you can count on this: the Thompson's PC hardware books (arguably the best around) from O'Reilly (equally arguably the best tech publisher around) go into multiple printings, at a time when most technical book sales are in decline. There's a reason: Many people buy, use, and recommend the Thompsons. Bob and Barbara have the right industry connections and take the time to research all this stuff so that you and I don't have to. Oh, yeah, and they get it right, too.

This is a great reference to have. Not only does it give in depth explanations how to do repairs, but it gives you background information on all topics so you can make informed decisions. I really liked the side notes and color pictures too.

This book very helpfully deals with all the bits of owning a PC that are often overlooked. There's a section dealing with routine maintenance (be that daily, or yearly), including for you own safety, backing up your data.

And should problems arise, the book carefully deals with each component, giving you a run down on what it is, how it works, what to look for, how to go about picking a new one (for an upgrade), how to install the upgrade, and a troubleshooting section to help you decide if an upgrade is the right thing to do.

The book is written in a very user-friendly manner, with plenty of pictures, diagrams, reference tables, boxouts and bullet points.

In short if you have a PC and aren't already a PC repair guru, this book will help fill the gaps.

I have built 5 computers and upgraded 4 and I always use the latest Robert and Barbara Thompson book to assist me. Their books are well organized, extremely practical, and very helpful. Their current book follows in the same vain. In fact, as good as their books are, they just keep getting better and this one is extremely well thought out. Repairing and Upgrading Your PC is even more useful than the title would suggest. It has useful guides and suggestions for choosing the right equipment and then properly installing the equipment. This book should be read even by anyone thinking of purchasing a new computer. The book will help them make the best choices in the equipment they want with their new computer. The book is a joy to read. Very highly recommended.

This book is a terrific follow on to the authors' earlier "Building the Perfect PC." It's got the same great style with outstanding photographs, and clearly-written directions.

The Thompsons do a great job of explaining a wide range of upgrade options -- and they're adamant about where the sweet spots in the performance/price curves are. Their knowledge of hardware and software is greatly enhanced in this book by sidebar inputs from the four tech reviewers the Thompsons had -- these contributors bring a different viewpoint to the material and it's a great addition.

Sure, the upgrade sections are terrific, but I found the maintenance chapters are invaluable. Lots of great info on cleaning the guts of PCs, plus a wealth of info on tools and tricks for keeping the OS running smoothly. This book pointed me to a couple terrific apps I've already added to my collection.

The one downside of the book came in the "Securing the system" section of the System Maintenance chapter. There's a constant stream of complaints regarding security issues in Internet Explorer, Outlook, and the Windows XP operating system with recommendations for working around those. (Install Firefox, install Thunderbird, consider Linux.) Not once do the Thompsons mention using a non-administrator account as the primary logon for day-to-day use, a step everyone using XP or Win2K should have taken a long time ago.

That pet peeve aside, I'm extremely happy to have the book on my shelf. It's a great book!

This is a well researched and written guide to building Windows PCs, as well as upgrading your existing PC. The graphics are excellent and will help you find what you need to take out our put in. For anyone at any level of experience, this is an an solid reference that will save you a lot of money.

Repairing & Upgrading Your PC is up to their usual high standards. By focusing in the areas of repair and upgrading, a lot of new material is presented that couldn't be offered in their prior books due to page limitations. As such, it is a great addition to those and not just an update or replacement of the others.

More of an encyclopedia, really. Great graphics, excellent layout, and thorough almost beyond belief. The level of detail is enough to satisfy the needs of amateurs and professionals alike. For a year or more I have been trying to understand RAID, ATA, PATA, SATA and other hard disk arcana. These are all explained, and this section alone is worth the price of the book. The Thompsons have done a marvelous job once again.

The hands-on sections couldn't be better. This book is loaded with great background material for the inexperienced. Robert and Barbara again have created a well written and well researched book that many will find indispensable.

From the opening chapters that cover how to find good parts at great prices, give the reader basic guidance on how to get started and a present a through look at maintaining a PC through the last chapters that introduce wireless networking, cases and power supplies this book is useful. Each chapter provides an overview of the current capabilities of related components recommends upgrades based on several levels of performance and then shows how to install these components. Detailed troubleshooting procedures are given in each chapter as well.

This book is not a rehash of old technology. It combines a through discussion of what is in use today with an insightful look at where PC technology will be tomorrow and makes intelligent recommendations of how to upgrade your system cost effectively. Recommended!

This book is very similiar to the authors' other volume, "Building the Perfect PC". This one however, deals with upgrading an existing pc instead of building a new one. A great deal of attention is given to maintenance (both preventive and corrective) and troubleshooting techniques in addition to upgrades.

It is loaded with numerous close up photographs that are very clear and in full color. The writing is straightforward and to the point instead of either being bogged down in techno-babble only a true geek could understand or dumbed down like the ubiquitous series of yellow covered books.

I would recommend that anyone interested in repairing or upgrading their pc use this book as their first resort.

Robert and Barbara Thompson have another winner. It is well organized and extensive, coverning everything from system maintenance to wireless networking in over 400 pages with ample illustrations. Good for the beginner and experienced. Recommended.

Repairing & Upgrading Your PC by Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson is the latest addition to my "hardware repair" shelf, and it's a worthy one to be there.

Contents: Getting Started; Working on PCs; System Maintenance; Motherboards; Processors; Memory; Hard Disk Drives; Optical Drives; External and Removable Storage Devices; Video Adapters; Displays; Audio; Input Devices; Wireless Networking; Cases; Power Supplies and Power Protection; Index

The Thompsons have put together an excellent book that covers both repairing, upgrading, and just plain cleaning up your computers. The writing is clear and concise, and does an excellent job explaining the "why" behind their recommendations and techniques. There are also a large number of sidebar tips that add even more value and color to your computing experience. For instance, I didn't know that spindles of optical disks with the same brand name can contain discs manufactured by different companies (and as such could have varying levels of quality). There are even utilities that help you identify the underlying manufacturer. Interesting stuff. And if you like plenty of pictures to show you how to do various tasks, this book fits that criteria too. Full color photos document all the important steps, so there should be no confusion between what you read and what you see. There are even before and after pictures of a keyboard that has been cleaned using the dishwasher method. That's right... they cover how to clean that grungy old keyboard with your dishwasher...

An excellent book, and one that will more than pay for itself when it comes to keeping your computers running at an optimal level. Now if you excuse me, I have to go try out the dishwasher trick...