Although silicon technology is inherently very reliable, the complexity of today's personal computers renders them prone to failure from a number of common causes - and some that are not quite so common. In addition, other parts of the system (including such peripherals as tape and disk drives, printers, modems and monitors) may require routine adjustment and preventive maintenance. This completely rewritten fourth edition covers the whole range of microcomputer equipment, and also gives a guide to developments and trends, such as the new generation of diagnostic software, code for which is included in the book, and applications such as serial communication, and memory and hard disk management.