The Guidance
Charter School
This step by step guide explains to you how to build a new PC from scratch.
By Mr. Shephard
Planning
Before anything else happens you first need to be clear what you are going
to use the PC for. This aids you in determining the components that you need
to order. It is no longer the case that the most powerful processor is best.
Memory, graphics cards and hard disk specifications are more important. The
hard disk is the slowest component, the modern processors and the graphics
cards are fast enough for any application the average user will require,
including games.
List the components:
- Case, either ATX or mini ATX with a least a 300W power supply. The case
comes with a set of suitable screws and power lead.
- Monitor
- Keyboard
- Mouse
- Motherboard, commonly this has integrated 3D graphics, 5:1 sound, Local
Area Connection and USB 2.0 hub
- Processor (CPU), normally either Athlon Semperon or Intel Pentium IV
- Operating system e.g. Windows XP Home or Linux Desktop.
Tools
- Long Philips screwdriver
- Long electricians flat-bladed screwdriver
- Tweezers (for jumper removal and insertion)
- Thermal compound (used when attaching heat sinks to processor chips and
graphics chips)
- A pack of screws, jumpers and standoffs (used to stand the motherboard
away from the case)
- A grounded wriststrap to protect the components from electrostatic
discharges.
- Small electricians pliers
Step By Step Construction
1. Open up the case, normally ATX and mini ATX.
2. Identify Power leads.
3. Identify front panel leads.
4. Locate the Motherboard.
5. Locate the CPU (Central Processing Unit), observe the missing pins and
match these with the socket on the motherboard.
6. Lift the lever of the socket and gently drop the processor into the
socket and push down the lever so that it locks in place.
7. Spread thermal grease thinly on to the top of the actual processor
casing. (Thermal Paste Helps transfer heat from the CPU to the Heatsink)
8. Find the cooling device and push the fixing clip through the cooler and
clip on the short end onto the processor socket.
9. Use the tool to push the other end of the clip to the other side of the
processor socket.
10. If you have an adjustable speed fan for the CPU cooler then the fan
should be fitted to the case after the motherboard has been installed.
11. Locate the memory chip(s)-(Random-access memory (RAM) and
insert them into the memory slots starting from the slot DDR1. Push firmly,
holding the memory chips on both sides ensuring that your fingers are not in
the way of the side clips that holds the memory in place.
12. If the Case has a former for the motherboard outputs, it is unlikely
that this will match the motherboard exactly. So knock out the former and
use the one provided with the motherboard.
13. If the motherboard's former has a panel blocked for a port such as the
Ethernet port then just knock out this panel.
14. Insert the motherboard former.
15. Find some standoffs (e.g. metal jack screw standoff #4-40) that raise
the motherboard just off the case surface, also some screws (e.g. #4-40 x
3/16" long) that fit in the spacers to screw the motherboard to the case.
16. The number of spacers required will be determined by the number of
shielded holes in the motherboard. So position the motherboard to discover
where to screw in the standoffs.
17. Screw the standoffs in the case at the relevant positions and place the
motherboard on top ensuring that the ports fit snugly into the former.
18. Screw the motherboard on to the standoffs.
19. At this point it is a good idea to connect the case connectors. These
tend to be located together on the motherboard near the front of the case.
- Soft power switch (motherboard power switch). It does not matter which
way around this is connected
- Reset switch, again it does not matter which way around this is
connected
- LED hard disk indicator (sometimes called power LED).
- Sleep message indicator (if the case supports this)
- Internal speaker connection
The order in which these are connected will depend on which is easiest
physically. Normally top left to bottom right is easiest.
20. If you have a front audio panel then remove any jumpers that are
installed on the motherboard connector and connect the front audio panel
lead. Normally there will be a blank pin so that there is only one way of
connecting the lead.
21. Similarly, locate the front panel USB connector(s) (these are additions
to the rear USB connectors) and connect the USB lead(s). There is usually
only one way in which these can be connected. (USB is Universal Serial Bus)
22. Decide where you want to install the various drives. Normally there
would be a 3 1/2 inch floppy drive, a DVD drive and a hard disk.
23. Remove the front plastic cover. There are normally cleats that can be
squeezed by hand to release the front cover from the metal chassis.
24. Remove any metal barriers that are in the way between the drive and the
front cover. Normally these are loosely molded to the metal interior and can
be removed by wiggling until the barrier snaps off.
25. Check the jumper on the DVD drive to ensure that it is set as Master.
This will be the first drive on one of the Extended IDE (E-IDE) channels.
26. Insert the DVD drive and floppy drive in through the front of the case.
Some cases will have their own fascias that sit in front of the drives.
27. Install the plastic front cover back on to the chassis.
28. A button on the fascia impinges on the drive button to transfer the
action when operating of the drive. Use suitable fixing screws for each
drive, normally 4 per drive to fix the drive into the cages built into the
case. Ensure that the drives are flush up against the front of the case so
that there is good positive action when using the buttons on the front of
the case.
29. Install the hard disk. Check the jumper. If this drive is the master
(first hard disk with the bootable operating system) then the jumper should
be set to master or Cable Select (CS). If the jumper is set to CS then the
first connector on the Extended IDE ribbon cable must be used for this
drive. When installing the drive ensure that two screw holes can be used on
each side to attach the drive to the chassis.
30. Connect an extended IDE cable to the DVD ROM drive. The blue end
connects to the motherboard and the red strip connects to the right handside
at the back of the drive. Blips in the plastic suround help you get the
cable connected the right way round. Check the jumper of the drive. This
should be set to master if it is the first drive on this IDE bus. The
optical drives and the hard disks must be installed on separate IDE buses.
When installing the IDE cable to the motherboard you may need to support the
motherboard with your fingers to avoid bending it too much.
31. Untangle the power leads with the various connectors and select the
leads which do not contain the small floppy disk power lead.
32. Install one of these power leads into the DVD drive.
33. Locate the DVD ROM audio lead and connect this to the DVD drive.
34. Find the location on the motherboard for the DVD audio lead and connect
it.
35. Connect the floppy drive IDE cable. The twist goes at the floppy drive
end and the red stripe (pin 1) goes to the left at the back of the floppy
drive. There is normally a blip in the plastic surround that corresponds
with a gap on the motherboard and floppy drive connections. Integrated
Drive Electronics (IDE)
36. The small floppy power cable is installed next. There is only one way
round that this can be installed too.
37. Install the Extended IDE cable for the hard disk. The blue end connects
to the motherboard and the red strip connects to the right handside at the
back of the hard disk. Blips in the plastic surround help you get the cable
connected the right way round.
38. Connect the motherboard power lead.
39. Connect the case fan if you have one. You may need a four-to-three pin
power adapter.
40. Install the CPU and graphics chip fan assembly. You may need to remove
screws or retainers that hold the slot blanks in place.
41. Connect up the variable speed device and the CPU fan to the motherboard.
42. Ensure screws are used to hold in the PCI slot blanking plates.
43. Put the case back together and connect the keyboard, mouse, screen,
speakers and LAN connections.
44. This Motherboard is using integrated onboard graphics, however keep
in mind that in today's world, technology is
always changing. As of now, the most commonly used graphics cards
are: PCIE
Software Installation
1. Switch on the computer and when prompted insert the Windows XP CD and
press 'Enter' to boot to the CD for XP installation, following the onscreen
instructions through to completion.
2. Update the latest bug fixes from Microsoft's update site. To do this
click on the 'Windows Update' icon and follow the instructions.
3. Stick the license number sticker on the side of the PC for future
reference.
4. Next, install drivers and motherboard hardware monitoring software from
the motherboard CD.
5. Often virus checker and firewalling software is included with the
motherboard. Install, sign up and update these packages.
6. The PC is now ready to install any other software that you wish to run on
it. Some recommended suggestions are as follows:
- AVG version 7.5 antivirus (includes a scheduler, virus guard and email
checker)
- Free Anti Vir. Does a similar job to AVG
- Lavasoft's Adaware to block and remove spyware
- Spybot's Search and Destroy
- Agnitum's Outpost firewall
- Google's toolbar with popup blocker
- Winzip
- Adobe Reader
This step by step guide explains to you how to build a new PC from scratch.
By Mr. Shephard
44. This Motherboard is using integrated onboard graphics, however keep in mind that in today's world, technology is
always changing. As of now, the most commonly used graphics cards are: PCIE
Acronym's To Remember:
PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) PCIE
GUI - Guided User Interface
USB - Universal Serial Bus
NIC - Network Interface Card
RAM - Random Access Memory
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
CPU - Central Processing Unit
PS/2 - Keyboard Connector Type