Showing posts with label Build own PC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Build own PC. Show all posts

Build own PC -Glossary

GLOSSARY
Welcome to the glossary.  This has been created to help you with some terms you might not be familiar with.

ACRONYMS
There are a lot of different acronyms used when talking about computers.  Here are a few of the more common ones:

KB (Kilobytes) Used to define size - it means times one thousand.

MB (Megabytes) Used to define size - it means times one million.

GB (Gigabytes) used to define size - it means times one billion.

MHz (Megahertz) One million cycles per second - used to measure the speed of a CPU chip, memory modules, video cards, etc.  Different chips run at different speeds and this should be the first thing looked at when deciding on a component.

GHz (Gigahertz) One billion cycles per second - used to measure the speed of a CPU chip.  Different chips run at different speeds and this should be the first thing looked at when deciding on a component.

BIOS (BASIC INPUT OUTPUT SYSTEM)
The BIOS is another very important part of your computer that makes its home on the motherboard.   "BIOS" stands for Basic Input/Output System, and usually resides on a series of chips on your motherboard.  When you turn on your computer, the BIOS determines what hardware is installed.   It finds out if the hardware is working and if any of the parts have their own BIOS.  If it finds any BIOS type programming on any of the parts, it lets those parts take inventory before returning to its task.   For example, most video cards have their own BIOS chip.  So, the main BIOS turns control over to the video card until it is done, then resumes to check the rest of the computer. 

All of this happens behind the scenes every time you boot.  You may notice the POST, or Power On Self Test.  When your BIOS tests the hard drive, floppy drive, and keyboard, you'll see lights flash on them.   Once all of this is done, your BIOS loads the operating system.  It does this by looking for and reading your various boot-up files, such as Config.sys and Autoexec.bat.  From there, your operating system takes over.  As you can see, BIOS is important; every computer needs it and like CPU's, it comes in different versions.  BIOS versions are based on years.  You can usually see what date your BIOS is by looking at the sticker on the chip itself, but if you don't have a sticker, you can go to the BIOS screen on your monitor. 

From time to time manufactures provide BIOS upgrades from their websites.  These upgrades are “Flashed” or burned into your BIOS chip, overwriting the older version.  Before performing a Flash upgrade of your BIOS, read the manufactures instructions carefully - if you make a mistake, your computer may not reboot!

CPU (CENTRAL PROCCESSING UNIT)
The main chip in your computer. Even faster than the genius in your math class, the Central Processing Unit can do millions of calculations per second! Your programs use all this calculating power to help you do useful things like write letters and balance your checkbook.

Cycles The speed at which a computer runs, usually given in millions of cycles per second (Megahertz). Every system has a clock that drives its CPU at a fixed speed. Around 1980, computers ran at 4 Megahertz - now for the same money you can buy a 120 Megahertz computer. See also MEGAHERTZ.

Sockets CPU “Sockets” come in many different styles and configurations that tend to change with each successive generation of CPU.  A socket is simply the place on the motherboard you “plug” the CPU into.  Sockets often have simple names like “Slot 1” or “Slot 2” or seemingly incongruous names like “Socket 7” - these refer to the style of CPU that may be used. 

Always make certain when purchasing a new CPU that it was designed to fit correctly in your motherboard’s CPU socket! 

DIP SWITCHES
A DIP-switch is a tiny switch that, like a light switch, can be either on or off.  Usually, DIP-switches aren't found alone, but rather in block grouped together with other DIP-switches.  Like jumpers, the purpose of a DIP-switch is to configure or setup your component to work in a specific way.

DRIVE INTERFACES

CACHE (DISK) A section of RAM that allows your computer to operate faster.  Retrieving data from your hard disk is a slow process.  A disk-caching program helps solve this problem by placing recently used data in your disk cache.  Next time you need data, it may already be available in the disk cache, so a time-consuming search of the slow hard disk is avoided.

Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) IDE is really a misnomer in the way we use it today because IDE refers to any drive with the controller built-in.  The interface most of us use, what we call an IDE, is actually called ATA or AT Attachment.  IDE drives are the most popular type of drives because the built-in controller eliminates many of the compatibility and configuration problems associated with SCSI drives.  This coupled with the fact that IDE drives are generally inexpensive makes them a good choice for virtually any PC.

Serial ATA (SATA) Often abbreviated SATA or S-ATA, an evolution of the Parallel ATA physical storage interface. Serial ATA is a serial link -- a single cable with a minimum of four wires creates a point-to-point connection between devices. Transfer rates for Serial ATA begin at 150MBps. One of the main design advantages of Serial ATA is that the thinner serial cables facilitate more efficient airflow inside a form factor and also allow for smaller chassis designs. In contrast, IDE cables used in parallel ATA systems are bulkier than Serial ATA cables and can only extend to 40cm long, while Serial ATA cables can extend up to one meter.

Serial ATA supports all ATA and ATAPI devices.

Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) SCSI is an entirely different interface than the more popular IDE.  It is more of a system level interface, meaning that it does not only deal with disk drives.  It is not a controller, like IDE, but a separate bus that is hooked to the system bus via a host adapter.  A single SCSI bus can hold up to eight units, each with a different SCSI ID, ranging from 0 to 7.  The host adapter takes up one ID, leaving 7 ID's for other hardware.  SCSI hardware typically consists of hard drives, tape drives, CD-ROMs and scanners.   SCSI's popularity is increasing - but its main problem is the lack of standards.   Each company seems to have its own idea of how SCSI should work.  While the connections themselves have been standardized, the actual driver specs used for communication have not been.  The end result is that each piece of SCSI hardware has its own host adapter, and the software drivers for the device cannot work with an adapter made by someone else.  So, due to the lack of an adapter standard, a standardized software interface, and standard BIOS for hard drives attached to the SCSI adapter, SCSI is pretty much a mess for the end-user. 

FireWire (IEEE 1394) Another foray into high-speed interfaces is FireWire technology.  Originally developed for the Macintosh, FireWire is steadily gaining in popularity with Windows users.  FireWire’s high-speed interface is superior to IDE and overcomes the limitations of slower, traditional connections to external components using parallel or serial ports, including USB.  FireWire is especially ideal for high-end graphics manipulation, including the transfer of data from digital video recorders to your hard drive.  All Window’s version since Window’s 98 provide native support for FireWire technologies.

DRIVERS
Virtually all computer components require a software driver to operate.  A driver is usually a small piece of software that tells your operating system (Windows) how to communicate properly with the component.  Drivers are frequently updated by the manufacturer so you should periodically check their website for updates.  An updated driver will often improve performance, overcome operating problems and often provide a new feature or two!

HARD DRIVE FILE SYSTEMS
There are several terms you should be familiar with in regards to formatting your hard drive.  These include:

Partition A partition is how you divide the total available space on your hard drive.  For example, if you have a 40 GB hard drive, instead of one large “C:\” drive you could partition it into smaller areas of data storage.  In the past, before really large drives became available, partitioning was used to predefine an amount of space for a group of users.  Another use is to create non-DOS partitions for different operating systems - for example, one partition may be used for Windows while another partition is used for OS2.  With today’s technology, partitioning is really not quite so necessary as it once was.

Logical Drive A logical drive is the drive letter you assign to a partition.  If you have four partitions, you would name them “C:\, D:\, E:\ and F:\” - any CD or DVD drives would automatically be assigned the next highest drive letter.

FAT (File Allocation Table) FAT has been the hard drive standard since 1981 with the first release of DOS.  Simply put, FAT is the way DOS and early Window’s systems stored your files, using file names that were limited to 8 characters plus a 3-character extension. 

FAT has a limitation of 2 GB partitions using large cluster sizes.  This limitation makes using a FAT on a 40 GB hard drive almost impossible.  All new Window’s operating systems still provide some level of support for FAT.

VFAT (Virtual File Allocation Table) VFAT is an extension of the FAT standard, introduce with Window’s 95.  VFAT relaxed the FAT standard by allowing file names of up to 255 characters.

FAT32 (32 Bit Virtual File Allocation Table) FAT32 was released with the second version of Window’s 95 and was used in Window’s 98.  FAT32 overcame the 2 GB partition limitations and reduced cluster sizes to a mere 4K. 

NTFS (New Technology File System) NTFS was originally designed for Windows NT and provided support for features that other file systems lacked, such as a higher level of fault tolerance and better security and compression.  Newer versions of Windows, such as Windows 2000 and Windows XP use NTFS in place of FAT32.

Another advantage to NTFS is the partition size - NTFS allows partitions up to 2 terabytes (2 trillion bytes)!

Compression Squeezing computer files into less space - compressed files are convenient because they allow you to store large, infrequently used files in a smaller area.

JUMPER SETTINGS
The term “jumper” gets tossed around a lot when it comes to upgrading computers.   A jumper refers to both a small piece of plastic called a “shunt” that is used to connect two pins together and the pins themselves.   Jumpers can be found everywhere including your motherboard, hard drive, CD-ROM drive and video card.  The purpose of the jumpers is to configure or setup your component to work in a specific way.  

For example, an AGP video card that is capable of running at two different speeds might have one jumper that tells it which speed you want to run it at.  This jumper would consist of two tiny pins, standing side-by-side, somewhere on the video card.  This jumper has two distinct states: open and closed.   When open, the pins are exposed and physically not connected.   When closed, the shunt is covering both pins, connecting them together.  The video card itself is programmed to run at one speed when it is closed and at the other speed when it is open - this is the simplest form of a jumper.  Hard drives take it up a notch by grouping 2 or 3 jumpers together.  Most hard drives have 3 jumpers in a row, to make up a “block” of 6 pins.  By shunting (also called “jumpering”) these pins in a variety of combinations, you can program the drive to act differently. 

Jumpers are very straightforward and easy to understand; once you set your first jumper, you’ll know what we mean!

MEMORY TYPES
There are many different types of memory (RAM) that work with different generations of motherboards - in addition, memory modules have many different configurations, depending on their age and use so check the specifications carefully.  Here are the most common styles:

SIMM - Single In-Line Memory Modules Used to be the most widely used memory and was available in 32 and 72 pin configurations.  If you had an old 386/486 system, you probably used this type of memory.

DIMM - Dual In-Line Memory Modules As SIMM’s outgrew their usefulness, they were replaced by DIMM’s.  These memory modules are available in a 168-pin configuration and transfer data in 64 bit chunks.  If you have a laptop computer, these memory modules are called SO DIMM’s and are available in 72 and 144 pin configurations.

SDRAM - Synchronous DRAM memory Modules SDRAM actually synchronizes itself with the processor’s clock speed; allowing data transfer at speeds of up to 266 MHz.  These are typically purchased as PC100 or PC133 modules, which denote the transfer rate.


RIMM - Direct Rambus Memory Modules The next generation of memory, RIMM’s are a trademark name for Direct Rambus technology.  Available in a 180-pin configuration and transferring data at higher speeds, more heat is generated, so RIMM’s usually have an aluminum sheath (heat sink) around the exterior.

DDR - Double Data Rate Memory Modules The newest generation of memory, DDR’s are available in a wide configuration of speeds.  As of this writing, transfer rates of 800 MHZ were available on the market - something you should definitely explore for your new motherboard!

DDR2 - Double Data Rate Memory (Version 2) Modules These modules are the next generation modules of memory in the DDR series. These are NOT the same as DDR, and will not work in generic DDR memory slots, they will work only in DDR2 specific motherboards. If your motherboard does not explicitly say DDR2, assume it is not. These modules are very fast, ranging in speeds from 800MHz to 1GHz+, but also cost more. The only problem is that these memory modules should be bought in pairs, as identical in pairs as you can get them. This makes their dual channel functionality show in flying colors. For example, two 512 MB DDR2 sticks would perform better than one single 1 GB DDR2 stick.

RDRAM - RAMBUS Memory Modules Another spin off next generation memory, RDRAM’s are available in a wide configuration of speeds. These are generally more expensive and sparsely supported.

CACHE (Memory) Two groups of extremely fast memory chips that allow your computer to operate faster. Internal cache (L1) is built into the CPU, and external cache (L2) resides on the motherboard. Both L1 and L2 store data recently used by the CPU.  When the CPU needs data, it first checks the fastest source - L1. If the data is not there, the CPU checks the next-fastest source - L2.  If the data still cannot be found, a time-consuming search of the slower RAM is required.  Note: L2 cache is also called SRAM.


MOTHERBOARDS
Chipsets The chipset controls the system and its capabilities. All components communicate with the processor through the chipset - it is the hub of all data transfer. The chipset uses the DMA and the bus controllers to organize the steady flow of data that it controls. The chipset is a series of chips attached directly to the motherboard and is usually second in size only to the processor. Chipsets are integrated (soldered onto the motherboard) and are not upgradeable without a new motherboard.

FSB (Front Side Bus Speed) This is the speed at which the CPU communicates with the other components on the motherboard.  As of this writing, you will probably see references to FSB’s anywhere from PC100 to 533 MHz.

Ports These are the various sockets located at the rear of your computer.  You plug external components into these ports using an assortment of cables.  These ports connect your monitor, printer, etc., to the motherboard.

PLUG AND PLAY
Plug and Play is an extremely beneficial technology for new users.  In the past, you literally needed special training to be able to upgrade or replace computer components.  This often involved not only changing the physical component, but included jumper changes, software installations and even manually reconfiguring the BIOS.

We recommend you always try to purchase Plug and Play components - these will give you the least amount of difficulty to install.  With Plug and Play you literally “plug” in the new component and let your operating system take care of the details!

SLOT/BUS TYPES
There are four major slot types or buses:
Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) Used to be the most widely used bus, because it is the original.  If you open up an old 286, you'll see a couple of these.   This bus is relatively slow, but cards such as modems do not require anything faster.  If you look at your motherboard's slots the longer, usually black ones, are the ISA’s.  On newer machines, there might be only 1 or 2 ISA slots - the rest will be PCI. ISA is a very legacy slot.

Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) This is a very fast bus developed by Intel.  The bus is self-configuring, which makes possible the plug-n-play concept in which each add-on card contains information about itself that the processor can use to automatically configure the card.  This bus is by far the most popular on newer motherboards and PC’s.  PCI slots are usually white in color and are shorter then ISA slots.

Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCI Express) This is a spin-off of the PCI bus, which competes with the AGP bus. Newer motherboards may come with one of these, instead of an AGP slot. Please note that these are not simply enhanced PCI slots, they are a totally new bus that is designed for video only. Normal PCI cards like network cards, sound cards, and the like will NOT work in a PCI-Express slot. PCI-Express is for video ONLY (at the time of writing), and is usually utilized by the newer nVidia brand video cards. ATi brand video cards tend to stick to the AGP slot. PCI Express will come in a variety specifications and slot sizes as it becomes more widely adopted. These are: PCI-Express X1, X4, X8, X16.  Be sure to make your motherboard and PCI Express card comply with each other.

Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) With newer software and games getting much more graphics intensive, the PCI bus is getting maxed out.  In fact, the PCI bus, once considered very fast, could now be considered a bottleneck where graphics are concerned.  In response, Intel designed the Accelerated Graphics Port, or AGP.  In short, AGP uses the main PC memory to hold 3D images.   In effect, this gives the AGP video card an unlimited amount of video memory.  To speed up the data transfer, Intel designed the port as a direct path to the PC's main memory.  AGP is the latest craze in the need for graphical speed.  The AGP slot is a short black slot and is the slot closest to your processor. ATi brand video cards stick to this slot.

Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA) This is an interface made mainly for video cards.  VESA buses are basically an ISA slot with an extra slot on the end.  The whole thing is about 4 inches longer than an ISA slot.  Computer manufacturers in favor of the faster PCI bus have abandoned this design.   Some older PC’s may have a couple of these slots. This, like ISA, is heavy depreciated.

Video Graphics Array (VGA) This is the general port on the back of your computer (coming from the motherboard or video card) that you plug the monitor into. It is usually blue and has 3 rows of 5 pin slots. Most monitors you encounter will use this interface, as it is the common standard as opposed to the newer DVI standard.

Digital Video Interface (DVI) This is the port on the back of your computer (coming from the motherboard or video card) that you can plug newer LCD monitors into. It is usually white and comes with 3 rows of 8 pin slots. You can even plug a high-definition television or projector into the DVI port with the proper converter!

USB (Universal Serial Bus)
A USB is an external bus (an interconnect) standard that supports data transfer rates of 12 Mbps. A single USB port can be used to connect up to 127 peripheral devices, such as mice, modems and keyboards. Introduced in 1996, USB has completely replaced serial and parallel ports. It also supports plug-and-play installations and hot plugging Plug-and-play is the ability to add and remove devices to a computer while the computer is running and have the operating system automatically recognize the change. USB 2.0, which supports data transfer rates of 480 Mbps.  Then USB 3.0 was released in November 2008. The standard defines a new "SuperSpeed" mode with a signalling speed of 5 Gbit/s and a usable data rate of up to 4 Gbit/s. USB 3.0 reduces the time required for data transmission, also reducing power consumption, and is still compatible with USB 2.0. The USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced on 17 November 2008 that the specification of version 3.0 had been completed and had made the transition to the USB Implementer Forum (USB-IF), the managing body of USB specifications.


Hot Swapping USB makes it possible to “Hot Swap” external components.  This often means that you don’t need to shut down the computer, change the external component and then boot up again. 

Build own PC -Parts List/Shopping List

Parts List/Shopping List


____   CPU/Processor Recommended: Although we used a Pentium III for our PC, we recommend purchasing a Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64 processor.  As of this writing these were available in speeds well over 2-3 GHz.   Usually the very fastest Pentium chip is VERY expensive - a good alternative is the 2nd fastest chip. 

Note: If your CPU does not come with a heat sink, you will need to buy one of those separately.

_____   Motherboard or Main board Recommended Brands: Abit, Asus, Gigabyte. Any one of these companies makes solid motherboards.  Note: Abit boards (and a few other brands) use a "Soft Menu".  This is allows jumper-less configuration of the board; that means, it will take the hassle out of configuring your motherboard.

            IT IS VERY IMPORANT YOU MAKE SURE YOUR MOTHERBOARD SUPPORTS THE CPU YOU HAVE CHOSEN!

_____   Memory/RAM Recommended Brands: Siemens, Toshiba, NEC.  Stay away from no-name brands and make sure you purchase the proper size and type of chip for your motherboard.  While we used DIMM’s, most new motherboards take DDR or Double Data Rate RAM (Not DDR2).  If you are not sure, just check your motherboard’s instruction manual or ask the salesman.  Buy at least 512MB of RAM if you plan on running Windows XP - 1024MB is even better.

_____   Video Card/Graphics Adapter Recommended Brands: nVidia, ATi.  If your motherboard supports AGP (Advanced Graphics Port) then be sure to buy an AGP Video Card/Graphics Adapter.  This will let you take advantage of the higher performance the AGP port offers.  Otherwise you will want to buy a PCI Graphics Adapter.  Before you buy, you should also think about spending a little extra and getting a combo card that also supports 3D Graphics.  ATi and nVidia are neck and neck, although nVidia chips tend to have heat issues more than ATi, so keep that in mind.

Check out some recent magazine articles before you make your purchase. Video Cards are improving every week! Many of the newer cards come with software that lets you watch DVD's full screen! All you need is a DVD-ROM drive.

_____   Sound Card Recommended Brand: Sound Blaster.  Sound Blaster has been the industry standard for over 12 years. They are the most compatible card, are worry-free and there are many flavors of Soundblaster to choose from. The simplest one we recommend is the Soundblaster Live! - this is a nice card; sounds great and is inexpensive.  If you really need to pinch pennies, a Sound Blaster 16 is fine.

_____   Modem Recommended Brands: US Robotics.  US Robotics has set the gold standard for modems! They cost a little more but are very reliable and will not give you any trouble! Do not buy any modem slower then 56K.  Internal modems are much cheaper then external - so get an internal modem! If you plan to use broadband, do not bother with a dial-up modem.

_____   Network Card Recommended Brands: NetGear, Linksys, 3COM.  If you plan on using broadband Internet (e.g. via a cable modem)you will need a network card.  Before you purchase one, however, make sure your motherboard does not already have a built in network card.  If it does, you don't need to purchase one and can simply use the one onboard.  If you do purchase one, 10/100 versions are good, but Gigabit cards are gaining popularity as network speed improves.  You may want to invest in a gigabit card if you will be connecting to a home or office LAN.

_____   Hard Drive Recommended Brands: Western Digital, Seagate, IBM, Maxtor.  If your motherboard supports Ultra DMA (i.e. UDMA/100 or UDMA/133), then get an Ultra DMA drive to match.  Most newer motherboards support UDMA/133 - these drives are fast and inexpensive.  Get the largest drive you can afford; at least 100 Gigabytes is a good start.

_____   CD-ROM/DVD-drive Recommended Brands: Plextor, Yamaha, Toshiba, Panasonic.  CD-ROM drives are very inexpensive now and also fast. A 56X CD-ROM can be bought for well under $50.  A terrific alternative to CD-ROM drives is DVD-ROM drives! They are not very expensive and will let you use CD-ROMS, audio CD's, DVD's, and DVD-ROMS.  Buy the fastest speed you can and remember, if your video card comes with DVD software, you can enjoy DVD movies on your computer too!

_____   CDRW/DVDRW. In addition, CD and DVD ReWritable drives (CDRW/DVDRW drives for short) have also become more and more popular among PC users.  With a CD or DVD ReWritable drive, you can create your own custom audio CD’s, make back-ups of your existing CD collection and archive or back-up important data from your hard drive; with the advent of DVDRW technology, now you can even make backup copies of your favorites movies without losing the original digital quality!  Good CD-R/W drives are made by Plextor and Yamaha.  In the interest of getting more bang for the buck, you should probably get a combo DVD-R/W drive.  These
            drives combine a CD/DVD Reader, and CD/DVD Writer.  Sony makes a great DVD-R/W drive that does all of this and is very
            reasonably priced.

_____   Floppy Drive Get any generic 3.5" floppy drive.

_____  Keyboard Get a keyboard that feels good to you. Most newer keyboards and motherboards use a PS/2 style connector - check your motherboard’s instruction manual to make sure before you buy a PS/2 keyboard.

____    Mouse A cheap mouse will break or begin working poorly soon after you purchase it.  If you can afford one, get an optical mouse.  These use a laser rather than a ball and are much easier to use! 

_____  Case Get any case that you like - just make sure it will support your type of motherboard.  There are generally only 2 types of cases - the older AT case, and the newer ATX Case.  We needed an ATX case because we have an ATX Motherboard. Most all newer motherboards will be ATX form factor.   (Beware, there are other case types on the market now: WTX, LPX, NLX, ITX and BTX, but the ATXform factor is the most commonly used.)

_____   Monitor Recommended Brands: Sony, Samsung, NEC.  A nice monitor can be expensive (you get what you pay for); however, monitor prices have fallen quite a bit. We recommend purchasing a flat screen monitor (CRT) that is 17” or 19”.  Most brands are adequate for home use and will work fine with your new PC. If you have the extra money, invest in a good 17” or 19” LCD monitor. They provide much easier mobility and space you never thought you had!


Build own PC -Completing The System

Booting Up for the First Time

1. Check that your monitor, your keyboard and mouse are all plugged in correctly.
2. Turn your monitor on, and let it heat up a few seconds before proceeding.
3. Keep in mind what to expect - you may need to act quickly!
4. Turn on your PC.

The power LED should turn on, the cooling fans should start spinning, and the hard drive should power up.  You will see the Video BIOS screen first, then you will see the BIOS screen and it will proceed to count the available memory.  You may hear one beep from the PC speaker - you may also get a "CMOS checksum error" or another error saying the CMOS or the date/time isn't set.  Know what key or key combination to press to enter setup - this will be shown on the bottom of the screen.

If you hear any unusual sounds such as grinding, scraping, or loud whining you should be prepared to turn the system off immediately and recheck all of your connections.

Configuring the BIOS
After you turn on your PC, you should see a message that says something like "Hold down DEL to enter Setup" displayed at the bottom of the screen; your message may be different so pay attention to what key or combination of keys it requires.  Hold down this key until you reach the BIOS setup screen.

The following procedure will walk you through this initial setup.  Please bear in mind that this serves only as a guideline - your actual settings and names may vary for different BIOS versions. Always consult the manual that came with your motherboard for a detailed explanation of these settings.  In most cases, you should not really have to change anything.  If you are using a Soft Menu (jumper-less motherboard) you can leave all settings on Auto.  The only things you have to do in this case are auto-detect your hard drive, set the time & date, and disable the virus protection.

1. Auto-detect your Hard Drive - just about all BIOS versions are capable of auto-detecting the hard drive. You should see a menu option for this so do it now.  If it does not successfully detect the drive, then make sure the drive is properly connected.  The BIOS will auto-detect your drive and offer you three options to choose from - usually, just choose the first option at the top of the list.  It will then try to auto-detect your other drives, whether they are there are not.  Pressing ESC will skip the detection of drives that are not there.

2. Standard Settings Option - configure the following items: The date and time - the date is in MM/DD/YY format, and the time is in 24-hour format.  Floppy Drive(s): Just set the correct type.  On our system we only have one floppy drive so drive A: would be set to "1.44MB".  Video Display: If you have this option, set it to VGA Halt On: "All errors", to be sure you see all errors.

3. Advanced Features  - set Virus Protection/Warning: Disable (Make sure to enable this again after you have installed your operating system.)

4. Chipset Advanced Features - leave all defaults as they are.

5. Power Management - disable these features for now; you can go back and enable these after you have your computer up and running.

6. PCI/PnP Configuration Settings - if you will be using Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP, set the PnP Aware OS to enabled - all other options should be set to Auto.

7. Integrated Peripherals - configure these items: Integrated Floppy Controller: Enable.  Integrated IDE/ HDD Controller: Enable those you are using.  Integrated Serial Port. Both COM 1 and COM 2 are usually enabled.  Integrated Parallel Port: Enable on most systems.  Parallel Port Mode: Set to either "EPP" or "SPP".  PS/2 Mouse: Set to "Auto" if available, otherwise, enable if using a PS/2 mouse.  USB: Enable on most systems.

8. If you are using a "jumper-less" motherboard equipped with "Soft Menu", enter this option. Here you will have the opportunity to select "Auto" detection of your CPU.  If the BIOS detects your CPU incorrectly, consult your motherboard’s instruction manual for possible solutions or web sites where you can download BIOS updates.

9. Save and Exit - this will exit the BIOS, saving your settings and reboot the machine.  Make sure your system disk is still in Drive A:

Partitioning & Formatting
Before you can use your hard drive to install an operating system, you will have to partition and format it.  Partitioning and formatting is not for the faint of heart and requires some skill.  A mistake during this process can be disastrous to the data on your other drives.  If you are at all unfamiliar with partitioning and formatting your new drive, we urge you to take advantage of one of the many third-party partitioning utilities on the market.  Two excellent products that are very reasonably priced are Partition Magic and Drive Copy.  Both titles are published by Power Quest and are widely available.  If you are upgrading/replacing a drive already on your PC and want to copy your data over to your new drive, use Drive Copy.  If you are adding a second, third or fourth hard drive you can use Partition Magic.  These products are inexpensive (under $30), safe and will save you lots of time.

Windows 95
With the original version of window’s 95 you’re really locked into a FAT16 file system.  This means that your hard drive must by partitioned into partitions no larger than 2 GB each.  For this reason, if you have purchased a large hard drive, now is also a good time to upgrade your Window’s version.

Windows 95SE/98/98SE/ME
All of these versions of Windows use the FAT32 file system.  You can partition your new hard drive into one large drive or multiple drives - whatever schema works best for your particular needs. 

Windows 2000/XP
If you have purchased Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you’ll have a choice of using the NTFS (New Technology File System) a superior replacement for the old FAT32 schemas.  NTFS offers far more security and reliability than FAT32, especially if you are networking computers.  If you decide to use FAT32 you can always convert your volumes to NTFS - but be aware that the conversion is a one-way process.

Take a little time to plan your partitions.  Do you want one large partition for the entire drive? Or do you want to separate it into different drive volumes? If you have FAT32, it is very popular to create one partition for the entire drive.  Using NTFS, it’s often better to create multiple drives or volumes, especially if you will be connected to a home or office network.  By creating multiple volumes you can more readily control access to shared files and hardware on your own computer.  In addition, NTFS allows you to selectively compress volumes to gain more storage space.  This allows you to compress a directory of graphics files for example, which you may rarely access.

A good rule of thumb to follow is if your hard drive is smaller than 32 GB, you should only use FAT32.  This is because of the overhead space NTFS needs to work effectively.  On smaller drives, NTFS tends to lose its “robustness” and besides, FAT32 is more than adequate for smaller drives.

As an added note, when you purchase a hard drive in a full retail box, many of the large manufactures include a small installation floppy disk; this disk usually has some sort of partitioning software and instructions on it to help you along.  It is also a good idea to check the manufacturer’s website for online installation and partitioning guides.

Installing an Operating System
Now you are ready to install an operating system. 

The entire installation procedure for installing your operating system will be outlined with your OS manual.  For most people, Windows XP is the operating system of choice, although we used Windows 98. It is by far the most popular operating system today and runs the most software.  When you purchase your copy of Windows XP, make sure you do not purchase an "upgrade" version.  This version will not come with a bootable floppy disk, which you will need to get started.  Make sure you purchase the “Full Install Version” of Windows XP that will come with a bootable floppy disk. Many of the newer Windows XP CD’s are bootable themselves and allow you partition/format your drive right then and there before installation.

Windows will most likely find and install the drivers for all of your components.  However, if you have purchased anything non-standard or “no-name” type components, Windows will prompt you for the driver disk - have these ready during the installation to save time.

Final Notes
Congratulations on finishing the course.  We hope you now have the confidence to build your own PC. Keep in mind, that it is not "rocket science" but rather a relatively simple process.  In our effort to teach you how to build a PC, we have tried to answer all of your potential questions along the way.  However, as with all learning, some things are not clear to everyone.  We encourage you to find a knowledgeable friend or salesperson to help you with any further questions you may have.  As a tip: if you select near-identical parts to the ones we have chosen, you should need little or no outside assistance and be on your way to enjoying your fast new computer!


Build own PC -Checking Your Work

JUMPER SETTINGS
The term “jumper” gets tossed around a lot when it comes to upgrading computers.  A jumper refers to both a small piece of plastic called a “shunt” that is used to connect two pins together and the pins themselves.  Jumpers can be found everywhere including your motherboard, hard drive, CD/DVD drive, sound, video, network and modem cards.  The purpose of the jumpers is to configure or setup your component to work in a specific way.  

For example, an AGP video card that is capable of running at two different speeds might have one jumper that tells it which speed you want to run it at.  This jumper would consist of two tiny pins, standing side-by-side, somewhere on the video card.  This jumper has two distinct states: open and closed.   When open, the pins are exposed and physically not connected.   When closed, the shunt is covering both pins, connecting them together.  The video card itself is programmed to run at one speed when it is closed and at the other speed when it is open - this is the simplest form of a jumper.  Hard drives take it up a notch by grouping 2 or 3 jumpers together.  Most hard drives have 3 jumpers in a row, to make up a “block” of 6 pins.  By shunting (also called “jumpering”) these pins in a variety of combinations, you can program the drive to act differently. 

Jumpers are very straightforward and easy to understand; once you set your first jumper, you’ll know what we mean!

An important word about Jumper Settings
As we have mentioned in the video, our Abit motherboard is jumper-less.  That means it is configured using software called "Soft Menu II" instead of by selecting jumpers.  If you are not using a jumper-less board it is extremely important you configure your jumper settings at this time.  Doing this is relatively easy - simply consult your motherboard’s instruction manual.  Inside you should find a table, which lists the exact jumper settings for your particular CPU.  Sometimes there may be 3 or 4 jumpers you have to change.  Double-check your work and make sure you have your board configured properly before you continue. Most all newer motherboards are jumper-less.

DIP SWITCHES
A DIP-switch is a tiny switch that, like a light switch, can be either on or off.  Usually, DIP-switches aren't found alone, but rather in block grouped together with other DIP-switches.  Like jumpers, the purpose of a DIP-switch is to configure or setup your component to work in a specific way.


Build own PC -Making Final Connection

If your connections are different

Check your motherboard’s instruction manual.  All good motherboards come with a detailed manual, which has diagrams for your particular board.  By referring to these diagrams, it is very easy to see which connectors go where. 

If you are using an AT style motherboard
If you are using this type of motherboard, the power connector that goes from the power supply to the motherboard itself will be in 2 sections.  They will be labeled P8 and P9. These must be connected properly if you wish to see the motherboard ever work.  THE BLACK WIRES MUST BE PLACED TOGETHER WHEN PLUGGING THEM INTO THE MOTHERBOARD!!!

If you are using an ATX style motherboard

If you are using this type of motherboard, the power connector that goes from the power supply to the motherboard will be a single connector - it is significantly different from an AT style, so you shouldn’t have any difficulty identifying where to plug it in.

Speaking of power, the ATX power supply can be a bit tricky at first. The ATX standard is a 20-pin (2 rows of 10 pins) connector that plugs into the motherboard. These wires are usually rather thick and bundled together, making it easy to figure out what it is. The second is ATX-E, the 24-pin (2 rows of 12 pins) standard, that is generally found in Pentium 4 motherboards and respective power supplies. Most power supplies today will play it safe and give you a 20-pin connector and then also have a separate 4-pin connector that you can plug in adjacent to the 20-pin, if needed. If not, you simply leave it hanging somewhere safe. Worse comes to worse, you can buy a 24-to 20-pin converter and vice versa.

Final Connections Checklist

___ Drives properly connected to power?

___ CPU fan attached to power?

___ Power switch is off?

___ The 110/220 volt switch is configured properly for your area?

___ Ribbon cables attached correctly, red edge on pin 1?

___ Are all connections tight, no connectors off by one set of pins?

___ Cards fully in slots and screwed down?

___ No wires protruding into fans (these should be tied together with plastic ties)?


Build own PC -Installing The CD/DVD Writer Drives

About CD-ROM/DVD Drives


CD-ROM drives are an essential part of any PC.  With almost 100% of software being distributed on CD-ROM, it is almost impossible to get by without one.  However, with the introduction of DVD-ROM drives, users can get all the benefit of a CD-ROM drive and watch DVD movies by upgrading to this new standard. 

In addition, CD and DVD Recorders (CDR/DVDR drives for short) have also become more and more popular among PC users.  With a CD or DVD Recorder, you can create your own custom audio CD’s, make back-ups of your existing CD collection and archive or back-up important data from your hard drive; and just like the DVD-ROM drive, a CD-Recorder will be able to function as a CD-ROM drive as well.  With the advent of DVDR technology, now you can even make backup copies of your favorites movies without losing the original digital quality!

A good strategy here is to install two devices - a high speed (56x) CD-Rom for working with applications that come on CD and a DVD-Rom (combination CD/CDRW/DVD/DVDRW).  This arrangement provides a lot of flexibility - especially when you need to copy data from one CD to another.  High speed CD-ROM’S are very inexpensive today and well worth the extra cost.

Things to Know
When choosing a new CD/DVD-ROM, CD/DVD-R or CD/DVD-RW drive, speed is crucial.  All of these drives are rated using the same standard, a number before an “X”. For example, a fast CD-ROM drive might be labeled as a “56X” which means it is a 56-speed drive.  A DVD-ROM drive is usually slower, but what you lose in some speed you gain in the ability to read DVD-ROM’s and play DVD Movie discs; a typical DVD-ROM drive might be labeled as a 32X. It is highly recommended to get a DVD-ROM drive of some sort because many games come in two versions; a multiple CD set or a single DVD for quick installation.

DVD-R’s, at the time of this writing, have top speeds of around 16X dual-layered and single-layered alike. Dual layer DVD means that the information is written on two layers instead of one. Because of this the DVD can hold 7.95 gigabyte of data instead of 4.37 gigabyte. At the moment the dual layer media is very expensive. Dual layer discs are also called DVD-9.

CD and DVD Recorders are a little trickier. These drives come in two flavors: R and RW.  R refers to the standard Recorder; these drives let you write/record your own CD’s or DVD’s on blank R media.  R media costs about $0.10 per disc and can be written to only once.  The other type of Recorder is called an RW, which stands for ReWritable.  These drives have the ability to write on both R media and special RW media, which as the name implies, can be written to and erased many times.  RW media is fairly expensive, about 15-20 times the cost of regular R media.  Most of the better, brand name models of Recorders are now being offered almost exclusively in RW format; the reason is simple: An RW drive can write on both types of blank media (R and RW) so it makes the drive more flexible. 

Also, because of the similarities between CD and DVD technologies, manufactures are moving to blend these into one device.  Due to this, we recommend that you look for a combination drive that supports all of the different formats.  Although they can be costly, as of this writing the prices were falling rapidly and there are a lot of good deals to be had.

It is also good to know that CD-Recorders can also read CD’s just as any normal CD-ROM can. If you have a CD-Recorder drive and don’t feel like spending extra money, don’t bother with a normal CD-ROM drive. The only real benefit of having multiple CD-R/CD-ROM drives is the ability to copy CD’s on the fly.

Just like CD-R drives can read CDs just as well as any CD-ROM drive, a DVD-R drive can read DVD’s just as well as any DVD-ROM drive. Only get a DVD-R and DVD-ROM drive if you need both, otherwise save the cash. If you do get a DVD-R, you’ll want at least 8X, if not 12X speed.

Good brands include Plextor, Kano, Lite-On, BenQ, TDK and Pacific Digital. You will want most of these features for sure:

·     Disk-at-Once(DAO)
·     Packet Write
·     Session-At-Once (SAO)
·     Track-at-Once (TAO)

And at least ¾ of these formats supported:

·     CD Extra
·     CD ROM Mode-1
·     CD Text
·     CD-DA
·     CD-I Ready
·     CD-ROM XA
·     CD-ROM/XA Mode-2 Form-1
·     Photo-CD
·     UDF
·     Video-CD (MPEG-1)


The final thing to keep in mind when choosing a drive is the drive’s interface.  Most home PC’s are based on the IDE/EIDE interface - this means you want to get an IDE/EIDE drive.  (The alternative to IDE/EIDE is called a SCSI or FireWire interface.  If you decide to purchase a SCSI drive, you will need to make sure you have a SCSI interface card already installed, or buy one with the drive.) 

In the end, the choice really depends on what you want to be able to do with your drive.  We recommend checking reviews in major PC magazines for an idea of what’s available and which drive is right for you.

Setting Jumpers
Correctly setting jumpers is critical for your new drive to function properly.  If you look at the back end of the drive, the jumper positions are usually labeled (if they are not, check your drive’s manual) the three possible jumper positions will be: Master, Slave and Cable Select.  These are sometimes abbreviated as “MS”, “SL”, and “CS” respectively.  Sometimes you will also have a setting called “Single”. 

To determine the correct setting for your new drive, we have to examine how it will be attached.  Each IDE connector on your motherboard represents an IDE “channel” and can be attached to up to two drives via a data cable.  If there is just one drive attached to an IDE channel, that drive should be set to “Master” (Or “Single” if your drive has this option).  If you attach a second drive to the same channel (meaning, it is attached to another connector on the SAME data cable), you would set this drive to “Slave”.

It is perfectly OK to have just one “Master” drive on each IDE channel; it is also fine to have both a “Master” & “Slave” on one channel and nothing on the other.  The important thing to keep in mind is to always maintain the “Master-Slave” relationship.  Another thing to keep in mind is when both a hard drive and a CD/DVD drive are on the same channel, the hard drive should be set to be the Master and the CD/DVD drive the slave.  It is also advisable, but not mandatory, that if you have just one hard drive and just one CD/DVD drive in your system, you put them on separate channels for better performance.  For more information on setting jumpers, check your motherboard manual and your drive’s installation manual.

BIOS Configuration
Configuring the BIOS is usually very simple.  Almost all modern motherboards have BIOS that will auto-detect the drives on your system.  To bring up the BIOS screen, you will need to boot your computer and watch for a message that says something like “hold down DEL to enter setup”.  Hold down the key and the BIOS will come up.  Once you see the screen, select the “auto-detect hard drive” function.  Your BIOS should detect all the drives on your PC; don’t worry if it does not mention the CD-ROM drive, some older BIOS’s don’t.  Once this is done, choose to save new settings and exit.  As always, check your motherboard’s manual as you do this step for more details about your particular PC’s BIOS.  After you reboot your PC, watch the screen.  Most PC’s will display a list of the drives attached to the system before Windows starts; you should see your new drive listed here.

Software Configuration
Windows should find your new drive automatically; after Windows starts, double-click on “My Computer” and you should see your new drive.  Now you can follow the instructions in your drive’s manual for details on installing drivers and any applications software that came with the drive.

Important Tips
The most common problem area of installing a CD/DVD drive is incorrect jumper settings.  Incorrect settings will cause the drive to not be recognized and may even cause some of your other drives to “disappear”.  Always double-check your jumper settings.  Also make sure, if you are you’re using the special UDMA cable (see hard drive chapter) the right connectors are plugged into your motherboard, master drive and slave drive.

Lastly, a word about R and RW media - as with all things, not every type of media is equal in quality.  We recommend purchasing name brand media with a proven track record - although you may pay a bit more, the extra cost is well worth the security of knowing your data is safe!


Build own PC -Installing The Hard Drive & Floppy

About Hard Drives

The technology that determines the amount of data a hard drive can store is growing by leaps and bounds.  Literally every month, each dollar you spend on a drive will get you more and more space and with that space comes a place to store more pictures, video files, documents, games and application software.  But that’s not the only benefit a new hard drive brings to the table.  New drives are faster then ever, and this speed translates into a much more responsive PC and better overall performance

Things to Know
When choosing a new hard drive, there are two main determining factors: size and speed. By size, we mean the amount of data the drive can store.  An acceptable hard drive is 80 Gigabytes (or 80GB), but more is better, so a 120 GB would be an even better purchase.  As mentioned above, the technology is changing extremely fast, so it’s a good idea to get the largest drive you can afford; don’t worry, you can always use the extra space! The next factor in choosing a hard drive is speed.  Speed is determined by transfer rate, a specification noted on the hard drive’s packaging.  One simple way to compare drives is to look at the RPM’s the drive is rated at.  Usually, the higher the RPM’s the faster the hard drive can find and transfer data.  Again, you should get the fastest you can afford but don’t be afraid to compromise a little on speed for more space if the price is right; most drives today are plenty fast as it is for most applications. 7200 RPM is the recommended standard, don’t bother with 5400 RPM.

The next thing to keep in mind when choosing a drive is the drive’s interface.  Most home PC’s, like the one we’re building, are based on the IDE/EIDE interface standard - alternatives to IDE/EIDE includes SCSI or FireWire interfaces.  If you decide to purchase a SCSI drive, you will need to make sure you have a SCSI interface card already installed, or buy one with the drive. 

Armed with this knowledge we suggest an EIDE ATA/100 or ATA/133 hard drive if your motherboard supports ATA/100 or ATA/133.  The “ATA/100” or “ATA/133” is also known as Ultra DMA or UDMA/100/133 respectively - this basically refers to transfer rate.  Older motherboards will probably not support ATA/100 or ATA/133 transfer modes, but that’s OK.  You can still get one of these drives and use it on your system.

We recommend checking reviews in major PC magazines for an idea of what’s available and which drive is right for you.

ATA/100 and ATA/133 Drive Cables
Chances are you have decided to install an ATA/100 or ATA/133 Ultra DMA drive for your hard drive.  If your motherboard supports UDMA drives, you want to make sure to use the special UDMA cable that came with your new drive or with your motherboard.  These cables are 40-pin, 80-conductor cables, as opposed to a standard IDE cable which has 40-pins but only 40-conductors.  This 80-conductor UDMA cable will allow you to take full advantage of your new drive’s speed. 

If your UDMA cable has 3 connectors and they are usually different colors: blue, black, and gray.  The blue connector MUST be plugged into the motherboard’s UDMA IDE port. The black connector will plug into the Master drive and the gray connector will plug into the Slave drive.  If your UDMA cable has only two connectors, the gray connector (or Slave connector) will be missing.  If you need an extra connector for your slave drive, you will need to purchase a 3-connector cable.  In the event that your UDMA cable is not color coded, it will be labeled with stickers that say “System” or “Main Board” and then “Master” and “Slave”.  Keep in mind, this color-coding only makes a difference if your motherboard can handle an UDMA drive, you are using a UDMA drive, and you have this UDMA cable.  If you have installed a UDMA drive onto a motherboard that only supports plain IDE, you can use your regular IDE cable; the drive will be perfectly happy - it just won’t run as fast as it can. 

SATA Drive Cables
Serial ATA (SATA) is another way to go, especially if you want more than your IDE capacity in drives. Maybe you just want room for more CD burners or readers, who knows. Most Serial ATA drives come with the standard 4 pin power port and a SATA cable port. They also have the ATA jumper settings available. SATA is much like ATA, simply with a different cable.

Simply plug in the SATA cable to the back of the drive and into the motherboard slot and all should be well. You might have to set some setting in the BIOS to get the motherboard to recognize it.

Setting Jumpers
Correctly setting jumpers is critical for your new drive to function properly.  Most of the time there will be a label on the top of the drive that has a diagram for jumper settings.  If you look at the back end of the drive, the jumper positions corresponding to the diagram are usually labeled here as well (if they are not, check your drive’s manual).  The three possible jumper positions will be: Master, Slave and Cable Select. These are sometimes abbreviated as “MS”, “SL”, and “CS” respectively.  Sometimes you will also have a setting called “Single”. 

To determine the correct setting for your new drive, we have to examine how it will be attached.  Each IDE connector on your motherboard represents an IDE “channel” and can be attached to up to two drives via a ribbon cable.  If there is just one drive attached to an IDE channel, that drive should be set to “Master” (or “Single” if your drive has this option).  If you attach a second drive to the same channel (meaning, it is attached to another connector on the SAME data cable), you would set this drive to “Slave”.

It is perfectly OK to have just one “Master” drive on each IDE channel; it is also fine to have both a “Master” & “Slave” on one channel and nothing on the other.  The important thing to keep in mind is to always maintain the “Master-Slave” relationship.  Another thing to keep in mind is when both a hard drive and a CD/DVD drive are on the same channel, the hard drive should be set to be the Master and the CD/DVD drive the slave.  It is also advisable, but not mandatory, that if you have just one hard drive and just one CD/DVD drive in your system, you put them on separate channels for better performance.  For more information on setting jumpers, check your motherboard manual and your drive’s installation manual.

BIOS Configuration
Configuring the BIOS is usually very simple.  Almost all modern motherboards have BIOS that will auto-detect the drives on your system.  To bring up the BIOS screen, you will need to boot your computer and watch for a message that says something like “hold down DELETE to enter setup”.  Hold down the key and the BIOS will come up.  Once you see the screen, select the “auto-detect hard drive” function.  Your BIOS should detect all the drives on your PC; don’t worry if it does not mention the CD-ROM drive - some older BIOS’s won’t.  Once this is done, choose to save new settings and exit.  As always, check your motherboard manual as you do this step for more details about your particular PC’s BIOS.  After you reboot your PC, watch the screen.  Most PC’s will display a list of the drives attached to the system before Windows starts; you should see your new drive listed here. 

It is worth noting, that some older BIOS’s are limited to what size hard drive they will be able to handle.  If your BIOS was made prior to August 1994, it might not accept a hard drive larger than 528MB.  Prior to February 1995, it might not accept anything greater than 2.1GB.  Prior to January 1998, it might be limited to drives 8.4GB and smaller.  If this is the case, check the installation disk that came with your hard drive for special software that can overcome this limitation.  Read your motherboard manual and your new drive’s installation manual for more information.

Software Configuration

Windows should find your new drive automatically; after Windows starts, double-click on “My Computer” and you should see your new drive.  If you don’t, shut down your PC, check your jumper settings and run through the BIOS auto-detect process again.

Partitioning & Formatting
Before you can use your new drive to store any data, you will have to partition and format it.  Partitioning and formatting is not for the faint of heart and requires some skill.  A mistake during this process can be disastrous to the data on your other drives.  If you are at all unfamiliar with partitioning and formatting your new drive, we urge you to take advantage of one of the many third-party partitioning utilities on the market.  Two excellent products that are very reasonably priced are Partition Magic and Drive Copy.  Both titles are published by Power Quest and are widely available.  If you want to copy your existing data over to your new drive, use Drive Copy.  If you are adding a second, third or fourth hard drive you can use Partition Magic.  These products are inexpensive (under $30), safe and will save you lots of time.

Windows 95
With the original version of window’s 95 you’re really locked into a FAT16 file system.  This means that your hard drive must by partitioned into partitions no larger than 2 GB each.  For this reason, if you have purchased a large hard drive, now is also a good time to upgrade your Window’s version.

Windows 95SE/98/98SE/ME
All of these versions of Windows use the FAT32 file system.  You can partition your new hard drive into one large drive or multiple drives - whatever schema works best for your particular needs. 

Windows 2000/XP
If you have upgraded to Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you’ll have a choice of using the NTFS (New Technology File System) a superior replacement for the old FAT32 schemas.  NTFS offers far more security and reliability than FAT32, especially if you are networking computers.  If you decide to use FAT32 you can always convert your volumes to NTFS - but be aware that the conversion is a one-way process.

Take a little time to plan your partitions.  Do you want one large partition for the entire drive? Or do you want to separate it into different drive volumes? If you have FAT32, it is very popular to create one partition for the entire drive.  Using NTFS, it’s often better to create multiple drives or volumes, especially if you will be connected to a home or office network.  By creating multiple volumes you can more readily control access to shared files and hardware on your own computer.  In addition, NTFS allows you to selectively compress volumes to gain more storage space.  This allows you to compress a directory of graphics files for example, which you may rarely access.

A good rule of thumb to follow is if your hard drive is smaller than 32 GB, you should only use FAT32.  This is because of the overhead space NTFS needs to work effectively.  On smaller drives, NTFS tends to lose its “robustness” and besides, FAT32 is more than adequate for smaller drives.

As an added note, when you purchase a hard drive in a full retail box, many of the large manufactures include a small installation floppy disk; this disk usually has some sort of partitioning software and instructions on it to help you along.  It is also a good idea to check the manufacturer’s website for online installation and partitioning guides.

Important Tips

The most common problem area of installing a hard drive is incorrect jumper settings.  Incorrect settings will cause the drive to not be recognized and may even cause some of your other drives to “disappear”.  Always double-check your jumper settings.  Also make sure, if you are installing an ATA/100 or ATA/133 drive and you’re using the special UDMA cable, the right connectors are plugged into your motherboard, master drive and slave drive.