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First Power UpPart VI in How to Build a Quiet PC with AMD 850MHz CPU
by Taliesin Akin
Many users will want to power up now and prepare the hard drive. However, if you are replacing an older system, you may want to copy the entire contents of your old hard drive onto your newer (most likely larger) drive with Norton Ghost (part of Norton System Works), which makes this process simple. If so, skip ahead to the next section. Otherwise, you should now have everything installed that you need to get your system up and running. Close the case by replacing the left side panel. Connect the power, monitor and monitor power, keyboard, and mouse. Newer cases now have clear labels on the I/O panel that describe what connects where. Insert a 3.5" bootable floppy into the A: drive. The floppy will need to have Fdisk.exe and Format.exe on it. (Keep in mind that if you have the floppy cable reversed by accident, this disk will likely be destroyed when you boot up. If you're A: drive light remains on continuously, the connection is probably not correct.) You are now ready to turn your system on. You should hear a series of beeps. On your screen, you will see the results of a series of tests your computer will run to see if everything is ok. At the A: prompt, follow the instructions for Partitioning and Formatting below.
Preparing the Hard Drive
If you choose to use Norton Ghost to copy the contents of your old hard drive onto your new hard drive, you will need to first install your new hard drive into your old system (or a system that is running and in which you can install both drives). To make it simple, I installed the new hard drive as the Secondary IDE Master and kept my old hard drive as the Primary IDE Master. After you have the drives installed, you are ready to power up and partition and format the new drive.
Partitioning and Formatting
Boot up your system and get a DOS prompt. Either boot from a boot disk in drive A: or if you are using Norton Ghost, boot your old system as usual and go to START > PROGRAMS > MS DOS Prompt. Once you have a DOS prompt, follow the instructions below.
- type F disk. You will get a window that asks you if you want large disk support.
- Type Y for Yes. You will get several menu options.
- Type 5 to change the current fixed disk drive. Make sure you do not partition your old drive! Everything will be lost! The new (empty) drive will have no name yet and no usage %.
- Type the number of the drive that is empty.
- Type 1 to create a DOS partition.
- Type 1 to create a Primary DOS partition.
- Type Y to use the maximum available size. The drive will now be partitioned.
- Press escape after the message that you will need to reboot.
- Reboot your computer.
- Get a DOS prompt again.
- Type format d:/s where (d) is the letter of the drive you just partitioned. If C: is your old drive, your new drive is most likely D: (If your new drive is the only hard drive in your system, it will be C:). Again, make sure you do not format your old drive! Everything will be lost! /s = make bootable.
- Name your hard drive. (What's with all these silly number names? Name your drive something fun, why don’t you? You probably paid about as much for it as you would a pet).
Using Norton Ghost to Copy Your Old Hard Drive
This is a simple way to get and exact copy of your old hard drive onto your new drive. This means you don't have to worry about installing your operating system and you don’t have to reinstall all your programs. And all those special windows settings you like won't have to be done again. To do this, first get a copy of Norton Ghost and follow the instructions below.
- Start Norton System Works.
- Select Norton Ghost
- Select “Create an exact image of your hard drive.? You will be switched to MS DOS mode.
- Type L for Local.
- Type D for Disk.
- Type D for To Disk.
- Choose your source drive, most likely the smaller drive. If it is the Primary Master, then it will probably be number 1.
- Choose the Destination drive (2).
- Type Alt O for OK.
- Choose Yes to proceed. Destination drive will be overwritten. Again, make sure you do not copy onto your old drive! Everything will be lost! This will take some time.
- Type R to Restart your computer.
- You should now have an exact copy of your old drive on your new drive.
- Remove your new drive from the old system.
- Place the new drive in the new system as the Primary IDE Master.
- Close the case and power up your system.
Installing Device Drivers
It is a good idea to start with your motherboard disk in drive (D:). Have your windows CD ready as well the software that came with your motherboard and any software for the various devises you have on your system. Your hard drive does not have drivers on it for the new hardware in your new system. Even though windows will start up, it will find many new devises in the system and attempt to install drivers for them. (This is why is it best to wait until this is done before installing other expansion cards.) I say "attempt" because windows is not particularly good at this. Be patient. Here are some general tips (the specific drivers depend on the devices in your system).
- Start with your motherboard disk in drive (D:).
- Pay attention to what drivers windows is trying to install and try to determine if they would be on your motherboard disk or on the windows disk.
- The windows CD is not always set up the way the software thinks it is, so you system will often look for drivers on the CD in folders that do not exist. You will probably often get a screen saying that windows cannot find a certain file in a certain folder and to please insert the Windows CD in drive D: (even though the windows CD is already in drive D:). When you get this, usually there will be a way for you to browse for the correct path to the file. Sometimes, you will get a screen where there is no path listed for you to change. If you get this, you need to click on OK repeatedly until it gives you the option to change the path. Eventually, it will go back to the screen where you can type in the path. To determine the correct path, click on "Details". A screen will appear telling you where windows is looking for the file (source) and where it wants to put it (destination). Usually, the file that it wants is already on your C: drive where it says "destination". So, copy the path for the destination into the path field on the previous screen and press OK.
- If windows still cannot find the file, it may be either on your hard drive or the windows CD or any other CD that came with a devise. Write down the name of the file that windows is looking for and then click on START > FIND > Files and Folders. Type the name of the file here and search both the C: drive and the windows disk and other possible disks. If you find the file, change the path to point to it and click OK.
- You still cannot find the file and you have access to another computer, it may be on that other computer. Click on START > FIND > Files and Folders and search the C: drive of that computer. If you find it, copy the file onto a 3.5" disk and insert the disk in your new system. Change the path to point to the A: drive.
- If all else fails, you can try looking for device drivers on the Internet. Type in the brand name and model number for the devise you are trying to install in a search engine such as Google. Look for a page that looks like it might contain devise drivers. Look for a place where you can download a driver for your devise and follow whatever instructions you can find online about the driver installation.
Installing Other Expansion Cards
Now that you have your system up and running, you can begin installing other expansion cards. Install these one at a time and get them working before moving on to the next one.
Installing a SCSI Adapter: If you wish to install a devise that uses a SCSI connection, you will need to install a SCSI adapter in a vacant PCI slot. This motherboard has IDE slots, but none for SCSI. SCSI is actually a more flexible devise interface than the internal EIDE/ATA that comes with most motherboards and usually runs at faster connection speeds, but SCSI devices are often more expensive. EIDE/ATA is strictly for "inside the case" peripherals, while SCSI is an interface that supports many add-ons like scanners, CD recorders, tape drives (or even devices not conceived of yet), either inside or outside the computer case in whatever manner suits your needs.
First you will need to get a SCSI adapter. I am using one made by Adaptec, which has one internal and one external SCSI slot to connect peripherals. Once you have the adapter, find a vacant PCI expansion slot on the motherboard. Remove the metal cover for the slot by unscrewing the bolt that holds it in (or just slide it out if it has no bolt). Insert the adapter in the slot as shown (see the picture above) and use the same bolt to secure it. Now you are ready to connect the SCSI cable. Insert either end of the SCSI cable into the adapter and insert the other end into your device. Next, connect the power using a free power connector from the power supply. You may wish to connect the HDD LED to your SCSI adapter, which controls the LED light on the front of your system. This is optional. Usually, the HDD LED will be connected to the motherboard. If you do connect the HDD LED to you adapter, it will allow you to monitor activity on your SCSI adapter. Once everything is connected, close the case and power up your system. Windows will detect and install the new devise. You may be prompted to install new drivers for the adapter from a CD. If you are installing a CD ROM and the drivers requested are on a CD, you will need to write down the name of the driver asked for and then find it on the Windows CD on a different computer that has an active CD ROM drive. Click on "Start", then "Find", then "Files or Folders". Enter the name of the driver that you wrote down earlier and click "Find Now". Once you find the driver, copy it onto the hard drive of the computer for which you are installing the SCSI adapter. Put it in a temporary file that you can remember. Then when you are prompted to enter the disk with the driver on it, choose the location where you saved the driver and Windows will install the driver from there instead. Now your CD ROM should be ready to go.
Network Card: Insert your network card into one of the available PCI expansion slots. When your system boots up, it will detect the new device and install drivers for it if it has them, or, use the driver software that came with the card. If not, it will ask you to insert a CD with the drivers on it. Once the driver is installed, you will need to name your computer and the workgroup that you are working in. To do this, right click on Network Neighborhood on the desktop and select "Properties". Select the Configuration tab and select "file and print sharing". Here you can select how much access you wish to give to people in the workgroup. Click the Identification tab and give your computer a name (something fun, maybe). Make sure the workgroup you type in is the same as the workgroup for all the other computers you wish to network with, then, type in a computer description if you wish. Next, click on the Access Control tab. If you select "Share-level access control", anyone will be able to access your computer from the workgroup. If you select "User level access control", you can define a password that users will need to have before they can access your computer.
 NEXT: | VII. Sound Assessment |
 BACK: | I. Reasons to Build a Quiet PC | II. Choosing Components | III. Case Work for a Quiet PC | IV. Mounting the Components | V. Connecting the Components to the Motherboard |
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