Like Steinberg's work, this is very good on troubleshooting the software side of the Mac. However, it is much stronger on the hardware side, with line drawings and photos showing different aspects of opening up a Mac and fiddling with the guts. It also has tables of different aspects of the Mac (such as the type of memory or hard drive, and upgrade options), going right back to the earliest models, and many URLs for vendors selling software or hardware related to the Mac.

On the whole, it's a good reference, especially for computer refurbishers, but for "newbies", Stauffer's humour may interfere with the purpose of the book. For instance, in the middle of a discussion of upgrading the CPU, he writes:

I know you don't want to back up your Mac, but you have to. If your processor upgrade blows up and your shirt collar catches fire, you might try to put it out with your hard drive. In that case, you could lose data. (Other data-loss scenarios are possible.) (p.250)

Now, to a computer initiate, this little bit of silliness might be good for providing a grin (or a groan), but the ... for Dummies series is explicitly aimed at non-initiates, and it seems to me that its exactly this kind of humour which is more likely to scare newbies than encourage them. ("A processor can blow up and set my shirt on fire?!?! I'm sending this to the shop!") This is not to say that Stauffer isn't funny. Probably the best line in the book is when, after explaining the GeoPort, and why it wasn't a particularly good idea, he writes, "If you see one, back away slowly and report it to the proper authorities." (p. 89)

A good reference on the "troubleshooting" part, with lots of examples of problems where the cause is not obviously linked to the symptoms. I feel that Steinberg needlessly trashes the SCSI interface, which I have always found to be very simple to use, but then again, I haven't had to troubleshoot as many systems for other people as he has. On the hardware side, the book is weaker, without a single photo of an open Macintosh case, or a DIMM, or or any hardware. (There are plenty of screen shots to help you on the software side.) Instead, the reader is frequently referred to Apple's Tech Info Library, other help sites, or their Apple dealer. In fact, this book does little to dispel the myth that Macs are difficult to work on. I should say that the information on viruses is unusually accurate for a non-specialist work, although the assurance that you can't get a virus simply by reading an E-mail, while true for years, was unfortunately timed, coming out just as a new class of E-mail virus exploited weaknesses in Outlook Express to do just that.

PC Repair and Upgrading

A good introduction to computer repair and upgrading. Not as complete or accurate as Mueller's works, but it does have one advantage which may be crucial for users in small organisations or remote locations: it does not assume that you have another working computer on hand. Almost all the repair procedures detailed are designed to work even if you only have one computer on hand, and it's not working.

There are all kinds of computer help, repair, maintenance, troubleshooting, and upgrading books on the market. A great many try to give you a quick overview of what you need to know. With the personal computer market expanding its options on a pretty much daily basis, though, generally what you need is more in the line of an encyclopedia. Your particular problem tends to be the one left out. This book, however, leaves very little out.

Chapter one is a short history of the PC since the first IBM PC in 1981, or actually slightly before. The defining characteristics, and components, of a PC are given in chapter two, including a very realistic overview of the market and major players. Microprocessor information is given in chapter three. However, this chapter is unlike any I have ever seen in another repair or troubleshooting book. There are tables and lists of detailed processor specifications, including the most important for any upgrader: the socket sizes and specifications. The chapter proceeds through conceptual material first and then in turn through all kinds of individual processors, so at first run it can be a bit confusing. The motherboard is covered in chapter four, with form factors, chipsets, interface connectors, and bus sockets. In this edition, the BIOS gets space of its own in chapter five. The various types and functions of memory, with attention to practical as well as theoretical details, are described in chapter six.

Chapters seven and eight look in detail at the IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) and SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) interfaces. General principles of magnetic storage are given in chapter nine, with specifics of hard and floppy disks, removable storage, and optical drives in ten to thirteen, successively. Drive installation is covered in chapter fourteen.

Display hardware is outlined in chapter fifteen, with information on both monitors and adapters. Audio hardware is a new addition in chapter sixteen. Chapter seventeen provides useful specifics on I/O ports, dealing with serial and parallel ports, port replacement technologies, and storage interfaces. Keyboards and mice are covered in significant detail in chapter eighteen. Chapter nineteen, entitled "Internet Connectivity," looks at a broad range of communications hardware. It provides a good deal of information, and has improved substantially over past editions. Local area networks, in chapter twenty, fare well. Chapter twenty-one gets into the area that possibly causes the most trouble, and therefore has the greatest potential for usefulness, in PC hardware: power supplies, the NVRAM (better known, if slightly inaccurately, as CMOS) battery, and even UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) systems. There are some interesting points about portable computers in chapter twenty-two.

Chapter twenty-three looks at building a system, and, while there is some duplication of material covered in earlier chapters, there is a good deal of new content as well. Diagnostics, testing, and maintenance provides a lot of very practical advice, although the sequence of topics in chapter twenty-four can be jumpy at times. (Given the scope of the rest of the book, the dismissal of viruses in a single paragraph is disappointing: and unfortunately consistent with what I have seen in all too many computer retail and repair shops.) File systems and data recovery are covered well in chapter twenty-five. The appendices in this edition are rather curtailed. However, the CD-ROM contains full versions of the sixth, eighth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth editions, so missing chapters, such as those on printers and software troubleshooting, can still be found.

I can say with assurance that none of the books on upgrading or repair of personal computers has had the scope of this one. This is not simply due to the size, although that certainly helps. The material is readable and clear, and there is very little fluff. Certainly some sections are not quite up to the overall standard; in particular, more recent technologies tend to have hastily assembled entries; but for the central unit itself, the book is without peer. I can readily agree with the rather effusive book jacket comments: they are not, as I first thought, mere hype. For anyone involved in computer maintenance and repair, be it in a retail or technical support role, this reference has immense value. And for serious hobbyist users, it can provide a great deal of interest, as well as definite help when you need it.

(Editor's Note: This latest edition includes a DVD with video showing different procedures. If you don't have a DVD player, you can still watch the older, lower quality videos included on the CD of the previous, 13th edition. [Amazon.ca/Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk])

When I was fixing computers for Crossroads International in Hong Kong, the one reference I reached for most frequently (and fretted about most when I couldn't find it) was the first volume of Mueller's PC Hardware Library. It covers hard drives, and goes into extensive detail about plugs and jumper settings on hard drives from a wide variety of manufacturers. Since most computer parts do not have documentation for jumper settings written on the part (although more manufacturers are beginning to do that), and since most people don't bother keeping the spec sheets for their computer equipment at all, still less passing it on when they give the stuff away, this set is a nearly indispensable reference for people working on computers. While this work does not document every piece of hardware ever made, in my experience, the parts which are not listed tend to be either too old to be of use anyway, or else manufactured since the book came out. The world needs an update of this reference set, but until Mueller puts one out, you should seize on any opportunity you find to get it used.

In How to Buy a New Computer, White did a bang up job of tackling the oft attempted task of specifying what is helpful and what is hype when it comes time to walk into a computer store. This time out, he takes on the equally crowded field of computer upgrading (plus a little troubleshooting and repair) and does an even better job.

As White points out, adding bits and pieces to your computer is not rocket science. With a multi-tip screwdriver and some care about static electricity, in most cases it is a heck of a lot easier than changing the oil in your car (as well as a lot cleaner). You may have to twiddle software until you are ready to scream in order to get the new hardware to work, but the actual physical installation is nothing to be frightened of. Most of the fear that computer novices have stems from the fact that they have never seen the inside of a computer. White recognizes this fact, and has more illustrations, and particularly more photographs, than any book I've ever seen, including a number of the "illustrated" variety. The only suggestion that I would make would be to the publisher: colour plates may be expensive, but they would definitely be worth it in the case of this type of work.

White covers the basic innards in chapter one, including the important CMOS memory and equally important CMOS battery. Chapter two looks at the internal cards and boards, with pictures of the different bus slots. Replacing or adding drives is a common response to software bloat and chapter three deals with it well, including the cabling needs. Chapter four discusses memory and the CPU (central processing unit), which may sound logically distinct, but physically offers much the same challenges. After his usual (but, as usual, highly apposite) rants in chapter five, White concludes with possibly the most useful vendor list of the many I have seen over the past few years.

If you are thinking of upgrading your computer at all, or even ever, this book is worth many times its cover price.

Viruses

Indispensable handbook to understanding and combating computer viruses. Includes a disk containing several important antiviral utilities. The author, Robert Slade, writes:

What I've tried to do in this book, is to give the typical home or office computer user the facts about computer viruses, and what you can do to avoid and get rid of them. This isn't a book for specialists (although a number of people who think they know about computer viruses could stand to read it.) A major part of the book is a list of contact information and reviews for antiviral products and other books. (Plus a disk of DOS and Mac software that can be of immediate help.)

Five years on from the latest edition of his first book, my brother the famous author comes out with a new title, this time a collaborative effort. That they managed to get a forward written by Eugene Spafford should be a sign to those in the know about computer viruses that this is a work which deserves serious attention. As a collaborative effort, it has strengths and weaknesses when compared to Rob's solo work. First, the prose style is of necessity jumpier. Each of the authors brings his own style and his own interests to the work, so the different chapters show up those differences. This can make the book a bit tougher to get through, because there is no single flow of thoughts to get used to and move with. On the other hand, the diversity of interest and expertise does bring questions to this work which might never have occurred to any of the writers other than the one who first raised it. I eagerly await a second edition, in which, hopefully, those new and intriguing questions can be dealt with a bit more smoothly.