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Troubleshooting Your PC for Dummies, 2nd Edition Review by J. E. Robinson
Windows 98 and ME Good, But A Bit Dated Now for XP
This is was published in 2002, and has basic information on Windows 98, ME, and XP. It seems to cover the important things about XP. Overall, the book is good but at least five or six step by step recipes no longer work (I guess) as a result of changes to XP. I gave it 5 stars, but the book alone does not work nor is it current. You must seek additional help on the web or from Microsoft using their automated support to be 100% correct ("Microsoft Help and Support"). So, I recommend the book highly as a loaner from the library, not as a purchase, and use it with Microsoft resources and other web information.
As a reference point, I have a strong technical background in science and engineering and have used all versions of Windows going back for 14 years to Windows 3.1. Overall, I was surprised by the amount of detailed information in the book.
Before using the book, I recommend that you first download all Windows software updates on your computer, both for Windows XP, and all the drivers such as the printer software, and then see if that fixes all your problems. That is free and puts everything on the same basis. I had trouble printing with Adobe 8 on an older computer that I just inherited until the updates were installed. It was running on Windows XP, and the downloads fixed most problems. I did over 100 Microsoft XP downloads (all automated and free) plus Windows Service Pack 2 for XP. I still had some issues so I checked out this book from the library.
As with most readers, as one might guess, I did not start at page 1 nor was I overly impressed by the book at first glance. I had a few specific problems and wanted quick guidance. I looked on the Web as well for help and I looked at the book. I started with one problem which was hard to correct. I went to the book and found it in the index. It was a desktop problem, and in fact there are a few tricks using the "desktop" and the problem was not simply my imagination. The solution by Gookin was simple and it worked. After that, I realized that the book looks superficial but it contains a lot of information that most people are too busy to research on the web or read, or have missed. If you want a quick review on many small points, this is a good reference to keep handy. I did not buy the book; I borrowed it from the library for a few days and read it cover-to-cover, and made some notes on anything that was hard to remember, such as going into specific Window files to change obscure settings.
Some think the book is simple and "for computer dummies" and contains simple topics such as de-frag or file cleaning. That is not exactly what the book says. The book recommends that on certain versions of Windows the process fails and third party software should be purchased such as Norton to manage and clean the computer. I had already figured that out myself, but he had a number of other points as well. The main strength of the book (at the present date in 2007) is to use it as guide or road map of the key points to learn. But, one must review and update the details using Microsoft Help on the web as one learns.
Recommend: 5 stars but as a loaner from the library, or buy used.