PC Technician's Troubleshooting Pocket Reference
I don't know where the folks at Osborne buy their clothes, but on my  planet a pocket is only slightly larger than a hand. I can put my wallet in my  pocket. I can carry three or so Zip disks. But I've tried and tried, and I just  can't jam in all 600+ pages ofBigelow's PC Technician's Troubleshooting  Pocket Referenceinto any pocket I have. The thing is an inch and a half  thick--definitely not pocket-sized. It's satchel-sized. It's  put-it-under-the-tire-to-keep-the-trailer-from-rolling-downhill-sized.Form factors aside, Bigelow's book lives up to its title; it's all  troubleshooting information. Wonderful! This book assuredly was not meant to be  read front to back. It works like this: start with a problem, and then look up  the solution. Bigelow divided the book into sections for various parts of the PC  or devices that are connected to it. You look up the device, read about it, heed  some general maintenance wisdom, and then peruse the various "symptoms" and  cures. Very nice, and just about the best information on troubleshooting that  I've seen.There are two problems. The first (again) is the book's size. Simply put, it'snota pocket-sized book. Osborne should forget that aspect, and publish  the book in a size that easily lies flat. Trust me, the information is valuable  enough to sell the book; don't get cute with the size. The second is that I'd  like to see the symptoms summarized before they're presented. That would make  finding specific information easier, and I wouldn't have to thumb through  several dozen symptoms/solutions before finding what I want.On the key subject of disk partitioning, this book fits the bill--but only in  troubleshooting partitioning problems. On that subject, Bigelow does a fine job,  and even suggests third-party solutions. In fact, the book does contain many  third-party solutions, as well as advice on what to do in Windows for  troubleshooting.This book is not for everyone. Most of the introduction is aimed at computer  technicians or troubleshooting professionals. But at $19.99 it's a good  investment. At the very least, it'll make you the hero on your block, when it  comes to troubleshooting PCs.--Dan Gookin