CHAPTER THREE

3.1 SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

These phases discuss and enlighten the various parts/components and the required tools
which will be used to coupled it. This will be needed as a result of assembling the
components to make it a whole computer system.
3.2 TOOLS REQUIRED TO SETUP A WHOLE COMPUTER
i. Human effort and composure
ii. A small plastic bin(s) to put your screws and other small parts into. Needle nose
pliers, Screwdriver with a good collection of bits.
iii. A small flashlight. Used to check in to some internal component that is not seen
clear.
iv. Antistatic Wrist Bank: Computer components are very sensitive to static
electricity.

Tool/Kits

Other useful tools s and equipment can come in handy as well, such as:
1. Grounding Mat or anti-static carpet.
2. Spring action parts grabber.
3. Electrical tape.
4. Flashlight
 5. A second, working computer look for tips, ask for help online, download drivers
and patches, etc. very useful.
6. A can of compressed air—useful when working with older parts that have
collected dust. A better alternative but also more costly, is a vacuum cleaner
designed for cleaning electronics.
If you do not have access to an anti-static mat or wrist-band, when working on a table
rubber or leather-soled shoes can help prevent static charges obtained from walking
around, although if you move your hands upon the ground, say picking up a dropped
screw, your static charge WILL stay with you until you touch something metal.
Therefore, after doing anything that might have potentially caused you to pick up a static
charge, ground yourself on an unpainted surface of the computer case before touching
anything electronic.
3.3 Basic Preparation for PC assembling
Proper preparation is the key to a successful build. Before you begin, make sure you have
all the tools you will need, and secure a clear, well-lit workspace. Gather all the
components you’ll be using and unpack them one at a time, verifying that everything that
is supposed to be there is actually present. At this point you should leave the parts
themselves in their protective anti-static bags, and assemble all the accompanying
manuals. Now I know you want to get started, but trust me, read the manuals, check the
diagrams, make sure you understand where each part goes and how it attaches. If there is
anything you don’t understand, now is the time to do a little extra internet research or call
the manufacturer with your questions. Find a dry, well-ventilated place to do your work.
You should have plenty of light to see your components with, and if possible, you should
choose an area without carpet on the floor, as carpet tends to generate a lot of static, and
this can be ameliorated by choosing a nonconductive floor surface. An unfurnished
basement is a good work location.
Safety precautions
1. Static electricity is the biggest danger to the expensive parts you are about assemble,
even a tiny shock, much too small for you to feel, can damage or ruin the delicate
electronic traces, many times smaller than a human hair, that make up your CPU,
RAM and other chips. Its important to use your anti-static wrist strap. Once you have
the power supply installed in the case, clip the end of the wrist strap to the outside of
 the power supply. (Never plug your computer in while you are connected to it by a
wrist strap.) This will ensure that you, the case and the power supply are all
connected to a common ground, in other words there will be no inequality of charge
that will allow a spark to jump from you to the case. It’s also helpful to have an
antistatic mat to set the case and other components on.
2. Nobody but you is at fault if you shock your components with static electricity. Make
sure that you take the precautions in the previous paragraph to ground yourself from
static electricity. (Note: if you really must work on a computer and haven’t got proper
anti-static equipment, it is usually OK if you make sure that you don’t move about
much; are not wearing any static-prone clothing; handle components by the edges;
and regularly (once a minute or so), touch a grounded object.). The case metal of
your PC’s power supply will usually be a suitable grounded object. As noted above,
touch it every few minutes while you are working on your PC if you haven’t got a
wrist strap.
3. Turn off your computer and unplug your Power Supply before installing or removing
any components if power is flowing to components as they are installed or removed,
they can be seriously damaged.
4. Never cut the grounding pin of your power cord. This “safety ground”
standsbetweenyouandpotentiallylethalvoltagesinsidethepowersupply. 5. Be wary of
sharp edges! Many lower-end PC cases have sharp, unfinished edges. This is
especially so on interior surfaces, and where the case has been cut or punched-out.
Use care and take your time to avoid cutting our hands If your case has this problem,
a little time with somas and paper before you begin construction can spare you a lot
of pain.
5. Dismantling discrete electronic components such as your Power Supply or Monitor is
dangerous. They contain high voltage capacitors, which can cause a severe electric
shock if you touch them. These hold a charge even when the unit is not plugged in
and are capable of delivering a fatal shock.
Start by putting your case down on your work surface, with the case door facing up,
and open the case.
3.4 THE COMPONENTS/PARTS REQUIRED FOR PC ASSEMBLY

The components that make a whole PC cannot be over emphasized because they all have
various functions and tasks they perform, these has made it known to the users that they
come one after the other thereby assembling it in procedural process (step by step). The
majorly components that will must put into consideration are.

3.4.1 Computer Case and Power Pack

This is the actual case that will house all your other parts. Name it computers house. It
will dictate how your machine looks all first glances as well as what and how many parts
you can put into your machine. It also let you know the type of motherboard you be
going for. The type of casing going for hare is ATX casing, it should be noted that most
motherboard in this new age also comes up with ATX power pack. So you need not to go
for a power separately except the voltage of the power pack is either high or low to
supply the motherboard.

3.4.2 Motherboard

A motherboard is also called a main board or just “The Board”. So don’t get confused,
this is your core computer part. It is where all your components will plug into.
It’s the electronic circuit that provides and attachment for other internal components of
computer system to be fixed on it, some of the attachments it provides are: RAM slot.

3.4.3 Hard disk

This is where your computer stores your programs, personal data and operating System.
The bigger the hard drive the more stuff you can fit on it. It’s also known as mass storage
which stores information for other time consultations.

3.4.4 CD/DVD-ROM

This is your optical drive. Optical drives are very handy and nowadays are in more
systems than floppy drives. You use this type of drive to listen to music, watch videos or
to backup/move data.
This optical drive can be a CD-Rom/DVD-Rom capable only of reading CD’s/DVD’s or
a CD/DVD-RW that can read, write and re-write CD’s/DVD’s.
3.4.5 RAM (Memory)

Your RAM (Read Only Memory) aka Memory is what the computer uses to run
programs. The more RAM you have on your machine the easier you make it for your
computer to perform its functions. Is the one that first holds the data you inputted for
processing, it is volatile in nature.

3.4.6 TYPES OF CARDS (Video card, Sound card, Network card)

These cards mentioned above has different functions they performed on computer, the
Video card deals with visualization and any type f graphical display of the monitor, it is
the one that provide where monitor can be connected to the computer system.Sound
card deals with production of sound either in audio or video format: it provides port
where audio devices can be plug into called sound jack. Network card: as the name
implies it deals with connection of networks (WAN, LAN) where it provide port in
which connecting cables can be plug into.
As the technologies improve these cards are now onboard with the motherboard so there
is no need to shop for it except if the system required being upgrade.
3.5 THE EXTERNAL AND PERIPHERALS COMPONENTS

Monitor: Display processed data made by the computer to the outside word for
visualization. It can be LCD/CRT.

Keyboard: This is used to computer data in to the computer system.

Mouse: It is use to point and click to the desire icon/program that one need to make use
of at any point in time.

Speaker: Produces the sound made by the computer to the outside world.
PICTURES OF THE ABOVE MENTIONED COMPONENTS AND DEVICES

MOTHERBOARD ATX POWER PACK

COMPUTER CASING HARD DISK DRIVE

DVD-ROM Computer Casing

Keyboard Monitor

Network card Mouse

 CHAPTER FOUR

4.1 SYSTEM DESIGN AND EVALUATION

This phase describes the process of how the components of the computer system are to be
assembled right from the major components/devices to the least. Thereafter the
installation of the operating system comes in to check and test for the required
configuration of the system.

4.2 FEATURES OF THE COMPUTER

PROCESSOR SPEED 3.0GHZ

RAM 2GB
HDD 500GB
MONITOR LCD SCREEN
KEYBOARD PS2
MOUSE USB
ABILITY TO RUN PROGRAMS like Java, VB, and Fortran etc.

4.3 PROCEDURE FOR THE ASSEMBLAGE OF THE PC (PERSONAL

COMPUTER)

Availability of workshop or a big table which you will put everything accordingly must
be considered first. Then next step is to un-wrap all the new components/devices from
their sachets staring from the motherboard, processor, memory etc. make sue the manuals
of all the components are intact and you follow as stipulated in other not to damage some
components. The tool/kits needed for the completion of the processes should be made
available. After this must have been done then the procedure begins;
4.4 PROCESS OF ASSEMBLING PC
Put on the Static Wrist protector; this will prevent accidental; electric shocks or damage
to the equipment. Always make sure the power IS NOT connected to your
case/motherboard.
4.4.1 INSTALLING A SOCKET PROCESSOR AND THE HEAT SINK ON THE
MOTHERBOARD
Lift up the lever that is on the side of the socket. This unlocks the mechanism and gets it
ready for you to insert the processor. Carefully match up the pins on the bottom of the
new processor with the holes in the socket, and then very gently insert the processor into
the socket. If you don’t get it right on the first shot pull it straight back up, avoid bending
the pins and try again. Use the corner arrow reference marks on the processor and socket
to align the processor in the socket correctly. Do not force the processor into the socket
or you could damage the processor, it should go in smooth and fit like a glove. Placing
the heat sink follows immediately. Connect the fan power cable to the power cable
connector on the system board.

4.4.2 INSTALLING MEMORY MODULES

1. Find the memory module bank on your system board. They should look similar to
what you see below. There may only be two slots instead of four as you see
2. Align the notches on the memory module with the notches on the memory
module bank, and then press the module firmly into the bank. The tabs on the
sides of the module bank should secure the memory module automatically. When
the module Is secure, you hear a click.

Fig.4.3.2
3. Repeat this procedure for any additional memory modules that need to be
installed.
4.4.3 INSTALLATION OF MOTHERBOARD.

After fixing all the necessary components/devices on the motherboard and making sure
that they all intact then installing of the motherboard to the system case follows, it should
be noted that the power pack comes with casing bough that’s why the step is sipped here.
Slide the motherboard gently towards the back of the Case. The system board standoffs
side it the keyhole slots. The picture is shown

Fig.4.3.2
Your board should have a thumbscrew to secure it to the case. Screw it in and lock it into
place using your screwdriver or thumb and fore-finger. After this procedure for installing
the motherboard, the outlook is shown above.
It should be noted that configuration set for the Hard Disk is master while the CD ROM
Drive is slave
4.4.4 INSTALLING THE CD ROM AND HARDISK

Readily the space for the Hard disk and the CR-ROM drive in the computer case are easy
to know. The HARD DISK and the CD-ROM drive should be placed in to the casing in
the form that will allow cables to be connected. Connect power cables to your physical
hard and CD-ROM drives.
 Fig.3.1

4.4.5 CONNECTING THE POWER SUPPLY CABLES TO THE

MOTHERBOARD

1. There is always a big power supply cable that connects the power supply to the main
board make sure the connector locks into place.

Fig. 4.3.5

2. If you have a second, smaller power cable (Usually four round connectors on it),
connect the smaller power cable to the system board as well, there is only one place it
could go and make sure the cable clicks into place.
4.4.6 CONNECTING THE MOTHERBOARD TO THE DRIVES

The picture below shows the IDE cable side that connects to the IDE socket on the main
board. The other end of this cable connects to your hard drive or optical.

Fig. 4.3.6

3.4.7 CONNECTING THE FRONT PANNEL CABLE

With all the hardware installed correctly, follow these steps to connect the internal
cabling.
This is the final step. What you’re going to do here is to make sure that power/standby
buttons, earphone port etc. that are located on the front of your case are working.
Depending on the case you got there should see a bunch of small cables coming out from
it; they should look similar to the ones below.

SPK (Speaker) – For small speaker mounted in the PC Case (if present)

PWR SW (Power switch) – Turns the PC on/off

 RST SW (Reset switch) – Resets the system

PWR LED (Power LED) – Shows when system is on (usually green)

SLP LED (Sleep LED) – shows when system is suspended (in ‘sleep’ mode

HDD LED (HDD LED) - Shows when system is accessing hard drive (usually red)

These connectors need to be connected onto a set of grouped pins on the Motherboard. At
this step you will need to refer to your Motherboard manual for the connection method of
these cables.

4.5 INSTALLING THE OPERATING SYSTEM

Now that you’ve put everything together, you’ve past all the difficult stages the rest is a
cakewalk. Here’s how to install your operating system and get everything up and
running. If you’ve never installed an OS before, it’s remarkably easy, if you have, I’d still
suggest reading through this guide to make sure you’ve got it all down. Installing
Windows on a custom machine can take a few extra steps than installing it on a pre-built
machine. For this guide, we’re going to use Windows 7 as an example, but you can of
course install Window XP, Linux, or even Mac OS X, if you’re building a Hackintosh.
Refer to our
Getting Started with Linux series and easy Hackintosh guide if you’re using those OSes
instead.

4.5.1 Step One: SETTING THE BIOS

When you first start up your computer, it’ll tell you to press a key to enter setup, usually
DEL. This takes you to the setup of your Basic Inputs/Outputs System, or BIOS, here;
you can configure some of the lowest-level aspects of your new machine. You may not
actually need to edit any of these settings, but it’s a good idea to go through, get
acquainted with them, and make sure everything’s in good order before moving on.
Note that BIOS will be a little bit different on different brands of motherboard, so your
screen may not look exactly like the images here, but it should be close.
First, we should make sure that everything’s been installed correctly. If you have a
System Information page in your BIOS, head there and make sure the amount of RAM
 listed is the same amount you put in. if it isn’t detecting all of your RAM, some of it
might not be seated correctly, so go back and fix that before continuing. If there isn’t a
System Information page in your BIOS, your motherboard probably lists the amount of
RAM it detects on the POST screen, right after you press the power button.
Find the SATA configuration option, and make sure it’s configured as AHCI. If you’re
running Window XP you’ll need to change this to IDE, otherwise AHCI is probably what
you want to go with.
Lastly, find the “Boot Order” or “Boot Priority” page. Make sure your DVD drive is the
first drive on the list (or your USB drive if you’re installing from a flash drive), and that
the hard drive you’ll be installing to is second. Note that some BIOS utilities split this up
into two menus one for setting the boot order for your different media (CD-ROM, hard
disks, USB disks) and another that lets you choose the order of just the hard drives.If you
don’t see your hard drive listed, it may not be plugged in correctly or it may be dead.
Turn your computer off and re-check the connection if necessary.

4.5.2 Step Two: INSTALLING THE WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM

Next, grab your Windows installation DVD (or flash drive, if that be the case) and pop it
in. Start up your computer and it should automatically boot into the Windows installer. If
you ever get a “Press any key to boot from CD” option, make sure to hit a key on your
keyboard to continue.
Once the installer loads, hit the “Install Now” button, accept the terms of use, and choose
“Custom (advanced)” when asked what type of installation you want. Find your primary
hard drive (if you have more then one), click on the “Unallocated Space” partition, and
Hit Next. Windows should start installing.

If you aren’t using a brand new drive, you may have to format it first. Click on the
currently-used partition, click “Drive options (advanced)”, and then hit “Format”,. It
 should format the drive to be Widows- compatible, after which you can hit next and let
the installation run.
From there, the rest is just a waiting game. Leave your computer alone to do its thing.
It’ll copy all the necessary files to your disk and reboot a number of times in the process.
You’ll know you’re done when you hear the familiar startup chime and boot into the
default Windows 7 desktop.
4.5.3 Step Three: ACTIVATING THE WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM
The last thing you need to do before you actually use your computer is install your
drivers. If your Ethernet or Wi-Fi works out-of-the-box, Windows may find most or all of
your drivers for you. If not, you’ll need to pop in the CD that came with your
motherboard to install the Ethernet or Wi-Fi drivers you need to access the internet.
Don’t install any other drivers from that CD just yet.
Once you’ve got the internet up and running, Windows will install drivers for you. It
might not catch everything though, so you’ll have to install some manually. The CDs that
came with your motherboard, video card, and other hardware are probably already out of
date, so I don’t recommend using these to install those drivers.
Instead, you’ll want to download the drivers manually from the manufacture’s web site.
Open up Device Manager by opening up the Start menu and searching for “Device
Manager”. Look for anything that has a question mark or an exclamation point next to it.

Often, it’ll tell you what the missing driver is for say, SATA and you can then head to
your motherboard manufacture’s web site, go to their support page, and download the
drivers manually. If it’s your video card that’s missing a driver, you’ll want to head to

NVIDIA or ATI’s web site instead.

 If it says “Unknown Device” next to the driver-fewer devices, try inserting the CD that
came with your motherboard and seeing if there are any drivers that aren’t listed in the
Device manager, and try installing those from the manufacturer’s web site. Eventually,
you should be able to get everything installed.

4.5.4 Step Four: INSTALL WINDOWS UPDATES

The last thing you’ll want to do is get Windows up to date. Chances are, you’ve already
gotten a notification from Windows Update at this point, but if not, head into your Start
Menu, go to Programs, and hit Windows Update. Install all the updates it gives you, and
reboot your computer. Check for updates again and it’ll have a whole new slew of them
for you. You’ll have to do this quite a few times, but eventually it should stop serving
you notifications and you’ll be all up to date. When you are, you’re ready to actually start
using your computer.
This is also a good time to get some antivirus on your machine, as well as any other basic
apps you want.