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If
you are like me, you have
probably owned quite a few
personal computers. You are sure
to have had the occasional
problem, and rushed the machine
off to the repair shop. At the
time, the cost of repairs may
have seemed a bit high in
proportion to the original cost
of the machine, and you might
not have been quite sure what
was actually done.
You can learn to do your own
diagnosis and repair work. It is
worth while knowing what is
going on inside the box, even if
you do not do the work yourself.
With a good understanding of the
likely causes of the hardware
problems, you can be a lot more
confident that the repairs
carried out were reasonable and
necessary.
To
begin with, a good source of
technical information is
necessary. You can always ask at
your local electronics shop, but
if you really don’t know what
you are talking about, the
embarrassment can be a big turn
off. There is an excellent book
available called ‘Upgrading and
Repairing PCs’ written by Scott
Mueller. This is the most
complete and most readable
‘how-to’ book I have found, and
if you only buy one book on the
subject, Scott’s is the one to
get you hands on.
The next step is to choose a few
projects to get familiar with
the hardware. The best way to
begin building up your skills is
to pull a computer completely
apart, and then put it back
together. If it still works
after that, then you have made a
pretty good start. At this
stage, you may be thinking ‘hang
on a minute, I paid a lot of
money for my system - No way am
I going to risk messing with
that baby’.
No, as a beginner, you
definitely should not. You can
get hold of some old computers
to tear apart and rebuild. Old
computers are seen as worthless,
and you will find Pentium 1 and
2 machines being discarded as
rubbish, even though they are
still in good working order.
Even a Pentium 3 can be bought
very cheaply, and most of these
are pretty good performers. A
word of warning – be careful how
widely you spread the news of
you new interest in old
computers. You will be surprised
how many 486s and older are
sitting in cartons in garages
and basements; your friends and
family will really be delighted
to give you an amazing
collection of electronic junk.
Get familiar with the various
parts, and how they fit
together. Learn to identify the
different styles of processor
chip, RAM, disk drives and other
components.
As
always, safety is paramount. The
computer components themselves
operate at low voltages, but you
still have the mains strength
voltage coming into the back of
the computer. Always power off
and unplug when you are working
on the computer, and be
suspicious of any signs of
overheating or of burning
smells. Enjoy your tinkering.
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