[quarantine]

Hello all, I'm doing my first build and I just finished putting everything together and plugging things in (following the manuals to the best of my comprehension). I am a little scared to turn my computer on as I do not want to fry anything if I have something wired incorrectly.

What are the biggest danger areas that I should use caution with? I am %80 sure I have everything plugged in correctly, but as i am a noob, i'm not %100 sure.

Anything I should double check in particular before turning my computer on?

Just looking for some advice and trying to avoid ruining parts! thanks!

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If it fit, then you probably have it plugged in correctly. Sometimes the power switch, HDD Activity Light, and reset switches are hard, but consulting your motherboard manual will help tremendously there.

There's only one spot for the PSU's 24pin on the motherboard.
One spot for the PSU's 4 or 8pin on the motherboard.
Your hard drives SATA connector can plug into any of the SATA ports on your motherboard.
Your hard drives SATA Power connector will be connected straight from your power supply to the back of the hard drive. (I'm assuming your using a SATA hard drive and not the older IDE)
Consult your motherboard for sound header on your motherboard
Does your video card require a dedicated power plug? Usually 6pin, sometimes 6+2pin.
Your CPU Fan should be plugged into the fan header labeled cpu fan, again, your motherboard manual will help to locate this, or just look on your motherboard. It is usually pretty close to the CPU.
Any other fan can be plugged into the "sys fan" headers on the board.
Your USB headers on the motherboard should match up fairly good with the USB leads from your case, however, consult your motherboard manual to make sure you have the positive wires and negative wires going to the correct pins on the USB header. Positive is usually red, and negative is usually black... I don't pay attention to the other colors.

Also, for reference and some pictures take a look at How to Build Your Own Computer

That covers most of the major and minor connections... In my experience, if you have a USB plugged in wrong or maybe the sound plug, nothing happens but it just won't work. Pressing the power button the first time can be pretty exciting and nerve racking! let me know how it goes.

[Ferrari]

If it fit, then you probably have it plugged in correctly. Sometimes the power switch, HDD Activity Light, and reset switches are hard, but consulting your motherboard manual will help tremendously there.

There's only one spot for the PSU's 24pin on the motherboard.
One spot for the PSU's 4 or 8pin on the motherboard.
Your hard drives SATA connector can plug into any of the SATA ports on your motherboard.
Your hard drives SATA Power connector will be connected straight from your power supply to the back of the hard drive. (I'm assuming your using a SATA hard drive and not the older IDE)
Consult your motherboard for sound header on your motherboard
Does your video card require a dedicated power plug? Usually 6pin, sometimes 6+2pin.
Your CPU Fan should be plugged into the fan header labeled cpu fan, again, your motherboard manual will help to locate this, or just look on your motherboard. It is usually pretty close to the CPU.
Any other fan can be plugged into the "sys fan" headers on the board.
Your USB headers on the motherboard should match up fairly good with the USB leads from your case, however, consult your motherboard manual to make sure you have the positive wires and negative wires going to the correct pins on the USB header. Positive is usually red, and negative is usually black... I don't pay attention to the other colors.

Also, for reference and some pictures take a look at How to Build Your Own Computer

That covers most of the major and minor connections... In my experience, if you have a USB plugged in wrong or maybe the sound plug, nothing happens but it just won't work. Pressing the power button the first time can be pretty exciting and nerve racking! let me know how it goes.

[quarantine]

Well I took the dive and turned it on, and it seems to be working great! The LEDs work, the fans work and the monitor works!

My question is..What is the next step? Do I install the bios, it is asking me for a boot device and it doesn't seem to read the windows 7 disc.

[Ferrari]

You don't install the BIOS... it is already there.

You need to set the boot priority to CD ROM first then Hard Drive second. If your computer is still on, press CTRL ALT DELETE and it will restart your computer. (Or just unplug it and turn it back on).

Consult your motherboard to see what you need press to enter the BIOS. It is usually the Delete key. Whatever key it is, after restarting your computer, keep tapping it repeatedly. Eventually the BIOS will come up... usually blue in color.

Find where to set the Boot Priority... usually under Advanced BIOS Features. Set CD ROM first, Then Hard Drive second.

Open your CD ROM, and insert your Install CD. Exit the BIOS...usually by pressing F10, and save the changes.

Your computer will now boot to the CD ROM, usually by pressing any key when prompted. Sometimes it automatically boots to it... just depends.

Follow the install process. Apparently Microsoft doesn't have a tutorial on how to install Windows 7, so read from this guide... How to Install Windows 7 RC and scroll down to Step 3. The install process should be the same or very similar.

Good Luck, let me know how it goes, ok?

[Ferrari]

I'm going to bed shortly... And, I'm sure you are excited to get everything up and running. So, I'm going to explain what you need to do after the install. (Hopefully everything has gone fine)

After you first see Windows 7 for the first time, there may be missing drivers. To check this, click on the Windows Logo(start button) and Right Click "Computer". Now, select "Properties". A window will open, look up towards the top left of that windows and click "Device Manager". Anything with a Yellow Question mark or any special marking is missing a driver. The most common are, Audio, Video, and Ethernet. These should all come on your motherboard's driver disc... so install them from the disc.

Secondly, don't forget you are very vulnerable to attacks if you go surfing the web because you don't have an Anti-Virus installed yet. So, install your Anti-Virus. If you don't have one, or don't know where to get one, I recommend Avira which can be downloaded from my signature. It is free. Another good one is AVAST! or AVG... all located HERE. It is safest to download the file from another computer, and transfer that file via flash drive, or burned to a cd. Then insert the flash drive or cd into the new computer, and double click the setup file.

Thirdly, it's always best to get your Operating System up-to-date after a fresh install. So click on the Windows Logo button, click "All Programs", and above "accessories" click on "Windows Update". Follow the instructions to update Windows. P.S. You can skip this step, and Windows 7 will notify you that updates are available. I just always think it is best to do it right away and manually.

Once you have all the drivers installed, an Anti-Virus running, and you have updated Windows 7... you can start enjoying your new computer. I'm going to bed, good luck and I'll answer any questions you have tomorrow. Hope all goes well!

Edited by Ferrari, 08 January 2010 - 01:03 AM.

[Lafayette]

yeah......after getting this much help from A to Z...anyone can enjoy..!
By the thanks for the such a post...this really been cool and apart from this one thing i have to notified here is don't go for the Avast anti virus...as per the my personal experiences it doesn't good at all for all online new virus databases....!

[rshaffer61]

don't go for the Avast anti virus...as per the my personal experiences it doesn't good at all for all online new virus databases....!

Sorry for chiming in here but i have to disagree with this statement.
Avast updates usually twice a day in the morning and in the evening. I have been using it for a year now and have not had any issues at all with it.
If yours is not updating at least once a day did you register it?
It is free to Home users and registration is good for a year. After that year just register again for another free year.
I'm not sure of the circumstances for yours not updating but other then one incident which was quickly taken care of by the developers, Avast has been a very stable and trusted AV here on GTG.

Edited by rshaffer61, 08 January 2010 - 10:08 AM.

[Lafayette]

ok....i had gone the AVAST in the past but in someway it's too loaded...also...
and k now as per your preference let's think about it...see how much now it support efficiently than the other...one..!

[quarantine]

I'm going to bed shortly... And, I'm sure you are excited to get everything up and running. So, I'm going to explain what you need to do after the install. (Hopefully everything has gone fine)

After you first see Windows 7 for the first time, there may be missing drivers. To check this, click on the Windows Logo(start button) and Right Click "Computer". Now, select "Properties". A window will open, look up towards the top left of that windows and click "Device Manager". Anything with a Yellow Question mark or any special marking is missing a driver. The most common are, Audio, Video, and Ethernet. These should all come on your motherboard's driver disc... so install them from the disc.

Secondly, don't forget you are very vulnerable to attacks if you go surfing the web because you don't have an Anti-Virus installed yet. So, install your Anti-Virus. If you don't have one, or don't know where to get one, I recommend Avira which can be downloaded from my signature. It is free. Another good one is AVAST! or AVG... all located HERE. It is safest to download the file from another computer, and transfer that file via flash drive, or burned to a cd. Then insert the flash drive or cd into the new computer, and double click the setup file.

Thirdly, it's always best to get your Operating System up-to-date after a fresh install. So click on the Windows Logo button, click "All Programs", and above "accessories" click on "Windows Update". Follow the instructions to update Windows. P.S. You can skip this step, and Windows 7 will notify you that updates are available. I just always think it is best to do it right away and manually.

Once you have all the drivers installed, an Anti-Virus running, and you have updated Windows 7... you can start enjoying your new computer. I'm going to bed, good luck and I'll answer any questions you have tomorrow. Hope all goes well!

Thanks so much sorry I took awhile to reply, everything went very smoothly, your help is much appreciated my friend!

[Ferrari]

Good to hear! Congrats on the build.