When it comes to pulling the cover off a PC and tinkering with its innards, plenty of folks get the shakes and try to convince themselves maybe what they need is a whole new computer. But we're here to tell you, "You can do it!"

You can successfully upgrade a variety of your computer's components and live to tell the tale. This not only gives you some great bragging rights at the water cooler, but saves you some money in the process.

Our Absolute Beginner's Guide to PC Upgrades shows you which upgrades are worth undertaking at all, which upgrades you can do yourself, and how to do them in step by step fashion. That's what's unique about this book, we use plain English to carefully explain the steps of preparing for an upgrade, performing an upgrade, testing your work, and cleaning up afterwards. It also tells you which upgrades to pass up and when it's time to call in a professional to avoid getting in over your head. Although we're here to preach the upgrade gospel, very credible computers are available in the $600 to $1,000 range which makes it all the more tempting to toss the baby out with the bath water. With PC prices dropping like the proverbial lead balloon, you need to know when it makes more sense to buy a new system than upgrade an existing one.

Our Absolute Beginner's Guide to PC Upgrades explains what other books omit or overlook, for example, we provide a simple checklist of exactly what tools and resources to have on hand before you perform any PC upgrade. This book will help you achieve the confidence you need to perform your own upgrades, gain valuable insights into how your PC works, and save bucks along the way. We also call 'em as we see 'em, so we explain the formula for when not to attempt a particular upgrade and instead call in an expert. You should know that our Absolute Beginner's Guide to PC Upgrades isn't just about hardware, we also offer hard-won insider tips and tricks on upgrading to a different operating system (like from Windows 98 to Windows 2000) or upgrading applications, say, from Microsoft Office 97 to Office 2000. We're strong believers in preventive medicine, so we'll show you what to do now to ensure that upgrades later go smooth as silk.

You may be a computer user who doesn't want to buy an entirely new PC just to get the latest CD-RW drive, DVD drive, or screaming video card. Perhaps you're someone who is quite capable of upgrading your computer but have been put off by what you perceive as too difficult for a mere mortal to achieve. You may be annoyed by the fact that your two-year old PC has slowed to a crawl under the weight of increased Internet activity and bloated applications. We're here to guide you along the road to upgrade nirvana.

You have our decades of practical, in-the-trenches experience at your disposal. We have hardware and software consulting notches in our belts, have written eight computer books, and regularly write for PC Computing and eBay magazines. We also publish our own electronic bulletin The Naked PC (60,000+ circulation), a labor of love in which we tell the unadulterated truth about all things PC. Our bi-weekly Naked PC newsletter journeys run the gamut from the Internet to Microsoft Office and Windows, software, hardware, system warts, and low-tech solutions for high-tech problems; plus regular recommendations of useful books, Web sites, and products. We use that same unadulterated approach in this book by giving you friendly, accurate, no-nonsense advice about PC upgrades just as though we were sitting right there at your office or home, advising you in person.

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