| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Foolish Assumptions | p. 1 |
| About This Book | p. 2 |
| Conventions Used in This Book | p. 2 |
| How This Book Is Organized | p. 3 |
| Icons Used in This Book | p. 5 |
| Where to Go from Here | p. 5 |
| Can I Really Do This? | p. 7 |
| What's in a Computer, Anyway? | p. 9 |
| Anyone Can Assemble a PC | p. 10 |
| PCs Are Built with Standard Parts | p. 14 |
| Understanding Your Computer's Components | p. 14 |
| Connecting Your Computer Components | p. 19 |
| What Type of PC Should I Build? | p. 23 |
| Interrogating Yourself on Your Computer Needs | p. 23 |
| Answering Your Computer-Needs Questions | p. 25 |
| Getting Your Hands on the Special Stuff | p. 30 |
| Picking Up the Parts | p. 36 |
| Building Your PC | p. 43 |
| Building the Foundation: Your Case and Motherboard | p. 45 |
| A Case Is Not Just a Box | p. 46 |
| Your Best Friend Is Your Motherboard | p. 54 |
| Grab Your Screwdriver and Install That Motherboard | p. 57 |
| I Laugh at Pesky Wires! | p. 60 |
| A Bag of Chips: Adding RAM and Your CPU | p. 65 |
| FYI about CPUs | p. 66 |
| Your Monster Needs a Brain | p. 68 |
| Add RAM Until the Mixture Thickens | p. 73 |
| Time to Meet Your Bus Slots | p. 76 |
| Fire That Puppy Up! | p. 78 |
| The Three PC Senses: Your Ports, Mouse, and Keyboard | p. 81 |
| Pursuing Your Port Preferences | p. 82 |
| Of Keyboards, Mice, and Men (And Women) | p. 87 |
| Installing a Port Adapter Card | p. 92 |
| Connecting Built-in Ports | p. 94 |
| Connecting Your Keyboard and Pointing Thing | p. 95 |
| Check It Once, and Check It Twice! | p. 96 |
| Images 'R Us: Adding Video and Your Monitor | p. 97 |
| I'm Okay, You're a Video Card | p. 98 |
| Staking Out Your Visual Territory | p. 107 |
| Installing a Video Adapter Card | p. 114 |
| Connecting a Built-in Video Port | p. 116 |
| Connecting Your Monitor | p. 116 |
| Hey, I Can Finally (Kind of) Boot! | p. 117 |
| Make Room! Your Hard Drive and Other Storage Devices | p. 121 |
| "Be Vewy Quiet ... I'm Hunting for Hawd Dwives!" | p. 122 |
| The Ancient Floppy Still Lives--and Why | p. 127 |
| Don't Forget Your Controller Card | p. 128 |
| Backing Up Your Data | p. 129 |
| Selecting a Tape Drive | p. 130 |
| Hey, You Just Removed Your Media! | p. 131 |
| Connecting Your Drive Controller | p. 134 |
| Installing Your EIDE Hard Drive | p. 135 |
| Installing Your 31/2-inch Floppy Disk Drive | p. 137 |
| Installing Your Internal Tape Backup Drive | p. 138 |
| Setting Up Your PC and Configuring Your Hard Drive | p. 139 |
| Formatting Your Hard Drive | p. 140 |
| Adding the Fun Stuff | p. 143 |
| Putting the Spin on CD-ROM and DVD | p. 145 |
| Discovering the Details about CD-ROM and DVD | p. 146 |
| What You Need to Know about DVD | p. 153 |
| What You Need to Know about CD and DVD Recorders | p. 155 |
| Installing Your EIDE CD-ROM or DVD Drive | p. 160 |
| Loading Drivers and Testing Everything | p. 162 |
| Let Your PC Rock! | p. 163 |
| Sorting Out Sound Card Basics | p. 164 |
| Uhh ... Is This Microphone On? | p. 170 |
| Speaking of Speakers | p. 173 |
| The Subwoofer: Big Dog of Computer Speakers | p. 175 |
| Putting Together Your PC Sound System | p. 176 |
| Modems and the Call of the Internet | p. 181 |
| A Modem Primer for Real People | p. 182 |
| Will That Be a Card or a Case? | p. 187 |
| Time to Face the Fax | p. 188 |
| Let Your Modem Speak! | p. 191 |
| Installing an Internal Modem | p. 192 |
| Connecting an External Serial Modem | p. 193 |
| Connecting an External USB Modem | p. 194 |
| Installing Software and Testing Your Modem | p. 195 |
| Adding the Advanced Stuff | p. 197 |
| Attack of the SCSI Monster | p. 199 |
| Do I Really Need SCSI? | p. 200 |
| Figuring Out SCSI (Or, "It Sounds So Simple!") | p. 201 |
| Your SCSI Shopping List | p. 208 |
| Installing Your SCSI Card | p. 210 |
| Adding an Internal SCSI Device | p. 211 |
| Connecting an External SCSI Device | p. 212 |
| Installing Software and Testing Your SCSI Adapter | p. 213 |
| Troubleshooting Your SCSI Devices | p. 214 |
| So You Want to Add a LAN? | p. 215 |
| Adding the Network Advantage | p. 216 |
| Deciding Which Network Architecture Is Best for You | p. 218 |
| Collecting What You Need for an Ethernet Network | p. 223 |
| There Are Always Exceptions! | p. 227 |
| Installing Your Network Interface Card | p. 230 |
| Connecting a Coaxial Cable | p. 231 |
| Connecting a Twisted Pair Cable | p. 232 |
| Turning Things On | p. 232 |
| Life in the Fast Lane with Broadband | p. 235 |
| Figuring Out Whether You Need Broadband | p. 236 |
| Comparing Communications Technologies | p. 237 |
| Figuring Out Those Connection Charges | p. 240 |
| Locating an Internet Service Provider | p. 241 |
| Input and Output: Scanners, Cameras, Video Capture, and Printers | p. 243 |
| The Wide, Wonderful World of Scanners | p. 244 |
| Digital Camera Details | p. 251 |
| Digital Video Capture: Its Time Has Come | p. 254 |
| One Word: Printers, Printers, Printers! | p. 255 |
| Installing a Scanner or Printer with a Parallel Port Interface | p. 260 |
| Installing a Scanner, Capture Device, or Printer with a USB Connection | p. 261 |
| Other Power User Play Toys | p. 263 |
| Live, Via Satellite: The Internet! | p. 264 |
| Reading a Pesky Macintosh Disk | p. 268 |
| Conversing with Quake | p. 268 |
| Even People like You and Me Need Internet Security | p. 269 |
| Hey, I Can Get TV and FM Radio on My PC! | p. 270 |
| Store Digital Data the Old-Fashioned Way--On Paper | p. 271 |
| Backing Up to the Web | p. 273 |
| Will You Move the Joystick, or Will It Move You? | p. 273 |
| The Part of Tens | p. 275 |
| Ten Reasons Not to Buy a Retail PC | p. 277 |
| It Just Plain Costs Less to Build Your Own PC! | p. 278 |
| Recycle Used and Scavenged Hardware | p. 278 |
| Avoid the Monster Myth | p. 279 |
| Encourage Freedom of Choice! | p. 279 |
| Enjoy the Learning Experience | p. 280 |
| Spare Yourself the Shipping and Repair Hassles | p. 280 |
| Dodge Bundled Software Costs and Get What You Want | p. 281 |
| Avoid the Computer Sales Experience | p. 281 |
| Select the Brands That You Prefer | p. 282 |
| Get the Full Warranty for Each Part | p. 282 |
| Ten Tools and Tasks for a Power User's PC | p. 283 |
| Forget Your Mouse | p. 284 |
| Guard That Power Supply! | p. 284 |
| Back Up, Back Up, Back Up | p. 285 |
| Diagnostics Software to the Rescue | p. 286 |
| Stick Your Keyboard in a Drawer! | p. 286 |
| Stop the Spread of Viruses | p. 287 |
| Organize Your Software | p. 288 |
| Use the Power of Your Voice | p. 288 |
| Everyone Needs a Good Image Editor | p. 289 |
| Keep It Clean! | p. 289 |
| Ten Important Assembly Tips | p. 291 |
| Read the Instructions First! (Rule Number One) | p. 291 |
| Build the Perfect Workspace | p. 292 |
| Keep Track of UTOs (Unidentified Tiny Objects) | p. 292 |
| Make Sure That You Have Everything You Need | p. 293 |
| Yell for Help If Necessary | p. 293 |
| Use a Magnetic Screwdriver | p. 294 |
| Start Your Own Parts Box | p. 294 |
| Take Your Time: The Zen of Assembly | p. 295 |
| Don't Cover Up Too Quickly | p. 295 |
| The Cable Rule: Check and Double-Check | p. 296 |
| Ten Ways to Speed Up Your PC | p. 297 |
| Defragment Your Hard Drive | p. 297 |
| Get SCSI (Speed Demons Love SCSI) | p. 298 |
| Install More RAM | p. 298 |
| Crank Up the CPU Steam | p. 298 |
| Keep Your Backgrounds Plain | p. 299 |
| Install a Fast CD-ROM or DVD Drive | p. 299 |
| Remove Resident Programs | p. 300 |
| Accelerate Windows with Your Video Card | p. 301 |
| Use a Native File System | p. 301 |
| Don't Forget That Turbo Button! | p. 302 |
| Ten Things to Avoid Like the Plague | p. 303 |
| It's "Refurbished" for a Reason | p. 304 |
| Looking for an Antique? Buy a Pentium II CPU | p. 304 |
| Never Depend on Floppies | p. 305 |
| Help Stamp Out Unnecessary Passwords! | p. 306 |
| Honor Thy Friend's Copyright | p. 306 |
| Your PC Is Not a Kindergarten | p. 306 |
| Don't Jump on the Pirate Ship | p. 307 |
| Keep Out of Monitors and Power Supplies | p. 307 |
| Don't Lease a PC for the Long Haul | p. 308 |
| Keep Track of Version Numbers | p. 308 |
| Appendixes | p. 309 |
| Choosing Your Operating System | p. 311 |
| Become Your Own Consultant! | p. 311 |
| "But, Wait--I Collect Operating Systems!" | p. 313 |
| DOS: The Old Workhorse Lives On | p. 314 |
| OS/2 Warp: The Original 32-Bit Wonder | p. 315 |
| Windows 95/98/Me: Thanks for the Memories | p. 317 |
| Windows 2000: Microsoft's First String | p. 317 |
| Windows XP: The King of the Hill | p. 319 |
| Linux: It's Not Just for Techno-nerds! | p. 322 |
| Before You Install Your Operating System | p. 324 |
| Glossary | p. 327 |
| Index | p. 341 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |