Dedication;Foreword;Preface; Audience; Organization; Conventions; We''d Like to Hear from You; Acknowledgments;Chapter 1: Fundamentals; 1.1 PCs Defined; 1.2 PC Components and Technologies; 1.3 System Resources; 1.4 Building or Buying a PC; 1.5 Upgrading a PC; 1.6 Smart Buying Practices; 1.7 Things to Do with Old PCs;Chapter 2: Working on PCs; 2.

1 Rules to Upgrade By; 2.2 Tools; 2.3 General Procedures;Chapter 3: Motherboards; 3.1 Motherboard Characteristics; 3.2 Choosing a Motherboard; 3.3 Installing a Motherboard; 3.4 Upgrading the System BIOS; 3.5 Our Picks;Chapter 4: Processors; 4.

1 Processor Design; 4.2 Intel Processors; 4.3 Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processors; 4.4 Choosing a Processor; 4.5 Installing a Processor; 4.6 Our Picks;Chapter 5: Memory; 5.1 Understanding Memory; 5.2 Memory Access Methods; 5.

3 Memory Packaging; 5.4 How Much Memory Is Enough?; 5.5 Memory Selection Guidelines; 5.6 Installing Memory; 5.7 Troubleshooting Memory Installation and Operation; 5.8 Our Picks;Chapter 6: Floppy Disk Drives; 6.1 Diskette Types and Formats; 6.2 Drive Types; 6.

3 FDD Interface and Cabling; 6.4 Installing a Floppy Disk Drive; 6.5 Working with FDDs; 6.6 Working with Obsolete Diskette Formats; 6.7 Salvaging Diskette Data; 6.8 Our Picks;Chapter 7: High-Capacity Floppy Disk Drives; 7.1 High-Capacity FDD Types; 7.2 Choosing a High-Capacity Floppy Disk Drive; 7.

3 Using an ATAPI Zip or SuperDisk Drive as the Boot Device; 7.4 Drive Letter Assignment Problems; 7.5 Our Picks;Chapter 8: Removable Hard Disk Drives; 8.1 Uses for Removable Hard Disk Drives; 8.2 Cartridge-Based Removable Hard Disk Drives; 8.3 Frame/Carrier-Based Removable Hard Disk Drives; 8.4 Our Picks;Chapter 9: Tape Drives; 9.1 Choosing a Tape Drive; 9.

2 Installing and Configuring a Tape Drive; 9.3 Care and Feeding of a Tape Drive; 9.4 Troubleshooting Tape Drive Problems; 9.5 The Dirty Little Secret of Long Filenames; 9.6 Developing a Backup Strategy; 9.7 Our Picks;Chapter 10: CD-ROM Drives; 10.1 Compact Disc Fundamentals; 10.2 CD-ROM Drive Performance; 10.

3 Choosing a CD-ROM Drive; 10.4 Installing and Configuring a CD-ROM Drive; 10.5 Cleaning a CD-ROM Drive; 10.6 Our Picks;Chapter 11: CD-R and CD-RW Drives; 11.1 CD Writers and Media; 11.2 Writable CD Formats; 11.3 CD Recording Methods; 11.4 BURN-Proof Technology; 11.

5 Choosing a CD Writer; 11.6 CD Writer Software; 11.7 Installing and Configuring a CD Writer; 11.8 Updating CD Writer Firmware; 11.9 Media Issues; 11.10 Burning CDs; 11.11 Special Problems and Applications; 11.12 Writable CD Troubleshooting; 11.

13 Additional CD-R(W) Source Material; 11.14 Our Picks;Chapter 12: DVD Drives; 12.1 DVD-ROM; 12.2 DVD Writable and Rewritable; 12.3 Installing and Configuring a DVD Drive; 12.4 Our Picks;Chapter 13: Hard Disk Interfaces; 13.1 IDE; 13.2 SCSI; 13.

3 ATA Versus SCSI; 13.4 Our Picks;Chapter 14: Hard Disk Drives; 14.1 How Hard Disks Work; 14.2 Choosing a Hard Disk; 14.3 Installing an ATA Hard Disk; 14.4 Installing a SCSI Hard Disk; 14.5 Preparing a Hard Disk for Use; 14.6 Our Picks;Chapter 15: Video Adapters; 15.

1 Video Adapter Characteristics; 15.2 Choosing a Video Adapter; 15.3 Installing a Video Adapter; 15.4 Configuring Video Under Windows 98/Me/2000/XP; 15.5 Configuring Video Under Windows NT 4; 15.6 Troubleshooting Video Adapter Problems; 15.7 Our Picks;Chapter 16: Displays; 16.1 CRT Monitors; 16.

2 Flat-Panel Displays; 16.3 Installing and Configuring a Display; 16.4 Troubleshooting Display Problems; 16.5 Our Picks;Chapter 17: Sound Adapters; 17.1 PC Audio Types; 17.2 MIDI Synthesis Methods; 17.3 Downloadable Sounds; 17.4 Sound Card Components; 17.

5 Sound Card Characteristics; 17.6 Choosing a Sound Card; 17.7 Installing a Sound Card; 17.8 Troubleshooting Sound Card Problems; 17.9 MP3; 17.10 Our Picks;Chapter 18: Speakers and Headphones; 18.1 Speaker and Headphone Characteristics; 18.2 Choosing Speakers and Headphones; 18.

3 Our Picks;Chapter 19: Keyboards; 19.1 Keyboard Switch Types; 19.2 Keyboard Styles; 19.3 Keyboard Interfaces; 19.4 Choosing a Keyboard; 19.5 Configuring a Keyboard; 19.6 Cleaning a Keyboard; 19.7 Troubleshooting and Repairing Keyboards; 19.

8 Our Picks;Chapter 20: Mice and Trackballs; 20.1 Mice Versus Trackballs; 20.2 Mouse Characteristics; 20.3 Choosing a Mouse; 20.4 Configuring a Mouse or Trackball; 20.5 Cleaning a Mouse; 20.6 Troubleshooting a Mouse; 20.7 Our Picks;Chapter 21: Game Controllers; 21.

1 Game Controller Characteristics; 21.2 Gameport Interface; 21.3 Choosing a Game Controller; 21.4 Installing a Game Controller; 21.5 Troubleshooting Game Controllers; 21.6 Our Picks;Chapter 22: Serial Communications; 22.1 Serial Communications Overview; 22.2 Serial Ports; 22.

3 Serial Cables; 22.4 Installing and Configuring Serial Port Hardware; 22.5 Troubleshooting Serial Port Problems; 22.6 Our Picks;Chapter 23: Parallel Communications; 23.1 Mapping Parallel Ports to LPTs; 23.2 Parallel Port Types; 23.3 Configuring Parallel Port Hardware; 23.4 Parallel Connectors and Cables; 23.

5 Our Picks;Chapter 24: USB Communications; 24.1 USB Characteristics; 24.2 USB Host Controller Interfaces; 24.3 Configuring USB; 24.4 Troubleshooting USB; 24.5 Our Picks;Chapter 25: Cases; 25.1 Case Characteristics; 25.2 Choosing a Case; 25.

3 Our Picks;Chapter 26: Power Supplies; 26.1 Power Supply Characteristics; 26.2 Volts, Amps, Watts, and Regulation; 26.3 Power Connectors; 26.4 Choosing a Power Supply; 26.5 Installing a Power Supply; 26.6 Troubleshooting Power Supplies; 26.7 Our Picks;Chapter 27: Backup Power Supplies; 27.

1 What BPSes Protect Against; 27.2 BPS Types; 27.3 BPS Characteristics; 27.4 Choosing a BPS; 27.5 Our Picks;Chapter 28: Building a PC; 28.1 Step 1: Prepare the Case; 28.2 Step 2: Configure the Motherboard; 28.3 Step 3: Install the Processor; 28.

4 Step 4: Install the Memory; 28.5 Step 5: Prepare Drives for Installation; 28.6 Step 6: Install the Floppy Disk Drive; 28.7 Step 7: Install Other Drives; 28.8 Step 8: Install the Motherboard; 28.9 Step 9: Connect Cables to the Motherboard; 28.10 Step 10: Install Expansion Cards; 28.11 Step 11: Perform the "Smoke Test"; 28.

12 Step 12: Install Software; 28.13 Step 13: Finishing Touches;Colophon;.