Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Development of the PC 5 Computer History: Before Personal Computers 5 Timeline 5 Electronic Computers 10 Modern Computers 11 From Tubes to Transistors 11 Integrated Circuits 14 History of the PC 15 Birth of the Personal Computer 15 The IBM Personal Computer 16 The PC Industry 34 Years Later 17 Chapter 2 PC Components, Features, and System Design 21 What Is a PC? 21 Who Controls PC Software? 23 Who Controls PC Hardware? 26 White-Box Systems 28 System Types 29 System Components 30 Chapter 3 Processor Types and Specifications 33 Microprocessor History 33 The First Microprocessor 33 PC Processor Evolution 36 16-Bit to 64-Bit Architecture Evolution 39 Processor Specifications 40 Data I/O Bus 48 Address Bus 48 Internal Registers (Internal Data Bus) 49 Processor Modes 49 Processor Benchmarks 54 Comparing Processor Performance 55 Cache Memory 58 Processor Features 65 System Management Mode 65 Superscalar Execution 66 MMX Technology 67 Dynamic Execution 69 Dual Independent Bus Architecture 70 HT Technology (Hyperthreading) 70 Multicore Technology 72 Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Support 73 Processor Manufacturing 74 PGA Chip Packaging 78 Single Edge Contact and Single Edge Processor Packaging 80 Processor Socket and Slot Types 81 Socket LGA775 84 Socket LGA1156 85 Socket LGA1366 86 Socket LGA1155 87 Socket LGA2011 87 Socket LGA1150 89 Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3/AM3+ 89 Socket F (1207FX) 91 Socket FM1 92 Socket FM2 92 Socket FM2+ 92 Socket AM1 (Socket FS1B) 92 CPU Operating Voltages 93 Math Coprocessors (Floating-Point Units) 94 Processor Bugs and Steppings 94 Processor Code Names 95 P1 (086) Processors 95 P2 (286) Processors 97 P3 (386) Processors 98 P4 (486) Processors 99 P5 (586) Processors 100 AMD-K5 102 Intel P6 (686) Processors 103 Pentium Pro Processors 103 Pentium II Processors 104 Pentium III 106 Celeron 107 Intel Pentium 4 and Extreme Edition Processors 108 Intel Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition 110 Intel Core Processors 112 Intel Core 2 Family 112 Intel (Nehalem) Core i Processors 116 AMD K6 Processors 121 AMD K7 Processors 122 AMD Athlon 122 AMD Duron 123 AMD Athlon XP 124 Athlon MP 124 AMD K8 Processors 124 AMD Athlon 64 and 64 FX 124 AMD Sempron 128 AMD Athlon X2, 64 X2, and 64 FX 128 AMD K10 Processors (Phenom, Phenom II, Athlon II, Athlon X2, Sempron) 130 AMD Bulldozer, Piledriver, Steamroller, and Excavator FX Processors 134 AMD Fusion/HSA APUs 137 Processor Upgrades 139 Overclocking 142 Quartz Crystals 142 Modern PC Clocks 145 Overclocking Tips 147 Unlocking Cores 148 Bus Speeds and Multipliers 149 Processor Cooling 152 Heatsinks 152 Liquid Cooling 158 Thermally Advantaged Chassis 159 Processor Troubleshooting Techniques 161 Chapter 4 Motherboards and Buses 165 Motherboard Form Factors 165 Obsolete Form Factors 166 ATX and Other Modern Form Factors 177 Processor Sockets/Slots 189 Chipsets 192 Chipset Evolution 193 Intel Chipsets 195 Intel Chipset Model Numbers 195 Intel Integrated Graphics Architecture 197 AMD Integrated Graphics Architecture 197 Traditional North/southbridge Architecture 197 Hub Architecture 199 HyperTransport and Other Processor/Chipset Interconnects 201 Intel''s Early 386/486 Chipsets 201 Fifth-Generation (P5 Pentium Class) Chipsets 202 Sixth-Generation (P6 Pentium Pro/II/III Class) Chipsets 203 Seventh/Eighth-Generation (Pentium 4/D, Core2, and Core i) Chipsets 207 Intel 915 Family 215 Intel 925X Family 215 Intel 945 Express Family 216 Intel 955X and 975X Family 217 Intel 96x Series 217 Intel 3x and 4x Series Chipsets 218 Intel 5x Series Chipsets 220 Intel 6x Series Chipsets 224 Intel 7x Series Chipsets 225 Intel 8x Series Chipsets 227 Intel 9x Series Chipsets 229 Third-Party Chipsets for Intel Processors 231 SiS Chipsets 231 ULi Electronics Chipsets 231 ATI Chipsets 231 VIA Chipsets 232 NVIDIA Chipsets for Intel Processors 232 Chipsets for AMD Processors 232 AMD Athlon Chipsets 233 AMD Athlon 64 Chipsets 234 AMD 8000 (8151) Chipset 234 AMD (Formerly ATI) Chipsets for Athlon 64, Sempron, Phenom 235 Third-Party Chipsets for AMD Processors 242 VIA Chipsets 242 SiS Chipsets 242 NVIDIA Chipsets 243 Super I/O Chips 244 Motherboard Connectors 244 System Bus Types, Functions, and Features 255 The Processor Bus (FSB) 261 Types of I/O Buses 262 The ISA Bus 262 The Micro Channel Bus 262 The EISA Bus 263 Local Buses (VESA, PCI, PCI Express, AGP) 263 System Resources 270 Interrupts 271 DMA Channels 276 I/O Port Addresses 276 Motherboard Selection Criteria (Knowing What to Look For) 278 Chipset Documentation 279 Chapter 5 BIOS 281 BIOS Basics 281 Motherboard ROM BIOS 285 ROM Hardware 285 ROM Shadowing 287 ROM Chip Types 287 ROM BIOS Manufacturers 291 BIOS Hardware/Software 292 Upgrading the BIOS 292 Where to Get Your BIOS Update 293 Determining Your BIOS Version 293 Backing Up Your BIOS 293 Backing Up Your BIOS Setup (CMOS RAM) Settings 294 Upgrading a Flash BIOS 295 Motherboard CMOS RAM Addresses 303 Preboot Environment 305 Unified Extensible Firmware Interface 307 UEFI and BIOS Limitations 307 UEFI Support 309 BIOS Setup 309 Running or Accessing the BIOS Setup Program 310 BIOS Setup Menus 310 Maintenance Menu 311 Main Menu 313 Exit Menu 345 AMD-Specific BIOS Settings 346 PnP BIOS 347 PnP Device IDs 347 ACPI 347 BIOS/MBR Error Messages 348 BIOS Boot Error Messages 349 MBR Boot Error Messages 352 Chapter 6 Memory 355 Memory Basics 355 ROM 357 DRAM 357 Cache Memory: SRAM 359 Memory Standards 361 Speed and Performance 362 Fast Page Mode DRAM 365 Extended Data Out RAM 366 SDRAM 367 DDR SDRAM 368 DDR2 SDRAM 370 DDR3 SDRAM 372 DDR4 SDRAM 374 RDRAM 375 Memory Modules 375 Registered Modules 382 SDR DIMM Details 383 DDR DIMM Details 384 DDR2 DIMM Details 384 DDR3 DIMM Details 384 DDR4 DIMM Details 384 Determining a Memory Module''s Size and Features 385 Memory Banks 387 Memory Module Speed 388 Parity and ECC 388 Parity Checking 390 How Parity Checking Works 391 ECC 391 RAM Upgrades 392 Upgrade Options and Strategies 393 Purchasing Memory 395 Replacing Modules with Higher-Capacity Versions 397 Installing Memory Modules 397 Troubleshooting Memory 399 Memory Defect Isolation Procedures 403 The System Logical Memory Layout 405 Chapter 7 The ATA/IDE Interface 409 An Overview of the IDE Interface 409 Precursors to IDE 409 IDE Origins 410 Origins of ATA 411 ATA Standards 412 ATA-1 (ATA Interface for Disk Drives) 414 ATA-2 (ATA Interface with Extensions-2) 415 ATA-3 (ATA Interface-3) 415 ATA/ATAPI-4 (ATA with Packet Interface Extension-4) 416 ATA/ATAPI-5 (ATA with Packet Interface-5) 417 ATA/ATAPI-6 (ATA with Packet Interface-6) 417 ATA/ATAPI-7 (ATA with Packet Interface-7) 418 ATA/ATAPI-8 419 PATA 419 PATA I/O Connector 419 PATA I/O Cable 423 Longer or Rounded Cables 425 PATA Signals 425 PATA Dual-Drive Configurations 426 PATA PIO Transfer Modes 429 PATA DMA Transfer Modes 429 SATA 431 SATA Standards and Performance 431 SATA Express 432 SATA Cables and Connectors 434 eSATA 439 SATA Configuration 443 Advanced Host Controller Interface 444 Non-Volatile Memory Express 445 SATA Transfer Modes 445 ATA Features 446 ATA Commands 446 ATA Security Mode 447 Host Protected Area 448 ATAPI 449 ATA Drive Capacity Limitations 450 Prefixes for Decimal and Binary Multiples 451 BIOS Limitations 451 CHS Versus LBA 452 CHS/LBA and LBA/CHS Conversions 453 BIOS Commands Versus ATA Commands 454 CHS Limitations (the 528MB Barrier) 455 CHS Translation (Breaking the 528MB Barrier) 457 The 2.1GB and 4.2GB Barriers 459 LBA-Assist Translation 462 The 8.4GB Barrier 465 The 137GB Barrier and Beyond 466 Operating System and Other Software Limitations 468 GPT and the 2.2TB Barrier 470 PATA/SATA RAID 471 Software RAID 474 Chapter 8 Magnetic Storage 475 Magnetic Storage 475 History of Magnetic Storage 475 How Magnetic Fields Are Used to Store Data 476 Read/Write Head Designs 479 Ferrite 480 Metal-In-Gap 480 Thin-Film 480 Magneto-Resistive Heads 481 Giant Magneto-Resistive Heads 482 Head Sliders 483 Dat.