Installing new components into your computer can be a quick and easy process. In fact, components that were once very difficult to install are now sold as upgrade kits that you usually can install in five steps or less. One of the hardest components to upgrade in the past was the CPU but now all you need to do purchase a CPU kit, pop your old chip out of the socket on the motherboard and insert your new CPU kit.
The hardest part of the entire CPU upgrade process is researching your motherboard to determine which CPUs are supported. If you purchased your PCKit from a dealer who provided you with details on all the components, you should have information on the model of motherboard you built your new computer around. While researching your motherboard, you need to determine what CPU socket style your motherboard has and what clock speeds are supported by your motherboard. With this information you will be able to determine what CPUs are compatible with your motherboard and plan your CPU upgrade with confidence.
Once you have a CPU upgrade that is compatible with your motherboard and you are ready to proceed with your upgrade, you should collect all your materials and equipment together. There is nothing more frustrating then starting work on your computer and discovering that your missing a tool or a part you need. Upgrading the CPU is a delicate process so make sure you discharge any static electricity that could be built up in your body before you touch your computer or the CPU chip. You also want to make sure that you limit the amount of time you spend handling the CPU and never touch the bottom of the bare chip. Do not take the chance that you damage your new CPU before installing in your computer.
OK. Now your ready to complete the upgrade process. Make sure you follow any instructions provided with your upgrade kit, but in general the process for installing a CPU is as follows:
1. Locate the CPU Socket on the Motherboard
2. Remove the old CPU, make sure you unhook any sockets carefully and do not force the CPU. If you force your old CPU you take the chance of breaking the socket or breaking your motherboard.
3. Remove your new CPU chip form its plastic case. Pay close attention to how you hold the CPU, you want to make sure you never touch the bottom of the CPU and hold the CPU by the edges only.
4. Align the CPU with the socket according to the instructions provided with your new CPU.
5. Insert the CPU straight down into the socket, do not tilt or slide the CPU into place and never force the CPU. If everything works correctly and you have aligned the CPU correctly your new CPU will fit easily into the socket. Make sure the CPU is seated fully and is level.
6. Lock the socket level into place. This may be a little tight but do not force anything, if you can not move the lock, you may not have the CPU in place correctly. If needed, remove the CPU and try installing again.
7. Install a new CPU fan and Heat Sink according to their corresponding instructions.
8. Turn your computer back on and test that everything is working correctly.
]]>In order to get connected onto the Internet backbone, it is necessary to purchase Internet connection package from your Internet Service provider. The Internet Service provider is generally a large Telecommunications company which provides connection to the Internet.
There are various types of Internet connections possible.
Purchase the Internet package from your service provider. This can be either the dialup connection or the broadband connection.
Connecting through the dialup connection
You have purchased dialup connection package from your service provider. Follow the following steps to get connected to the Internet.
Step 1.
Connect the modem to the PC. The modem is a device that converts the parallel data signals from our PC to the analog signals suitable for the telephone lines. Open ‘Phone and modem ’ options in Control Panel. In the Dialing rules tab click ‘New’ and when you are prompted for location information, specify the dialing information for your location, and then click OK. Next go to the ‘Modems’ tab, click Add. Follow the instructions in the Install New Modem Wizard.
Step 2.
The Internet uses a networking protocol called as the TCP/IP protocol. Check to see whether the TCP/ IP protocol is installed in your PC. If not, install the TCP/IP protocol.
Step 3.
Click ‘Start’, click ‘Control Panel’, and then double-click ‘Network Connections’. Under ‘Network Tasks’, click ‘Create a new connection’, and then click Next. Click ‘Connect to the Internet’, and then click Next.
Step 4.
Select the option ‘Set up my connection’ manually. If your ISP has provided a CD disk then choose the option ‘Use the CD I got from the ISP’.
Step 5.
Select the option ‘Connect using the dialup’ option and click next. The other two options are for the broadband connections which we will consider in the next topic.
Step 6.
Select the modem and click next. Type the correct name of your ISP as provided by your ISP. Type the phone number to which you will be dialing. This will be the phone number of your ISP and not your own phone number. Type the User name and the password. Confirm the password by typing again. The user name and the password will be supplied to you by the ISP when you purchase the package.
Step 7.
Check the box ‘make a shortcut on desktop’. Click the finish button.
You have made an Internet connection and you will get an icon in the ‘network connections’. You will also get a shortcut on the desktop.
Step 8.
Click on the shortcut on the desktop. The dialup networking will start dialing to the ISP and connect your PC to the Internet. Once this procedure is completed you can start your browser, such as the Internet browser and start surfing or send your emails.
You have purchased broadband or cable modem connection package from your service provider. Follow the following steps to get connected to the Internet.
Step 1.
Connect the Ethernet adapter card to your PC expansion slot. You can purchase a Ethernet card yourself or purchase it from your service provider. The Ethernet card will be sensed by Windows Xp and the necessary drivers will be installed automatically.
Step 2.
The Internet uses a networking protocol called as the TCP/IP protocol. Check to see whether the TCP/ IP protocol is installed in your PC. If not, install the TCP/IP protocol.
Step 3.
Click ‘Start’, click ‘Control Panel’, and then double-click ‘Network Connections’. Under ‘Network Tasks’, click ‘Create a new connection’, and then click Next. Click ‘Connect to the Internet’, and then click Next. Follow the instructions in the New Connection Wizard.
Step 4.
Select the option ‘Set up my connection’ manually. If your ISP has provided a CD disk then choose the option ‘Use the CD I got from the ISP’.
Step 5.
Select the option ‘Connect to Broadband connection that requires username and password’ and click next. If your ISP does not require you to sign and the connection is always on then select the option ‘Connect using the broadband connection that is always on’.
Step 6.
You don’t require to provide the phone number as in the dialup connection. Just type in the correct name of your ISP as provided by your ISP. Type in the User name and the password. Confirm the password by typing again. The user name and the password will be supplied to you by the ISP when you purchase the package.
Step 7.
Check the box ‘ make a shortcut on desktop’. Click the finish button. You have made an Internet connection and you will get an icon in the ‘network connections’. You will also get a shortcut on the desktop.
Step 8.
Click on the shortcut on the desktop. The networking will start dialing to the ISP and connect your PC to the Internet. Once this procedure is completed you can start your browser, such as the Internet browser and start surfing or send your emails.
Note: Apart from the above, when you are configuring either the dialup connection or a DSL or Cable modem connection, your ISP may require one or more of the following settings to be made :
1) A specific IP address.
2) DNS addresses and domain names.
3) POP3 settings for incoming e-mail.
4) SMTP settings for outgoing e-mail.
Enter these settings from the instructions provided by your ISP.
We can get one Internet connection from the ISP, whether dial up connection, or the DSL or cable modem connection and share the same across the network by means of the ICS (Internet Connection sharing) in the Window Xp. You can designate one computer as the main computer where the main connection to the Internet can be established and other computers connected on the computer can access this connection. This computer is called the ICS host computer. Other computers can get Internet access through this ICS host computer by enabling ICS on their computers.
For example, you have one computer that connects to the Internet by using a dial-up connection. When ICS is enabled on this computer, called the ICS host, other computers on the network connect to the Internet through this dial-up connection.
Enabling ICS on the host Computer.
When you are setting up a home or small office network, it is recommended that you use the Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP Professional to enable Internet Connection Sharing. The Network Setup Wizard automatically provides all of the network settings you need to share one Internet connection with all the computers in your network.
Enabling Clients to access the shared Internet.
To configure Internet options for the ‘Internet Connection Sharing’ on your computer first, open your Internet Explorer. On the ‘Tools’ menu, click Internet Options. On the Connections tab, click Never dial a connection, and then click LAN Settings. In Automatic configuration, clear the Automatically detect settings and Use automatic configuration script check boxes. In Proxy Server, clear the Use a proxy server check box
We will first discuss the optical disks and then the optical drives.
OPTICAL DISKS :
CDROM Disks :
The CDROM disks are made of polycarbonate material with a silvered reflective coating. The data is written to the disk in the form of spiral track, starting from the center of the disk and diverging out. Data can be written only once by directing a laser beam on the disk. The disk is Read Only, i.e. you can write to the disk only once and read many times. These disks are cheap and they are used to distribute photos, video clips, sound files, software etc. The maximum capacity of the disks is 650 MB.
CD-R Disks :
These are magneto-optical Disks. They are read-write disks and can be read and written to many times. The disk is coated by magnetic crystals sandwiched inside an optical medium. The data can be erased and rewritten many times. The maximum capacity of the disks is 650 MB.
Audio CD Disks :
Audio files can be recorded on this CD disk and the entire CD disk contains Audios files and songs. The Audio CD can be played on CD ROM / R drives connected to the Computers or a separate CD Audio player.
DVDROM Disks :
A DVD disk looks similar to the CDROM disk but it stores a much larger amount of Data than the CDROM. It also uses the reflected laser beam to read the data from the disk. It can be written only once but read many times. It is formatted to store photos and large video and sound files permanently. The data on the disk cannot be erased. The maximum capacity of the disks is 4 GB. Just like the CDROM it is used to distribute photos, videos, audio files and software.
DVD -R / +R Disks:
These are magneto-optical Disks. The DVD -R disks can be read and recorded. The data can be erased and the DVD-R can be rewritten. A large amount of data can be stored. The disks are costlier as compared to the DVDROM disks and used for storing temporary data and not for distribution of data.
One more disk is the DVD+R disc. Whereas, the DVD -R requires the data to be erased and than rewritten, the DVD +R disks can be read and rewritten, without erasing the data. The data gets written on the empty space available on the disk. The maximum capacity of the disks is 4GB.
Video DVD Disks :
The Video DVD disk contain only videos and movies along with sound in the MPEG -2 format. It is possible to record the entire videos and movies on to the DVDs in the MPEG -2 Compressed form. The Videos or movies can be played in the DVDROM / -R / +R drives connected to the PC or through separate DVD players.
The video file has to be decompressed in order to play it. The MPEG -2 decoder may be in the form of software or hardware. In case you have the software you can install the same in your PC. In case you have an MPEG -2 decoder board, you can install the same inside the PC. In certain cases the DVD drive itself has an inbuilt MPEG -2 decoder. The video is decompressed by MPEG -2 decoder and then displayed on the screen by Windows media player.
OPTICAL DRIVES:
The Optical disks are removable, and can be taken from one place to another. Reading or writing data to the disk requires a CD /DVD Disk drive. The CD / DVD Disk drives are installed permanently into the PC. The following are the different types of Disk Drives available:
1) CDROM drives 2) CDROM / R drives 3) DVDROM drives 4) DVD –R drives
5) DVD+R drives. These drives can either have an IDE or SCSI interface.
Latest drives can also have Serial ATA interface.
We will take a short look at the construction and installations of these drives.
The construction of CDROM / R disk drives :
The front of the drives contains the tray to load and unload the CDs. There is a busy indicator lighting up whenever the disc is being read or written.
At the rear side of the drive there is a four pin Molex power connector. It has a 40 pin EIDE or a 50 pin SCSI signal connector. In case of EIDE drives there are jumpers for configuring the drive either as a master or a slave. In case of SCSI drives there are jumpers to configure the drive numbers.
The inside of the drives have various subassemblies for accepting the disks, spinning the disks, reading, writing and erasing the disks A spindle motor turns the discs. The main mechanism to hold, eject, spin and read the disks is called as the CD Drive engine. The important element of the CD Drive engine is the optical assembly that contains the 780 nm , 0.6 mW gallium arsenide laser diode and detector, along with the optical focus and tracking components.
The electronics part of the CDROM contains the controller section and the drive section. The controller section contains all the interface circuits. The EIDE CDROM drive will contain the circuits of the EIDE interface, whereas the SCSI CDROM drive will contain the circuits of the SCSI interface. All the intelligence of these interfaces is contained in these circuits. The drive section contains the drive controller IC which takes care of the loading, unloading, spinning and moving the sled.
The installation of CDROM / R drives :
Step 1.
Insert the CD ROM / R drive into the bay inside your PC and secure with the screws.
Step 2.
In case of EIDE CDROM drive set the drive to either as a master or a slave, by means of jumpers on the drive. (If there are already two EIDE hard drives connected to your PC, connect a separate cable for the CDROM /R drive and set the jumper to the Master position. In case only one EIDE hard drive is connected to your PC there will be one empty connector in the data cable. Connect your CDROM to this empty connector and set the jumpers to the slave position.)
If the CDROM / R drive is a SCSI drive then set the jumper to indicate the number of the device you are connecting.
Step 3.
Connect the power cable to the CDROM / R drive.
Step 4.
Connect the data cable (50 pin in case of EIDE) or (40 pin in case of SCSI).In case there are two hard drives in your PC, connect a new cable for CDROM / R drive and setup the drive as a master. In case only one hard disk is connected to your PC, there will be an empty connector in the data cable. Connect the CD ROM / R drive to this empty connector and setup the drive as a slave.
In case of SCSI CDROM/ R connect the drive to the SCSI cables.
Step 5.
Connect the audio cable from the CD ROM / R drive to the sound card.
Step 6.
Start your PC. The windows Xp operating system will automatically detect the CDROM / R drive and install the device drivers for the drive. (as both the drive and the operating system are plug and play)
Step 7.
In case the device drivers are not installed, if Windows Xp does not have the support for your CD ROM / R drive, you can click on ‘have disk’ prompt and install the drivers from the floppy disk supplied by the manufacturer.
The construction of DVDROM / -R / +R/ RW drives :
The DVD drives look almost identical to the CDROM/ R drives. The DVD drives can read and write the CD disks as well, apart from the DVDs. The front of the drives contains the tray to load and unload the DVDs. There is a busy indicator lighting up whenever the disc is being read or written.
The rear side of the drive is similar to the CD drives. There is a four pin molex power connector. There is a 40 pin EIDE or a 50 pin SCSI signal connectors. In case of EIDE drives there are jumpers for configuring the drive either as a master or a slave. In case of the SCSI drives there are jumpers to configure the drive numbers.
Inside the drives are the subassemblies to operate the drive. A spindle motor turns the discs. A laser assembly and laser sled causes the laser beam diode to move back and forth. The disk is inserted onto a tray. There is a mechanism to load and unload the tray.
The installation of DVDROM /-R /+R/ RW drives :
Step 1.
Install the DVDROM / -R / +R drive into the bay inside your PC and secure with the screws.
Step 2.
Set the jumper settings according to whether your DVDROM / -R / +R is an EIDE drive or a SCSI drive. If it is EIDE then set the jumper to Master or Slave.
If the DVDROM / -R / +R drive is a SCSI drive then set the jumper to indicate the number of the device you are connecting.
Step 3.
Connect the power cable to the DVDROM / -R / +R drive.
Step 4.
Connect the data cable (50 pin in case of EIDE drive), either as a master or slave.
Or connect SCSI cable in case of SCSI drive.
Step 5.
Connect the audio cable to from DVDROM / -R / +R drive to the sound card.
Step 6.
Start your PC. The windows Xp operating system will automatically detect the DVDROM / -R / +R drive and install the device drivers for the drive. (both the drive and the operating system are plug and play)
Step 7.
In case the device drivers are not installed, as Windows Xp does not have the support for your DVDROM /
-R / +R drive, you can click on ‘have disk’ prompt and install the drivers from the floppy disk supplied by the manufacturer.
Step 8.
Install the MPEG-2 decoder board for viewing movies or videos from the Video DVD disk. If you have an MPEG -2 decoder software then install the software in your PC.
Step 9.
Connect the video cable from the DVD drive to the MPEG – 2 decoder board. Make other connections to the MPEG-2 decoder board as given in the manual.
Reading and Writing from CD, DVD disks:
Once the CD or the DVD drives are installed in your computer, you can read and write from the CD and DVD disks and the drive is assigned a separate alphabetical letter such as F:. For reading the CD or DVD insert the disk into the drive. Start My computer from the desktop and navigate to the CD or DVD drive, say F: Locate the file or the folder on the disk and double click to open the folder or the file.
For writing to the disk, click on My computer. Navigate to the group of folders or the files which you want to copy to the CD or DVD disks. Select all the folders and the files. Click on the option to ‘Copy the files or folders to the CD’. This will write the folders or files to the CD or DVD disks. The process of writing or copying the folders and files to the CD or DVD disks is known as burning.
Besides using the operating system to burn the CDs or DVDs, you can use the specialized CD / DVD burner software called as ‘Nero’. You can install Nero software to make it easy to burn the CDs and the DVDs.
If the CMOS battery stops, it can be replaced easily and the CMOS settings can be restored. The information in the CMOS setup is read by the BIOS during the system boot up process.
You can access the CMOS setup by pressing a certain key combination or the delete key. This depends on the type of BIOS you have in your PC. Watch you boot screen and it should indicate the correct way to access CMOS.
Most CMOS setups consist of menu selections. This Article gives a general idea of how to perform CMOS setup. Different CMOS setups exist in different PC’s and if you want more information on the setup for your motherboard, you can always obtain it from the motherboard manual.
Menu Selections :
1) Configuring Standard CMOS setup.
Most of the configuration in this part of CMOS setup is done automatically.
1) IDE drive is automatically detected when Enter is pressed.
2) Floppy drive is to be selected as per the drive connected to your PC – 1.44 M, 3.5 in
3) Video is set to VGA
4) Internal memory is automatically detected.
5) Date and time can be set through the CMOS setup as well as through the operating
system.
2) Configuring Advanced CMOS setup.
Advance CMOS settings configure the boot characteristics, the memory and cache.
Typical entries are :
? Virus warning
? CPU level 1 Cache, CPU level 2 Cache
? Quick power on self test
? First boot device, Second boot device, Third boot device.
? Boot other device
? Swap Floppy drive
? IDE block mode
? Typematic rate setting , Typematic rate , Typematic delay
? Security option
The Advance CMOS settings allow you to enable or disable the CPU caches.
First boot device allows you to set the device from which your system will boot. If you want to boot from the hard disk, as is mostly the case, then set this to HDD0. If you want to boot from CD Rom, as when you are installing a new hard disk and operating system, set it to CDRom.
If your system is not able to boot from the First boot device than it will search for operating system in the Second boot device and boot the PC from there.
If typematic rate is enabled, you can set the typematic rate for your keyboard.
If Quick power on self test is enabled your PC will boot faster, and the BIOS will skip many of the hardware tests.
3) Configuring Advanced Chipset setup.
In this section you will find the parameters that can be configured to optimize the performance of your chipset. This has to be done carefully, otherwise it may result in lowering the performance of your PC, instead of enhancing it. This section contains entries for the memory operations, memory refresh options, data bus performance, cache enhancements etc
As every BIOS is not similar, the motherboard manual can give you a better idea of how to configure the chipset settings.
Some of the entries in this section are the following.
? Sdram RAS to CAS delay , Sdram RAS precharge time
? Dram read burst, Dram write burst
? System BIOS Cacheable, Video BIOS Cacheable
? Video RAM Cacheable
? 8 bit I/O recovery time, 16 bit I/O recovery time
? Passive Release etc.
The above settings can be either enabled or disabled to enhance the chipset performance.
For example, enabling video BIOS cacheable will improve the video performance, though it may not be of much help for some latest video devices.
4) Configuring PCI and Plug and Play setup.
This section contains entries for configuring the PCI slots and Plug and Play behavior of your PC. Some BIOS’s have the option to automatically configure the PCI slots and Plug and Play. If this is enabled the Interrupt requests will be automatically assigned to the devices you connect to the PC.
The Interrupt requests for particular devices can also be set manually using the respective entries in the CMOS setup.
5) Configuring Integrated peripherals.
This section contains CMOS setup entries for the external IDE devices connected to the motherboard.
Besides the IDE devices, you can also configure the serial ports, parallel ports etc
There are also options to enable and disable the Infra red and the USB ports.
Some of the entries are the following :
? IDE HDD Block mode, IDE PIO mode
? On chip PCI IDE , PCI slot IDE 2nd channel
? On board serial port – allows you to select a the address for the serial ports
? On board parallel port – allows you to select the address for parallel printer port.
? Parallel port mode
? Infrared duplex type – keep enabled if your system has infra red devices.
? USB controller – keep enabled if your system has USB ports and devices connected to them.
6) Configuring Power Management.
This section contains CMOS setup power management functions. The Power consumption in modern PCs is reduced due to use of efficient components. However, PCs have to remain on for a long time and power may be wasted. The CMOS settings allow you to configure your PC so that the power can be saved.
Here are some of the CMOS settings you can use to save power.
Doze timer : This setting determines the time before which the idle PC system will reduce itself to 80% of its activity. (set to 10 to 20 minutes)
Green timer: This setting determines the time before a CPU of an idle system will shut down.
HDD Standby Timer : This setting determines the time before which the idle hard disk will shut down.
Standby timer : This setting sets the delay before which the idle PC system will reduce itself to 92% of its activity. (set to 30 to 40 mins)
Suspend timer : This setting sets the time after which the system goes into the most inactive state possible (99%) (set to 30 to 45 mins)
System slow down : This setting will slow the CPU clock dramatically after the timer has elapsed.
What is Auto-configuration.
Motherboards now provide Auto-configuration option, which allows the technician to set the BIOS defaults and the power on defaults. Hence, if the Auto-configuration setting is enabled the BIOS will work fine and booting will take place smoothly. Hence, there is actually no need for the technician to setup the CMOS. However, this does not ensure optimization of the system, which will have to be carried out manually.
BIOS defaults
Turning on BIOS defaults does not ensure that the machine is fully optimized. If your CMOS settings are totally messed up and your system does not boot, BIOS defaults will restore the setting to acceptable values for booting your system.
Power on defaults
When powering up the system, the system may not enter the CMOS setup. Setting Power on default ensures that you can always enter the CMOS setup.
Understanding of CMOS settings is useful for optimizing your system. If you want to run your system faster and smoother, or you want to upgrade the devices, or connect new adapters because the onboard adapters have gone faulty, it is essential to have good knowledge of CMOS settings.
]]>I was really excited when my box-o-parts showed up. I promptly opened the box and began to organize everything I received. It was a sight to see me surrounded by a bunch of computer parts. In fact, my friends came to visit and laugh at me. Why was I spending the day building a computer instead of heading to the nearest computer store and charging a completely pre-built system.
I had five reasons, I told all my friends-
1. I’m learning a skill that will help one day.-- I started building computers several years ago (too many years ago to admit to). This was back before Web 1.0 when computer repair was a sought after skill. Today, I still rely on the skills I learned by building computers.
2. I can reuse and recycle, thus saving the environment.-- Building your own computer is a great way to recycle. If you are replacing a component in your current computer, why not reuse the older component in a different computer. My friends and family love it when I call and tell them I have new components for their computers. Sure I may decide that I need a faster CPU in my computer, but that doesn’t mean that the old CPU is bad. Reduce, reuse and recycle your computer components whenever you can.
3. I never have to call those customer support people again.-- My biggest pet peeve is having to call customer service for anything. I dread it and will actually pay my friends and family to do the task for me. Once it occurred to me that if I build my own computer, I can repair it myself and never have to call customer service, I was hooked. Sure I may need to contact the manufacturer of a part I purchased if it does not work, but I’ve saved a lot of money up lately from not having to call customer service and I use my savings to handle these calls.
4. I know what goes into my hardware and what goes onto my hard drive.-- Before I began to build my own computers, I would spend at least a couple of hours of my time doing nothing by uninstalling software that I did not want on my computer. Now, every hard drive I purchase is completely blank and I know exactly what is installed.
5. I will actually save money. -- Even when I pay my friends to call customer service for me, building my own computer has saved me money. I am well known for purchasing a new computer every six months, but now I simply upgrade a component or two and it feels like a new computer. Instead of shelling out a thousands of dollars for the current top of the line computer, I upgrade and use the savings to pay my friends off.
Even though your first instinct is to choose a new CPU first, the reality is you really need to replace your motherboard first. The motherboard which is sometimes called the main board or logic board is the board that everything in your computer connects to. Its the circuit board that helps all the other components work together and make a working computer. Once you start upgrading the components in your computer, you will find that eventually the motherboard that came with your PC kit is no longer compatible with the components you want to use.
Choose a motherboard that is designed to provide you with usability for the long run, choose a motherboard that meets your current needs and exceed them as well. ThenVidia nForce 680i SLI motherboard is a perfect choice for anyone who wants to build their own computer. This motherboard is designed not only for the expert do-it-yourself computer builder but the entry level builder as well. Venturing from building your own computer with a PC Kit to building your own computer can be very easy with this motherboard.
After your second or third upgrade, this motherboard will still meet all your computing needs and desires and it will be ready for your to start exploring the world of over-clocking. The 680i SLI is designed to hold quad-core Intel CPUs but to successfully over-clock them as well. Over-clocking CPUs is a delicate process that not every motherboard can handle successfully, nVidia designed their new 680i SLI motherboard with over-clocking in mind. No additional power will be needed by the motherboard and no heating issues will occur when you over-clock your CPU.
Hard drive support is built into this motherboard as well. The SATA and IDE controllers offer hardware RAID acceleration across all the hard disks you use and you can hot-swap SATA drives when needed. This allows you to set up a hard drive that you can swap between computers as needed. Just think of the possibilities and projects you can create if you never have to worry about running out of hard drive space.
Replacing your motherboard with a high-quality product that is manufactured and supported by a well known company, is really the first step in opening up a world of computer possibilities. While you may pay a little more for the nVidia nForce 680i SLI motherboard, you will have a motherboard that will last for years and you can concentrate on the flashier components you want in your computer for years to come.
]]>Inkjet Printers
These Printers print by spraying dots of ink on the paper. A carriage carries inks inside cartridges; the inks are both black as well as colored. Only three primary colors are used, the Cyan, Magenta and Yellow and all other secondary colors are reproduced by mixing these primary colors.
The printer consists of a tray for holding papers, a tray for holding ink cartridges, rollers for picking up the paper and pushing the paper forward etc. The printer needs a separate power supply. The printer has either a parallel port, serial port or a USB connector at its side for connecting it to the motherboard, by means of a data cable.
1. Connecting the printer to the computer.
You can connect your printer to the computer, either in single user mode or in sharing mode. We first take a look at how to connect your printer as a local printer without sharing it on the network. Next, we will see how share your printer in Window xp. Finally, we will see how to connect to a ahared network printer, already present in your organization.
1. Connecting a new printer as a local printer to your computer.
For connecting a local printer you can follow the steps outlined below:
Step 1
If you have purchased a new printer then most probably your printer is an USB port printer. Connect the USB data cable from your printer to the Computer’s USB port. In case your printer is a parallel port or a serial port printer, you will have to connect the respective cables from your printer to the computer’s parallel or serial ports.
Step 2
Turn on the printer by connecting the power cord to the mains and pressing the power on switch.
Step 3
Turn on your Computer. As your printer is a Plug and Play device, Windows xp will recognize the printer and install the device drivers for your printer automatically. Once the device drivers are installed, your printer is ready for printing. You will see that an icon will be created in the ‘printer and faxes’ in the control panel.
Step 4.
Your printer is now ready to accept printing jobs. Open any application, like the Microsoft word and try printing any document. If the printing goes on well then your printer is connected to the Computer properly. If the printing does not take place, go to next step.
Step 5.
Open the control panel and click on systems. Click on the hardware tab and then the device manager button. If your printer is listed here and there is no yellow sign next to it, your printer is getting detected and is running fine. Else, if you see the yellow sign, then delete the entry and repeat the process of printer connection once again.
2. Sharing your printer on the network.
Step 1.
Go to control panel and click on Printer and faxes icon. If you have a printer installed in your computer than you will see the printer icon. Otherwise go through the above steps to install the local printer. Right click on the printer icon and click on sharing.
Step 2.
If your computer itself is not connected to the network, you will have to enable the networking on your computer. Click on the network sharing wizard. Go on clicking next and selecting the appropriate options for your network. When you reach the screen where it is displayed whether you want to share the printer and the files, click on sharing option and click next to complete the procedure.
Step 3.
Come back to the printer icon, right click and then click on the sharing tab and click on ‘share this printer’, and then, in the ‘Share name box’, type a name for the shared printer. You will now be able to share your printer with others on the network.
Step 4.
If you cannot share your printer, may be you have different hardware or different operating system on your network. Click on ‘additional drivers’ and install the drivers for the networks you have.
Step 5.
In case you are still having problems then go to the control panel and open Network and internet connections and open ‘windows firewall’. Then, on the exceptions tab, select the
‘File and printer sharing’ check box.
3. Connecting to a network printer.
Step 1
Open the ‘printer and faxes’. Under the ‘printer tasks’, click on ‘add a printer’. This will open the Add a printer wizard. Click on the ‘Network printer’ and click next.
Step 2
You will have to connect to a network printer by browsing for the name of the printer on the Active directory and clicking on the shared printer or typing in the name of the printer.
Step 3
You can also connect to the shared printer connected to the internet or the intranet .Click on connect to the printer on the internet or intranet. Type in the URL to the printer and follow the instructions on the screen to connect to the network printer.
If you follow the above steps you will have connected your printer successfully to your computer. Take care of your printer and see that you install new ink cartridges as soon as they get over. You can follow the same steps as above to connect any type of printer to your computer, whether it is a matrix printer, a Laser Printer or a Line printer. Happy printing!
]]>1) What is the amount of memory you will need to buy?
2) What are different types of memories available?
3) What are the different types and number of memory slots available?
4) What is the speed of memories?
5) How do you actually install the memory?
1) What is the amount of memory you will need to buy?
Memory buying decisions:
The question as to how much memory you need to buy assumes importance right from the stage you purchase the kits to assemble your PC. The one advice everyone will give you is to buy as much memory as your computer can accept. Although this advice is a good one it may not suit your budget. It is perfectly ok to buy as much as your wallet can afford at the time of buying your computer system and add more memory to your PC as time goes on.
Next, let’s assume you already have a PC running at your place. You are now thinking of upgrading your operating system. Or you are thinking of running a graphics, multimedia or gaming application. You have a good mother board and good CPU and your operating system or application specifications state that they run on your type of system It is at this stage that you might decide to buy extra memory.
The next decision you may have to take is how much of extra memory you should buy. For answering the question you must first check out how much memory is already present in your system. You will also need to find out how much memory does your motherboard support. You must also find out how much more memory your operating system or the application requires to run smoothly.
2) Types and speeds of Memories
The next question to ask after you have decided on how much memory you would buy is to decide on what type of memory you will buy. For answering this question you must know what are the different types of memories.
1) EDO Memories – This type of memories are supported only on older motherboards. These are slower memories and would not be suitable for the new type of motherboards and new types of software applications. Speed range of 5ns to 50ns
2) SDRam memories – These type of memories are supported by Pentium III motherboards and they are faster than the EDO memories. Speed range of 66 to 133Mhz
3) DDR1 – These type of memories are an improvement over the SdRam type of memories and are supported by the Pentium IV type of motherboards. These memories are much faster than the SDRam memories. Speed range of
133 Mhz to 266 Mhz
4) DDR2 – These type of memories are improved versions of DDR1, and you will have to check out your motherboard manual to see whether they are supported.
Speed range of 266 Mhz to 400 Mhz
5) DDR3 – These type of memories are the latest in the memory market. They are high speed memories, but only the latest motherboards support these type of memories. Speed above 400 Mhz
You can check what type of memories your motherboard supports by using the free utility such as the freshdiagonise utility.
You can change to a Ram of faster speed within a given category. For example, you can change an SDRam which is 66Mhz to an SDRam which is 100Mhz, but your PC bus will have to support this speed.
3) Type and number of Memory slots.
If you want to upgrade the memories you will have to check the type of memory slots and the number of slots available in your PC. You will have to purchase your memory cards based on this information.
There are two types of slots. 1) The SIMM (Single inline Memory module) 2) DIMM (Dual inline memory module). A particular motherboard will be having either of these slots and rarely have both ones. Hence, if you determine that your motherboard contains SIMM type of slots you can buy SIMM memories, whereas, if your motherboard contains DIMM type of slots you will have to buy the DIMM type of memories.
Again find out how many slots are available and how many slots are already occupied. Lets consider an example: Suppose you have two memory slots and they are already occupied by SDRam DIMM type of memories with a total of 160 MB. One of the slots might be having 128 MB while the other slot is occupied by 32MB. You have decided to upgrade to 256 MB. All you need to do is to buy one 128 compatible memory card and install it in place of the 32 MB Ram. You can then sell off the 32 MB Ram or just keep it with you in case you need it in an emergency.
4) Additional considerations about the memory slots.
Some motherboards allow different types of memory cards to coexist, some motherboards do not allow this. Most of the Motherboards only support one type of construction of memory cards, either the SIMM or the DIMM. Some type of motherboards have the concept of Bank. In such motherboards the memory slots are named as bank 0 , bank1, bank2, bank3 etc. Such motherboards require at least one memory card to be installed in the bank0, otherwise the memories don’t function.
5) Installing the memory
Now that you have purchased your memory , you have now to install the module into your motherboard. This task is not at all difficult and any one with a little knowledge of Computer will be able to accomplish it. First open the Computer Case and locate the slots where you will be inserting your memory cards. Unlock and unseat the already installed Memory cards which you wish to remove. For example, in the example given above , you can remove the 32 MB card from the memory slot. Now insert the new memory card and press it firmly from above. The card, whether it is a SIMM or a DIMM, has notches at its base which will allow it to be inserted only in one particular manner. Lock the card and you will have installed additional memory into your system.
Start the Computer and check whether your newly installed memory card is being sensed by the computer. If your memory card is not being detected you can insert the card properly and check your PC again. Your PC must have most probably started working and is upgraded for memory.
]]>It has been a long time since I have owned a PC that I could not repair myself, but I have had over a decade of experience in PC technical support; I feel that if I cannot fix it, then it cannot be fixed! But I know many people who are not so fortunate, and are forced to use the services of a repair shop when things go bad. This short article will try to give some advice on how to choose the right people to repair your PC. Even DIY PC builders need a little help sometimes.
The local PC repair shop in the village I used to live in the UK was really quite good, and I will never forget the sign they had hanging on the wall:
PC Repair Prices:
If you leave it with us - £10 per hour
If you wait - £15 per hour
If you watch – £20 per hour
If you help - £50 per hour
Although at first this appears to be a joke, and I am sure that in most ways it was, it does underline one important point. If your PC is so sick, that you as a computer enthusiast cannot fix it, then you are going to have to trust the people you do ask to fix it. So how can we find a repair shop to trust?
First rule of thumb, biggest is not necessarily the best. Those huge computer superstores, which just happen to have a repair shop tacked on, are not usually a good choice. Consider this, have you ever asked one of the shop floor sales people something about one of the products they sell? If you have then you will know what I mean, so what do you think their "engineers" are like?
The second type to avoid I term the "treasure cave", you must have seen these, a dimly lit shop front full of 4 year old motherboard boxes and outdated product posters, when you walk inside there are stack of dubious looking software CDs, piles of old computer components, half cannibalised system units and more fault CRT monitors than your local bring and buy sale. These guys might be able to repair your PC, but can you be sure those are all new components they have fitted?
Ideally, the repair shop you choose should be somewhere between these two extremes, usually the smaller setups will give a more personal service, make sure you ask a few questions, and judge your level of confidence by the answers they give. A fantastic indication of the quality of repair they perform is in how busy they are, I have never seen a good repair shop that isn’t displaying a level of activity similar to Grand Central Station, if there are lots of customers, you can bet that word of mouth and good service have made the place famous in the local area.
So there we have it, how to avoid the headache of a bad repair to your beloved PC.
]]>1)System Routines
These are the individual functions or services that form a layer between the hardware and the operating system. These services are called by the Operating system using the interrupts. These routines act like device drivers.
Some of the services or routines present in the BIOS are the following : Divide by zero, Non-maskable interrupt (NMI), Arithmetic overflow, keyboard service, serial port service, parallel port service, USB service, video service, hard-disk service, floppydisk service and many more.
A modern BIOS should have the following features : The BIOS should support many CPUs. It should support many chipsets, different types of modern memories, the ACPI / APM power management specifications, various types of drives, plug and play, various types of ports including the USB port and automatic configuration support.
The type of features that the BIOS supports can be determined from the BIOS ID string.
The BIOS ID string is displayed on the monitor screen just after the display of the BIOS banner, the BIOS manufacturer, the BIOS copyright date etc, as soon as you start your PC. The BIOS ID string consists of certain pattern of codes, for example, in the form of ABBB CCCC DDEEFF GG etc. A stands for the type of CPUs the BIOS supports, BBB stands for the type of chipsets and motherboards the BIOS supports and so on.
The Manufacturers of new hardwares such as the CDROM manufacturers or the printer manufacturers produce their own proprietary circuitry and interface them to the PC bus. The BIOS is not capable of providing the subroutines for each of these new hardwares. To overcome this limitation of the BIOS the hardware manufacturers supply their own low level device drivers which augment the service subroutines of the BIOS. Hence, the device drivers serve to supplement the BIOS. Video, SCSI and Network adapters all make use of their own device drivers to connect to the PC.
2) CMOS Ram setup configuration.
The hardware configuration data of the PC is stored in the CMOS Ram. This Hardware configuration must be accessible to the user of the PC. The BIOS provides access to the hardware configuration stored in the CMOS Ram by means of the CMOS setup routine. The older PCs like the 286 and 386 provided CMOS setup routine as a separate utility on the floppy disk. But in all modern PCs the CMOS setup routine is integrated into the BIOS itself (press del key at the time or startup to access the CMOS setup routine). The BIOS reads the CMOS entries during the startup process and also uses those attributes during normal system operation. Hence, it is necessary to enter correct settings when configuring the system. The parameters of the CMOS settings must be set to the optimum in order to get most out of your PC. (Read more in the Article on Optimization of the PC through CMOS setup configuration)
3) Post (Power on self test)
POST is a set of routines which actually consists of two parts. The initialization and test routines and the PC boot routine. The POST initializes and tests the low level hardware of the PC by testing the CPU, initializing and testing the motherboard’s chipset, checking the memory, checking the keyboard and keyboard controller, checking the video adapter, checking and reading the CMOS configuration data from the CMOS ram, setting up of the interrupt vectors for the CPU, etc. The POST then sets up a BIOS Stack Area, loads the BIOS Data Area in low memory, detects any optional adapter BIOS ROMs present in the PC, and then proceeds to the performance of the high level hardware tests. If during the testing of the low level hardware if any error is encountered then the corresponding error message is displayed. These error messages are found useful in determining the fault in the PC.
The Post performs high level hardware tests after the low level hardware tests are over. These are a series of tests performed on the high level devices such as the floppy disks, the hard disks, serial adapters, parallel adapters, mouse adapter, etc. Any errors during the performance of these tests will show up as error messages by a corresponding error massage text on the monitor screen. If the system hardware does not match with the setup of the CMOS the corresponding error message is displayed.
After the low level tests and the high level tests are performed by the POST it triggers INT 19h, which is the routine that loads the operating system into the PC. An error while loading the Operating system may give rise to the error message such as “Non system disk”.
This Article covered information about the BIOS. You have gone through the internal workings of a BIOS and seen what are the advantages and the limitations of a BIOS. The BIOS cannot provide support for every new hardware device produced, but provides for checksum tests on the BIOS Roms of the new hardware. You have seen how the knowledge of the BIOS can unable us to optimize the PC, check for any malfunctioning and understand the BOOT procedure of the PC. The BIOS provides an interface between the raw PC hardware and the operating system; it gives an OS access to a standard set of service routines or functions.
The first tool on your list should be a pair of good quality screwdrivers; you need a flat head (for screws with a single slot) and a phillips (for screws with screws with a pair of crossed slots). Luckily this is pretty much a one size fits all deal, check the screws at the back of a computer case, buy a pair of screwdrivers that would fit this size screw. It is also extremely useful if they are magnetised, this means you can slot a screw onto the head of the screwdriver and it will not fall off, great for getting a screw into those places where you can’t fit your fingers to hold it in place.
Next on the list is an earth strap; this simple gadget attaches to your arm, and then clips onto a something like a table or chair leg, which is grounded. This eliminates any static building up in your body, and more importantly stops that static build up from frying your delicate components.
The next tool is one that in theory you should never need to use, but the very first time you do have to use it you will be glad you have it! It’s a small device, which has a claw made of three sprung wire prongs, these retract into a tube, much like a disposable biro, and only extend when a sprung plunger is depressed at the top of the tool. This is used for picking things up, and it is a complete life saver when you drop a screw or washer inside your computer case and you cannot get your fingers into the small space to extract it. Trust me, you will need this tool at some stage, buy one now and save yourself the frustration of not having it when you need it.
The fourth and final necessity, which is not actually a tool, more of a consumable, is a bag of cable ties. By making sure all of the cabling within the case is neatly tied out of the way using these, you will ensure that access to the case for maintenance is far easier, and none of the cables will be restricting airflow.
That’s it, these are the only 4 things you need to build a modern PC, sure there are some other tools that are useful, but they are not a requirement. Good luck!
]]>I decided my time is too precious and I do not have the time to travel from computer shop to computer shop to find all the components I need to build my own computer. But I am determined that my next computer will be a heather gowrie original. I am determined to build my own and to understand how all the parts and components take electricity and make internet and computer magic.
I’ve come to realize that purchasing a DIY kit is the ideal way for me to get all the parts and instructions I need for my new computer without having to spend weeks with a shopping list looking all over the city. Eventually, I know that each component I purchase in my kit will be replaced by something newer and flasher but to get me started I need a kit. Are you in the same boat? Maybe your child has expressed interest in learning about computers and you want to build a computer with them. Or you need a new computer and want to keep the cost down. All are great reasons to buy a DIY Kit.
Purchasing a DIY kit is not a gamble, if you find a reputable dealer with a satisfaction guarantee. Sure, my friend Mac makes some great points about some companies creating kits from old stock or inferior and outdated components. But I worked in computer manufacturing for 10 years and let me tell you, not every component used by the name brand manufactures are top of the line new stock. I also know that the kits available at Easy As My PC are very reasonability priced and contain quality products.
I see my computer kit as the bones of my project, chances are a couple of months from now a new video card will be released and it will find its way into my computer. The kit will give me a good understanding of what I need to do when building a computer, which will make upgrades much easier. And who knows, in a year or two you may have enough components from upgrades and replacements to build another computer.
If you are new to building your own computer or looking for a great project to do with your children but the thought of having to search for every possible component and screw yourself turns you off, start your computer building career with a kit.
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