Completing The System

Booting Up for the First Time.
1. Check that your monitor, your keyboard, and mouse are all plugged in correctly.
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.
4. Turn on your PC.

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, 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.

If you hear any weird sounds such as grinding, scraping, or loud whining, be ready to turn the system off immediately and recheck all of your connections.

Configuring the BIOS.
After you turn on your PC, you should see a message that says something like "Hold down DEL to enter Setup" displayed at the bottom of the screen; your message may be different so pay attention to what key or combination of keys it requires. Hold down this key until you reach 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. Consult the manual that came with your motherboard for a detailed explanation of these settings. In most cases, you should not really have to change anything. If you are using a SoftMenu, jumperless motherboard, you can leave all settings on Auto. The only things you have to do in this case are auto-detect your hard drive, set the time & date, and disable the virus protection.

1. Auto-detect your Hard Drive. Just about all BIOS versions are capable of auto-detecting the hard drive. You should see a menu option for this, do this now. If it does not successfully detect the drive, then make sure the drive is properly connected. 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. It will then try to auto-detect your other drives, whether they are there are not. Pressing ESC will skip 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. Floppy Drive(s): Just set the correct type. On our system we only have one floppy drive so drive A: would be set to "1.44MB". Video Display: If you have this option, set to VGA Halt On: "All errors", to be sure you see all errors.

3. Now, go into "Advanced Features". Set Virus Protection/Warning: Disable (Make sure to enable this again after you have installed your operating system.)

4. Go to the "Chipset Advanced Features" menu: leave all defaults.

5. Disable Power Management Features for now. You can go back and enable these after you have your computer up and running.

6. Set PCI/PnP Configuration Settings. If you will be using Windows 95/98, set the PnP Aware OS to enabled. All other options set to Auto.

7. Go to "Integrated Peripherals". Configure these items: Integrated Floppy Controller: Enable. Integrated IDE/ HDD Controller: Enable those you are using. 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: Enable on most systems.

8. If you are using a "jumperless" motherboard equipped with "SoftMenu", enter this option. Here you will have the opportunity to select "Auto" detection of your CPU. If the BIOS detects your CPU incorrectly, consult your motherboard manual for possible solutions or web sites where you can download BIOS updates.

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

Installing an Operating System.
Now you are ready to install an operating system. Before you do this you will have to format your hard drive. The entire installation procedure for installing your operating system will be outlined with your OS manual. For most people, Windows 98 is the operating system of choice. It is by far the most popular operating system and runs the most software. When you purchase your copy of Windows 98, make sure you do not purchase an "upgrade" version. This version will not come with a bootable floppy disk, which you will need to get started. Make sure you purchase the Full Install Version of Windows 98 that will come with a bootable floppy disk.

Final Notes
Congratulations on finishing the course. We hope you now have the confidence to build your own PC. Keep in mind, it is not "rocket science" but rather a relatively simple process. In our effort to teach you how to build a PC, we have tried to answer all of your potential questions along the way. However, as with all learning, some things are not clear to everyone. We encourage you to find a knowledgeable friend or salesperson to help you with any further questions you may have. As a tip: if you select near-identical parts to the ones we have chosen, you should need little or no outside assistance and be on your way to enjoying your fast new computer!