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Chapter 3 - Computer Assembly

3.0 Computer Assembly

3.0.1 Introduction >3.0.1.1 Introduction

The image on this page shows a table with a computer case and various computer components next to the computer case.

3.1 Computer Assembly

3.1.1 Open the Case and Install the Power Supply >3.1.1.1 Open the Case

The image on this page shows an open computer case.

3.1.1 Open the Case and Install the Power Supply >3.1.1.2 Install the Power Supply

The image on this page shows a power supply installed in an empty computer case.

3.1.1 Open the Case and Install the Power Supply >3.1.1.3: Lab - Install the Power Supply

See IT Essentials 5.0 Labs and Worksheets Accessible Files.

3.1.2 Install the Motherboard >3.1.2.1 Install the CPU, Heat Sink, and Fan Assembly

Image 1 on this page shows the CPU being installed.

Image 2 on this page shows the application of thermal paste.

Image 3 on this page shows the heat sink and fan assembly being installed.

Image 4 on this page shows the heat sink and fan assembly power connector.

3.1.2 Install the Motherboard >3.1.2.2 Install RAM

The image on this page shows a person installing a single stick of RAM into the motherboard RAM slot.

3.1.2 Install the Motherboard >3.1.2.3 Install the Motherboard

Image 1 on this page shows the installed motherboard.

Image 2 on this page shows the motherboard I/O connector plate.

3.1.2 Install the Motherboard >3.1.2.4: Lab - Install the Motherboard

See IT Essentials 5.0 Labs and Worksheets Accessible Files.

3.1.3 Install the Drives >3.1.3.1 Install the Internal Drive

The image on thisn page shows a 3.5 inch computer hard disk slotted into the computer case drive bay.

3.1.3 Install the Drives >3.1.3.2 Install the Optical Drive

The image on this page shows an optical drive being installed in the computer case drive bay.

3.1.3 Install the Drives >3.1.3.3 Install the Floppy Drive

The image on this page shows a floppy drive being installed into the computer case drive bay.

3.1.3 Install the Drives >3.1.3.4: Lab - Install the Drives

See IT Essentials 5.0 Labs and Worksheets Accessible Files.

3.1.4 Install the Adapter Cards >3.1.4.1 Types of Adapter Cards

The image on this page shows the following 3 different adapter cards:

• Network Interface Card (NIC)
• Video Adapter Card (Graphics card)
• Wireless Network Interface Cards (wireless NIC)

3.1.4 Install the Adapter Cards >3.1.4.2 Install a NIC

The image on this page shows a Network Interface Card (NIC). The image also highlights the appropriate expansion slot on the motherboard for installing the NIC.

3.1.4 Install the Adapter Cards >3.1.4.3 Install a Wireless NIC

The image on this page shows a Wireless Network Interface Card. The image also highlights the appropriate expansion slot on the motherboard for installing the wireless NIC.

3.1.4 Install the Adapter Cards >3.1.4.4 Install a Video Adapter Card

The image on this page shows a Video Adapter Card. The image also highlights the appropriate PCI expansion slot on the motherboard for installing the Video Adapter Card.

3.1.4 Install the Adapter Cards >3.1.4.5 Lab - Install Adapter Cards

See IT Essentials 5.0 Labs and Worksheets Accessible Files.

3.1.5 Install the Cables >3.1.5.1 Install the Internal Power Cables

Image 1 on this page shows the motherboard power connection.

Image 2 on this page shows the motherboard AUX power connection.

Image 3 on this page shows the SATA power connector.

Image 4 on this page shows the Molex power connector.

Image 5 on this page shows the Berg power connector.

Image 6 on this page shows the fan power connector.

3.1.5 Install the Cables >3.1.5.2 Install the Internal Data Cables

Image 1 on this page shows the PATA data connector to the motherboard.

Image 2 on this page shows the PATA data connector to the optical drive.

Image 3 on this page shows the SATA data connector to the motherboard.

Image 4 on this page shows the SATA data connector to the hard drive.

Image 5 on this page shows floppy data connector to the motherboard.

Image 6 on this page shows floppy data connector to the floppy drive.

3.1.5 Install the Cables >3.1.5.3: Lab - Install Internal Cables

See IT Essentials 5.0 Labs and Worksheets Accessible Files.

3.1.5 Install the Cables >3.1.5.4 Install the Front Panel Cables

Image 1 on this page shows the front panel connectors.

Image 2 on this page showsSee Labs v5.0 for accessible Microsoft Word version.

Image 3 on this page shows the pin 1 arrow indicator.

Image 4 on this page shows the front panel connector pin 1 indicator.

Image 5 on this page shows the USB motherboard connectors.

Image 6 on this page shows the internal USB connector.

3.1.5 Install the Cables >3.1.5.5: Lab - Install Front Panel Cables

See IT Essentials 5.0 Labs and Worksheets Accessible Files.

3.1.5 Install the Cables >3.1.5.6 Install the Case Assembly

The image on this page shows the computer case side panels being reattached to the computer case.

3.1.5 Install the Cables >3.1.5.7 Install the External Cables

Image 1 on this page shows the monitor cable being attached.

Image 2 on this page shows the keyboard cable being attached.

Image 3 on this page shows the mouse cable being attached.

Image 4 on this page shows a USB cable being attached.

Image 5 on this page shows the network cable being attached.

Image 6 on this page shows the wireless antenna being connected.

Image 7 on this page shows the power cable being attached.

Image 8 on this page shows the AV cables being attached.

3.1.5 Install the Cables >3.1.5.8: Lab - Complete the Computer Assembly

See IT Essentials 5.0 Labs and Worksheets Accessible Files.

3.2 Boot the Computer

3.2.1 POST and BIOS >3.2.1.1 BIOS Beep Codes and Setup

Figure 1 on this page shows the following POST output:

  American
  Megatrends

1 AMD North Bridge. Rev G2
NUMM ROM Version :4.082.19
Initializing USB Controllers .. Done.
4096MB OK
USB Device(s) : 1 Keyboard, 1 Mouse
Auto-Detecting SATA Port1...IDE Hard Disk
Auto-Detecting SATA Port3...ATAPI CDROM
Auto-Detecting SATA Port2...IDE Hard Disk
Auto-Detecting SATA Port4...IDE Hard Disk
SATA Port1 : ST31000340AS SD15
   Ultra DMA Mode-6, S.M.A.R.T. Capable but Disabled
SATA Port3 : ATAPI iHAS220 6 8L07
   Ultra DMA Mode-5
SATA Port2 : ST31500341AS CC1H
   Ultra DMA Mode-6, S>M>A>R>T> Capable but Disabled
SATA Port4 : ST31500341AS CC1H
   Ultra DMA Mode-6, S>M>A>R>T> Capable but Disabled
Auto-detecting USB Mass Storage Devices ..
00 USB mass storage devices found and configured.

END OF POST OUTPUT

Figure 2 on this page is a table listing of common beep codes.

Beep Code	Meaning	Cause
1 beep (No video)	Memory Refresh Failure	Bad memory
2 beeps	Memory parity error	Bad memory
3 beeps	Base 64 Memory failure	Bad memory
4 beeps	Timer not operational	Bad motherboard
5 beeps	Processor Error	Bad processor
6 beeps	8042 Gate A20 Failure	Bad CPU or Motherboard
7 beeps	Processor exception	Bad processor
8 beeps	Video memory error	Bad video card or memory
9 beeps	ROM checksum error	Bad BIOS
10 beeps	CMOS checksum error	Bad Motherboard
11 beeps	Cache memory bad	Bad CPU or Motherboard

3.2.1 POST and BIOS >3.2.1.2 BIOS Setup

Image 1 on this page shows the CMOS chip on the motherboard that saves configuration settings for the computer. This is powered by a small watch battery in the motherboard.

Image 2 on this page shows a BIOS setup program which is a simple windows text based interface that allows the user to change various motherboard and CPU settings.

3.2.2 BIOS Configuration >3.2.2.1 BIOS Component Information

The image on this page shows the BIOS Setup Utility displaying the following system overview:

• Version
• Build Date
• ID
• Processor details
• System Memory
• System Timer
• System Date

3.2.2 BIOS Configuration >3.2.2.2 BIOS Configurations

Image 1 on this page shows the BIOS System Time and System Date on the System Overview tab.

Image 2 on this page shows the BIOS Device Settings tab.

Image 3 on this page shows the boot order on the Boot Device Priority tab.

Image 4 on this page shows the BIOS clock speed on the Over Voltage and Clock Settings tab.

Image 5 on this page shows the BIOS Virtualisation settings.

3.2.2 BIOS Configuration >3.2.2.3 BIOS Security Configurations

The image on this page shows the Security setting tab of the BIOS Setup Utility. This allows the user to access different security features that can perform various functions, password encryption, Lojack and other things.

3.2.2 BIOS Configuration >3.2.2.4 BIOS Hardware Diagnostics and Monitoring

Image 1 on this page shows the Power tab of the BIOS Setup Utility. This tab displays what the voltages are running at and the overall computer and CPU temperature.

Image 2 on this page shows the Advanced tab of the BIOS Setup Utility. This tab is displaying the CPU and bus clock speeds for the AMD Athlon x2 Dual core processor CPU.

3.2.2 BIOS Configuration >3.2.5.5: Lab - Boot the Computer

See IT Essentials 5.0 Labs and Worksheets Accessible Files.

3.3 Upgrading and Configuring a PC

3.3.1 Motherboard and Related Components >3.3.1.1 Motherbaord Component Upgrade

The image on this page shows an old motherboard form the year 2000 and a newer motherboard from 2009.

3.3.1 Motherboard and Related Components >3.3.1.2 Upgrade the Motherboard

The image on this page shows a motherboard inside a computer case with a power supply.

3.3.1 Motherboard and Related Components >3.3.1.3 Upgrade CPU and Heat Sink and Fan Assembly

(The image on this page shows a heat sink and CPU fan that are about to be installed to cool down the CPU so that the computer does not overheat.

3.3.1 Motherboard and Related Components >3.3.1.4 Upgrade the RAM

The image on this page shows a single stick of RAM being installed into the motherboard RAM slot.

3.3.1 Motherboard and Related Components >3.3.1.5 Upgrade the BIOS

Image 1 on this page shows the BIOS release notes.

Image 2 on this page shows the BIOS Setup Utility displaying the BIOS version.

3.3.1 Motherboard and Related Components >3.3.1.6: Lab - BIOS File Search

See IT Essentials 5.0 Labs and Worksheets Accessible Files.

3.3.2 Storage Devices >3.3.2.1 Upgrade Hard Drives and RAID

Image 1 on this page shows the hard disk jumper pins and the hard drive jumper pin diagram.

Image 2 on this page is a table listing RAID level comparisons.

RAID Level	Min # of drives	Description	Advantages	Disadvantages
0	2	Data striping without redundancy	Highest Performance	No Data protection, failure in one drive results in all loss of data
1	2	Disk mirroring	High performance, high data protection because all data is duplicated	High cost of implementation because additional drive of equal of greater capacity is required
2	2	Error-Correcting Coding	This is no longer used	Same performance can be achieved by using Raid 3
3	3	Byte-Level data striping with dedicated parity	For large, sequential data requests	Does not support multiple, simultaneous read and write requests
4	3	Block-level data striping with dedicated parity	Supports multiple read requests, if a disk fails the dedicated parity disk is used to create a replacement disk	Write requests are bottlenecked due to the dedicated parity drive
5	3	Combination of data striping and mirroring	Supports multiple simultaneous read and writes, data is written across all drives with parity, can rebuild hard disk from other drives	Write performance is slower than RAID 1 and O
6	4	Independent Data Disks with Double parity	Block-level striping with parity data distributed across all disks, can handle two disk fails	Lower performance than RAID 5, not supported on all Disks Controllers
RAID 0+1	4	Combination of data striping and mirroring	High performance, Highest data protection	High cost overhead due to large data capacity

3.3.3 Input and Output Devices >3.3.3.1 Upgrade Input and Output Devices

Image 1 on this page shows an ergonomic keyboard and mouse.

Image 2 on this page shows a workstation set up with multiple monitors.

Image 3 on this page shows a USB hub.

3.3.3 Input and Output Devices >3.3.3.2: Lab - Upgrade Hardware

See IT Essentials 5.0 Labs and Worksheets Accessible Files.

3.4 Computer Assembly

3.4.1 Summary >3.4.1.1 Summary

The image on this page shows a table with a computer case with various computer components next to the computer case.

End of Chapter 3: Network Access.

Next - Chapter 4: Overview of Preventive Maintenance.