First bootup and final check

Finally, after all this hard work and waiting it is time to boot up your computer. Before you do though, do a final check real quick. Make sure that all cords are out of the way of fans or other moving parts and that the processor heat sink is securely attached. Other than this though, there's not too much danger other than it just not working.

Hookup the power cable to a good, known working outlet. Attach at least a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Make sure the switch on the back of the power supply is set to the I and not the O (1). Check to make sure the little sliding switch on the back say 110 instead of 220 (2). And now, feel free to fire it up. Press the power button and hope for the best.

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(2)

If the fans all spun up and the motherboard splash screen shows up on the screen, congratulations, you’ve successfully built your first computer! If not, don’t panic. Likely you’ve forgotten something simple and it’s nothing to worry about. Read the troubleshooting guide below for a step by step list of tests and checks.

Installing your operating system

If you are installing your operating system using a CD, you will need to tell the motherboard that you want to try and boot off of the CD drive. To do this, enter BIOS when the computer first starts (1). There is usually text at the bottom of the screen that details how to do this; usually by pressing the Delete key or the F12 key. Once in BIOS, you will want to go to the Advanced Setup menu (2). Set the CD drive to boot before the Hard Drive (3). Now put your CD in the drive, hit escape to go to the main BIOS menu, select Save and Exit. The computer will reboot. Now wait for the boot process. Many CD’s will say something along the lines of “Press any key to boot from CD….” So watch for this notice. Otherwise it will just boot from the hard drive. When you have booted from the CD, follow the instruction to install your operating system. If you get stuck or have problems feel free to contact me via the websites contact page.

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(3)

A bit on Drivers

Drivers are a piece of code that tells the operating system how to talk to the various components of the computer correctly. Operating systems like Windows often have a certain number of basic drivers already installed in order to boot up into a minimal system, but often these basic driver do not allow the hardware to perform to its fullest. To install drivers for the hardware on your computer you will insert the CD’s that came with your components. Usually the only two components that need extra drivers will be the Motherboard and the Graphics Card, but sometimes certain expansion cards will as well. Specifics on how to install drivers vary from manufacturer to manufacturer so follow the instructions on the CD or contact the manufacturers support for assistance. Drivers are frequently updated and changed in order to make them run better or be more compatible. To obtain the most up-to-date drivers visit the manufacturer’s website and download the drivers for your product. This is usually located in the support section of the website.

Final Words

So here you are, at the end of a long journey through the adventure of building your own computer. Hopefully it was a fairly painless experience, and hopefully this guide saved you from some common mistakes and helped make you life a little easier. If you learned something in your process of building your computer that you think everyone else should know, please feel free to contact me through the Contact section of the website so that I can update the guide. This is a living guide, something that I expect to update with new information frequently. If you found this guide helpful to you through the process of building your computer, please consider leaving me a tip, no matter how small. It is always nice to know that your work is appreciated.