Build Five

STEP 19 : Install The Video Card

This is a very easy step.

1) Find an expansion slot ideal for your video card. The slot must be the correct type, and it should be as far as possible from other hardware in the system.

2) Remove the case insert that corresponds to the slot on the motherboard. This is usually done by unscrewing, but some cases have punch out inserts.

3) Insert the video card in the slot. You might need to rock the card in, inserting one end first, then rocking the rest of the pins into place. The old ISA cards may be tougher because of their length. You might not be able to rock them. When pushing down, make sure the motherboard does not flex. If the board tends to bend, it may be necessary to place one hand underneath the board to hold it up.

4) Screw the card into place.

STEP 20 : Post-Assembly

Your new PC is almost ready to turn on for the first time. You have the basics installed and connected. All extras, such as a modem, sound card, etc. can be installed after the initial boot-up, and just to make sure everything is working before adding new hardware.

Before jumping right into booting, though, I recommend taking a minute, and with a flashlight, check all of your work. It is better to "waste" the time than to fry your system after all of this work, don't you think?

Pay attention to the following list:

Drives properly connected to power

CPU fan attached to power

Power switch is off P8 and P9 are connected properly, with black wires in middle.

The 110/220 volt switch is configured properly for your area

Ribbon cables attached correctly, red edge on pin 1

All connection tight, no connectors off by one set of pins

CPU voltage settings correct

Cards fully in slots

No wires protruding into fans.

STEP 21 : Initial Boot-Up

Before doing it, connect all of the external peripherals to the system. This includes the mouse, the keyboard, and the monitor. You can also attach the printer, phone lines, or speakers to it, but this isn't necessary for now. Besides, if you are following this procedure, you won't have these parts installed yet.

Also, you need to have a valid system disk. The disk should include "fdisk.exe" and "format.com" along with the other necessary system files1) stick your system disk in the A: drive.

2) Turn your monitor on, and let it heat up a few seconds before proceeding.

3) Keep in mind what to expect. You may need to act quickly. The power LED should turn on, then fans should start spinning, and the hard drive should power up. You will see the video BIOS screen first, and then you will see the BIOS screen and it will proceed to count the memory. You may hear one beep from the PC speaker. You may also get a "CMOS checksum error" or another error saying the CMOS or time isn't set. Know what key(s) to hit to enter setup. This will be shown on the bottom of the screen. You will want to do this quickly. If you hear any weird sounds such as grinding, scraping, or loud whining, be ready to turn the system off immediately.

4) Press the power switch. Observe the system closely. As soon as the BIOS screen appears, press the appropriate key(s) and enter BIOS setup. The correct key combination should be visible at the bottom of the screen. Sometimes it pops by too quickly for you to see which keys to press. No problem. Don't hesitate to just hit reset and try again.

5) If this didn't go according to plan, troubleshoot the system. Walk mentally through the boot process and check all hardware as it goes. Think like the computer thinks, if you know what I mean.=) One common thing I see with ATX machines is that people press the power switch and nothing happens. Usually this is due to the fact that the power switch is either not connected to the motherboard or it is off by a pair of pins or so. Just make sure that it is connected to the right pins.

STEP 22 : Configure The BIOS

Now, your new PC should be up and running and you should be staring at the BIOS setup screen.

The following procedure will walk you through this initial setup. Please bear in mind that this serves as an outline. Your actual settings and names may vary for different BIOS versions. Below, you will simply find an outline of what to plug in now for the purposes of getting a new PC in operation.

1) Autodetect your Hard Drive. Just about all somewhat modern BIOS versions are capable of auto-detecting the hard drive and using the DriveID command to find and configure it in the BIOS. You should see a menu option for this. Go ahead and do this now. If it does not successfully detect the drive, then make sure the drive is properly connected, because it probably isn't. The BIOs will auto-detect your drive and offer you three options to choose from. Usually, just choose the first option at the top of the list, the one that says "LBA". It will then try to auto-detect your other drives. Pressing escape will ship the detection of drives that are not there.

2) Now enter the "Standard Settings" option. Configure the following items:

The date and time. The date is in MM/DD/YY format, and the time is in 24-hour format, like "military-time". Drive IDE settings: Type: Probably set to "User"

Heads/Sectors, etc...leave these set to the values determined by Auto-Detect. Make sure that any drives that are not physically present are set to NONE in the BIOs, so that it does not try to find those drives on every boot-up.

Translation Mode: Modern drives are set to LBA, the older drives below 500MB or so are set to Normal, or CHS.

Block Mode: Disabled on most systems

PIO Mode: Usually auto-detected, but most drive should be set to PIO mode 3.

Floppy Drive(s): Just set the correct type, like 1.44MB, 720K, etc.

Video Display: Set to VGA

Halt On: "All errors", to be sure you see all errors

3) Now, go into "Advanced Features", its all the same thing:

Virus Protection/Warning: Disable

Internal Cache: Enable. If you can't, then this is a hardware problem.

External Cache: Enable.

Quick POST: Disable to make sure all tests are performed on boot-up, but you can enable it, sacrificing valuable tests, but increasing boot speed. Boot Sequence: Best left at A:, C:, SCSI

Swap Floppy Drive: If your floppies are set in the correct locations on the floppy ribbon cable, you will not need to enable this. If your a: and b: are reversed, though, you can enable this.

Fast A20: Disable

Video/System BIOS Shadow: Disable now for minimum problems.

4) Go to the "Chipset Advanced Features" menu:

Chipset Special Features: Disable

Cache Timing: leave at "Auto", the default

L2 Cache size: Set it to match the size of your external cache.

DRAM Parity Checking: Enable only if using parity memory

Dram parity/ECC mode: "Parity" if using parity memory, "ECC" if using ECC memory

DRAM speed/Timing: Set to "Auto", or speed of memory. For SDRAM, you probably won't see 10ns listed, just choose "Auto", the memory runs at the correct speed.

Disable all other options, or leave at default.

5) Disable Power Management Features for now.

6) Set PCI/PnP Configuration Settings. If using Windows 95, set the PnP Aware OS to enabled. All other options set to Auto, or disable if "Auto" is not available.

7) Go to "Integrated Peripherals". Configure these items:

Integrated Floppy Controller: Enable.

Integrated IDE/ HDD Controller: Enable those you are using. Most likely, you have a hard drive on controller 1 and a CD-ROM on controller 2, so enable both.

Integrated Serial Port. Both COM 1 and COM 2 are usually enabled.

Integrated Parallel Port: Enable on most systems.

Parallel Port Mode: Set to either "EPP" or "SPP".

PS/2 Mouse: Set to "Auto" if available, otherwise, enable if using a PS/2 mouse.

USB: Disable on most systems, but enable if actually using USB.

8) If you are using a "jumperless" motherboard equipped with "SoftMenu", enter this option and configure the following items:

CPU Operating Speed. Setting this will automatically set the External Clock and Multiplier Settings.

External Clock: Set to the bus speed of your system.

Multiplier Factor: Set it. Obvious.

CPU Power Plane: Set to either dual voltage or single voltage. Most modern chips use dual voltage, one for core, one for I/O.

I/O Voltage: Set to appropriate voltage for your chip.

Core Voltage: Set to appropriate voltage for your chip.

9) Save and Exit the BIOS setup program. This will reboot the machine. Make sure your system disk is still in Drive A:.

STEP 23 : Test The System

Now that the system is on and operating, you can make a few tests to ensure all is working as it should. Let's check the following items:

1) Check the LED's on the front of the case. During boot-up, the HDD LED should light. If it does, it is connected properly to the motherboard. If not, try reversing the leads on the LED plug, or just turning it around. You can also check that the power LED lights and that the turbo LED lights, if it is connected.

2) Check the hard drive. Make sure it is spinning.

3) Check the fans. Make sure the CPU fan, power supply fan, and case fan(if you have one) are all spinning without any wires in the way.

4) Make sure the CD-ROM has power by hitting the eject button and seeing if it opens.

5) Hit the reset button to be sure it works. Make sure the system disk is still in Drive A:. While it reboots, check to be sure all the data on the BIOS splash screen is correct to your system.

6) If you have a keylock, test it now.

7) Let the system run for 10-15 minutes.

8) Now, turn it off, ground yourself on the case, and carefully touch the CPU and hard drive. You are checking the temperature to be sure they are being properly cooled. Both will be warm, especially the CPU, but it should never be too hot to touch. If it is, then you should get a better fan.

STEP 24 : Install Additional Hardware

If you're like most, you want a modem, sound card, and possibly some other hardware in this system. You can install these now if you please. It may be a better idea though to perform this step after you have installed Windows 95. When you install Win95, it is best to have as simple a system as possible to minimize problems. Then, after the OS is installed, install your other hardware one item at a time. With Win98, the setup procedure is a little more thorough, so you can probably attach any hardware you want to the system now. Win98 should properly detect it and set it up, or at least help you do it.

I won't bother telling you how to install these expansion cards. They install just like a video card, or any other card. Be sure that the power is off and that you are properly grounded. You can follow the procedures specific to each part.

With the modem, go ahead and attach the phone lines to it.

On the sound card, just be sure that the audio cable from the CD-ROM is connected to it through the CD-IN connector.

On all cards, make sure it properly configured to avoid conflicts. Most modern hardware is plug-n-play, so this will be easy. Some are configured for plug-n-play, but can be set with jumpers to use specific IRQ's and COM ports. You can use these if necessary.