Sams Teach Yourself Upgrading and Fixing PCs in 24 Hours (3rd Edition) PDF
Preview Sams Teach Yourself Upgrading and Fixing PCs in 24 Hours (3rd Edition)
01 0672323044 FM 10/22/01 1:28 PM Page i Galen Grimes Teach Yourself Upgrading and Fixing PCs 24 in Hours THIRD EDITION 800 East 96th St.,Indianapolis,Indiana,4624 0 USA 01 0672323044 FM 10/22/01 1:28 PM Page ii Sams Teach Yourself Upgrading and ACQUISITIONSEDITOR Betsy Brown Fixing PCs in 24 Hours, Third Edition DEVELOPMENTEDITOR Copyright © 2002 by Sams Publishing Jonathan Steever All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a MANAGINGEDITOR retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo- Charlotte Clapp copying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the pub- PROJECTEDITOR lisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information Carol Bowers contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or COPYEDITOR omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use Alice Martina Smith of the information contained herein. INDEXER International Standard Book Number: 0-672-32304-4 Erika Millen Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2001096858 PROOFREADERS Rowena Rappaport Printed in the United States of America Suzanne Thomas First Printing: November 2001 TECHNICALEDITOR 03 02 01 4 3 2 1 Dallas G. Releford TEAMCOORDINATOR Trademarks Amy Patton All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service INTERIORDESIGN marks have been appropriately capitalized. Sams Publishing cannot attest to the Gary Adair accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. COVERDESIGN Aren Howell Warning and Disclaimer PRODUCTION Susan Geiselman Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as Rebecca Harmon possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an “as-is” basis. The authors and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages aris- ing from the information contained in this book. 01 0672323044 FM 10/22/01 1:28 PM Page iii Contents at a Glance Introduction 1 Part I: Diagnosing Problems and Planning an Upgrade 3 Hour 1: Making the Decision to Upgrade 5 2: Understanding the Components of Your PC 13 3: Examining Your PC’s System Configuration 27 4: PC Performance Monitoring and Diagnostic Tools 41 5: The Tools of the Trade 51 Part II: Upgrading the Main System Components 63 Hour 6: Upgrading Your PC’s Memory 65 7: Upgrading Your CPU and BIOS 75 8: Replacing Your Main System Board 97 9: Upgrading Your PC’s Case and Power Supply 107 Part III: Upgrading Your Drives 121 Hour 10: Replacing, Upgrading, or Adding a Hard Disk Drive 123 11: Replacing Your Floppy Disk Drive 145 12: Upgrading or Adding a CD-ROM/CD-RW Drive 153 13: Adding a DVD Drive 169 14: Adding a Removable Media Drive 179 Part IV: Upgrading Your Communications Devices and Adding a Home Network 197 Hour 15: Upgrading Your Modem 199 16: Adding a Cable or DSL Modem 211 17: Adding a Home Network 227 18: Expanding Your Home Network by Using Phone Lines or Going Wireless 239 01 0672323044 FM 10/22/01 1:28 PM Page iv Part V: Upgrading Other Peripherals 251 Hour 19: Upgrading Your Keyboard, Mouse, and Other Input Devices 253 20: Upgrading Your Video Card and Monitor 265 21: Upgrading or Adding a Sound System to Your PC 285 22: Selecting and Installing a Printer, Scanner, or Digital Camera 297 23: Upgrading to a New Operating System 319 24: How to Purchase PC Components on the Internet 329 Appendix A: Glossary 339 B: Manufacturers’Reference 345 Index 351 01 0672323044 FM 10/22/01 1:28 PM Page v Contents Introduction 1 PART I Diagnosing Problems and Planning an Upgrade 3 HOUR 1 Making the Decision to Upgrade 5 When to Consider Upgrading Your PC ..................................................................6 What Components in My PC Are Upgradeable? ..................................................7 Upgrading Your Memory (RAM) ..........................................................................8 Upgrading Your Processor ......................................................................................9 Upgrading Your Hard Disk Drive ........................................................................10 Upgrading Your Video System ............................................................................10 Upgrading Other PC Components ........................................................................11 Summary ..............................................................................................................12 Q&A ......................................................................................................................12 HOUR 2 Understanding the Components in Your PC 13 Eliminating Potential Hazards ..............................................................................13 Differentiating Between Desktop and Tower PCs ..........................................................................................................15 Identifying Your PC’s External Connectors ........................................................17 Identifying the Parts Inside Your PC ....................................................................18 Identifying the Main System Board ................................................................19 Identifying the Microprocessor ......................................................................19 Identifying Memory (RAM) ............................................................................21 Identifying Disk Drives ..................................................................................22 Identifying Interface Cards ..............................................................................23 Identifying the PC Power Supply ....................................................................25 Summary ..............................................................................................................25 Q&A ......................................................................................................................25 HOUR 3 Examining Your PC’s System Configuration 27 Obtaining a Systems Configuration Program ......................................................28 Using SysChk to Examine Your PC ....................................................................31 Alternatives to SysChk ........................................................................................36 Summary ..............................................................................................................40 Q&A ......................................................................................................................40 01 0672323044 FM 10/22/01 1:28 PM Page vi vi Sams Teach Yourself Upgrading and Fixing PCs in 24 Hours HOUR 4 PC Performance Monitoring and Diagnostic Tools 41 Performance Monitoring Programs ......................................................................42 Ziff-Davis Media Benchmarks ........................................................................42 SiSoft Sandra ..................................................................................................44 Diagnostic Programs ............................................................................................45 AMIDiag ..........................................................................................................45 The Norton Utilities ........................................................................................46 More Diagnostics Programs You Can Purchase ..............................................47 Hard Disk Diagnostics ....................................................................................47 Summary ..............................................................................................................49 Q&A ......................................................................................................................49 HOUR 5 The Tools of the Trade 51 A Simple Set of Tools ..........................................................................................52 Jeweler Screwdrivers ......................................................................................52 Computer Toolkit ............................................................................................53 Three-Pronged Probe ......................................................................................54 Pencil and Paper ..............................................................................................55 Labels ..............................................................................................................55 Compressed Air ..............................................................................................55 An Advanced Set of Tools ....................................................................................56 Soldering Iron ..................................................................................................56 Voltage Meter ..................................................................................................58 Safety Precautions When You Work on Your PC ................................................59 Unplugging Your PC ......................................................................................59 Grounding Yourself to Prevent Static Electricity ............................................59 Keeping Magnets Away from PCs ..................................................................60 Summary ..............................................................................................................60 Q&A ......................................................................................................................61 PART II Upgrading the Main System Components 63 HOUR 6 Upgrading Your PC’s Memory 65 Memory Is Like Money—More Is Better ............................................................66 Different Types of Memory ..................................................................................67 Installing Memory in Your PC ..............................................................................69 Installing DIMMs ............................................................................................70 Stretching Your Memory a Little Farther ............................................................71 Summary ..............................................................................................................72 Q&A ......................................................................................................................73 01 0672323044 FM 10/22/01 1:28 PM Page vii Contents vii HOUR 7 Upgrading Your CPU and BIOS 75 Understanding Processors ....................................................................................76 The Pentium Series ..........................................................................................77 The Pentium Pro Series ..................................................................................77 The Pentium II Series ......................................................................................77 The Pentium III Series ....................................................................................78 The Pentium 4 Series ......................................................................................79 The AMD Series of CPUs ..............................................................................79 The Cyrix Series of CPUs ..............................................................................80 Identifying Your CPU ..........................................................................................80 PC Bottlenecks ......................................................................................................82 Removing and Installing a CPU ..........................................................................83 Overclocking Your CPU ......................................................................................86 Understanding What Your BIOS Is and What It Does ........................................87 Why You Need to Upgrade Your BIOS ................................................................88 How Do I Upgrade My BIOS? ............................................................................88 Determining Whether You Need to Upgrade Your BIOS ....................................................................................................89 Establishing the Type of BIOS You Have ......................................................89 Different Methods for Upgrading Your BIOS ................................................90 Installing Upgrade BIOS Chips ............................................................................91 Upgrading Flash BIOS ........................................................................................93 Summary ..............................................................................................................94 Q&A ......................................................................................................................94 HOUR 8 Replacing Your Main System Board 97 Are You Upgrading or Replacing? ......................................................................98 How System Boards Have Changed ....................................................................99 The Standard AT System Board ....................................................................100 The Baby AT System Board ..........................................................................100 The LPX Motherboard ..................................................................................101 The ATX Motherboards ................................................................................102 The NLX Motherboard ..................................................................................102 Installing a New System Board ..........................................................................103 More Info on System Boards ..............................................................................105 Summary ............................................................................................................106 Q&A ....................................................................................................................106 HOUR 9 Upgrading Your PC’s Case and Power Supply 107 Deciding to Upgrade Your Case and Power Supply ..........................................108 What to Look for When Shopping for a New Case ..........................................109 Upgrading Your Case ..........................................................................................113 Where You Can Purchase a New Case ..............................................................117 01 0672323044 FM 10/22/01 1:28 PM Page viii viii Sams Teach Yourself Upgrading and Fixing PCs in 24 Hours Power Supplies ..................................................................................................117 Summary ............................................................................................................118 Q&A ....................................................................................................................118 Part III Ugrading Your Drives 121 HOUR 10 Replacing, Upgrading, or Adding a Hard Disk Drive 123 Is Your Upgrade an Addition or a Replacement? ..............................................124 IDE Versus SCSI ................................................................................................124 Installing an IDE Drive in Your PC ....................................................................126 Replacing an Existing Hard Disk Drive ........................................................127 Adding a Second Hard Disk Drive ................................................................130 Installing a SCSI Drive in Your PC ....................................................................132 Adding a Second SCSI Drive ........................................................................136 Preparing Your Drives for Software ..................................................................136 Using FDISK to Create a Disk Partition ......................................................136 Using Partition Magic to Create Your Partitions ..........................................137 Formatting Your Drive ..................................................................................138 Installing an Operating System on Your PC ..................................................139 Alternative to IDE and SCSI Drives ..................................................................139 Tips on Improving Your Hard Disk Performance ..............................................140 Defrag Your Hard Disk Regularly ................................................................141 Delete Unneeded Files ..................................................................................142 Summary ............................................................................................................143 Q&A ....................................................................................................................144 HOUR 11 Replacing Your Floppy Disk Drive 145 A Brief History of Floppy Disk Drives ..............................................................146 Replacing Not Repairing ....................................................................................147 Diagnosing a Broken Floppy Disk Drive ......................................................147 Replacing a Broken Floppy Disk Drive ............................................................148 Alternatives to a Standard 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive ....................................151 Summary ............................................................................................................151 Q&A ....................................................................................................................151 HOUR 12 Upgrading or Adding a CD-ROM/CD-RW Drive 153 Selecting a CD-ROM/CD-RW Drive ................................................................154 SCSI Versus IDE ..........................................................................................156 Installing the Drive in Your PC—Internal Versus External ................................157 Installing an Internal SCSI Drive ......................................................................162 Installing an External Drive ................................................................................162 What About DVD? ............................................................................................165 Summary ............................................................................................................166 Q&A ....................................................................................................................166 01 0672323044 FM 10/22/01 1:28 PM Page ix Contents ix HOUR 13 Adding a DVD Drive to Your PC 169 What Is a DVD? ................................................................................................170 What You Will Find in a Standard DVD Upgrade Kit ......................................170 Installing a DVD Drive in Your PC ....................................................................171 DVD Recordable/Rewritable Drives ..................................................................176 Summary ............................................................................................................176 Q&A ....................................................................................................................176 HOUR 14 Adding a Removable Media Drive 179 Removable Hard Disk Drives ............................................................................180 The Iomega Zip Drive ..................................................................................180 The Iomega Jaz Drive ....................................................................................182 The SyQuest SyJet 1.5 Gigabyte Drive ........................................................183 The SyQuest SparQ 1 Gigabyte Drive ..........................................................183 The SyQuest EZFlyer Drive ..........................................................................183 Other Removable Disk Options ..........................................................................184 Sony HiFD ....................................................................................................185 Castlewood Systems ......................................................................................185 The LS-120 Drive ..........................................................................................186 Tape Backup Drives ............................................................................................186 External Tape Backup Drives ........................................................................187 Internal Tape Backup Drives ........................................................................188 Installing a Removable Media Drive ..................................................................190 Installing an Internal SCSI Removable Media Drive ........................................193 Installing an External Removable Media Drive ................................................193 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Backup Drive ........................................194 Summary ............................................................................................................194 Q&A ....................................................................................................................195 Part IV Upgrading Your Communications Devices 197 HOUR 15 Upgrading Your Modem 199 Understanding Modems ......................................................................................200 Selecting a Modem ............................................................................................200 Installing Your Modem ......................................................................................203 Installing an Internal Modem ........................................................................203 Installing an External Modem ......................................................................205 Why Doesn’t My 56K Modem Transmit at 56K? ..............................................205 Alternatives to Standard Modems ......................................................................206 ISDN ..............................................................................................................206 ADSL ............................................................................................................207 Cable Modems ..............................................................................................208 Summary ............................................................................................................208 Q&A ....................................................................................................................209
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