Book for Repairing, Programming and Upgrading Computers?

What I am looking for are good, easy to understand books on repairing, programming and upgrading computers. I dont know if they go hand in hand, but I expect there to be more than one book to read to learn. I am not tryting to become a programmer or repair technician, I just dont want to have to take my computer in all the time.

Basically I want the knowledge of an expert computer tech., but dont need to worry about becoming one. Im sure getting this A+ certification thing wouldnt land me a job as one anyways, if thats what that certification is for either way. I just want to learn it, things like how to manually wipe the hard drive, and re program the computer myself. Basic troubleshooting, upgrading tech. and tips, etc.

Hopefully you guys know what Im talking about and know of a few good books, maybe even cd roms. And the reason Im not going to school for it, is because I dang sure cant afford that. Thanks everyone for your input.

Book for Repairing, Programming and Upgrading Computers?norton 360

I admire your enthusiasm! To be honest, the best way to get the knowledge you are looking for is to work as a grunt in an IT department somewhere doing helpdesk stuff. I did just that, and learned more in the field than I could ever have hope to have learned from books. If you are not able to do something like that, another good thing is to pick up old computers from yard sales, thrift stores, etc, and practice reformatting hard drives, etc on them. That way you are getting some hands on, but if you hose something, you won't be hosed yourself! However, if neither of those works for you, I guess the best resource for learning the repair/upgrading portion would be a good giude on A+ certification, even if you aren't interested in getting the cert. The book will - by it's nature, if good - have a through guide of all the basics of computer operations and repair. As far as programming, it sounds to me like you want to be able to make configuration changes through the command line, etc? There are some great online resources, if you look under 'scripting Windows'. If you are truly wanting to learn application development, that is another story. Good luck : )