BKFIXYPC.RVW   960418
 
"Fix Your Own PC", Corey Sandler, 1996, 1-55828-422-2, U$29.95/C$41.95
%A   Corey Sandler
%C   115 West 18th Street, New York, NY   10011-4195
%D   1996
%G   1-55828-422-2
%I   MIS Press/M&T Books/Henry Holt
%O   U$29.95/C$41.95 +1-212-886-9378 fax: +1-212-633-0748, +1-212-807-6654
%O   76712.2644@compuserve.com http://www.mispress.com fburke@fsb.superlink.net
%P   462
%T   "Fix Your Own PC"
 
Sandler has written the backyard mechanic's level guide to computer repair. 
The various subsystems of the computer are described in terms of appearance,
function and access.  There are a number of very helpful and illustrative
diagrams of hardware.  (Some are missing.  A picture of CPU sockets and the
sometimes associated "zero insertion force" (ZIF) mechanism would likely make
that section a lot clearer.)
 
Software problems are much less tractable than hardware, but there is some
coverage of such issues as IRQ conflicts.  Data recovery is discussed, but only
marginally.  Much of this topic relies on the use of the tools included with
the later versions of DOS, or commercial products.
 
Fixing, though, relies on diagnosis.  The book is great for upgrades or
configuration changes, but rather weaker on troubleshooting.  To be sure, there
is some guidance in determining the cause of problems (in particular, an
excellent set of trouble shooting flowcharts).  There is, however, a heavy
emphasis on commercial diagnostic software, and holes in the information given. 
(The very first "trip" I took through the charts missed the problem of adding a
newer video card to what Sandler refers to as "dinosaur" machines: older PCs
have dip switches that must be set for video card memory configurations.)
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1996   BKFIXYPC.RVW   960418

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