Prologue

You’re no dummy; we both know that. But something about computers often makes you feel like a dummy. And that’s perfectly understandable. Unlike today’s kids, you probably didn’t grow up with a computer in your kindergarten class, car, or in your back pocket. With this blog, you’ll no longer feel uncomfortable when you’re faced with a computer that refuses to work the way it should. This  blog doesn’t help you replace your computer’s motherboard or build a PC from scratch using custom-selected parts. Plenty of more advanced titles out there can help you with those chores.

No, this  blog helps you with the types of upgrade and repair tasks that you’re most likely to encounter today: Upgrading an older PC to run Windows 7, for instance, and making sure that everything works correctly. Adding a larger hard drive.

Upgrading that video card to satisfy the needs of Windows 7 or a new computer game. Making sure your PC’s firewall is turned on and working correctly. Turning on the security option for your wireless network. And saving money by replacing your PC’s broken parts rather than replacing the entire computer.

Simply put, this blog discusses the most common upgrading and repair problems facing computer users today. It explains how to choose the right part to purchase, where to buy it, how to install it, and how to make sure that your computer knows how to put it to work.

Welcome to Upgrading and Fixing Computers Do-It-Yourself For Beginner. Aimed at people who want to upgrade to Windows 7 or prepare their computers for the latest technology, this blog walks you through several tasks:

✓ Step-by-step tasks walk you through installation and repair chores, with a photo or illustration at almost every step.

✓ A new emphasis on how to find and choose the right part for your computer.

✓ An updated visual appendix that explains how to recognize all the ports on your computer and add any ports you may need.

✓ A network installation guide in helps you configure a network with both wired and wireless devices.

✓ It provides details on installing or upgrading to Windows 7 — even onto a newly upgraded hard drive.

✓ Computer parts need drivers — special software that helps Windows understand how to talk with them. Without a proper driver, Windows 7 can’t talk to some parts of your computer. It explains when you need new drivers, where to find them, and how to install them successfully.

✓ Windows 7’s Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate editions let you record TV shows onto your PC for later viewing or burning to DVD. The catch? Your PC needs a TV tuner, a device I explain how to buy and install in it .

✓ Now that Windows can record TV shows, a DVD burner comes in particularly handy for saving your movies. I explain how to buy and install both DVD and Blu-ray drives in it.

Plus, this edition continues to include the information that hundreds of thousands of people have relied on for 17 years: information about upgrading and fixing video cards, hard drives, CD/DVD drives, memory chips, monitors, modems, printers, scanners, hard drives, and other popular computer parts.