Software developers make their programs ever more graphical; interfaces become ever more slick. But underneath the buttons and sliders, PCs are electronic systems comprising power supplies, logic processors, and specialized circuitry for such functions as video and sound. When the machine grinds to a halt, someone has to know how to identify the problem and get it straightened out. That's the function of the CompTIA A+ certification, and this new edition of Mike Meyers' A+ Certification Passport will help you earn it. Meyers combines reams of detailed information about IBM-standard PCs (which is to say, those running Intel, AMD, and Cyrix) with rock-solid troubleshooting advice. Look here for electronic details of the IDE and SCSI interfaces, as well as strategies for figuring out whether a problem is in a drive or in its controlling electronics.

Meyers has organized his book around the two A+ exams, which means you'll find excellent coverage of the subjects CompTIA includes (hardware from early days through the Pentium III era, and Microsoft MS-DOS and Windows operating systems through Windows 2000). Inversely, you'll find no coverage of potentially useful subjects that CompTIA doesn't test (Linux and Microsoft Windows XP, most notably). Updated coverage--of new USB and FireWire standards, as well as memory specifications--meets the high standard of the previous edition. This book will help you prepare for the A+ exams; it and a couple of supplementary texts will get you ready for the job site. --David Wall

Topics covered: The electronics of IBM-standard personal computers (motherboards, processors, memory, disk drives, video cards, network interfaces, and so on), and strategies for safely and efficiently troubleshooting and repairing them. Later chapters explain how to do configuration work in Microsoft MS-DOS, Windows 95/98, Windows NT, and Windows 2000 Professional.