PC Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools

by Jim Aspinwall

Overview

Intel-and AMD-powered PCs--which account for more than 90% of all personal computers--are powerful and expandable, and operating systems like Windows and Linux do a great job of running well on this hardware. But to maintain maximum stability and predictability, these operating systems don't push the hardware to its limits.That doesn't mean you can't.PC Hacks shows PC users like you how to get the most out of your hardware and software to make your PC experience more satisfying than ever. You don't need another collection of simple tips and command-clicks; you need PC Hacks, where you'll find proven techniques for enhancing performance and preventing problems with your PC hardware. This step-by-step, hack-by-hack guide, with invaluable tips and tricks throughout, will get you hacking the system board, CPU, BIOS, peripherals and operating system--everything but the unhackable power supply!In PC Hacks, Jim Aspinwall, the Windows Helpdesk columnist and feature editor for CNET.COM and author of three books on PC maintenance, delivers basic to advanced hacks for overclocking CPU and video cards, tweaking RAM timing, selecting the best performing components, and much more. He includes suggestions for reusing an old PC to off-load work from newer systems as well as ways to prevent security hacks. He also offers many tips for avoiding common mistakes--and for getting the system back up and running if something does go wrong.PC Hacks combines of the bestselling Hacks series style with the world's most popular computing hardware. Presented in a clear and direct format and covering both Windows and Linux operating systems, PC Hacks ensure that you'll hack and tweak your way to the best performance possible out of your trusty PC.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780596552879
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	10/25/2004
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Jim Aspinwall has been the Windows Helpdesk columnist and feature editor for CNET.com and is the author of three books on PC maintenance. A resident of Campbell, California, Jim is also an amateur radio operator, an electronics technician, and an OSHA-certified tower climber, maintaining radio transmission sites in northern California.

Table of Contents

Credits; About the Author; Contributors; Acknowledgments; Preface; Why PC Hacks?; How to Use This Book; How This Book Is Organized; Conventions; Using Code Examples; Disclaimer; How to Contact O'Reilly; Got a Hack?; Chapter 1: Basic System Board Hacks; 1.1 Introduction: Hacks #1-10; 1 Lock Others Out of Your Computer; 2 Bypass the BIOS Password; 3 Recover a BIOS That Won't Boot; 4 Boot Faster; 5 Display a Boot-Time Graphic; 6 Configure Boot Device Order; 7 Set Your Clock Back; 8 Avoid the Legacy USB Option; 9 Hack an Unhackable BIOS; 10 Upgrade Your Flash BIOS; Chapter 2: Basic System Board Setup; 2.1 Introduction: Hacks #11-18; 11 Step Away from the Legacy Device; 12 Manage Devices; 13 Configure Serial Ports; 14 Configure Parallel Ports; 15 Configure Sound Cards; 16 Configure SCSI Host Adapters; 17 Configure Network Cards; 18 Reeducate Plug and Play; Chapter 3: CPU Hacks; 3.1 Hacks #19-29; 19 Get More Power; 20 Identify Your CPU; 21 Which CPUs Are Hackable?; 22 Which System Boards Are Hackable?; 23 Determine Your CPU Speed; 24 Keep It Cool; 25 Control CPU Clock Speed from the BIOS; 26 As Goes Voltage, So Goes Speed; 27 Set the CPU Multiplier; 28 Unlock Your CPU Multiplier; 29 Check the Vents; Chapter 4: Memory Hacks; 4.1 Introduction: Hacks #30-39; 30 Install More RAM; 31 Recognize Memory Limitations; 32 Install the RAM Your Operating System Needs; 33 Tame the Windows 95 and 98 Cache; 34 Manage the Paging File; 35 Manage Windows System Resources; 36 Force Windows 98 and Me to Swap Less; 37 Pin the Kernel in RAM; 38 Speed Up Your RAM; 39 Enable Memory Interleave for Via Chipsets; Chapter 5: Disk Hacks; 5.1 Introduction: Hacks #40-57; 40 Partition and Format Wisely; 41 Determine Your Filesystem; 42 Create a New Partition with NT, 2000, XP, and 2003; 43 Create a New Partition with PartitionMagic; 44 Merge Partitions with PartitionMagic; 45 Convert FAT to NTFS; 46 Create or Delete NTFS Partitions from the Recovery Console; 47 Fix the Master Boot Record on FAT Partitions; 48 Fix the Master Boot Record on NTFS Partitions; 49 Fix the Partition Boot Sector on NTFS Partitions; 50 Fix GRUB or LILO Boot Problems; 51 Format Your Disk; 52 Change Logical Drive Letters; 53 Restore DOS Bootability; 54 Rescue a Blown 2000 or XP Installation; 55 Fix the Windows 95 File-Caching Bug; 56 Avoid the Delayed-Write-Caching Blues; 57 Detect Drive Failure Before It Happens; Chapter 6: Disk Drive Performance Hacks; 6.1 Introduction: Hacks #58-67; 58 Choose the Fastest Hard Drive; 59 Use an 80-Wire Cable; 60 Upgrade Your IDE Interface; 61 Kick It Up a Notch with Serial ATA; 62 Get the Fastest IDE Driver for Intel Chipsets; 63 Get the Fastest IDE Driver for Via Chipsets; 64 Speed It Up with RAID; 65 Speed Up DOS with SMARTDRV; 66 Speed Up Windows with VCACHE; 67 Linux's Drive Performance Booster; Chapter 7: Video Hacks; 7.1 Introduction: Hacks #68-74; 68 Get off the PCI Bus; 69 Upgrade from Built-in Video; 70 Don't Expect Much from AGP Aperture Size; 71 Choose the Correct AGP Mode; 72 Overclock Your nVidia Adapter; 73 Overclock Your ATI Radeon; 74 Overclock Anything; Chapter 8: I/O Device Hacks; 8.1 Introduction: Hacks #75-84; Basic PC Configuration Rules; 75 Let Windows Tell You About I/O Card Conflicts; 76 Break the Rules with LPT Ports; 77 Break the Rules with COM Ports; 78 Rewire Your COM Ports; 79 Boost COM Port Performance; 80 New Uses for an Old Port; 81 Use USB for Peer-to-Peer Networking; 82 Get the Most out of USB; 83 Install the Driver Before You Install the Hardware; 84 Please Continue Anyway; Chapter 9: Boot-Up Hacks; 9.1 Introduction: Hacks #85-94; 85 Make a Bare Disk Bootable; 86 Configure a Multiboot System; 87 Multiboot with Third-Party Utilities; 88 Speed up Operating System Installation and Maintenance; 89 Access NTFS Files from Other Operating Systems; 90 Give Your XP Installation Access to the Recovery Console; 91 Hack the Windows 95/98/Me DOS Startup; 92 Hack the MS-DOS Configuration File; 93 Hack the MS-DOS Startup File; 94 Hack the Windows NT/2000/XP Boot Loader; Chapter 10: Configuring a New PC; 10.1 Introduction: Hacks #95-100; 95 Clone Your Hard Disk; 96 Move Applications and Settings from One PC to Another; 97 Protect Your PC from Viruses; 98 Protect Your PC from Malware; 99 Surround Yourself with a Firewall; 100 Do Your Backups; Colophon;

Jim Aspinwall has been the Windows Helpdesk columnist and feature editor for CNET.com and is the author of three books on PC maintenance. A resident of Campbell, California, Jim is also an amateur radio operator, an electronics technician, and an OSHA-certified tower climber, maintaining radio transmission sites in northern California.