Prije mnogo godina, kada sam popravljao računala u trgovini elektronikom, radije sam uživao u tome da me gledaju kao na neku vrstu mađioničara. Drugi ljudi nisu znali koliko lako mogu biti popravci računala, zbog čega sam bio jako zauzet u radionici. I prema onome što sam od tada vidio na svojim internetskim^(Internet) putovanjima, ljudi su još uvijek oprezni pokušavajući sami riješiti probleme s računalom. Zbog toga sam s velikim zanimanjem pokupio Rješavanje problema i održavanje vašeg računala All-In-One za lutke . ^{(Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC All-In-One for Dummies)}Može li ova knjiga biti ta koja je pustila "mačku" za popravak jednostavnog računala iz torbe?

Popravljanje stvari "na šest načina od nedjelje^(Sunday) "

Ova knjiga obećava da će biti "šest knjiga u jednoj". "Šest knjiga" (zapravo, šest odjeljaka jedne prilično velike knjige) su hardver, softver, prijenosna računala, internet, umrežavanje^{(Hardware, Software, Laptops, Internet, Networking,)} i održavanje^{(Maintenance)} . Svaki započinje pregledom najčešćih problema, a zatim detaljno opisuje svaki problem i daje upute za otkrivanje što zapravo nije u redu. Knjiga zatim vodi čitatelja kroz rješenje i u većini slučajeva čini da proces zvuči dovoljno jednostavno da se većina ljudi neće bojati pokušati. Kao i sa svim knjigama Dummies , ton je bezbrižan. Autor Dan Gookinnapisao je mnogo knjiga u seriji, a ima balans humora i ozbiljnih informacija. A budući da u ovoj knjizi ima puno ozbiljnih informacija koje treba pokriti, to doista pomaže čitatelju olakšati proces. Prevladavanje straha od zabrljanja nečega goreg nego što već jest najvažniji je korak u obavljanju vlastitog popravka računala, a imati jasne upute pred sobom uvelike doprinosi davanju povjerenja novom popravljaču računala.

Najviše problema, najviše rješenja

Kao što se moglo očekivati, poglavlja o hardveru^(Hardware) i softveru^(Software) najveća su u knjizi. Svako poglavlje ima pododjeljke za uobičajene probleme, a počinje pregledom onoga što bi se trebalo dogoditi i što bi moglo poći po zlu. Odjeljak Hardver^(Hardware) počinje s poglavljem pod nazivom "Neka bude PC"^{("Let There Be PC")} koje je podijeljeno u odjeljke koji daju brzi pregled uobičajenih problema. Svaki od ovih odjeljaka ima poglavlja pod naslovima "Što se događa"^{("What happens")} i "Što može poći po zlu". ^{("What can go wrong.")}Ova uvodna poglavlja upućuju čitatelja na detaljnije informacije kasnije u knjizi. Ovo je vrlo koristan resurs i olakšava pronalaženje rješenja. ZatimRješavanje problema i održavanje vašeg računala All-In-One za lutke^{(Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC All-In-One for Dummies)}prelazi sasvim logično na razlog zašto se vaše računalo neće uključiti i vodi čitatelja kroz moguće neinvazivne popravke (poput provjere je li kabel za napajanje uključen, što je nešto s čime se gotovo svatko, bez obzira na to koliko je iskusni, barem jednom). Zatim postupno ulazi u probleme s operativnim sustavom, probleme s isključivanjem, probleme s pohranom, probleme s videom i mnoge probleme koji se mogu imati s perifernim uređajima. Tek na stranici 145 knjiga sugerira da bi moglo biti vrijeme da se otvori kućište računala, dopuštajući čitatelju da usput izgradi samopouzdanje za to. Nakon što se riješi problem "O moj Bože, moram otvoriti slučaj", rješavanje problema s labavim kabelima, nagomilavanjem topline i napajanjem čini se prilično jednostavnim. Knjiga također objašnjava kako dodati više memorije, više kartica i više prostora za pohranu,

Prema mom iskustvu s popravkom računala, čini se da problemi sa softverom izluđuju ljude češće nego hardverski problemi, i to s dobrim razlogom. Unatoč svim Microsoftovim^(Microsoft) najboljim naporima, Windows se ne ponaša uvijek onako kako većina nas misli da bi trebao, a čini se da Microsoftovi^(Microsoft) programeri vole poruke o greškama koje su ili previše zagonetne da bi ih razumjeli ili vam ne govore što zapravo nije u redu . Odjeljak o softveru^(Software) pažljivo, razumno, korak po korak pristupa svakom uobičajenom problemu, što je apsolutno najbolji način za promišljanje stvari. Vodi korisnika kroz računalni žargon poput programa, procesa i usluga, objašnjava Safe Modei kako ga koristiti, a zatim dobro i temeljito pokazuje čitatelju kako biti učinkovit alat za rješavanje problema. Bavi se korisničkim računima i kontrolom korisničkog računa^{(User Account Control)} , resursima sustava i oporavkom podataka, a zatim se bavi Registrom^(Registry) . Bilo mi je prilično čudno da je nekoliko stranica uputa o uređivanju Registra^(Registry) završilo strogim upozorenjem da se ne petlja s njim. To je izvrsno upozorenje, ali zašto govoriti ljudima kako se petljati s registrom^(Registry) (čak i s uputama da ga prvo sigurnosno kopiraju), a zatim reći Nemojte to raditi^{(Don't Do It)} ? Iako se odjeljak Softver^(Software) bavi drugim verzijama sustava Windows , njegov je primarni fokus na Windows 7, i sasvim iskreno, mislim da je samo ovaj odjeljak vrijedan cijene knjige.

Misliti manje, misliti veće

Odjeljak o prijenosnim računalima^(Laptops) raspoređen je istim redoslijedom kao i prethodni odjeljci, počevši od problema s napajanjem i pokretanjem koji su uobičajeni za prijenosna računala. Govori o nakupljanju topline i problemima koji mogu uzrokovati, te spominju rashladne uređaje koji bi mogli biti korisni. Postoji odjeljak o Windows Mobility Centeru^{(Windows Mobility Center)} , za koji nisam znao da postoji dok nisam pročitao knjigu, ali ću od sada redovito provjeravati.

Tu su savjeti o kupnji torbe za prijenosno računalo i razumnim mjerama opreza koje trebate poduzeti kada putujete, te kratki dio o održavanju prijenosnog računala, što u ovom slučaju uglavnom znači čišćenje stvari bez nanošenja štete. Iako govori o kupnji više memorije i većih tvrdih diskova, ne ulazi u detalje o tome kako se te stvari instaliraju. Mislim da je ili trebalo postojati generičko objašnjenje kako se izvode ova ažuriranja hardvera ili je trebalo postojati upozorenje da se te stvari prepuste iskusnom tehničaru. Neki proizvođači znatno olakšavaju zamjenu memorije i tvrdog diska od drugih, a korisnici prijenosnih računala toga bi trebali biti svjesni.

Nevolje na webu i dalje

Internetski dio^(Internet) je prilično kratak, ali prepun korisnih savjeta. Posebno mi se svidio dio o širokopojasnim modemima. Mnogi problemi s internetskom vezom^{(Internet-connection)} mogu se riješiti uz malo znanja o modemima, a ovaj bi odjeljak mogao uštedjeti mnogo vremena i frustracija pokušavajući doći do pozivnog centra vašeg ISP -a. ^(ISP)Mnogi bi to smatrali vrijednim cijene knjige. Tu je i dobar dugačak odjeljak koji opisuje uobičajene probleme s dial-up vezama, a ovo je također vrijedno čitanja. Svidjeli su mi se i opisi kako pingati, nešto drugo što vas može staviti korak ispred call centra ISP -a. ^(ISP)Postoje lijepi jasni opisi čitavog niza uobičajenih problema s preglednikom, ali oni su nažalost ograničeni naInternet Explorer , bez ikakvih naznaka hoće li iste opće tehnike funkcionirati i na drugim preglednicima. Uz rastuću popularnost Firefoxa^(Firefox) i Chromea^(Chrome) , mislio sam da ta dva zaslužuju barem spomen. Barem se odjeljak o e-pošti drži prilično općenito, što sam mislio da je plus. Postoji dobar odjeljak s objašnjenjem zlonamjernog softvera i načinom na koji ćete ga najvjerojatnije dobiti, te dobar savjet o tome što učiniti ako se nađete u nevolji. No opet^(Again) , upute za izbjegavanje krađe identiteta trebale su spominjati više od Internet Explorera^{(Internet Explorer)} . Odjeljak o Windows Defenderu^{(Windows Defender)} prvenstveno je namijenjen korisnicima sustava Windows 7^{(Windows 7)} , iako autor navodi URLza osobe koje koriste Windows Vista i Windows XP da lociraju svoje verzije softvera bez Microsofta^(Microsoft) . Tu je i odjeljak posvećen korištenju Windows Explorera^{(Windows Explorer)} za ftp pristup, ali iskreno, nakon što sam to pokušao u prošlosti, volio bih da je autor spomenuo nekoliko sjajnih besplatnih ftp klijenata, od kojih je većina lakša za korištenje. Odjeljak Umrežavanje^(Networking) prvenstveno je namijenjen i korisnicima sustava Windows 7^{(Windows 7)} , ali postoje jasne upute za korisnike Windows Vista i Windows XP . Rješavanje problema i održavanje vašeg računala All-In-One za lutke^{(Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC All-In-One for Dummies)}detaljno govori o svim problemima koji se mogu pojaviti u povezivanju i održavanju kućne mreže, te bi trebao biti glavni resurs za uštedu vremena i sveobuhvatan resurs za nesmetano odvijanje stvari.

Održavanje i još mnogo toga

Odjeljak Održavanje^{(Maintenance)} sadrži mnoštvo detalja o izradi sigurnosnih kopija i vraćanju iz njih, što bi trebalo biti obavezno pročitano. Svidio mi se i dio koji se bavi čišćenjem vašeg tvrdog diska i uklanjanjem prostora koji ne mora ostati tamo. (Počeo sam s tvrdim diskom od 32 mega, da, meg, tako da sam još uvijek za uklanjanje velikih količina smeća.) Pomalo sam se iznenadio kad sam pronašao odjeljak o defragmentaciji diska. Danas^(Nowadays) stručnjaci nisu toliko sigurni da je pogone potrebno defragmentirati, pogotovo jer se najnovije verzije Windowsa^(Windows) brinu za to automatski, ali informacije bi mogle biti vrlo korisne za ljude koji koriste starije verzije sustava Windowsili starije tvrde diskove. Bilo mi je zabavno pronaći odjeljak o čišćenju vašeg računala u odjeljku Održavanje^{(Maintenance)} , ali to ide zajedno s uputama za čišćenje u odjeljku Laptop i moglo bi biti poticaj za suočavanje s prljavim tipkovnicama, ekranima s otiscima prstiju i prašinom -popunjeni slučajevi.

Sviđanja i nesviđanja

Mislim da je očito da mi se ova knjiga svidjela. Zapravo, pisanje recenzije trajalo je dulje nego inače jer sam stalno prestajao stavljati Post-It zastavice na stranice na koje sam se želio vratiti i primijeniti na svoja računala. Autorov bezbrižan pristup čini rad s mnoštvom vrlo ozbiljnih informacija što ugodnijim. Sve^(Everything) je obrađeno detaljno i na način koji čitatelju može dati povjerenje da nastavi dalje. Zapravo, nije bilo puno toga što bi se moglo ne svidjeti. Spomenuo sam problem s govorenjem ljudima kako se petljaju s Registryom^(Registry) , a zatim ih upozoriti da to ne rade, te činjenicu da su programi koji nisu Microsoftovi^(Microsoft) potpuno isključeni. Iako sigurno ne bi bilo izvedivo istražiti drugi softver s istim detaljima kaoPonude Microsofta^(Microsoft) , mislim da je trebalo spomenuti neke alternative, s URL-ovima^(URLs) za njihovo pronalaženje.

Presuda

Nije da želim izbaciti svoje kolege koji popravljaju računala iz posla, razumiješ, ali stvarno mislim da svi koji koriste računalo više nego samo povremeno i koji nemaju ograničenja vezana uz posao u pogledu onoga što mogu raditi, moraju dobiti ova knjiga. Čak i ako se odlučite ne petljati oko vašeg računala, znajući što će vjerojatno uzrokovati problem može uštedjeti puno vremena kada je u pitanju traženje stručnjaka da ga popravi. A ako ipak odlučite sami obaviti posao, vrlo brzo ćete otkriti što su mnogi ljudi koji se bave popravkom računala naučili davno—ovo je jednostavno. Stvarno. Sve što trebate su upute.

Book Review - Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC All-In-One for Dummies

Years ago, when I fixed сomputers at an electronics store, I rathеr enjoyed being viewed as sоme kind of magician. Other people didn't know just how easy many computer repairs can be, which kept me very busy in the repair shop. And from what I've seen in my Internet traνels since then, people are still wary of trying to fix cоmputer problems themselves. This іs why I рicked up Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC All-In-One for Dummies with great interest. Could this book be the one that let the simple-computer-repair "cat" out of the bag?

Fixing things "six ways from Sunday"

This book promises to be "six books in one." The "six books" (actually, six sections of one rather large book) are Hardware, Software, Laptops, Internet, Networking, and Maintenance. Each begins with an overview of the most common problems, and then describes each problem in detail and gives instructions for finding out what's actually wrong. The book then walks the reader through the solution, and in most cases makes the process sound easy enough that most people won't be afraid to give it a try. As with all Dummies books, the tone is lighthearted. Author Dan Gookin has written a lot of the books in the series, and he's got the balance of humor to serious information down pat. And, since there is a lot of serious information to be covered in this book, that really helps to ease the reader into the process. Overcoming the fear of messing something up worse than it already is is the most important step in doing your own computer repairs, and having clear instructions in front of you goes a long way toward giving the new computer repair person confidence.

The most problems, the most solutions

As one might expect, the Hardware and Software chapters are the biggest in the book. Each chapter has subsections for common problems, and starts off with an overview of what's supposed to happen and what could go wrong. The Hardware section starts out with a chapter called "Let There Be PC" that is divided into sections that give a quick overview of common problems. Each of these sections has chapters titled "What happens" and "What can go wrong." These introductory chapters point the reader to more detailed information later in the book. This is a very helpful resource and it makes finding the solutions very easy. Then Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC All-In-One for Dummies moves on quite logically to why your computer won't turn on, and walks the reader through possible non-invasive fixes (like making sure the power cord is plugged in, which is something nearly everyone, no matter how experienced, has encountered at least once). Then it works its way gradually into operating system issues, shutdown issues, storage issues, video issues and the many problems one can have with peripherals. It's not till page 145 that the book suggests that it might be time to open up the computer case, allowing the reader to build up some confidence for that along the way. Once the "Oh my gosh, I have to open up the case" issue is dealt with, fixing problems with loose cables, heat buildup and the power supply seems pretty simple. The book also explains how to add more memory, more cards, and more storage, all of which are simple tasks that can appear scary to the newcomer.

In my experience with computer repair, software problems seem to drive people crazy more often than hardware problems, and for good reason. Despite all of Microsoft's best efforts, Windows doesn't always behave the way most of us think it should, and Microsoft's programmers seem to love error messages that are either too cryptic to understand or don't tell you what's really wrong. The Software section takes a careful, reasonable, step by step approach to each common problem, which is absolutely the best way to think things through. It walks the user through computer jargon like programs, processes, and services, explains Safe Mode and how to use it, and then does a good thorough job of showing the reader how to be an efficient troubleshooter. It deals with user accounts and User Account Control, system resources and data recovery, and then deals with the Registry. I found it rather odd that several pages of instructions on editing the Registry ended with a stern warning not to mess with it. That's an excellent warning, but why tell people how to mess around with the Registry (even with instructions to back it up first) and then say Don't Do It? Although the Software section does deal with other versions of Windows, its primary focus is on Windows 7, and quite frankly, I think this section alone is worth the price of the book.

Thinking smaller, thinking bigger

The section on Laptops is arranged in the same order as the previous sections, beginning with power and startup issues common to laptops. It talks about heat buildup and the problems that can cause, and mentions cooling devices that may be useful. There's a section on the Windows Mobility Center, which is something I didn't know existed till I read the book, but will be checking regularly from now on.

There's advice on buying a laptop bag, and sensible precautions to take when you travel, and a short section on laptop maintenance, which in this case mostly means cleaning things off without causing damage. While it talks about buying more memory and larger hard drives, it doesn't go into detail about how these things are installed. I think either there should have been a generic explanation of how these hardware updates are done, or there should have been a warning to leave these things to an experienced technician. Some manufacturers make memory and hard drive replacement a lot easier than others, and laptop users should be aware of this.

Web woes and beyond

The Internet section is fairly short, but packed with useful advice. I especially liked the section on broadband modems. A lot of Internet-connection problems can be solved with a bit of knowledge about modems, and this section could save plenty of time and frustration trying to get through to your ISP's call center. Many people would consider this worth the cost of the book. There's also a good long section describing common problems with dial-up connections, and this also is well worth reading. I also liked the descriptions of how to ping, something else that can put you one step ahead of the ISP call center. There are nice clear descriptions of a whole host of common browser issues, but unfortunately those are limited to Internet Explorer, without any indication of whether the same general techniques will work on other browsers as well. With the increasing popularity of Firefox and Chrome, I thought those two deserved at least a mention. At least the section on email is kept fairly generic, which I thought was a plus. There's a good section explaining malware and how one's most likely to get it, and good solid advice on what to do should you find yourself in trouble. Again, though, the instructions for avoiding phishing should have mentioned more than Internet Explorer. The section on Windows Defender is aimed primarily at Windows 7 users, although the author provides a URL for people using Windows Vista and Windows XP to locate their versions of the software free from Microsoft. There's also a section devoted to using Windows Explorer for ftp access, but honestly, having tried that in the past, I wish the author had mentioned a few of the great free ftp clients out there, most of which are easier to use. The Networking section is aimed primarily at Windows 7 users as well, but there are clear instructions for Windows Vista and Windows XP users. Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC All-In-One for Dummies goes into great detail about all the problems one might have in connecting and maintaining a home network, and should be a major time-saver and all-around resource for keeping things running smoothly.

Maintenance and more

The Maintenance section goes into a wealth of detail about making backups and restoring from them, which should be required reading. I also liked the section that deals with cleaning up your hard drive and removing space hogs that don't need to stay there. (I started out with a 32 meg, yes, meg, hard drive, so I'm still all in favor of removing mass quantities of junk.) I was somewhat surprised to find a section on disk defragmentation. Nowadays, experts are not so certain that drives need defragmenting, especially since the newest versions of Windows take care of that automatically, but the information could be very useful for people who are using older versions of Windows or older hard disks. I was amused to find a section on cleaning your computer in the Maintenance section, but that goes along with the how-to-clean instructions in the Laptop section, and could provide an incentive for dealing with scummy keyboards, fingerprint-marked screens and dust-filled cases.

Likes and dislikes

I think it's obvious that I liked this book. In fact, writing the review took longer than usual because I kept stopping to put Post-It flags on the pages I wanted to come back to and apply to my own computers. The author's light-hearted approach makes dealing with a wealth of very serious information as pleasant as can be. Everything is covered in detail and in a way that can give the reader confidence to carry on. There wasn't much not to like, actually. I mentioned the problem with telling people how to mess with the Registry and then warning them not to do it, and the fact that non-Microsoft programs were completely shut out. While it certainly would not have been feasible to explore other software in the same detail as the Microsoft offerings, I do think some alternatives should have been mentioned, with URLs to find them.

Verdict

Not that I want to put my fellow computer repair people out of business, you understand, but I really think everyone who uses a computer more than just casually, and who doesn't have work related restrictions on what they can do, needs to get this book. Even if you decide not to fiddle around with your computer, knowing what is likely to be causing the problem can save a lot of time when it comes to asking a professional to fix it. And if you do decide to do the work yourself, well, pretty soon you'll discover what a lot of computer repair people learned long ago—this stuff is easy. Really. All you need is the directions.

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