Loaded with solid advice in the fun style typical of this series, Upgrading & Fixing PCs for Dummies is an excellent introduction to what makes your computer go. If you're sure you can put your new modem or video card in by yourself (and you can), this book will provide you with the help you need.

Rathbone starts with an introduction to all the mysterious connections on the back of your computer's case, teaching you how to distinguish a game port from a serial port and an audio jack from a network connection. He then moves inside the case, using drawings and diagrams to illustrate processors, peripheral cards, memory modules, and other internal components. Troubleshooting occupies much of this book, and the author explains the basic "identify and isolate" strategy very well. He also points out what to look and listen for, describing, for example, the meaning of the beeps you hear when you turn your computer on.

Some of Rathbone's organizational decisions seem weird. He covers the procedure for replacing an internal modem in a chapter about all kinds of internal expansion cards, rather than in the modem chapter. But the information is there and it is well presented, so Upgrading & Fixing PCs for Dummies makes an excellent resource for hardware novices. — David Wall — This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.