Book details of 'Peter Norton's Inside the PC'

Title	Peter Norton's Inside the PC
Author(s)	Peter Norton, John M. Goodman, Judy Fernandez
ISBN	0672310414
Language	English
Published	December 1997
Publisher	SAMS

---

Back to shelf Computer
Amazon.com info for Peter Norton's Inside the PC

Score:

Vote for this book

The Virtual Bookcase Reviews of 'Peter Norton's Inside the PC':

Reviewer amazon.com wrote:
You might say that Peter Norton's Inside the PC, Seventh Edition, is the theoretical counterpart to the Peter Norton Guide to Upgrading and Repairing PCs. Inside the PC will appeal to the computer hobbyist who feels a sense of urgency about knowing how systems work and the significant details about subsystems, technologies, and how the machines are made. This readable and entertaining (by computer book standards, that is) guide to hardware and operating systems is an excellent starting point for indoctrination into the deepest mysteries of the PC.
Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
Peter Norton made his name by providing hard information, primarily to programmers and service people. This edition of his venerable text, however, is supposed to be all new. The introduction makes the case that computer information should be accessible to everyone, and Peter Norton is just the guy to give it to them. However, the needs of the average user, or even the home hobbyist, are somewhat different than the needs of the programmer. Norton's roots are still evident in the text. As is fairly common, the book starts with a general overview. Chapter one is odd. Starting with the question "what is a PC?" it proceeds to wander philosophically around the topic, talking about wearable computers, and largely undefined future directions before finally, and almost tangentially, mentioning Intel and Windows. In talking about computers in general, in chapter two, the book uses the input-output- storage-process-control model that I have never found to be particularly useful for anyone other than a theoretician. Chapter three discusses representation of information. The coverage of binary and ASCII will probably be valuable to the reader/computer user, and the additional background material is, at the very least, interesting. Part two takes the first look inside. Chapter four shows you the inside of the computer and various of the parts. However, the "show" aspect is quite important for newcomers, and there are a few shortcomings in this respect. The photographs supplied are black and white and have very poor resolution and depth of field. There are also gaps: for example, ISA (Industry Standard Architecture) and MCA (Micro Channel Architecture) bus slots are mentioned, but not illustrated. Most of chapter five looks at machine language, in far too little detail to be of use, and the only helpful portion is the introduction of the BIOS and CMOS memory. Chapter six suggests that the user "mess around" in order to explore the PC. I would heartily concur, but the book does not give the reader enough information to really have a chance to get started. For example, there is a brief mention of DEBUG, and one example of a call to display the standard sixteen byte block of memory. It is then suggested that the user examine a range of memory (which has not been explained) and to examine a CMOS port (which has not been explained. More ink is spent on the use of the Norton Disk Editor (surprise) than on either DEBUG or BASIC. Part three starts to go into depth in the basic PC. However, the history of Intel (and compatible) processors in chapter seven is more philosophical than directly useful. Chapter eight explains some of the operations behind machine language and basic hardware addressing. While some helpful information is provided, it is rather patchy, and not really supported well enough for users to try out. By this time, we are getting the idea that this is the story of the book. Disk information is contained in chapters nine and (supposedly in more detail in) ten. However, while disk recovery is probably the biggest need among normal computer users, the details that are given on the topic, say, of recovering a deleted file are interesting, but not sufficient to perform the task, and, again, the Norton program is recommended for anything remotely necessary. The coverage of memory, in chapter eleven, shows residues of information from earlier editions, but little useful detail. Chapter twelve is mostly a catalogue of input devices. One of the last sections in the discussion of monitors is entitled "This Story Is Incomplete," and that could stand for chapter thirteen itself. The look at printers in chapter fourteen is brief, but at least simply describes them without philosophical digressions. Chapter fifteen lists the external ports that can be found on the PC while sixteen tersely describes the bus standards that can be found in the PC. The overview of operating systems in chapter seventeen is heavily weighted towards DOS/Windows but does mention that you can set up a multi-boot system. Typically, it doesn't say how. Part four is specifically involved with programming. Chapter eighteen starts with machine language, and explains its way up through assemblers, interpreters, and compilers to object-oriented programming. It is a considerable improvement over the previous material. Speech recognition and production makes chapter nineteen a frill. Multimedia is the topic of part five. The general introduction in chapter twenty is unfortunately indicative of the rest. Chapter twenty one, on storage, and chapter twenty two, on virtual reality, would not assist with setting up a multimedia PC. Chapter twenty three is a section by itself, dedicated to telling you that laptops need more battery power. Part seven looks at connectivity. Modems are overviewed in chapter twenty four. The review of LAN components in chapter twenty five isn't too bad. Chapter twenty six looks at PCs that you might want to connect *to*: servers and multiprocessors. Chapter twenty seven is a throwaway look at the Internet. Twenty eight goes "out on a limb" to say that computers will become more involved with communications. The hard data that was so useful to an earlier generation of Norton readers is gone. Was it supposed to be replaced by something of more use to a broader spectrum of computer users? If so, the attempt was a failure. The contents of this volume will not help hobbyists or programmers, will not help troubleshoot problems, and don't even make a very good "how to buy a computer" book. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1998
Add my review for Peter Norton's Inside the PC

Book description:

With over 1 million copies in print, Peter Norton's Inside the PC, Seventh Edition addresses the needs of all users- novices to business professionals to power-users. Fully rewritten with new highly informative illustrations, this edition takes you far beyond a mere recounting of a PC's insides. Chapters on understanding bits, nybbles, and bytes, clarify the basics. Other chapters detail key enabling technologies and hot new developments, including IDE, ATAPI, SCSI, Firewire, and USB for peripheral connectivity. With Norton, you'll: understand what's inside your PC and why it's needed; find out how people are able to make PCs do the things they do; see what's special about mobile PCs; get an insider's view of how PCs were created; learn how the Internet, Java, and related developments are changing what you expect from your PC; understand the special hardware needs for intense multimedia experiences; and witness the birth of the "conversational" PC that understands and responds to you.