FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
If you've ever upgraded a PC, or fixed one, or if you plan to, you need Scott Mueller's legendary reference, Upgrading & Repairing PCs. As you'd expect, Mueller's new 16th edition is thoroughly updated to reflect the latest in everything from power supplies to eighth-generation video cards. As you might not expect, he's added a thorough introduction to overclocking and hardware hacking: how to squeeze max performance out of your PC, without frying it.

You'll find detailed coverage of the latest 64-bit processors, along with the new motherboards, memories, and chipsets that complement them. As part of Mueller's thorough chapter on optical storage, he demystifies the bewildering menagerie of DVD standards (DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW). And, as the value of computers increasingly moves to the network, he continues to deepen his networking coverage -- especially Wi-Fi.

Since most computers that need repair or upgrading aren't new, Mueller presents systematic coverage of mainstream technologies, including BIOSes, hard drives, audio hardware, I/O -- you name it. He discusses removable storage media ranging from today's external USB 2.0 and FireWire drives to those failed media formats that doubtless hold your Great American Novel. His detailed coverage of backup/restore includes guidance on recovering data that seems irretrievably lost (even data on formatted, repartitioned, or erased hard drives and formatted flash memory devices).

Last but definitely not least, there's a DVD with two full hours of up-to-date digital video, shot on a new professional set with expert lighting and camerawork. You'll see every last detail, whether you're viewing on a PC or your TV (hey, your computer could be open for surgery)! Bill Camarda

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2003 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks for Dummies, Second Edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Learn from the undisputed leading PC hardware teacher - World renowned PC hardware expert Scott Mueller. Scott has taught thousand in his weeklong seminars and millions through his books, videos and articles. Often his students refer to him with nicknames, such as "St.Scott" and claim that Upgrading and Repairing PCs has changed their lives.

This runaway best-selling PC hardware book of all-time is used by students, hobbyists, and PC professionals around the world. Upgrading and Repairing PCs is found on desks everywhere. Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 16th Edition includes hundreds of pages of new content, including an ALL NEW chapter on PC overclocking and hardware hacking. In this new chapter, Scott shows readers how to perform custom PC modifications, safely and within industry standard specifications, as well as how to pump up the performance of your PC.

For the third edition in a row, Scott has included a DVD -- playable on both standalone DVD players and on DVD-ROMs -- containing more than two hours of ALL NEW video shot, using an all new professional set design, lighting and a three-camera crew -- including an overhead cam. The DVD also contains a searchable hard drive and vendor information, plus thousands of pages of legacy PC hardware coverage that can longer be included in the printed book, but that are invaluable to PC techs servicing older computers!

FROM THE CRITICS

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