The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group
Upgrading and Maintaining your PC
Bob Burt
 bobburt@melbpc.org.au

This product heralds a new venture for its originator, Picturebox Multimedia, in that the company has, until now, been creating multimedia products in the corporate area, including advertising agencies and even Workcover. Distributed in Australia by Dataworks, Upgrading and Maintaining your PC (UMPC) is the first title directly available for the public at large.

Coming on a single CD-ROM, UMPC assumes that the purchaser owns an IBM-type computer and knows in general how to use it, has kept clear of attempting to upgrade it but is willing to give it a go with the guidance provided on this disc.


Figure 1. Main menu


Figure 2. Introduction

The content

There are not too many surprises in the listed topics:

  • Introduction
  • Cleaning and Maintenance
  • Optimising your System
  • Upgrades
  • Networking
  • Techy stuff made easy
  • Hacker Snacks
T he introduction, as you would expect, leads you gently into the subject matter that is on offer, showing you how to use the CD-ROM, providing a quick tour and telling you about the pop quiz that is provided so you can gauge your level of understanding as you progress. It also sets the pattern for the style of instruction provided. It is deliberately fairly light-hearted and uses easily understood words and phrases throughout, although if you are not well up on the technicalities you will certainly have to dart out to the Techy stuff section for explanations of the essential jargon. Be assured that due emphasis is given to the need for great care in handling electrical equipment. The major instructional tool is the provision of more than an hour of video, with a cheerful operator showing you the details of the appropriate upgrade or maintenance procedure being described. This is suitably backed up by a display of its text whenever you call for it. You can print out the material and assemble a series of fact sheets if so required.

The Cleaning and Maintenance section deals with floppy drives, the keyboard, the mouse and the screen. Replacement of a processor fan is also included here. Optimising your System shows you how to optimise your hard disk and also deals with video settings, while Upgrades covers modems, hard disks, sound cards and extra memory.

The Networking section provides an explanation of networking and shows you how to fit a network card and set it up. The Techy stuff includes explanations of concepts such as buses, IRQ, DMA and NPN. All dealt with quite competently, except for one minor fault - misuse of the apostrophe.

For example, instead of buses, the incorrect term bus's is used to denote the plural of bus. Likewise we see other strange plurals, such as IRQ's, DMA's, COM's and even a singular P'N'P'. I (rather begrudgingly!) have to accept Plug'n'Play though.


Figure 3. Part of the test


Figure 6. Changing a component

The last section, Hacker Snacks is sub-titled Fast Fuel for Hardworking Hackers. As the CD-ROM leaflet suggests that you use it to "cook your very own junk food and eat like a pig!", please don't take this section too seriously.

Conclusion

This is an entertaining and well-designed set of general instructions for the mainte nance and upgrading of your PC. The sound is clean and bright and the video definition just sufficient for the display of detail necessary to illustrate each procedure.

Reprinted from the February 1998 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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