pcs

If every Windows user had this book, the world would be free of a great deal of headaches(!)- it's the most friendly, clear, and to-the-point book on troubleshooting PCs available today! It'd be great if this book actually came with Windows, but since it doesn't (it really should!), the best I can do is to try and spread the word and to sing its praises...

Containing great humor and experience, this book is written mainly for users of Windows XP/ME/and 98, although users of Windows 95/NT/and especially 2000 will find that most of this book still applies. Dan Gookin wrote the original Dos for Dummies book- all Dummies books started with him! Chapters 1-5 cover the basics of computer use and troubleshooting, including the most common types of problems (glitches, bugs, hangs, and crashes), basic solutions (Ctrl+Z undo, restarting, restoring, reinstalling, etc.), understanding the differences between hardware & software-related issues for problem identification, and then, if all else fails: how to effectively contact professional Tech Support. These are things everyone needs to know! Chapters 6-20 are intense! This is the heart of the book: hands-on, down & dirty problem solving! Solutions involve: getting around in Windows; minor irks & quirks; slow PC; audio/video; startup/shutdown; keyboard, mouse, monitor & printer; disk disaster; internet connection; Internet Explorer; Outlook Express; general Windows disruption- too much to list here! (This is a software-related book- for an introduction to hardware-related issues, I highly recommend Upgrading & Fixing PCs for Dummies by Andy Rathbone, or for advanced issues Scott Mueller's Upgrading & Repairing PCs) My favorite thing here: Registry Editing 101! Many books mention the Registry- Dan Gookin actually walks you through some basic, yet sometimes necessary, editing procedures in a few very specific instances. This is beyond basic info, and is downright technical in nature. It's insane how much information he's crammed into one book! Chapters 21 & 22 cover PM- preventive maintenance- for disks in general, and using Backup. I use Norton Ghost for Backup myself- I can't stress enough how great this application is! You can get it with Norton AntiVirus too if you purchase Norton Systemworks Professional. They're all worth their weight in gold(!). To Dan Gookin: In a good-natured way, I recommend Argument 4 in favor of reinstalling Windows: it brings peace of mind! With all the latest Internet threats today in the news- Viruses, Worms, and Spyware- some people just don't trust that their computers are clean & secure without the reinstalling of Windows(!). Of course, with the proper use of disk imaging/backup software, this really shouldn't be an issue, but some people just never get around to this kind of preventive maintenance. Some people may not trust AntiVirus/Spyware apps to work for them, and reinstalling Windows can bring enormous peace of mind. Don't blame me for mentioning it- paranoia can be a powerful thing! Suggestions for next edition: maybe in PM section having Internet disaster prevention, including more on firewalls (like the free ZoneAlarm), and how to properly configure them (making sure Outlook Express never accesses the internet without approval)? Also- How about advanced videogame troubleshooting? Even people with up-to-date hardware experience crashes & restarts during games. In the Windows 2000 Getting Started book, a common solution to blue-screen stop messages is to "Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing". Believe it or not, it worked for me! Far fewer crashes during fast moving video & videogames as a result. These are my best suggestions! Thank you for this incredible & long-overdue book!

I bought this book before I experimented with other books of it's kind and I was able to apply what I read within minutes to my broken computer. I have over 15 years experience as an Electronic Technician and 4 years experience as a Design Engineer and I learned something new from each and every page I studied. I was able to "laugh" at my fear of PC repair after reading this book. He covers everything from start-up problems to fixing bugs and everything in between. This book was so easy to read too! It was a welcomed relief from the over-complicated articles that I usually read. Thank you Dan Gookin!