Upgrading and Fixing Computers Do-it-Yourself For Dummies

Andy Rathbone is a bestselling author of computer reference books including Windows For Dummies, which has sold millions of copies in its several editions. Andy has also covered consumer technologies such as TiVo and MP3 players.

• Introduction 1Part I: Getting Ready to Upgrade 7Chapter 1: Start Here First 9Chapter 2: Assembling Your Tools 23Part II: Making Your Computer Work Better 27Chapter 3: Keyboards, Mice, Game Controllers, and Monitors 29Chapter 4: Printers and Scanners 51Chapter 5: Adding More Memory 67Chapter 6: Adding or Replacing a Hard Drive 73Chapter 7: Adding a DVD Drive 101Chapter 8: Fine-Tuning Your Computer’s Sound 109Chapter 9: Beefi ng Up Your Computer’s Video Card 119Chapter 10: Replacing the Power Supply or Laptop Battery 129Part III: Teaching an Old Computer New Tricks 139Chapter 11: Creating a Home Theater with Windows 7’s Media Center 141Chapter 12: Upgrading a Computer for Editing Movies 155Chapter 13: Repurposing an Old Computer 161Part IV: Communications 171Chapter 14: Adding or Replacing a Modem 173Chapter 15: Linking Computers with a Network 185Chapter 16: Filtering Out Evil with Firewalls 199Part V: Introducing Parts to Windows 207Chapter 17: Hiring the Right Driver for Windows 209Chapter 18: Installing or Upgrading to Windows 7 227Chapter 19: Troubleshooting and Fixing Windows 7 247Chapter 20: Moving from the Old Computer to the New Computer 265Part VI: The Part of Tens 277Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Find Help Online 279Chapter 22: Ten Cheap Fixes to Try First 287Appendix: The Rathbone Reference of Fine Ports 293Index 303