Upgrading & Fixing PCs For Dummies®, 4th Edition
By Andy Rathbone
Reader level: Beginner-Intermediate
ISBN: 0-7645-0418-5
Publication date:08/17/1998
Here's the ideal plain-English reference for computer do-it-yourselfers. Upgrading
& Fixing PCs For Dummies, 4th Edition, guides you step-by-step to figuring out
what's broken and how to fix it. With these easy-to-follow instructions from computer guru
Andy Rathbone, you'll be able to take care of all those nagging problems and install all
the hardware you need, whether its more memory for a RAM-hungry machine or a faster modem
for surfing the Internet.
Master the mysteries of your PC's internal workings without becoming, in Andy's inimitable way with words, a technoweenie. Grab a few basic household tools -- a small Phillips screwdriver, an itty-bitty flathead screwdriver, and a paper clip -- and get ready to save some serious bucks by making the upgrades you need all by yourself. Upgrading & Fixing PCs For Dummies guides you through the troubleshooting process to divine what's wrong with your PC and why it's acting in strange and inexplicable ways, and then this book gives you instructions for fixing whatever ails your computer. Don't just give up on your PC and buy a Mac -- get this great all-in-one guide instead and make your PC work the way that it should!
CONTENTS-:
- About This Book
How to Use This Book
Type This Stuff Here
Read These Parts
Don't Read These Parts
How This Book Is Organized- Part I: Biting Your Fingernails
Part II: The PC Parts You Can See (External Peripherals)
Part III: The Stuff Hiding Inside Your PC
Part IV: Telling Your Computer What You've Done
Part V: The Part of Tens- Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
- Chapter 1: Are You Nerdy Enough to Do It Yourself?
- You Probably Won't Kill Your PC by Accident
Upgrading a PC Beats Working on a Car
Can You Really Save Bundles of Money?
PCs Aren't as Scary After You've Fixed One
When Should You Upgrade?
When Shouldn't You Upgrade?
Beware of the Chain Reaction- Chapter 2: The Right Way to Fix Your PC
- The Ten Steps for Upgrading Your PC
What Tools Do You Need?- Small Phillips screwdriver
Itty-bitty flathead screwdriver
Medium Phillips screwdriver
Paper clip
Other handy tools
Small flashlight
Magnetized screwdriver
Empty egg carton
Compressed air canister
Pencil and paper
Spare computer parts- Making a "Startup" or "System" Disk
The Upgrade Do's and Donuts- Do upgrade one thing at a time
Do watch out for static
Do hang onto your old boxes, manuals, warranties, and receipts
Don't force parts together
Don't bend stuff that comes on cards
Don't use head-cleaning disks
Don't rush yourself
Don't open up monitors or power supplies- How to Fish Out Dropped Screws
- Chapter 3: Where Does This Piece Go? (Basic Computer Anatomy)
- The Types of PCs
- Original IBM PC (1981)
IBM XT (early 1980s)
IBM AT (mid-1980s)
PCjr
PS/2 (1987)
386, 486, and Pentium (late 1980s to present)
Enlivening a notebook- The Case
- Big and beat-up
Little (also called small footprint)
Tower- Case Lights and Buttons
- Power light
Power switch
Reset button
Floppy drive lights
Hard drive light
Digital readout
Key and lock
Miscellaneous lights- Your PC's Cables and Outlets
- Power cord
Keyboard and mouse ports
Serial port
Parallel port
Game port
Video port
Other ports- Keyboards
Mice, Scanners, and Modems- Mice
Scanners
Modems- Monitors
Printers
The Motherboard- Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Math coprocessor
BIOS
Expansion slots and cards
What cards does your computer have?
Battery
Memory (random-access memory, or RAM)
All those other little parts on the motherboard- Disk Drives
- Floppy drives
Combo drives
Hard drives (hard disks)
Other ways to store data
Compact disc drives
Detachable hard drives
Tape backup units- The Power Supply
How Do I Know Which Parts I Have?- Chapter 4: Figuring Out What's Broken
- It Doesn't Work Anymore!
- Make sure that the computer is plugged in and turned on
Make sure that the cables are fastened securely
Turn the computer off, wait 30 seconds, and turn it back on again- Narrowing Down the Problem
- Have you added new software lately?
Did you discover and then delete a weird file that didn't do anything?
Have you moved any files or directories around? Changed any of their names?
Have you changed the computer's location on your desktop?
Try a different part
Watch the screen when your PC wakes up
Listen to the beeps, Luke!
Call in Doctor Software
Use the Windows Troubleshooter- Buying Replacement Parts
Using Technical Support- Preparing to make the call
The part's model and serial number
Information about your computer
The version of the operating system
A printout of your important files
Windows 95 or Windows 98
Earlier Windows versions
DOS users- Calling technical support
- Chapter 5: The Sticky Keyboard
- When I Turn On My Computer, the Screen Says "Keyboard Not Found, Press <F1> to Continue" or Something Equally Depressing!
Some of the Keys Stick After I Spilled a Hansen's Natural Raspberry Soda over Them!
My Arrow Keys Don't Move the Cursor -- They Make Numbers!
All the Letters and Numbers Wore Off from My Keys!
Every Time I Press a Key, the Computer Beeps at Me!
How Can I Change to a Dvorak Keyboard?
Do Ergonomic Keyboards Feel as Natural as Soybean Sprouts?
What's That Special Windows Key on a Microsoft Natural Keyboard?
How Do I Install a New Keyboard?- Chapter 6: Mice in the Pantry
- My Mouse's Arrow or Cursor Is Starting to Jerk Around
My Computer Says That It Can't Find My Mouse
My Friend's Mouse Won't Work on My Computer
I Installed a Modem (Or Scanner or Sound Card or Weird Network Thing), and Now My Mouse Cursor Jerks Around or Disappears
My Cordless Mouse Sometimes Acts Weird
My Mouse Doesn't Work Under Windows When I Use DOS!
How Can I Get a Better Windows Mouse Pointer?
Which Is Better, a PS/2 Mouse, a Serial Mouse, or a Bus Mouse?
Why Is All This COM and Serial Port Stuff So Difficult?
How Do I Install or Replace a Serial or PS/2-Style Mouse?
When Is a Mouse not a Mouse?- Chapter 7: Mucked-Up Modems
- Who Can Understand All This Modem Stuff?
- Fast, faster, fastest!
56K
Cable modems
ISDN
DSL: The new buzz on the block
Satellite modems
Which one's best?- What Are Modem Standards?
What You Need to Get on the Internet
Will a Modem Replace a Fax Machine?- Sending/receiving faxes
Sending a fax
Receiving a fax
Fixing the fax- Using a Modem on a Laptop or Palmtop
My Modem Hangs Up Whenever Anybody Calls Me!
How Do I Install or Replace an External Modem?- Chapter 8: Tweaking the Monitor
- The Screen Has Dust All Over It
My Monitor Doesn't Turn On!
What Do All Those Funny Video Words Mean?
I Bought an Expensive New Monitor, but My Screen Still Looks Ugly- The monitor's screen looks washed out
The colors look awful in one of my programs- How Do I Know That My Old Monitor Will Work with My New Video Card?
What's That Local Bus and PCI Video Stuff?
Should I Buy a 3D and 2D Accelerator Card?
My Cursor Disappeared!
My Monitor Makes Weird Noises!
I Don't Want My Screen to Burn In
My Laptop's Screen Looks Weird
How Do I Install a New Monitor?- Chapter 9: Printers (Those Paper Wasters)
- I Dunno What All This Printer Stuff Means
My Printer Doesn't Print Anything
When I Try to Print Something, I Get Greek!
Paper Keeps Jamming in My Laser Printer!
My Printer Says That It Has 35 Built-In Fonts -- Where?
Everything's Double-Spaced or Everything's Printing on the Same Line
The Page Looks Blotchy on My Laser Printer
How Do I Install a New Toner Cartridge?
Can I Save Money by Refilling My Toner Cartridges?
Can I Upgrade My Laser Printer?
Why Is My Printer Cable So Short?
How Can Two Computers Share One Printer?
What's the Best Paper for a Color Inkjet Printer?
How Do I Install a New Printer?
- Chapter 10: The Motherboard (And Its CPU, BIOS, and Even a Battery)
- My Computer Forgot That It Has a Hard Drive, and It Doesn't Know What Day It Is!
- I can't find my computer's battery!
How do I install a new battery?
Don't forget what your computer is supposed to remember- Will Replacing My Old CPU with a Hot, New CPU Speed It Up?
How Do I Install an Upgrade or Overdrive Chip?
Can I Put a New Motherboard into My Old Computer?- Uh, should I really install the motherboard myself?
How do I install a new motherboard?- What's This BIOS Business?
How Do I Replace My BIOS?- Chapter 11: Memory Stuff You Wish You Could Forget
- My PC Keeps Saying "Parity Error" or Something Equally Weird
Windows Keeps Saying "Not Enough Memory" or "Insufficient Memory"
How Much Memory Do I Have?
I Installed a Bunch of Memory, but My Computer Doesn't Know That It's There!
Why Can't I Move Memory off My Old Motherboard and Stick It onto My New Motherboard?
Geez, What Memory Should I Buy?- Memory type
Parity or non-parity
Memory speed
Memory capacity- How Do I Install More Memory?
- Chapter 12: Floppy Drives
- My Computer Barfs on My Friend's Disks!
When I Put In a New Disk, It Says "Invalid" Something or Other
My Computer Says That My Sector Isn't Found or My FAT Is Bad!
How Do I Install a New Floppy Drive?- Chapter 13: Hard Drives, CD-ROM Read/Write Drives, Zip Drives, and Other Storage Devices
- Does My Hard Drive Need to Be Defragmented?
How Can I Check for Disk Errors?
What's a Controller Card?
Should I Buy an ST506, an ESDI, a SCSI, an IDE, a UIDE, or an EIDE Drive?
My CD-ROM Drive Doesn't Work When I Leave Windows 98!
How Do I Get the Drive Lights to Turn On and Off?
How Do I Back Up My Hard Drive?
How Do I Install or Replace an EIDE or IDE Hard Drive?
Breaking In a New Hard Drive
How Do I Install a CD-ROM Drive?- Installing an external CD-ROM drive
Installing an internal CD-ROM drive- How Do I Install a Tape Backup Unit?
So What's an External Storage Drive, Anyway?
How Do I Install a ZipPlus drive?- Chapter 14: Power Supplies
- My Computer Makes a Whining Noise
Nothing Happens When I Turn On My PC
My Computer Forgets the Date, Even After I Changed the Batteries!
What's a UPS or Backup Power Supply?
What Power Supply Should I Buy?
How Do I Install a New Power Supply?- Chapter 15: Stuff on Cards
- My New Card Doesn't Fit in the Slot!
My Card Doesn't Work!
What Kinds of Cards Can I Buy?
How Do I Install a New Card?
- Chapter 16: That AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS File Stuff
- What's a CONFIG.SYS File?
What's an AUTOEXEC.BAT File?
What's a Path?
How to Edit a CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT File
What Are Those Weird Sounds and Words When I Turn On My Computer?- Chapter 17: Fixing Squeaky Windows
- Upgrading Your Computer to Run Windows 98
Telling Windows 98 about New Hardware
Telling Windows 3.1 about New Hardware- Introducing Windows 3.1 to a new mouse, keyboard, video card, or monitor
Introducing Windows 3.1 to a sound card (or CD-ROM drive or other gadget)- Adding a New Printer
I Want More Colors and Higher Resolution!- Adjusting colors and resolution in Windows 98
Adjusting colors and resolution in Windows 3.1- My Driver's Too Old and Cruddy to Work Right!
Fine-Tuning Windows 98 System Properties- Changing drivers in Windows 98
Checking the Windows 98 system and performance gauges
Finding vital statistics in the Windows 98 System Information program
Finding device conflicts in Windows 98- Chapter 18: Fiddling with Settings
- My COM Ports Are Arguing!
How to Resolve Irritating IRQ Conflicts
Address and DMA Stuff
Jumper Bumping and DIP Switch Flipping- Moving jumpers around
Flipping a DIP switch- Sailing the CMOS Sea
How Do I Change My CMOS?
- Chapter 19: Ten Cheap Fixes to Try First
- Plug It In
Turn the Computer Off, Wait 30 Seconds, and Turn It Back On
Remove Your Floppy and Then Turn on Your Computer
Check for Overheating
Boot from a System Floppy Disk
Reseat Cards, Chips, and Connectors
Clean Card Connectors with a Pencil Eraser
Install a New Power Supply
Run the Weird-Sounding ScanDisk, CHKDSK, and Defragmentation Programs- Chapter 20: The Ten Hardest Upgrades
- Upgrading Older Computers Like the 486
Fixing Scanners and Printers
Replacing the Motherboard
Adding a Second Hard Drive to an Ancient, Early-Model Hard Drive
Adding Memory to an Old Motherboard
Connecting Computers to a Network- Chapter 21: The Ten Easiest Upgrades
- Adding a Keyboard
Adding a Mouse
Adding Cards
Replacing a Monitor
Installing a Floppy Drive or CD-ROM Drive
Adding a Power Supply- Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Empower an Aging Pentium
- Buy More RAM
Replace the CPU
Buy a 3D and 2D Graphics Accelerator Card
Fine-Tune Windows- Chapter 23: Ten Baffling Things Your Computer May Say When You Turn It On
- When My Computer Boots Up, It Spits Out Weird Words
What Do Those Little Numbers Mean?- Chapter 24: Ten Common Warning Beeps and What They Mean
- What's This BIOS Beep Business?
AMI BIOS Beeps
Genuine IBM BIOS Beeps
Phoenix BIOS Beeps
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