•	Table of Contents
•	Index
•	Reviews
•	Reader Reviews
•	Errata

PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition
By Publisher			: O''Reilly
Pub Date	: July 2003
ISBN	: 0-596-00513-X
Pages	: 874

		Dedication
		Copyright
		Foreword
		Preface
			Audience
			Organization
			Conventions
			We''d Like to Hear from You
			Acknowledgments
		Chapter 1. Fundamentals
			Section 1.1. PCs Defined
			Section 1.2. PC Components and Technologies
			Section 1.3. System Resources
			Section 1.4. Building or Buying a PC
			Section 1.5. Upgrading a PC
			Section 1.6. Smart Buying Practices
			Section 1.7. Things to Do with Old PCs
		Chapter 2. Working on PCs
			Section 2.1. Rules to Upgrade By
			Section 2.2. Tools
			Section 2.3. General Procedures
		Chapter 3. Motherboards
			Section 3.1. Motherboard Characteristics
			Section 3.2. Choosing a Motherboard
			Section 3.3. Installing a Motherboard
			Section 3.4. Upgrading the System BIOS
			Section 3.5. Our Picks
		Chapter 4. Processors
			Section 4.1. Processor Design
			Section 4.2. Intel Processors
			Section 4.3. AMD Processors
			Section 4.4. Choosing a Processor
			Section 4.5. Forthcoming AMD and Intel Processors
			Section 4.6. Installing a Processor
			Section 4.7. Our Picks
		Chapter 5. Memory
			Section 5.1. Understanding Memory
			Section 5.2. Memory Access Methods
			Section 5.3. CAS Latency
			Section 5.4. Memory Packaging
			Section 5.5. How Much Memory Is Enough?
			Section 5.6. Memory Selection Guidelines
			Section 5.7. Installing Memory
			Section 5.8. Troubleshooting Memory Installation and Operation
			Section 5.9. Our Picks
		Chapter 6. Floppy Disk Drives
			Section 6.1. Diskette Types and Formats
			Section 6.2. Drive Types
			Section 6.3. FDD Interface and Cabling
			Section 6.4. Installing an FDD
			Section 6.5. Working with FDDs
			Section 6.6. Working with Obsolete Diskette Formats
			Section 6.7. Salvaging Diskette Data
			Section 6.8. Our Picks
		Chapter 7. High-Capacity Floppy Disk Drives
			Section 7.1. High-Capacity FDD Types
			Section 7.2. Choosing a High-Capacity FDD
			Section 7.3. Using an ATAPI Zip or SuperDisk Drive as the Boot Device
			Section 7.4. Drive Letter Assignment Problems
			Section 7.5. Our Picks
		Chapter 8. Removable Hard Disk Drives
			Section 8.1. Uses for Removable and External Hard Disk Drives
			Section 8.2. Cartridge-Based Removable Hard Disk Drives
			Section 8.3. Frame/Carrier-Based Removable Hard Disk Drives
			Section 8.4. Our Picks
		Chapter 9. Tape Drives
			Section 9.1. Tape Technologies
			Section 9.2. Choosing a Tape Drive
			Section 9.3. Installing and Configuring a Tape Drive
			Section 9.4. Care and Feeding of a Tape Drive
			Section 9.5. Troubleshooting Tape Drive Problems
			Section 9.6. The Dirty Little Secret of Long Filenames
			Section 9.7. Developing a Backup Strategy
			Section 9.8. Our Picks
		Chapter 10. CD-ROM Drives
			Section 10.1. Compact Disc Fundamentals
			Section 10.2. CD-ROM Drive Performance
			Section 10.3. Choosing a CD-ROM Drive
			Section 10.4. Installing and Configuring a CD-ROM Drive
			Section 10.5. Cleaning a CD-ROM Drive
			Section 10.6. Our Picks
		Chapter 11. CD Writers
			Section 11.1. CD Writers and Media
			Section 11.2. Writable CD Formats
			Section 11.3. CD Recording Methods
			Section 11.4. Buffer Underrun Protection
			Section 11.5. Choosing a CD Writer
			Section 11.6. CD Writer Software
			Section 11.7. Installing and Configuring a CD Writer
			Section 11.8. Updating CD Writer Firmware
			Section 11.9. Media Issues
			Section 11.10. Burning CDs
			Section 11.11. Special Problems and Applications
			Section 11.12. Writable CD Troubleshooting
			Section 11.13. Additional CD-R(W) Source Material
			Section 11.14. Our Picks
		Chapter 12. DVD Drives
			Section 12.1. DVD-ROM
			Section 12.2. DVD Writable and Rewritable
			Section 12.3. Installing and Configuring a DVD Drive
			Section 12.4. Troubleshooting DVD Problems
			Section 12.5. Our Picks
		Chapter 13. Hard Disk Interfaces
			Section 13.1. IDE
			Section 13.2. Serial ATA
			Section 13.3. SCSI
			Section 13.4. ATA Versus SCSI
			Section 13.5. Our Picks
		Chapter 14. Hard Disk Drives
			Section 14.1. How Hard Disks Work
			Section 14.2. Choosing a Hard Disk
			Section 14.3. Installing a PATA (Standard ATA) Hard Disk
			Section 14.4. Installing an SATA Hard Disk
			Section 14.5. Installing a SCSI Hard Disk
			Section 14.6. Preparing a Hard Disk for Use
			Section 14.7. Our Picks
		Chapter 15. Video Adapters
			Section 15.1. Video Adapter Characteristics
			Section 15.2. Choosing a Video Adapter
			Section 15.3. Installing a Video Adapter
			Section 15.4. Configuring Video Under Windows 98/Me/2000/XP
			Section 15.5. Configuring Video under Linux
			Section 15.6. Troubleshooting Video Adapter Problems
			Section 15.7. Our Picks
		Chapter 16. Displays
			Section 16.1. CRT Monitors
			Section 16.2. Flat-Panel Displays
			Section 16.3. Installing and Configuring a Display
			Section 16.4. Troubleshooting Display Problems
			Section 16.5. Our Picks
		Chapter 17. Sound Adapters
			Section 17.1. PC Audio Types
			Section 17.2. MIDI Synthesis Methods
			Section 17.3. Downloadable Sounds
			Section 17.4. Sound Card Components
			Section 17.5. Sound Card Characteristics
			Section 17.6. Choosing a Sound Card
			Section 17.7. Installing a Sound Card
			Section 17.8. Configuring a Sound Card Under Windows 95/98/2000/XP
			Section 17.9. Configuring a Sound Card Under Linux
			Section 17.10. Troubleshooting Sound Card Problems
			Section 17.11. Our Picks
		Chapter 18. Speakers and Headphones
			Section 18.1. Speaker and Headphone Characteristics
			Section 18.2. Choosing Speakers and Headphones
			Section 18.3. Our Picks
		Chapter 19. Keyboards
			Section 19.1. Keyboard Switch Types
			Section 19.2. Keyboard Styles
			Section 19.3. Keyboard Interfaces
			Section 19.4. Choosing a Keyboard
			Section 19.5. Configuring a Keyboard
			Section 19.6. Cleaning a Keyboard
			Section 19.7. Troubleshooting and Repairing Keyboards
			Section 19.8. Our Picks
		Chapter 20. Mice and Trackballs
			Section 20.1. Mice Versus Trackballs
			Section 20.2. Mouse Characteristics
			Section 20.3. Choosing a Mouse
			Section 20.4. Configuring a Mouse or Trackball
			Section 20.5. Cleaning a Mouse
			Section 20.6. Troubleshooting a Mouse
			Section 20.7. Our Picks
		Chapter 21. Game Controllers
			Section 21.1. Game Controller Characteristics
			Section 21.2. Gameport Interface
			Section 21.3. Choosing a Game Controller
			Section 21.4. Installing a Game Controller
			Section 21.5. Troubleshooting Game Controllers
			Section 21.6. Our Picks
		Chapter 22. Serial Communications
			Section 22.1. Serial Communications Overview
			Section 22.2. Serial Ports
			Section 22.3. Serial Cables
			Section 22.4. Installing and Configuring Serial Port Hardware
			Section 22.5. Troubleshooting Serial Port Problems
			Section 22.6. Our Picks
		Chapter 23. Parallel Communications
			Section 23.1. Mapping Parallel Ports to LPTs
			Section 23.2. Our Picks
		Chapter 24. USB Communications
			Section 24.1. USB Characteristics
			Section 24.2. USB Host Controller Interfaces
			Section 24.3. Configuring USB
			Section 24.4. Troubleshooting USB
			Section 24.5. Our Picks
		Chapter 25. Cases
			Section 25.1. Case Characteristics
			Section 25.2. Choosing a Case
			Section 25.3. Our Picks
		Chapter 26. Power Supplies
			Section 26.1. Power Supply Characteristics
			Section 26.2. Volts, Amps, Watts, and Regulation
			Section 26.3. Power Connectors
			Section 26.4. Choosing a Power Supply
			Section 26.5. Installing a Power Supply
			Section 26.6. Troubleshooting Power Supplies
			Section 26.7. Our Picks
		Chapter 27. Backup Power Supplies
			Section 27.1. What BPSs Protect Against
			Section 27.2. BPS Types
			Section 27.3. BPS Characteristics
			Section 27.4. Choosing a BPS
			Section 27.5. Our Picks
		Chapter 28. Building a PC
			Section 28.1. Purchasing Components
			Section 28.2. Building the System
		Colophon
		Index