I read with interest the review of my book,Repairing IBM PCs and compatibles: an illustratedguide, in the August 1994 issue of <CR>. My conclusionis that the reviewer must be writing for the type of person that goesout and buys the very latest gadget, and takes it all apart to see whatmakes it work. They cannot get it back together so they trot over to thelocal bookstore looking for a book on repairing this gizmo.

Is a computer obsolete and repairs not needed, just because it isno longer produced and cannot be found in the current literature (mainlythe popular personal computer magazines)? I believe the repair of theseproducts is as important as or more important than the repair of newerproducts, which are not as likely to require repair services.

In chapter 4, I think you will find that almost all PCmanufacturers use these same error codes, and one of the simpleflowcharts mentioned goes on for three pages and has over 95 conditions.The material omitted by the reviewer after these pages includes extendedtesting, memory testing and replacement, memory test patterns, CPUtesting, coprocessor testing, DMA and interrupt controller testing, andclock tests.

In chapter 5, the diagnostic techniques covered apply to both 5.25-and 3.5-inch floppy and hard disks. The 3.5-inch disks do not use anentirely different technology. In chapter 6, there is a discussion ofspecial monitors with high-resolution graphics.

Chapter 7 also covers nonimpact printers such as ink jet,thermal, electrosensitive, and electrostatic. There ismaterial on laser printer problems, printer interfaces, interfacetesting, and printer exercisers and testers.

The techniques and tools discussed in the network chapter can beused with any of the network cabling systems. The material in theremaining chapters on input devices and testing methods is not dated;the concepts and tools covered can be applied to most of today’s repairproblems. There are also a great deal of detailed illustrations, whichadd to the usefulness of the book.

There is always room for improvement in a book such as this, andthe second edition due later this year has additional material onPentiums, 486s, caches, modems, mice, and video systems.