Product Description

The Winn L. Rosch Hardware Bible provides a background on how things work, puts competing technologies, standards, and products in perspective, and serves as a reference that provides quick answers for common computer and technology questions. It functions as a buying guide, telling not only what to buy, but why. It also lays the foundation for upgrading or repairing a computer, but stops short of the step-by-step mechanics of the process. The chief purpose of the Hardware Bible remains educational. Some new features in this edition include rewritable DVD technology as well as Blu-ray Discs, wireless networking including 802.11a and 802.11b, Bluetooth wireless communications, and extended coverage of digital cameras, scanners, and telecommunications...and much more!

Customer Reviews (21)

Pretty Good, but There Are Better Alternatives
This book is quite interesting and it covers almost every aspect of computer and peripheral hardware. It's fun to read and almost reads like a novel. But, there are several bad points: many typos, some of which are very misleading (esp mixing up megabits (Mb) and megabytes (MB), for example); out-dated (was written in 2003, and lots has changed since then); and some sections are either very boring or very confusing, but this doesn't happen too often.

This book is probably not good for an absolute beginner because some sections do not provide enough background for what is being talked about, but someone with just a small amount of background info should do alright. I've heard of other books that are similar to this one but which are newer and better, so I'd recommend looking for a different book first. Technology changes quickly, so recently-published books are important.

Excellent!
I'm majoring in Computer Maintenance and this book is an excellent reference. I highly recommend it.

Great book!
I have been building, maintaining and upgrading my own computers since 1997, and I have had Wynn Rosch's Hardware Bible in my library as an invaluable reference during all that time. I know some people say that the Word of Rosch is not always completely up to date. It may not be, but neither am I. I've seen too many pioneers with arrows in their backs. I never jump at the latest and greatest in computer technology. I wait until new things prove themselves out in usage. This latest edition of the Word is now helping me in my double task of replacing an old, tired HDD and phasing out the cumbersome ZipDrive I have been using for backups. All I need to know is there in black and white just as it always has been. Great book!

Could be much better with some editing.
I was hoping this book would be as good as "Upgrading and Repairing PC's", but it doesn't measure up.The depth of detail on certain topics is not well balanced.

For instance, the author refers to floppy discs as necessary to modern computers as an appendix, but spends a many pages detailing it as well and it's all but obsolete relatives like the Iomega Zipdisk.Granted the zipdisk was relevant in the 1990's but it is irrelevant today.OTOH hard disc construction and it's evolution, a far more interesting and relevant topic today is not written in such deep detail.

Many dated topics pertaining to only MS-DOS need to edited down to be more concise.A detailed breakdown of all the registers in a CMOS clock chip, and all the different frequencies produced by the system timer is not needed by the average computer programmerand system builder today.It almost seems the newer the technology, the fewer the pages devoted to it.

Some information is downright wrong.The author has a limited understanding of digital video and makes many inaccurate statements regarding that topic.For all pages in the book devoted to technical minutia, I wouldn't trust it to be entirely authoritative.

Although this book is giant sized and expensive, many pages are wasted.Seperating the interesting bits of information from all the long winded filler is a chore. I would recommend browsing "Upgrading and Repairing PC's" over this book.

For those looking for the overall Hardware book this is it.
In over 15 years of I work I am always looking for new material and books relating to the latest technology both hardware and software.

This is the first time I have looked at the Hardware Bible and as a Computer Technical Instructor this book has already come in handy for a couple of A+ classes I am teaching.

While the book is not written to any specific exam, I found that is would definitely help with the A+ and CST exams. The author's extensive hardware knowledge is evident throughout the book.

One thing that impressed me throughout the book was the author not only gives detailed information about the most current technology, but also gives you a firm background on older technologies as well.

While the book is the "Hardware" bible, there is far more than just hardware information, you'll also find TCP/IP and the internet, as well as memory management included in the overall coverage.

I found this to be a fairly complete text to work with. You can also register online and find both the 5th and 6th editions available. About the only thing that wasn't included was a cd with hardware utilities, but looking at what you do get this is a minor drawback. Overall this book is a certainly worth the look. ... Read more

Product Description
The Instructor's Manual provides numerous instructional resources that support each chapter of the textbook including teaching strategies, test masters, answer keys, introductory activities, reproducible masters, and additional resources. All of the resources for teaching each chapter are conveniently grouped together. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Just what I needed for school
The title says it all. Thanks seller for an awesome book. :D

On a different note, if it wasn't for my school converting to this book I wouldn't have learned as much in depth workings and details of Windows Operating systems and pretty well how ever part on a computer. This book does talk briefly over the older OSs, such as DOS, NT, 95, 98, and ME, but it focuses most of it's explainings on Windows XP, Vista, different wireless types, and inner workings of different computer parts. Sadly, this book was published before Windows 7 was released, but most of the Vista stuff is the same as 7 so you're not really messing out on much. I would suggest this book as a cheaper alternative to the "hot off the press" books because of it's in depth detail, actuary, and price, but I wouldn't suggest it as an alternative to learning the newest and greatest OSs because it is all ready out of date and will be further out of date as technology advances.

Pros:
Very in depth detail pretty much on everything it talks about including every part of a computer, difference in printers, different wireless types, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and briefly on older OSs including DOS.

Cons:
Out of date and it doesn't cook me breakfast.

All and all I give it a 8/10

Computer Service & Repair text book
Got here really fast and in perfect condition. It was the best price anywhere, too!

A great learning Manual
This book has met all my current college class requirements for my degree in computer science

Easy to follow
This is a text book, complete with review questions, vocab, and labs. There is also an associated lab workbook which is available from the publisher.
I found reading this book to be extremely easy. It has a lot of diagrams, perhaps a few too many, but they illustrate the principles. Each key term is explained and also has the definition in the margin. There are highlights to know concerning the A+ exam, plus a few sample questions in each chapter.
Each chapter also has a simple "lab" section with some real computer excercise to perform.
My only question is whether this book is enough. I can't say. Likely, no single source is enough, especially without hands on experience.
I also question if it is not time for a new edition given this one was published in June 2004.
Also Roberts textbook on Networking Fundamentals is similar in format and readibility.

This Book should've came with your computer!
It has great depth, explaining everything you ever wanted to know about how your computer works, with introduction to a typical PC and its role in our lives plus laboratory activities after each chapter. The book should be used as a reference resource especially for those who enjoy tinkering with PCs.
Also, I feel that this book is very helpful to most individuals, especially those who have moderate familiarity with computer systems, computer terms and electronic parts such as transistors, resistors and capacitors. ... Read more

Product Description
What's New in the Third Edition, Revised Printing

The same great book gets better! This revised printing features all of the original content along with these additional features:

. Appendix A (Assemblers, Linkers, and the SPIM Simulator) has been moved from the CD-ROM into the printed book

. Corrections and bug fixes

Third Edition features

New pedagogical features

. Understanding Program Performance
- Analyzes key performance issues from the programmer's perspective
. Check Yourself Questions
- Helps students assess their understanding of key points of a section
. Computers In the Real World
- Illustrates the diversity of applications of computing technology beyond traditional desktop and servers
. For More Practice
- Provides students with additional problems they can tackle
. In More Depth
- Presents new information and challenging exercises for the advanced student

New reference features

. Highlighted glossary terms and definitions appear on the book page, as bold-faced entries in the index, and as a separate and searchable reference on the CD.
. A complete index of the material in the book and on the CD appears in the printed index and the CD includes a fully searchable version of the same index.
. Historical Perspectives and Further Readings have been updated and expanded to include the history of software R&D.
. CD-Library provides materials collected from the web which directly support the text.


In addition to thoroughly updating every aspect of the text to reflect the most current computing technology, the third edition

. Uses standard 32-bit MIPS 32 as the primary teaching ISA.
. Presents the assembler-to-HLL translations in both C and Java.
. Highlights the latest developments in architecture in Real Stuff sections:
- Intel IA-32
- Power PC 604
- Google's PC cluster
- Pentium P4
- SPEC CPU2000 benchmark suite for processors
- SPEC Web99 benchmark for web servers
- EEMBC benchmark for embedded systems
- AMD Opteron memory hierarchy
- AMD vs. 1A-64

New support for distinct course goals

Many of the adopters who have used our book throughout its two editions are refining their courses with a greater hardware or software focus. We have provided new material to support these course goals:

New material to support a Hardware Focus

. Using logic design conventions
. Designing with hardware description languages
. Advanced pipelining
. Designing with FPGAs
. HDL simulators and tutorials
. Xilinx CAD tools

New material to support a Software Focus

. How compilers work
. How to optimize compilers
. How to implement object oriented languages
. MIPS simulator and tutorial
. History sections on programming languages, compilers, operating systems and databases


On the CD

. NEW: Search function to search for content on both the CD-ROM and the printed text
. CD-Bars: Full length sections that are introduced in the book and presented on the CD
. CD-Appendixes: Appendices B-D
. CD-Library: Materials collected from the web which directly support the text
. CD-Exercises: For More Practice provides exercises and solutions for self-study
. In More Depth presents new information and challenging exercises for the advanced or curious student
. Glossary: Terms that are defined in the text are collected in this searchable reference
. Further Reading: References are organized by the chapter they support
. Software: HDL simulators, MIPS simulators, and FPGA design tools
. Tutorials: SPIM, Verilog, and VHDL
. Additional Support: Processor Models, Labs, Homeworks, Index covering the book and CD contents

Instructor Support

Instructor support provided on textbooks.elsevier.com:

. Solutions to all the exercises
. Figures from the book in a number of formats
. Lecture slides prepared by the authors and other instructors
. Lecture notes

*For the Revised Printing, Appendix A appears in the printed book rather than on the CD. This is the only change.
*Explains the latest benchmarking software including SPEC CPU2000 suite for processors, SPEC Web99 for web servers, and EEMBC for embedded systems
*Features the latest developments of the Intel IA-32 architecture as well as the Power PC 604, the AMD Opteron Memory, and the Intrinsity FastMATH processor.
*Compares MIPs assembler code to both C and Java ... Read more

Customer Reviews (40)

Great book, poor kindle version.
This book is a *must have* for any student or profession at CS. I have the 2nd edition and I bought the Kindle edition of the 3rd. The book is great, but a lot of images are hard to see and understand at kindle version and I really dont know to (or if it possible) to access the content of the CD of the printed version. My tip: buy the printed version, but not the kindle one.

Great product, Super fast shipping A+++
my experience shows that companies should post more than just the state on the from location. this ended up shipping from a shop right down the street from me. although it had a price tag on it for $45, and I paid ~10. other than that, shipping was great and book was in excellent condition.

Good books and very cheap
I have to say this is the best deal I get from Amazon.com, only cost me 1 dollar and it is amazing cheap!

Not a bad deal
The book is in the condition described, except there is a little writing in the margins and stuff from previous owner. Otherwise, it was a perfect purchase. Fast shipping and good price =)

Comp Arch Book
It's the required textbook for my CA class, and I haven't looked at it yet. ... Read more

Product Description
This advanced textbook presents an almost complete overview of techniques for hardware verification. It covers all approaches used in existing tools, such as binary and word-level decision diagrams, symbolic methods for equivalence and temporal logic model checking, and introduces the use of higher-order logic theorem proving for verifying circuit correctness. Each chapter contains an introduction and a summary as well as a section for the advanced reader, aiding an understanding of the advantages and limitations of each technique. Backed by many examples and illustrations, this text will appeal to a broad audience, from beginners in system design to experts. XXXXXXX Neuer Text This is a complete overview of existing techniques for hardware verification. It covers all approaches used in existing verification tools, such as symbolic methods for equivalence checking, temporal logic model checking, and higher-order logic theorem proving for verifying circuit correctness. The book helps readers to understand the advantages and limitations of each technique. Each chapter contains a summary as well as a section for the advanced reader. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent Introduction
This was the first book I read in Formal Verification when I started my Ph.D. research in this area in 2001. The book was of great value to me and helped me a lot in coming up to speed in the field of Formal Verification. It is concise, well explained, and comprehensive. It covers formal hardware models, equivalence checking, model checking, symbolic model checking, and theorem proving. Although a lot of advances have happened in formal verification since the publication of this book, I still think it is the best place to start if you want to learn this area.

Excellent book
This book presents each major area in Formal Hardware Verification in a chapter. The treatment is detailed and is based on clear mathematical foundations. I especially like the reachability analysis treatment in Chapter 3. However, I think that one of the weak points of this book is the lack of discussion on different "combinational equivalence checking" techniques.

Book Review
The book contains the concepts of the most recently researches in the area of formal hardware verification .I read a lot of journal publications, and I couldn't get the expected benefitfrommost of them, because they assumea high background in formal techniques. This book offers me thebasicknowledge, that enable to get complete benefit from the otherpublications in this topic. The book also contains a lot ofillustrativeexamples, and Figures that follow eachsection, and this make iteasierto the reader. ... Read more

Product Description
A valuable resource for any PC user, this self-paced exercise book provides hands-on experience and troubleshooting in all major hardware aspects including its microprocessor, memory, I/O systems, floppy and hard drives, CD-ROMs, display adapters, sound cards, and modems.Contains 20 targeted exercises designed to familiarize users with all vital personal computer internal operations and prepare them to cope with any question or problem they will encounter with the personal computer, its peripherals, other hardware, and controlling the hardware through the Windows operating system. Sets the stage for each exercise by examining how Joe Tekk(, a fictitious computer specialist at a fictitious company, deals with the exercise topics, then follows with Performance Objectives, Background Information, Troubleshooting Techniques, Self-Test, Familiarization Activity, Questions/Activities, and a Review Quiz. Appendices cover a wide range of more advanced microcomputer-related topics from processor architecture to hardware and software interrupts.For those interested in acquiring a strong, working knowledge of the internal operations of today's personal computers; ideal for those in the electronics, technology, and engineering industries. ... Read more

Product Description
Datamonitor's Computer Hardware - North America (NAFTA) Industry Guide is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the Computer Hardware industry in each of the North American Free Trade Agreement (United States, Canada, and Mexico) countries. The report includes easily comparable data on market value, volume, segmentation and market share, plus full five year market forecasts. It examines future problems, innovations and potential growth areas within the market.

Scope of the Report

• Contains an executive summary and data on value, volume and segmentation
• Provides textual analysis of the industry's prospects, competitive landscape and profiles of the leading companies
• Incorporates in-depth five forces competitive environment analysis and scorecards
• Compares data from the US, Canada and Mexico, alongside individual chapters on each country. .
• Includes a five-year forecast of the industry

Product Description
Assists potential users in determining what type of system they might need, then discusses the specifications for various brands. Original. ... Read more

Product Description
Computer Hardware Maintenance presents the full scope and understanding of how the PC hardware maintenance function should operate and be managed in an organization, including steps involved in containing costs, keeping records, and planning the integration of the help desk function.


In today's IS department too often the PC hardware maintenance function is treated as a 'necessary evil', with the understanding that eventually all equipment will have some degree of mechanical or electrical failure.This book discusses scenarios where keeping the maintenance function internal is most viable and where having it external, from a depot service, pickup and delivery, or on-site service, is most viable. Computer Hardware Maintenance concludes with brief descriptions of available third-party systems and how emerging trends in PC hardware configuration as proposed by the Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF) will have a major impact on the PC hardware maintenance function in the future. ... Read more

Product Description
Malaysia COMPUTER HARDWARE & COMPUTER SOFTWARE EXPORT-IMPORT & BUSINESS HANDBOOK ... Read more

Product Description
Computer Hardware teaches the basic functioning of a computer with a concentration on the machine level elements. It clearly explains the role of each of the parts involved in the computer make up and describes how the whole system ticks, without overwhelming the reader in minute detail. Aimed at introductory courses for computing undergraduates, Computer Hardware covers basic principles behind the design of modern computer systems. ... Read more

Product Description
This econometric study covers the world outlook for computer hardware across more than 200 countries. For each year reported, estimates are given for the latent demand, or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.), for the country in question (in millions of U.S. dollars), the percent share the country is of the region and of the globe. These comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a country vis-à-vis others. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each country and across countries, latent demand estimates are created. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved. This study does not report actual sales data (which are simply unavailable, in a comparable or consistent manner in virtually all of the 230 countries of the world). This study gives, however, my estimates for the worldwide latent demand, or the P.I.E., for computer hardware. It also shows how the P.I.E. is divided across the world's regional and national markets. For each country, I also show my estimates of how the P.I.E. grows over time (positive or negative growth). In order to make these estimates, a multi-stage methodology was employed that is often taught in courses on international strategic planning at graduate schools of business. ... Read more

Product Description
Datamonitor's Computer Hardware - Top 5 Emerging Markets Industry Guide is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the Computer Hardware industry in each of the Top 5 Emerging markets (Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa). The report includes easily comparable data on market value, volume, segmentation and market share, plus full five year market forecasts. It examines future problems, innovations and potential growth areas within the market.

Scope of the Report

• Contains an executive summary and data on value, volume and segmentation
• Provides textual analysis of the industry's prospects, competitive landscape and profiles of the leading companies
• Incorporates in-depth five forces competitive environment analysis and scorecards
• Compares data from Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, alongside individual chapters on each country. .
• Includes a five-year forecast of the industry

Product Description
This is an introduction, in the easiest possible language, to the architecture of computers and various peripherals which make up the every day environment of computer users and specialists. After a survey of basics, the book deals with the logic circuits which make up the machine, then moves onto the components of the system (disk, printers, screen) and ends up with an introduction to data networks. The reader can nevertheless study any chapter separately. ... Read more

Product Description
Datamonitor's Global Computer Hardware industry profile is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the computer hardware industry. It includes data on market size and segmentation, plus textual analysis of the key trends and competitive landscape, demographic information, and descriptions of the leading companies.Scope* Contains an executive summary and data on value, volume and segmentation* Provides textual analysis of the industry's prospects, competitive landscape and leading companies* Includes a five-year forecast of the industryHighlightsDetailed information is included on market size, measured by both value and volume. Market shares are covered by manufacturer and by brand, including private label. Distribution channels are also analysed.Why you should buy this report* Spot future trends and developments* Inform your business decisions* Add weight to presentations and marketing materials* Save time carrying out entry-level research ... Read more

Product Description
A shopper's guide to buying a computer introduces readers to the terminology of computers, compares various models, and provides all of the information necessary to make a mature buying decision. Original. ... Read more

Product Description
Datamonitor's Computer Hardware - Scandinavia Industry Guide is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the Computer Hardware industry in each of the Scandinavian (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) countries. The report includes easily comparable data on market value, segmentation, and five forces analysis, plus full five year market forecasts for each country. It examines future problems, innovations and potential growth areas within the market.

Scope of the Report

• Contains an executive summary market values, and segmentation
• Provides textual analysis of the industry's prospects, competitive landscape and profiles of leading companies
• Incorporates in-depth five forces competitive environment analysis and scorecards
• Compares data from Denmark, Norway and Sweden, alongside individual chapters on each country. .
• Includes a five-year forecast of the industry