Product Description

∗ Totally revised and enhanced to cover major changes in the Mac market since 2000, including the revolutionary OS X 10.2 (Jaguar)
∗ Features complete information about the flat–panel iMac line, iBook and eBook, PowerBook G4, Power Macintosh G4, and the process of upgrading from OS 9 to OS X
∗ Includes coverage of MP3 players, iPod and iTunes, DVD–R, CD–R backup solutions, CD–RW, and much more
∗ The most complete and authoritative upgrade and repair manual available for Mac users, by a respected Mac expert
∗ CD–ROM is loaded with powerful utilities and money–saving coupons

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #863053 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1150 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
I like Todd Stauffer's writing, and boy this book has a lot of it: 1,000-plus pages. Egads! Right away, the personality in the book jumped off the page at me. I was expecting this, being familiar with Todd's work, primarily his writing with David Pogue on MacWorld Mac Secrets and other books.

Unbeknown to most PC users, there are many makes and models of the Macintosh, some of which were specifically designed never to be upgraded. Yet this book covers them all. Like other good books in this category, background and historical information is provided in addition to data on upgrades, maintenance and troubleshooting. Todd washes the whole engine here, not skimping on anything and often telling a good story along the way.

My only complaint has to do with the photographs. While the line art illustrations are done nicely, nearly all the photographs are too dark and contrast-y. This makes them useless in a book where such photographs are almost crucial to getting a point across. Ignoring that single thorn in this elephant's foot, however, I was completely satisfied and enjoyed the book. It's a valuable, useful reference I plan on keeping. --Dan Gookin

From the Back Cover
If Mac can do it, you can do it too . . .

Whether you’re new to Mac or an OS X pro, you’ll find everything you need to fine–tune your computer, install the latest upgrades and add–ons, and troubleshoot any problem that develops. From upgrading your memory to the right amount of RAM and adding cutting–edge DVD–R technology to implementing a backup plan and setting up a secure network, this handy reference is the one guidebook that helps you do it all.

Inside, you’ll find complete coverage of OS X and new Mac models

• Upgrade and fine–tune your iMac, iBook, PowerBook G4, eBook, and Power Macintosh G4
• Explore how Mac monitors work and determine whether a CRT or LCD screen is better for you
• Make a smooth transition from OS 9 to OS X Jaguar
• Create your own DVD movies by selecting the right digital video camera, adding video in/out hardware, and working with video software
• Enhance your MP3 player, iPod, iTunes, and other music software
• Share DOS and Unix files and also run DOS and Windows programs on your Mac
• Maintain your Mac’s file system by cleaning files, uninstalling applications, removing viruses, and optimizing the hard drive

Bonus CD–ROM

• ramBunctious, Font Reserve, and IPNetRouter trial versions
• FolderSynchronizer, Internet Connection Monitor, Mox Optimize, and Super Save shareware
• ToTheTrash!, Suitcase for Mac, ProtoFont, On Guard, and Super Get Info demo versions
• And more

About the Author
Todd Stauffer is the author or co–author of over 25 computer books, contributor to various technical magazines, a humor columnist and a travel/automotive reviewer. Over 500,000 copies of books by Todd Stauffer have been sold, including editions in Portuguese, Chinese, Spanish, French and Russian. His titles including the best–selling How to Do Everything with your iMac (Osborne), Mac Upgrade and Repair Bible (Wiley), Small Business Office 2000 for Dummies (Wiley, with Dave Johnson) and HTML By Example (MCP). Todd was the writer and co–host of the "Disk Doctors" television show on Knowledge TV. He′s also hosted the Peak Computing radio show in Denver (with Dave Johnson) as well as other short pieces for radio and audio Web streaming. Before going freelance, Todd was editor of Texas Computing Magazine and an advertising writer. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.A. in English Literature.

Kirk McElhearn is a freelance writer, technical writer, journalist, and translator. Co–author of the award–winning Microsoft Office v. X Inside Out, he has also written user manuals for many popular Macintosh programs, and is a regular contributor to several Mac publications, including the premier Macintosh e–zine TidBITS. As a translator, he works for some of the world′s leading computer and telecommunications companies.

Customer Reviews

Out of date
If you're looking for a guide on how to replace hard disks, optical drives, add extra memory,etc, you're going to be sadly disappointed with this book if you own any Mac hardware from 2002 onwards. I have a 2002 iMac 15" flat panel out of service warranty with a dead optical drive. I keenly unpacked this book thinking it should help me through my first DIY job on my iMac. I didn't find anything on my iMac, and not much about optical drives in particular, so 5 minutes after unpacking the book it went straight back into the box and it was onto Google for some handy links on taking apart an iMac.

Given the burgeoning popularity of Apple Mac computers, why hasn't this book been updated since 2003? And why is there almost a complete absence of books on maintaining Apple Macs?

On the upside, this book will be a useful resource for Macheads maintaining G3 machines from 2002 and earlier. Otherwise, if you've got lots of shiny new Mac kit, steer well clear of this book and buy Apple Care to sort out your hardware problems.

Wonderful reference text--good for all users.
As someone who is the default tech support for her family and friends, I find this book to be an invaluable reference. If I can't draw the information from memory, it's there and easy to find. A must have for the upgrade addicts and low end mac users of the world!

Excellent trouble shooting guide for Macs
I work doing technical support for virtually all facets of computing (Macs, IBM's, e-mail, Internet access, basic LAN, software and hardware problems, general "how to" questions in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PageMaker, Photoshop, Illustrator, Mac OS 8, Windows 95, etc..). This book, "Mac Upgrade and Repair Bible" has already been a very useful tool in assisting in troubleshooting basic Mac problems that I run into on a daily basis. After one reading session of reading this extensive book, I was able to successfully troubleshoot one of the problems that I run into on a daily basis. The problem was that a person was having a problem with their Macs booting up to a question mark on the screen. This sometimes denotes that the driver or software that tells the Mac how to access the hard drive has become corrupt, in which case the user can boot off the system software CD, go into the utilities folder and select drive setup and perform a drive update. I never would have known this had I not read this book. I continue to learn new things each and every day I read this wonderful resource guide for troubleshooting and just overall general personal knowledge. I also own the Mac OS 8 Bible which has been very helpful as well. I recommend this book and all books that IDG Books publish. My next book will probably be Photoshop 4 Bible by the same publishers. Well done!!