PC Hardware in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) [Paperback]

PC Hardware in a Nutshell relies on an eternal truth of the computer industry: legacy systems never die. This book focuses on the technologies that have provided Wintel personal computers with various capabilities over the years. Like most of its competitors, this book addresses the PC on a subsystem level, dealing with video cards, hard-disk interfaces, memory and other pieces of the componentry puzzle that hardware integrators need to figure out. The authors do a great job of explaining the differences between (and relative merits of) IDE and SCSI hard-drive interfaces, various video buses, competing processors and other technologies. They also prove themselves adept at explaining general assembly procedures and troubleshooting strategies.

This book distinguishes itself from its most popular competitors by emphasising the authors' opinions on hardware products. It's refreshing to see authors recommend Product A for high-performance systems in which price is not an issue, Product B for economical home systems, and Product C for organisational workstations. On the other hand, the recommendations, prices and similar values will change over time. The authors maintain a great Web site where you can find their current recommendations. (The Web site, on the other hand, doesn't include the book's high-quality tutorial on designing and assembling a system from zero.) Even the photographs that appear in this book--traditionally a weak point among hardware books--are clear. --David Wall --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

You can use this as an informative encyclopedia as well as a practical user guide .It's all here!

In this book, we get the benefit of the extensive experience of the authors, who tell us in plain language what will work and will not work.

While I hold O'Reilly books to a fairly high standard as a whole, I was very surprised as to the quality of PCHN2.

An essential reference for any user who has the confidence to open a PC.

Carefully researched and written, PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition is packed with useful and unbiased information, including how-to advice for specific components, ample reference material, and a comprehensive case study on building a PC. To the point yet complete, this book provides an enormous amount of timeless information intended for anyone who buys, builds, upgrades, or repairs PCs in a corporate, small business, or home setting.

Barbara Fritchman Thompson is the vice president and senior researcher for Triad Technology Group, Inc. She has a master's in library science from George Peabody College, and worked for twenty years as a librarian before starting her own research consulting practice. She currently works at home, writing books and reviewing web sites for Library Journal and Electronic Resources Review. She is a Winston-Salem native, and lives with her husband Bob and their three Border Collie dogs, Kerry, Duncan, and Malcolm. With 25 years of industry experience, Bob Thompson was one of the first Novell Master CNEs, and has been immersed in Windows NT Server 4.0 since it was in alpha. Bob has written or contributed to several computer networking books, including Special Edition Using Windows NT Server 4; Special Edition Using Microsoft BackOffice; Windows Magazine Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Internet and Networking Handbook; and Upgrading and Repairing Networks, all for Que Corporation. Bob is the president of Triad Technology Group, Inc., a Winston-Salem, NC, network consulting practice.

Chapter 28 - Building a PC

In the previous edition,we included a chapter on designing a PC.As popular as that chapter was,it went out of date even before the book was published.So,for this edition,we’ve moved that material to our web site,where it can be updated.

With all the components in-hand,it ’s time to start building the system.If you’ve built systems before,you may be able to complete a simple system in a couple hours,and even a complex system should take only an evening to build.If this is your first system,plan to assemble,configure,and test it over a weekend.Choose a well-lighted work area (the kitchen table is traditional)and lay out all of your components.We use old towels to protect the surface of the table.Observe antistatic precautions throughout.

Many of the following steps may be done in whatever order is convenient.You may,for example,install the motherboard before the drives (although,having once dropped a drive on an installed motherboard,we prefer to install the drives first).Case design and motherboard layout determine the most logical order of steps,and may mandate doing things in slightly different order than that listed here.Use your best judgment.Many of the complex steps —such as setting drive jumpers —are described in more detail in the relevant chapter.

Step 1: Prepare the Case
If you are recycling an old case,first remove all components and clean the case thoroughly,using a soft brush and vacuum cleaner to remove dust and a cleaner like Fantastic or Formula 409 to remove grime.We sometimes take really filthy cases outside and literally hose them down (after first removing the power supply).If you do that,use a hair dryer to make sure the case is dry before you begin installing components.If you ’re not in a hurry,it ’s better still to let it sit a week or two and dry naturally.If the power supply has been in use for some time, it will likely have accumulated a lot of dust inside it.Do your best to remove dust using a brush and compressed air (the air hose at the gas station works well),but do not remove the cover from the power supply.Whether the case is new or old, check it thoroughly for sharp edges and burrs and file down any you find.That saves a lot of bloodshed later.Once the case is clean,dry,and defanged,proceed
as follows:

1. Verify that all components are present,including the power cord and the package of small mounting hardware and other incidentals.If the case uses drive rails,there should be sufficient rails to mount a drive in each bay.

2. Remove the cover(s)and set them aside.If it is not obvious how to do so,see the manufacturer ’s instructions.You want the case wide open while you work on it.If the front bezel is removable,you may or may not need to remove it to mount drives.Most removable front bezels simply snap on and off bottom-first,but some are secured with screws.Some cases have a removable motherboard tray.If so,remove it also.(See Figure 28-1.)

3. Remove all drive bezels from the front of the case to give you easy access later when you ’re installing drives.Depending on case design,you may have to remove the front case bezel before you can remove drive bezels.Most cases use plastic drive bay bezels,which snap into place using a small hook on each side to secure them to the chassis.To remove these bezels,use a small flat-blade screwdriver to bow them slightly until the hooks are clear and then pull them out.Some cases use metal drive bay bezels,which are secured with a screw on each side.

Most cases have metal plates at the front of each drive bay,immediately behind the bezel,to shield against RFI.On some cases,these plates are discrete pieces,mounted with screws or spring-clip retainers.On inexpensive cases,the plates are often stamped as a part of the chassis and may have to be twisted out with pliers or a screwdriver.Doing that may leave a sharp barb.

File it down now or it will cut you later.Cases often arrive with the plates already removed from one floppy drive bay and one externally accessible 5. 25"drive bay (for a CD or DVD drive).You need not remove the metal plates from positions where you will not be mounting externally accessible drives. To make the system easier to work on,we sometimes remove all anti-RFI plates,risking the wrath of the FCC.(See Figure 28-3.)

If you order a case and power supply together,the case usually arrives with the power supply installed.If so,verify that all screws securing the power supply to the case are tight and that the voltage selector (if present)is set to the proper input voltage.If you order a power supply separately,install it by aligning any locking tabs and slots,sliding the power supply into position, and securing the screws.Manufacturers often use cable ties to secure the wires coming from the power supply in a neat bundle.If so,carefully nip the cable ties with your diagonal cutters to free the wires.Better power supplies come with spare cable ties that you can use later to dress the wires.Electrical tape or the yellow plastic ties supplied with garbage bags work just as well.