Pocket PCRef [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

While they say "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" I'm trying anyway. As a broken down old HVAC mechanic, I've worked IN hard drives. Time to work ON them.

Over the past few years I've been doing a great deal of computer work from programming to desktop/laptop repair. I've gain enough experience to REALLY appreciate all the knowledge that this book has to offer.
From it's initial Troubleshooting Tools section, followed by Command & OS Reference, Hardware & Wiring,Storage,General Info sections I'll use this as much, if not more, than Google searches.

Includes everything for Win 7 and prior.
Unix command section is included for those of us diving into Ubuntu and beyond...
OpenSource Rocks !!!

While still a "Geek Wannabe" I will say that this is a definite "gotta have" for REAL pros as well as "enthusiasts" like myself.
I've yet to see a better resource for troubleshooting!!!
My ONLY problem with the book is it's small print.
Thank God Walgreen's has those "3 for" sales on reading glasses!!!

To the Glovers & Youngs Thank You!!!

I am very disappointed in this book.
I have another of the authors books and felt that if he did half as good a job on the current title, it would be worth it. I took a chance after failing to find a description of just what was in the book and bought it on reputation.
I was hoping to find a book suitable for field technicians making calls on current equipment. (like pp 1-618 with with crib sheets for MS office, a five year list of Dell and HP laptops and desktop models with year of final production, a list of essential tech certifications and the company contact info, perhaps gauges of wires, threads per inch of english and metric screws, a chart of time zones, the NATO phonetic alphabet, and so on.)
This book, as it stands, would probably be useful for OEMs, manufacturers, system builders and devotees of legacy equipment.
It is not at all what I hoped for or expected and is not of any real use to me. The items in the troubleshooting and command sections are easily available of the web.
Chapter 11 on Wiring and Pinouts is nicely done and if I had decided to keep the book that is where I would have sliced it in two.
The unicode standard was very disappointing, not a single glyph in it, not even a list of ranges.
By the way the book is no longer in shirt pocket dimentsions.
It is now 4" x 6"
I am sure the author had a fun time compiling the monster acronym Glossary at the end, but when I checked it against my study notes for the CompTIA acronyms needed to pass that basic exam I found quite a few missing items such as: ESCD HVD LPX LVD MSDS PGA REt SCE WRAM WSH

Here is what you will find in the book: (Having a LookInside would be very nice)

Table of Contents

Introduction;
Preface;
Acknowledgments;
Sequoia Products 4

Troubleshooting
1. Troubleshooting Tools 7 (verbal tools, not software)
2. Startup Programs, Processes and Task Manager 27
3. Error Codes - PC BIOS, BIOS Post & HTTP 35
4. Networking 61

Command & OS References
5. Windows Command Reference for NT, 2000, XP, Vista,
Win 7, & partial for Windows Servers 2000, 2003, 2008 71
7. DOS Command Reference through Version 6.22 .299
8. Windows 95-98-ME-NT-XP-Vista-Win7 Keyboard Shortcuts 429
8. UNIX Command Reference 459
9. ASCII and Numerics 479

Hardware & Wiring
10. PC Hardware 499
CPU/Processor Specifications 519
PC Memory Modules 577
11. Wiring, Connectors & Pinouts 585

Storage
12. Hard Drive Specs & Mfg Directory 619
RAID Specifications 623
13. CD-ROM & DVD Drive Specs & Mfg Directory 853
CD-ROM & DVD Syntax and Notes 559
14. Magneto Optical Drive Spec & Mfg Directory 887
MO Syntax and Notes 889
15. Tape Drive Specifications 903
16. Floppy Drive Specifications & Mfg Directory 923

General Information
17. Miscellaneous References 937
History of Windows 938
History of DOS 940
History of Personal Computers 941
Country Domain Name Extensions 953
Emoticons 955
File Name Extensions 959
Language Abbreviations - 2 and 3 Letter Codes 966
Unicode Standard 975
Glossary 977
Index 1067

This book gives computer literate individuals DOS and Windows commands to help with corruption and diagnostics. It lists every type of computer devices and descriptions. Rates software, programs, security software currently available.