Upgrading And Repairing Laptops

912 pages | 8MB | English | CHM | 0789728001 | December 22, 2003



Laptops--call them notebooks, portable computers, or whatever else you like--are tightly

engineered items. It's hard to get all the required components to obey stringent performance

and power-management requirements, and still fit into a small case. The job usually requires a

custom motherboard and other specialized components, and so the laptop owner who wants to

upgrade his or her machine faces a much more difficult task than the owner of a desktop machine

with a similar wish.
One can swap out the hard drive, add more RAM, and make tweaks in software, but almost

everything else requires the addition of external components, which kind of defeat the purpose

of a laptop. That's the message the reader takes away from Scott Mueller's Upgrading and

Repairing Laptops. It's not Mueller's fault that such computers are hard to do much with, and

that your best upgrade procedure is often a visit to an auction site.

That said, Mueller does a great job of explaining how laptops work--how the engineers went

about cramming all those heat-generating components into those miniature chassis in the first

place. He also explains a lot of interesting component theory, such as how magnetic hard drives

store data and how various DVD standards differ. The information makes for good reading, and

comes in handy when you're shopping. He also demonstrates his skill--long well-reputed among

builders and repairers of desktop machines--in teaching diagnostics. He explains, for example,

how to test a laptop power supply, and why you should consider it a prime suspect in a

malfunctioning computer even if the LEDs come on and the cooling fan spins. A CD-ROM features

videos that show disassembly procedures--a strategy that works better than photographs and

numbered steps. --David Wall

Topics covered: How portable computers work (and sometimes fail to work), and how to diagnose

their woes. Sections address general troubleshooting concepts, system disassembly, and various

subsystems such as memory, CPU, storage, and video. Coverage of PCMCIA (PC Card) is

particularly good. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

Scott Mueller has gone where no computer book author has gone before — right past all the

warranty stickers, the hidden screws, and the fear factor to produce a real owner's manual that

every laptop owner should have on his desk. Upgrading and Repairing Laptops, Second Edition

shows the upgrades users can perform, the ones that are better left to the manufacturer, and

how to use add-on peripherals to make the most of a laptop. This second edition has been

updated to include:

* The latest processors and motherboards
* Complete assembly and disassembly information
* Updated memory standards
* Upgrading your hard drive to increase performance
* Changes in networking and firewalls

The included DVD contains one-of-a-kind video showing just what's inside a portable PC. If you

have ever wondered what goes on inside your portable PC, how to upgrade/repair it, or how to

live on the road with it, this is the one must-have book of the year!

http://rapidshare.com/files/222245603/Upgrading_And_Repairing_Laptops.rar