Computer Assembly

Now that you have all of your parts it's time to put it all together. There are a zillion different configurations that I can't cover, but I'll try to cover as much as I can.

Read all of this before performing any of the steps! Then go over each section a couple times before you do it!

El Static
First of all, you have to make sure that you aren't full of static electricity--it can zap and ruin components. Ground yourself on something. I use a static wrist band that plugs into the wall; most people use a static mat or just touch the case. I'm a bit more paranoid I guess.

Connecting the power supply to the switch
Most cases have the power supply connected to the cases power switch. If yours doesn't, connect them. It shouldn't be much of a problem. Don't forget to unplug the computer before proceeding!

Install RAM
This is performed most easily with the motherboard out of the case. Just take the RAM, and put it in the white slots. It won't let you put it in backwards. It goes in at an angle, and snaps in. Make sure that it is in all the way. You may have to change some jumpers on your motherboard depending upon what type of RAM it is, and what size it is. The information should be in your motherboard manual.

Install the Motherboard into the Case
Don't have your case plugged into the wall or anything like that, please. Make sure all of the jumpers are set correctly for your motherboard. The information is in your motherboard's manual. Take the board and line it up in the case so that the keyboard port on the motherboard lines up with the keyboard hole in the case. Then see where the screw/riser holes in the motherboard line up with the holes in the case. You will probably have some holes in each of them that won't line up. You should have gotten some white tabs called spacers (I hope), some brass screws with screw holes in the top of the (risers), and some other screws with your case. The risers screw into the case and line with the holes in the motherboard. Then you screw a screw through the hole in the motherboard into the top of the brass screw. Cool, huh? Put the washer dohickies between the screws and the motherboard.

This is what a riser looks like:

and Washers:

The spacers:

slide into these:

and go into the holes in your motherboard.

You'll also need to put the spacers in the motherboard and line them up with the holes in the case. This keeps the motherboard from touching the case and shorting out. It takes awhile to get all this lined up correctly and to get all the parts to coordinate. This is always my greatest struggle! Now that everything is in and is secure, you have to attach the power supply to the motherboard. There will be two wide power cables coming out of the power supply. There will be a matching connection on the motherboard (pictured next to the SIMMs slots way above). Plug them in with the 4 black wires in the middle. If you don't, you might as well get out the credit card for a new motherboard. You will smoke it. It will be gone. That's it. On a lighter note, it's pretty easy to do (angle 'em in there if you have a problem), and it's one of very few ways you can really screw things up.

Install Video Card

Make sure that the jumpers are set correctly (see your manual again!). Then plug it into one of the appropriate slots! It can go into any of them that are the right type. If it's an ISA card, pop it into one of those black ones that's the same size, if it's VLB plug it into the VLB slot (it's black, black, and brown), PCI plug it into the white slot (or is it brown? I'll have to look). Then screw the top of the metal part of the card into the case. Voila. That's all there is to pretty much all cards. And you used to pay people to do that!

The First Test!
Now that you have the RAM in the motherboard, the motherboard in the case and connected to the power supply, and the video card installed, you can give it a test. Plug your monitor into the video card, plug the computer into the wall, and flip the switch. Hopefully you'll get some sort of startup screen. If you did, congratulations. You have a working computer (it needs more parts, but the easy part is over). If you didn't feel that incredible sigh of relief and joy, unplug the computer and check everything. Is the power plugged in? Did the power supply's fan come on (if not, make sure it's connected to the switch). Is the RAM fully seated? Is the video card fully seated? Is the monitor on and plugged in? Is the motherboard plugged into the power supply? If you exhaust all of these things, make sure you have all jumpers set correctly. If you do, you may have a bad component. Test them on other machines or take them to the dealer. I've had all of the above problems (and overcame all of them, so be tenacious!).

Installing Floppy Drive
First plug in a card, just like you did with the video card. If your motherboard has on board floppy controllers, don't worry about this. Then physically install the floppy drive into a drive bay. Just slide the puppy in there and screw it in with the screws provided with the case or the drive. Then plug the drive into the card/motherboard. The floppy drive ribbon will have a twist in the center of it. Plug the "twist" end into the drive with the colored part of the ribbon towards the center (one edge of the ribbon will be colored or have some dots on it, or something). Then plug the other end into the card/motherboard. The colored part of the ribbon will go on pin 1's side (this is what the color indicates). Pin one on the card/motherboard will be indicated with a 1 in that corner or a dot or something. If it isn't, check your manual. If you can't figure it out, just try one way and if that doesn't work, switch it. It won't fry anything (as far as I know--I've done it a number of times before). Then you need to plug the drive into the power supply. It will be one of the narrow white plugs coming out of the power supply. It can only be installed one way onto the drive.

Installing Hard Drive
Set the jumpers correctly on the hard drive. With SCSI you'll have to set a SCSI ID. The card itself is usually 7, so set the drive to 0. If you have more drives, work your way on up to 6 (you can use any number you want, actually, just as long as it isn't taken). If you are using IDE drives you need to set Master/Slave. Set the first drive to master and the second to slave. Consult your manual. There may be a bunch of other settings. You can probably leave them at their defaults, but feel free to change them if you want. Mount the hard drive into the case like you did with the floppy drive. Plug ribbon into the drive with the colored part of the ribbon towards the power on the drive. At the other end, plug the colored part of the ribbon into pin 1, just like the floppy drive again. For power do the same as the floppy, but use the larger white plug. It can only fit one way, too.
CD-ROM
If you have a CD-ROM drive install that just like you would your hard drive. If it has a card, install it just like you would your video card.

Other Cards
Pop 'em in just like you did with the rest. Check their jumper settings, put them in any of the appropriate available slots and secure them to the case!

Plug in your keyboard.

The Moment of Truth
Plug the computer back into the wall and...turn on the power. Odds are that it didn't work. Something is always in backwards. Unplug the computer and check everything. If it did work, congrats, you have yourself a full-blown working computer.

BIOS
You'll probably get some error in BIOS because it hasn't been configured. Hold down the delete key (not backspace!) to enter the BIOS settings (on most boards--yours may vary). You may have to set the RAM amount, and you'll most definitely have to tell it your hard drive settings (unless it's SCSI). All this stuff should be in your manuals or printed on the drive or available from the dealer/manufacturer.

Please note that much of this info is really out of date!
Suing me because of the information contained on these pages is strictly prohibited!