The work area will be the place of work where you place your components and begin installing them. The workspace will be the area that you are going to be moving about in when working at the work area. This does not necessarily need to be the entire room but it can be on a table in one of the corners of the room. It’s advisable that the workspace be large enough so that you are able to leave things on the table for several hours or days until you have finished building the pc.

NOTE: you can place a dust sheet over the entire work when you are not working to avoid contamination.

The workspace should be setup in a bright area with natural light. This is because natural lighting is best as it diffuses and does not cause shadows but also working next to a bright window is not advisable due to the shadows that can ruin visibility.

The following is a list of things to do and those not to when working in the workspace:

· Do not eat or drink around the workspace. Spilled drinks and other food products can cause damage and can risk electric shock.

· Be sure there is a power outlet near the workspace.

· Avoid working on carpeted surfaces as the carpet increases the static electricity that one generates while walking. If you cannot avoid this, then you can use an electrostatic discharge.

· Keep children and pets out of the workspace. This is mostly for safety reasons.

· Keep all the tools close within the workspace. Long cables should also be well managed within the work area to avoid tripping.

· Keep the work area tidy and clean.

· Keep the first aid kit within the work area as well as the fire extinguisher.

· Buy a good quality antistatic wrist strap.

Upon ensuring that the above measures are adhered to, it’s now time to gather the tools that will be used to help build the new pc. These tools should be kept within the work area so that they can easily be accessed:

· The screwdriver.(Both the Philips head screwdriver and the straight edged screw driver)

· Tweezers:-will be used for holding the small screws, washers, jumpers and so on.

· Flashlight: - This is highly recommended to help you get a good look in the corners of the PC case.

· Magnifier: - To help when looking for small screws.

· Canned compressed air:-to help in removing dust particles from the motherboard.

· Multimeter:-to enable you take different electrical readings so as to be able to know the right voltage to use when choosing the power supply inlet for every component that will be used to build the computer.

Now you need your PC components. These include the;- motherboard, graphics/video card, processor, memory(RAM), power supply, hard disk(HDD), computer case and the CD/DVD drive. Choose the PC components according to the specifications that you desire, from the motherboard. We are going to build a good PC system that can handle the day to day tasks in every home and office, and even play some quality games. We are going to install an ASUS motherboard with socket 1366 compatible (i.e. able to run an i7 processor). In this case the i7 processor is a relatively faster one with a cache of 8MB. It can support memory (RAM) of up to 16GB. The power supply should be able to supply all the components power at the right voltages. Choose a power supply that supplies at least 400 watts of power. Choose a minimum of a 500 GB hard drive for storage. The hard drive should be a capacity that can store the user’s needs; in this case, a 500 GB hard drive will be enough for every day home and office use. Select a tall tower that has enough room for you to work in. Lastly, the CD/DVD drive should be with the capability to read, write, and rewrite both CDs and DVDs, so you should be installing a drive that is CD RW/DVD RW compatible. Other components include internal cablings that will come with the components you purchase, a CPU fan for cooling the CPU, screws and the boot CD/DVD, a USB keyboard, monitor and a USB mouse. After you have selected your components, it is time to start building your system.

INSTALLING POWER SUPPLY

Before fitting the power supply, check it for any damages and ensure it corresponds with the PC case, or tower. You should have purchased a power supply which will stay fit in your tower. For an ATX case you must buy an ATX power supplies and vice versa. You can then proceed to installing the power supply by performing the following steps:

At the back of the power supply, you will find the on and of button of the power supply, turn it off if on and proceed to fitting the power supply. In the packet of screws provided while you purchased the power supply, you will find the screws that fit into these holes. Retrieve four screws that fit the threads on the Power supply and safely keep the others.

The power supply is fitted onto the case from the inside (please note that it can’t slide in from outside the PC case but rather from the inside.) The power supply can’t fit incorrectly so there is no need to worry as the holes in the case won’t allow that.

You then place the case on its side with the opening at the top. Then move all of the case wiring including the power supply out of the way to avoid trapping them once you screw the power supply to the case.

Once the power supply fits in the right position. Get the four screws and use the screw driver (the Philips head screwdriver) and screw the power supply from the back of the case until it is tightly held in place. You are almost done.

If the screws drop into the power supply, use the tweezers to remove them.

NOTE: It’s always a good practice to install the power supply first before installing the motherboard. This is because trying to squeeze the heavy power supply past the delicate motherboard which is delicate might lead to damaging it. Finally:

· Connect the 20-pin(or 24 pin) motherboard power connector

· Connect the CPU 4-pin power connector.

INSTALLING MOTHERBOARD

Here, you will need three tools as follows:

· Flashlight

· The Philips head screwdriver.

· An ESD wrist strap.

Again, before continuing with the motherboard installation, and after reading the motherboard’s user manual, make sure you have all the parts that fit into the motherboard that are compatible with your motherboard, otherwise your system will not function properly, if at all. These include:

· Power supply (Already fitted above).

· Motherboard and the fitting screws that are supplied with the case.

· CPU (central processing unit) and the CPU cooler.

· RAM memory chips.

· Video adapter (this can be optional if you are using an integrated on-board solution).

· Monitor, mouse and keyboard for testing.

The motherboard is the main circuit board inside the computer. Motherboards are specific to specific types of PC cases and therefore when choosing the motherboard, consider that which matches with the PC case.

Once you have identified a motherboard with that can fit in the PC case, open the PC case from the side (but this at most times depends with different types of cases. It’s important to go through the PC case manual to determine additional functionalities and how to open the case without damaging it) in order to reach out to the housing unit of the motherboard.

NOTE: It’s always recommended to get a side opening case for easy access.

Once the PC case is open, mount the motherboard into the chassis. The mountings that shall be used are likely going to be small brass bolts with a hex head and a threaded hole in the top. You will note the many screw holes in the chassis than there are on the motherboard but you will not need them all. You will then need to orient the motherboard so that the PCI slots match up to the card slots on the case. Once you have identified the right chassis holes to use, carefully screw the motherboard into the chassis. Also, orient the motherboard in such a way that the USB ports, network ports, audio in and audio out ports are in place with the connector port of the motherboard. Upon ensuring that the motherboard is perfectly screwed onto the chassis, it’s now time to install the CPU.

INSTALLING CPU

This is the main and most important part of the computer.

Check the type of CPU, model and speed installed in your system by studying the chip and reviewing your motherboard’s manual.

Turn off your computer and remove the connection from the outlet.

Unscrew the case cover and put it in a good area.

Attach your anti-static wrist strap, or touch any wooden material around you in order to discharge the charges from your body and clothing. Ensure there is no plastic or Styrofoam in the work area. Find the socket where the chip will be placed inside the motherboard. Other chips are bound together with the motherboard.

Read the manual carefully to ensure that the chip you are about to put is compatible with your machine. Take off such components as the expansion slots, hard drive in order for you to get full access of the device. Remove the clamp and the lever on the socket by pulling it up.

Then place the chip carefully in the area so that it can match with the socket. Place the end to go with the end of socket and vice versa. Upon installing the CPU inside the socket, it’s time to install the cooler fan. First apply thermal paste on the heat sink from the bottom to help in absorbing the generated heat. After this, you can go ahead and fit the fan into the motherboard on top of the CPU. You then screw in the fan into the motherboard using the screws that were provided during the purchase. It’s now also the time when you fit the fan power supply into the motherboard using the ports that is written “CPU_FAN”. Keep your machine clean always.

You can now proceed to wiring the motherboard. The flashlight will be useful here. The two main wiring concerns include:

1. Case wiring:

· Power switch

· Power LED

· HDD LED

· Reset Button

· Case speaker

· Case fan

· USB/Fire Wire Connectors

· Audio connectors

2. Power supply wiring:

· 20-pin(or 24 pin) motherboard power connector

· The 4-pin auxiliary power connector.

You can look at the motherboard manual to easily locate these ports and connect to them easily.

Once you are done with the wiring, you can try to boot up the machine to check if the bios loads. If it loads and tells you that there is no operating system, then the wiring was not done well, and you should check the connections again.

INSTALLING RAM

Check to see the kind of RAM you need in your computer based on the motherboard. Read on the manual.

For your computer have a close look to check the number of sockets you are having for your RAM and see also the number of RAM sticks because your machine may be having two and others are three, four and six.

Buy the kind of RAM that you need for your machine and must be matching in terms bandwidth and speed of processing. The RAM required for your desktop computer can be SDRAM. See what your motherboard support is before buying it.

Turn off your machine and remove all connected devices on it for example: keyboard, mouse, printer, speakers and monitor.

Unscrew all the crew on the case and open the computer in order to get access to the inside of your computer.

As in the previous section, you should have on your anti-static wrist strap. You can also remove all the charges by touching a wooden thing around you. Make yourself well-grounded before entering the inner part of the computer. Remove the power socket from the wall. Avoiding working on the dusty areas for example on the carpet while inside a computer.

Read your manual to understand your motherboard layout and easy way to find the place to put your RAM. A motherboard can possess 2, 3, 4, 5 and more RAM slots.

From the number of pins on RAM check to see how it will fit to its slot. Remove the clamp on the ends by lifting it with little force.

Place the new RAM on its area and ensure it stay perfectly well and released the clamp in order to make it lock the RAM inside. Use the same amount of energy to clamp.

Ensure they are matching based on color but you must refer to your documentation for instructions. Do the same for all the slots of RAM you need to install.

Do a thorough clean up on the inside part of the computer by removing the dust using a compressed cans of air which can be bought on the computer shop. After you have completed inserting the RAM and cleaning up, then close the machine up and ensure screws and are firmly screwed. Connect all the connectors which include the mouse, keyboard, monitor, and ensure your system is plugged in.

Turn on your computer to check if the new RAM is correctly inserted.

Double click on my computer and click on properties to check on your new RAM. It should be listed among the system components.

INSTALLING HARD DRIVES

Turn off your computer and remove the power from the sockets and all other connectors.

Unscrew all the screws in the cases and ground yourself up in order to get inside the computer. Put on your anti-static wrist strap. If you are removing an old drives then you must remove all the cables and remove all the screws. After you have unscrewed then remove the drive from its house by sliding it up.

Put in the new drive inside the housing and have all the holes to be tightly screwed up matching well together. Tightly put back the screws and make it firm and strong but don’t make it much tight in order to avoid breaking it up. Take the SATA cable and connect it to the motherboard. Also take the IDE cable and put on the motherboard again. Put the black end of the cable on the hard drive and the blue end of the cable on the motherboard. Read the documentation in order to help you set the jumper to master for both primary and secondary drives. Take the SATA power supply and put it onto the hard drive and make sure all the connections are well done and firmly placed on. Close the machine up and put up all the screws and ensure it is firmly fixed. Put back all the connectors which include and not limited to mouse, keyboard, monitor, speakers, printer, scanners and others. Then turn on your computer and complete installing the hard drive. Thus for a new drive and you must format the drive before making use of it while if you were doing a replacement then you must reinstall the operating system of your computer.

INSTALLING AN OPTICAL DRIVE

Stay in an area where the light is enough to see the inside of the computer and remove all the connections from your computer.

Read the documentation to know the design of your computer, take away all the panels as per its design. Unscrew all the screws and remove the optical drive if one already exist. And if you are putting on a second drive then you have to remove the drive bay from the place it is on in order to insert the new one. Take away the shield from the back of the bay by using pliers and a file.

For the computer with rails then you must put on rails by screwing it up to the machine first before installing the new optical drive. Make sure you put the rails as per its right position.

Configure the jumper settings and change to slave or cable and put on a new cable to the drive. Match the cable colors with the drive colors and put the cable into the drive accurately.

Start putting the ATA cable from the front in the drive bay and the other part on next to the motherboard. Screw up the drive into the rail and ensure it sit well on it. Match up the cable pin based on the colors it has on the cable.

Put on the power supply to the driver, take the cable from the power supply and put it inside the Molex connector. Because of the keys present in Molex connector then use less force on the cable while staying on it.

INSTALLING A VIDEO CARD

Most modern motherboards have an onboard video card inbuilt within it, but in case it doesn’t, then installing it is very easy.

Locate the PCIe slot and look at the back of the computer where the slot is and remove the metal cover from it.

Place the card in to the empty slot until it clicks. After you have placed the card and it fit well then release the clip and leave it to tighten the card. Put back the screws to tighten the card into the slot and put on the case cover. Connect all connections, ensuring you plug the monitor connection into your new video card, and switch on the computer.

Turn on the computer and to check and see if windows can recognizes the new installed card. If it can’t recognize then read the documentation and repeat the same process.

Go to the site of your manufacturer and download the required drivers for the card, if the card did not come with an installation CD.

CONNECTING MONITORS, KEYBOARD AND MOUSE

Position your keyboard well on a place you will sit while using your computer and place it in front of the monitor. Position your monitor well on the table while using your computer and place it right at the back of the keyboard. Place your mouse at the right or left as per the hand you are using most, which can be left or right. After positioning all the external peripherals well then connect them one by one. Take the monitor cable (either VGA which is usually D shaped or DVI) and fit into the monitor port with pin holes present. Connect the cable well as per the pins and see that it fit nicely then tighten the screws on the knob of both. Do the same to the assembled system unit at the back of the case. Take the keyboard and put it on its port as well as the mouse at the rear part of the computer. Make sure you place the right device at the right port or else it won’t work. For the USB port, you can use any port for the keyboard or mouse device, as they use the same USB port if they are USB. Always connect all the external peripherals which are the monitor, keyboard, mouse and others while the computer is switched off. You can now turn on the switch at the back of the power supply. Then connect the system unit to wall socket and switch on both the monitor and the system unit using the power up buttons at the front of each.

BIOS CONFIGURATION

BIOS stand for basic input output system and it is stored on a chip in the motherboard. It is a communication agent for the hardware and software. It is the most required component in a computer and if it is set wrongly then it will make your computer slow in term of performances.

A computer can fail to work because of changing BIOS settings in a wrong way. Whenever it occurs then you must reset BIOS and bring back the original settings. This can be easier done by setting up the jumper in the motherboard. Whenever you turn on a computer and a message of setup is displayed then follow the instructions given to press the required keys. In order to enter the BIOS, you must turn on your computer and hold down DEL key, F1 key or F2 Key and will automatically enter the setup, and if it fails then take the motherboard manual and verify. You can also talk to your manufacturer for help. The BIOS settings will enable you to change the time setting, the boot device order, and also check the basic things in the computer such as the specifications of your system. After each setting change, it is advisable to reboot your machine to make sure that the system effects the changes that you have made.

INSTALLING WINDOWS 7

Restart your computer and press either Del, Esc, F2, F10 or F9 in order to access your machine BIOS settings.

Look out for your computer’s boot options menu and select CD-ROM drive option.

Enter the changes in your computer by storing it through the available options.

Turn off your machine by pressing the computer power button for long till it goes off.

Turn on your computer and insert the Windows disc into the disk drive. Then you will be asked if you would want to boot from the disc then press any key and setup will automatically start preparing the required files.

Select the window setup and pick your language, keyboard type and time format you would to have in your machine. To continue press next.

Select install now and continue to the next level.

Read through carefully and agree the terms and conditions by clicking I agree and then next to go to the next step.

Pick the Custom installation and select the hard drive to install windows. Your computer might be having data then you must erase them all in order to continue. Put a new partition in your computer if it has none. Partition is done by selecting the hard drive options and then New from Drive options. After that, then pick the size range you will have installed, and continue to the next screen by clicking OK.

Lastly, pick the hard drive you would like to install windows on if you have more than one, which should be your primary drive, and install it. Windows will then start installing on that drive.

Give the PC a name and ensure the time settings and the time zone are correct. Then proceed to finalizing your settings.

If all the steps are done properly well then a message will come saying well done for successfully installing windows.

CONFIGURE CRITICAL WINDOWS FEATURES

Once the computer successfully boots up. Connect the network cable to the wall port to access internet and make windows updates which are performed automatically from the windows website. They contain items like important updates, Help files, Drivers and many more which you can have in order to enhance your machine functionality.

To install updates then you have to go to any browser you would like to use. After it has opened up then go to Tools menu and select Windows Update.

When asked if you are told at any time to install any needed applications then accept it. Update site will then open up. Always select Express Install and press install to continue loading present updates.

You can also stop the updates installation at any time you would like to do so by using the windows updates at the control panel.

You can also install basic programs into the computer to keep learning and also testing its capability.

The windows taskbar can be configured to your needs. It’s usually the long strip at the bottom of the screen whereby currently running programs are displayed. You can also personalize the desktop to look as per you own desire. You can set a windows password to your administrator account to avoid unnecessary access from other people. You can also create a guest account for other users that might be using the computer. After each of these steps are completed, your computer should be fully operational.