Upgrading and Repairing PCs (13th Edition)

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Summary: book review
Review: Upgrading and repairing PC's Eleventh edition By Scott Mueller

Scott Mueller's Upgrading and repairing PC's the eleventh edition is a very usefully book to have in your library. It covers all aspects of computers from the different types of computers and operating systems to floppy drives and disk storage to local networking and the Internet. The author refers to the technical meaning of things, then compares what was said to terms that are more easily understood by your average home computer user, and then re-asserts the point that was trying to be made using the technical terms and the analogy. For certain task that are trying to be accomplished there are some good drawings accompanied by actual photographs for a more real world feel to help you visualize the components. Often there is an explanation of what is needed as hardware and software components. How to check if your computer is already set up with certain configurations, and how to go about changing anything to meet these requirements. This review of the book is not just merely experienced through the effort of reading. I used chapter 13 to aid in the installation of a CD-ROM device. The chapter was on optical storage and I used and older computer from work that did not have a CD-ROM installed on it. The beginning of the chapter gave a brief history and other facts that I did not find interesting, others might enjoy having such knowledge. After getting through the fluff of the chapter there was a lot of explaining and re-explaining followed by diagrams and pictures. The choice of words used to describe this technique was chosen well. The point was not lost in making you feel like in idiot, but allowed you to walk away from the experience some technical jargon. The chapter on local area networks was also written very well. Chapter 19 had diagrams of the OSI model along with an explanation of each layer and how it related to the other. It talked about cables, hubs, and topologies. The topics being discussed was more easily critiqued because of way I was taught these subjects. I really felt the author did an excellent job with the way that he was able to explain what was needed in order to complete a given the task. Through the use of diagrams, photographs, and a complete explanation of what to expect and how to perform the given task, one was able to be successful.

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Summary: If you want to Learn PC Hardware - This is THE Book
Review: Many people within the industry have long considered Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing PC's the quintessential hardware guide; I whole heatedly agree. There is not a week that goes by that I don't pull this book off the shelf to look up something. Mueller updates his book yearly to reflect the changes within the industry. Perhaps the thing I love the most about Upgrading and Repairing PC's is that it is a combination tutorial and reference guide. The well-organized chapters and subheadings make it easy to find the info you want and need. Within a chapter, you can merely peruse through it, or study the sections you need to read for the objective at hand, whether that is a: 1) general overview of a topic, 2) specific hardware installation or troubleshooting solutions, or 3) the nitty-gritty details of the subject. (Also, the index is outstanding so you can find what you need.)

This is a very long book. The reason is that while Mueller updates the book every year with new information reflecting the latest technology and standards, he does not remove the old material, making the book a priceless tool when dealing with legacy systems. Conversely though, this information may appear to be - as one reviewer wrote - "just filler" at other times. Additionally, there are a plethora of reference pages - tables of pin configurations for various interconnects for example -- that one would not "read" when reading through the book, but are invaluable when troubleshooting or installing hardware. Because this book is an ever-growing entity, there are, unfortunately, a few typos and "broken links" (i.e. inaccurate cross-references). I have, however, never found any blatant technical inaccuracies that one reviewer alludes to.

Mueller has a great writing style. It is easily understood without treating the reader as a "dummy" or "idiot". "Upgrading and Repairing PC's" attempts to do a lot. It tries to be both a tutorial and a reference. A very difficult combination to pull off; Mueller however does so wonderfully. It attempts to cover a lot of material; and it does so very well.

This book is well worth the money. I have been a faithful reader of this book since the 8th edition, having purchased every edition since. As you read the other reviews for this book, you will see that many people have done the same. (Also, see the 45+ reviews written on the 11th Edition) Repeat buying is the biggest compliment and review any single book can hope to have. When so many people are willing to spend their money every year to have the latest edition, not much else needs to be said about the quality and superiority of this book.

Oh, I almost forgot... there are some wonderful & useful utilities on the enclosed CD.

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Summary: Outstanding
Review: If it isn't in this book, you don't need to know it. Current, well organized and specific.

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Summary: Yep... you're probably going to want this one.
Review: This book is a complete tome of computer-related information, and by tome, I mean 1,600+ pages. Aside from that, it also comes with partition magic and a few other goodies on a CD-rom on the book's back cover.

It has complete details on just about everything inside the case of your machine, from the CPU to the little LED lights in the front. I actually got this book as part of a class I was taking, and I learned a great deal from it! The information is getting slightly dated, as he talks about the "new" 32 meg video cards... but with the information presented, it doesn't really matter. It's a great guide to parts, pieces, chips and so very much more! You'll probably find a use for this book even years from now, when most of the parts listed become obsolete. A computer repair person knows there a LOT of OLD systems still out there. If you're the one who's tryin' to understand it, this book is going to be a heavenly thing. Regardless, the information is also a lot of how they build the chips, boards, processors etc... and that won't become obsolete anytime soon!

I am going to get the 12th edition of this book series pretty soon... These books are well worth the money!

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Summary: Good book to own, but needs proofreading
Review: I used this book for a hardware course. The book gives detailed coverage on almost all topics, except printers. (The Linux edition has one). Because it does not have troubleshooting section, we also use Bigelow's book (ISBN 0072132728).
The book has some errors that could be avoided. Some examples:
1.On page 407: DRAM has "refresh rate of 15us (microseconds)" [3rd P]. This contradicts with "data to be refreshed (essentially rewritten) every 15ms (milliseconds) or so." [5th P on page 404] (Refresh rate should be 16ms).
2.Page 103: "Th is section..." [2nd P]; page 410: "f*ound" instead of "found" [1st P]; on page 411 the phrase "Cache designs were originally" is repeated; on page 416: "..aA newer.." [last P]; on page 495: "MMMany other..." [1st line]; on page 774: "Some peoplepeople..." [second Para. from bottom].
If used as a reference, the book is excellent. I hope that the next edition is better. (I deduct one star for the errors)

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Summary: Technically good, but . . . . .
Review: There's a lot of stuff here. But it's very difficult to navigate and not very well organized. One of my co workers loaned me a book called PC Hardware Maintenance and Repair by Michael Graves and I find myself going to it instead. Still, Scott really does know his stuff.

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Summary: The best book I have ever read.
Review: Buy it. You can just open it to any random page and you will find material that can help you with some kind of problem you're having. The hours of footage showing Scott Mueller on the included CD is also incredibly interesting. I would say this book is worth the forty dollars charged here or the sixty at a brick and mortar bookstore. I would highly recommend.

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Summary: Mueller just keeps getting better!
Review: I've been reading Mueller for PC hardware information for several years, and I'm always impressed by the effort that goes into keeping this at the top of the field. Two things happen every time I pick up this book to look up something: (1) I learn more than I could possibly have imagined, and (2) I end up reading more and more because it's just so well done!

The 13th edition consists of 25 chapters covering every part of the PC. Among other things, you get historical overview, processors, motherboards, BIOS, memory, hard disk storage, drive interfaces (IDE and SCSI have their own chapters), floppy drives, high-capacity removable drives, video, audio, I/O interfaces, power supply, and even some networking. There's even an appendix with vendor contact information that really comes in handy when you need to get a definitive answer about an issue from the source.

I particularly appreciate Mueller's attention to the evolution of different components, because I work in a not-for-profit with a fairly tight budget. I need to be able to eke out every last bit of life from the older machines we have around, and the information I get from Mueller has saved the day on more than one occassion.

Some people might consider all of the detail and historical overview to be fluff, obscuring the true meat of the text, but I disagree. I feel that to be a truly competent technician, it's important to know where the components came from. After all, the basic nature of PCs hasn't really changed over the last 20 years; it's all been variations on a theme.

If you're looking for a book that will help you learn nearly all there is to know about PC innards, this book is amonth the very best. If you're looking for an A+ hardware study guide that sticks strictly to the objectives, you should look somewhere else.

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Summary: Too wordy to explain
Review: I read a lot of review from people about how good this book is. I personally think this book is bad for the beginners. I have experience so I understand what he is talking about. Every edition he just pad it. There is more and more paper.

I would recommend the Mark Minshi book on PC. That one is the best. That book talks about Pcs. On the other hand, there is a bunch of computer stories here. Did you want to know how he took off his shoes and socks and walk around in a presenation? I personally think it was stupid.

I think the book is a bunch of dry talk. If you want to build and maintance Pcs, go to the Mark Minshi book.

This books looks good because it has 1600 pages. About 250 pages are information with the less being dried talk.

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Summary: A True Classic
Review: Scott Mueller's 13th Edition is the latest in his classic work on personal computers. This PC hardware repair manual is the best on the market.

Considering that PC hardware is designed, engineered and manufactured by so many companies around the globe, it is amazing that there even exists a single compliation that brings all these diverse hardware facts together in one book.

This book is to the computer technician what an auto shop manual is to a mechanic. You get all the details of the hardware so that you can work competently and confidently.

The author is a dedicated expert on computer hardware and the computer industry is lucky to have him share his knowledge and to keep updating this usefull tool each year. There is no other book that comes close to this one for PC hardware facts.

Highly recommended.