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Show your PC who’s boss  

Nothing’s more annoying than a tech malfunction, especially when it’s your PC—with the exception of perhaps wading through reams of random, unreliable theories online looking for a solution, or paying an expensive tech geek to show up to perform a five-minute fix. The latest edition of Troubleshooting & Maintaining Your PC All-in-One For Dummies puts all this frustration behind you and gets you straight to work solving the problem yourself! 

In his straightforward, friendly style, Dan Gookin—bestselling tech author and all-round Mr. Fixit—packs everything you need to know into 5-books-in-1, giving you the knowledge and process to hit on the right solution, fast. From identifying common problems to methodically narrowing down to the correct fix, you’ll save hours of frustrating research—and experience the sweet, righteous satisfaction of having achieved it all yourself.  

  • Pick up quick fixes 
  • Understand and reconnect networks  
  • Restore memory 
  • Boost your PC’s performance 

Every problem has a solution and PCs are no different: get this book and you’ll never catch yourself shouting at your monitor or frustrated with the motherboard again—well, maybe not quite so often.   

Table of Contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. How This Book Works
    3. Icons Used in This Book
    4. Beyond the Book
    5. Where to Go from Here
  5. Book 1: Solve My Problem Now!
    1. Chapter 1: Trouble Comes Hither
    2. The Root of All PC Trouble
    3. What’s Changed?
    4. Hardware-versus-Software Problems
    5. When to Give Up
    6. Chapter 2: Quick Fixes
    7. Things to Try First
    8. Help!
  6. Book 2: O, We Got Trouble!
    1. Chapter 1: Startup Problems
    2. The Onset of PC Heartbreak
    3. Phase I: Power On
    4. Phase II: The POST
    5. Phase III: Startup Options
    6. Phase IV: The Search for an Operating System
    7. Phase V: Operating System Initialization
    8. Phase VI: Sign In to Windows
    9. The Last Thing You Do
    10. Chapter 2: Disk Disaster
    11. PC Storage Overview
    12. Mass Storage Tools and Utilities
    13. Drive Management and Maintenance
    14. Fun with Partitions
    15. Chapter 3: Monitor Mayhem
    16. The PC Graphics System
    17. Captain Video Troubleshooter
    18. Chapter 4: Internal Issues
    19. Deep Inside the Case
    20. Things to Upgrade, Fix, or Repair Inside the Case
    21. Power Management Issues
    22. Chapter 5: Printer Problems
    23. Between the Computer and Printer
    24. The Windows Side of Printing
    25. Printer Problems and Solutions
    26. Chapter 6: Peripheral Perils
    27. Hardware Troubleshooting
    28. Audio Anxieties
    29. Keyboard and Mouse Woes
    30. Chapter 7: Software Situations
    31. Installation Issues
    32. Banish the Unwanted
    33. The Good and Evil of File Association
    34. Common Software Problems and Solutions
    35. Chapter 8: Network Nonsense
    36. The Network Big Picture
    37. Network Hardware Connection and Configuration
    38. The Software Side of Networking
    39. Network Troubleshooting
    40. Network Problems and Solutions
    41. Chapter 9: Shutdown Issues
    42. Such a Turn-Off
    43. Problems with Restarting
    44. Shutdown Malaise
  7. Book 3: Tools to Use
    1. Chapter 1: Windows Recovery Environment
    2. Startup Keys and Recovery Options
    3. The Sacred Recovery Volume
    4. Windows Recovery Environment Duties
    5. Chapter 2: The Device Manager
    6. Your Pal, the Device Manager
    7. Device Manager Duties
    8. Chapter 3: MSCONFIG and the Task Manager
    9. The System Configuration Utility
    10. MSCONFIG Startup Options
    11. Chapter 4: Safe Mode
    12. The Mode Is Safe
    13. Safe Mode to the Rescue
    14. Safe Mode Duties
    15. Not Safe Mode Duties
    16. Chapter 5: System Restore
    17. The System Restore Philosophy
    18. Restore the System, Restore Your Sanity
    19. System Restore on Schedule
    20. Chapter 6: The Task Manager
    21. Task Control Central
    22. Here a Task, There a Task
    23. Chapter 7: The Windows Registry
    24. Behold the Registry
    25. Registry Cleaning
    26. Chapter 8: Events and Diagnostics
    27. What Has Gone On Here?
    28. Diagnostics to the Rescue
  8. Book 4: PC Privacy and Security
    1. Chapter 1: PC Privacy
    2. App Permissions
    3. On the Interwebs
    4. Chapter 2: Keeping Software Current
    5. Windows Updates, Doesn’t It?
    6. Other Software Updates
    7. Update Hiccups
    8. Chapter 3: Keep Mr. PC Safe
    9. Malicious + Software = Malware
    10. Defending Against Viruses and Malware
    11. Life Behind the Firewall
    12. Chapter 4: Backup and Restore
    13. An Emergency Copy
    14. Prepare for Backup!
    15. File Time-Travel
    16. The System Image
  9. Book 5: This Old PC
    1. Chapter 1: Performance and Resources
    2. The Relationship Between Performance and Resources
    3. How Ya Doin’, PC?
    4. Chapter 2: More Mass Storage
    5. The Mass Storage Pie
    6. Get Yourself More Mass Storage Capacity
    7. Even More Storage
    8. Chapter 3: Boost PC Performance
    9. Man, Your PC Is Slow!
    10. Speed Up Your PC
  10. Index
  11. About the Author
  12. Advertisement Page
  13. Connect with Dummies
  14. End User License Agreement
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