PC Assembling

The assembling of a PC and installation of the major components has been provided step by
step in this chapter. The steps are elaborative in nature and have been designed so as to
provide a simple and lucid understanding of PC assembling components.
The Standard Components of a PC are as follows:1. ATX Cabinet in packaging
2. Intel motherboard in packaging
3. Intel CPU in packaging
4. Samsung DVD Drive
5. Transcend RAM module in packaging
6. SMPS(Switch Mode Power Supply) in packaging
7. Microsoft Windows & OS Installation CD
8. LAN cable in packaging
9. Seagate Hard Disk Drive in packaging
10. SATA cable in packaging
11. SLI cable in packaging
12. VGA Cable
13. Power cable

Introduction to ATX Cabinet and SMPS Installation procedure

1. Pen knife is used to open the packaging. We should be careful when using knives and
other sharp tools since it can lead to serious injuries.
2. A basic tool kit containing different sizes of screw drivers is needed to assemble the
PC. Since the screws used in the cabinet are of different sizes.
3. After removing the packaging of the cabinet the side panels are carefully unscrewed.
4. The interior of the back panel of the main component assembly area can be viewed
after the screws have been removed.
5. The front panel wire bundle can also be viewed which is available in the interior part
of the cabinet.
6. The front panel cover is then unscrewed carefully and the front panel is separated
from the chassis.
7. The back panel contains a protection plate which is to be removed carefully since it
contains sharp edges and might cause injuries.
Unboxing of SMPS unit
1. The SMPS unit is the source of power in a PC. An SMPS unit comes with the power
supply unit along with an assortment of cables for connection.

2. The cables are carefully separated from the power supply unit with the help of a pen
knife so as not to cause any injury.
3. The cable bundle consists of a 4 pin motherboard power supply cable and a
connector which is used for providing power to the motherboard along with another
20 pin motherboard power supply cable and connector.
4. The cable bundle also has a set of SATA power cables which is used for Hard Disk
Drive and DVD-ROM Drive. It has a unique one sided shape
5. The SATA power cable includes a 4 pin IDE HDD and CD Drive power connector.
6. The front panel of the PC cabinet has optical media drive slots where the first slot is
occupied by the CD/DVD tray.
7. The front panel also has provisions for USB port, audio port and reset switch cables
connected to the USB, Audio and reset switch respectively.
8. The power switch and HDD LED cables are also available in the front panel which are
connected to the power switch and HDD LED respectively.
9. The SMPS mounting point is rectangular opening on the back panel of the pc cabinet
which is used to mount the SMPS unit of a PC.
10. Mounting points are provided on the SMPS which makes it easier to mount it on the
Cabinet.
11. The SMPS should be placed carefully but firmly in the space provided in the cabinet.
12. It is also to be ensured that the screw points are aligned correctly so as to avoid any
loose fitting of the SMPS.
13. Along with the alignment of the screws, it should also be ensured that all screws are
properly tightened while fitting the SMPS into the mounting point.

Installation of the Optical Drive

1. The slots for optical drive are provided on the front panel of the CPU cabinet.
2. There is also an opening for a 3.5 inch floppy drive slot on the front panel of the
cabinet.
3. The front panel also has openings for USB ports, audio ports and a reset switch.
4. The top flap of the front panel should be carefully removed for inserting the optical
drive into the specified area.
5. It should be noted that the eject button of the optical drive has to align with the
eject button on the front panel for proper placement.
6. There are tabs on the flap for proper alignment of the optical drive. Moreover a
placement point of the flap tab is also provided for smooth placement of the optical
drive.
7. The optical drive has 4 mounting screws on each side for mounting the drive with
respect to the front panel.
8. The mounting screws are further tightened for the optical drive to be mounted
properly in the slot.

Installation of the Hard Disk Drive

1. The hard disk drive acts as the physical storage for the PC.
2. The hard disk drive connectors are of the SATA type and are further connected to
SATA cables.
3. There are up to 5 slots available for a 3.5 inch drive in the PC cabinet.
4. A particular slot is selected for the insertion of the hard disk drive.
5. The hard disk drive is then aligned appropriately with the connector side facing
down. Moreover it is to be made sure that the connectors face the right direction of
insertion.
6. The screw holes are then carefully aligned to the available slots while inserting the
hard disk drive.
7. The screws are then inserted accordingly and fastened so as not to leave any loose
ends.
8. The front panel is further re-fastened to complete the mounting of the hard disk
drive.

Unboxing and Installation of the Motherboard

1. The motherboard is carefully unpacked from the packaging using a pen knife. The
motherboard packaging label contains safety information which has to be slit open
after reading to unpack the motherboard.
2. The electronic components should be carefully handled since if any part of the
motherboard is pressed too hard, then it might result in disabling a chip of the
motherboard.
3. The motherboard has slots for the RAM module, the processor and every other
major component of the PC.
4. The motherboard also contains slots for USB, Ethernet, VGA and all other audio as
well as video ports
5. It also has provision for graphic card and SATA ports for the SATA cables which are
connected to the hard disk drive.
6. The motherboard contains the CPU socket of the motherboard is well protected by a
protection cover and the CPU socket lock.
Unboxing and Installation of CPU
1. The CPU package box comes along with the CPU model name and number which
determines the maximum efficiency of the CPU.
2. The seal of the packaging box is carefully slit and the CPU is unpacked from the box
with the help of the slot provided in the box.

3. A user manual along with a sticker is available in the CPU box which can be used at
the front panel of the CPU cabinet.
4. A heat sink is also provided along with a CPU fan which is a component used to
absorb heat from the CPU and keep it to an optimal temperature.
5. The CPU is further carefully removed from the inner plastic covering and is placed
with its contact points down on the CPU socket provided in the motherboard.
6. It should be made sure that the chipset should not be handled by the middle and
instead should be handled along the edges of the chipset.
7. The notches should be noted which are placed on the upper left and the upper right
of the chipset.
8. The notches are carefully aligned along with the tab at the correct angle while
placing it on the socket.
9. A well placed CPU will slot smoothly into place without any effort in the CPU socket.
10. It is to be made sure that the handle locks securely to keep the CPU firm in the
socket.
11. The motherboard contains heat sink installation locations which are placed along the
four corners of the CPU socket.
12. The heat sink fan contains conducting paste which should not be touched. The heat
sink should be held along its edges.
13. The heat sink contains a copper core at the centre and aluminium fins spread across
its radius.
14. It also has CPU fan cables which can be slotted in the motherboard.
15. The heat sink mounting points are placed accordingly in the motherboard while
mounting the heat sink.
16. The points can be pressed to lock and can be further turned to release from the
mounting slots.
17. The power cables are carefully placed in the slots provided in the motherboard
according to the cable orientation.
18. The locking pins are pushed carefully in to the slots provided in the motherboard
without using too much force.
19. It should be made sure that the CPU fan should be kept away from the cables to
avoid any form of damage.
Installation of the RAM module
1. The RAM (Random Access Memory) is considered to be the main memory of the
PC.
2. The RAM is unpacked from the plastic packaging and the locking tabs of the
DIMM module are moved to an open position so as to insert the RAM module.
3. The slot on the RAM module is to be matched accordingly to the slot on the
motherboard for the proper placement of the RAM module.

4. The RAM module is then smoothly slided in to the DIMM module so that it fits
perfectly without any loose ends.
5. The RAM should be pushed with progressive effort till the module clicks in
smoothly in to the DIMM module.

Installation of the Motherboard

1. The back panel protection plate is placed behind the PC cabinet which serves as a
protective cover and outlet for all the ports provided behind the cabinet such as USB
ports, Ethernet, audio ports etc.
2. The power connectors used for supplying power to the motherboard have a 20 pin
configuration. Moreover there is also provision for front audio port connectors,
serial port connectors, connectors for the front USB ports as well as SATA cable
connectors for Hard Disk Drive. Other connectors include LED connectors for power,
hard disk and reset switch, slots for PCI express and front panel USB 3.0 port.
3. A 4 pin power connector and a 20 pin motherboard power supply are connected
firmly to the socket provided in the motherboard.
4. The front panel USB and audio port connectors are inserted accordingly to the label
marked in the motherboard.
5. A blanked out pin point for proper alignment is provided with audio and USB
connectors.
6. A cable and colour code chart is included in the motherboard box which depicts the
entire schema of the connectors according to the type of cables and the colour code
associated with them.
7. The location of the cables and colour code can thus be looked up very easily in the
chart
8. Thus the motherboard is connected to the cabinet, RAM and CPU using the cable
and colour code chart.
9. It is to be made sure that the back panel jacks and the sockets are properly aligned.
10. The motherboard is positioned carefully on the motherboard mounting points.
Screw slots are also provided in the motherboard for keeping the motherboard in
position and to avoid any loose ends.
11. The screw slots are further tightened firmly so as the motherboard fits properly in
place.
Installation of the Optical Disk Drive & Hard Drive
1. The first step involves the connection of SATA cable into Disc Drive.
2. The SATA cable connector is fixed firmly in to the SATA port of the disk drive along
with the power cable for the disk drive

3. The SATA cable is further connected from the hard drive to the motherboard of the
PC in the slot provided in the motherboard
4. Hard drives are generally categorized in to two types
(a)Internal Hard Drive: It is the hard drive which is connected internally to the
motherboard of the PC using SATA cable and acts as a physical storage medium for the
PC.
(b)External portable Hard Drive: It is another type of hard drive which can be connected
externally to the USB ort of the PC using USB cable and a mini USB connector provided in
the external hard drive. It acts as a temporary storage medium for the PC and is portable
in nature.
5. The internal hard drive consists of a back panel PCB which can be unscrewed and
separated for installation.
6. The PCB contains a power connector, SATA connector, master/slave chipset for Hard
Drive.
7. The hard drive can be opened by unscrewing the screws present at the edges of the
hard drive along with a hidden screw which is present at the centre of the hard drive.
8. The internal components of a hard drive consist of an acutor or a reading arm which
is used for reading data, a Reader IC, a spindle and a platter for reading or writing
data on to the hard disk.
9. Moisture absorbent is also present to absorb any form of moisture which might
appear on the hard drive.
10. A platter separator separates the platters from each other to avoid any form of
abrasion.
11. The spindle is supported by spindle rings which position the spindle firmly on to the
hard disk.
Introduction to Graphic Card, Wi-Fi card & Sound Card
1. The graphic card consists of video port such as DVI, HDMI, and grooves which is used
to place the card firmly on to the motherboard.
2. The Wi-Fi card contains PCI grooves and antenna for signal detection. It also contains
an LED indicator to indicate any form of signal activity on the card.
3. The sound card consists of port for external connectors such as a video port signified
by a yellow port and a metal ring port which is used in case of co-axial cables.
4. The S-video port is signified by a black port present in the sound card.
Installation of Windows 7 Operating System
1. The operating system acts as the interface between the PC and the user.
2. The genuine Windows 7 CD is carefully unpacked and removed from the cover.

3. The Windows 7 starter pack comes along with a user manual and an installation key
which is required while installing the operating system.
4. When the system is started for the first time, the initial booting process checks for
the operating system and loads the pre-requisites.
5. Options such as language, time and input preferences can be set accordingly during
the initial start up of the system
6. The installation of the operating system begins by clicking on the install now button
during the initial start-up.
7. The end user license agreement (EULA) of installation is displayed and the user has
to accept the terms and conditions by clicking on the check box provided to continue
with the installation.
8. The type of installation such as upgrade or advanced installation can be chosen by
the user when prompted.
9. The option to allocate necessary disk space to the system is displayed where the user
can provide the allocation disk space as per requirements.
10. Options such as delete, format or allocation of new disk space is provided in the
display.
11. The disk space is further partitioned accordingly and the system is restarted to
validate the changes.
12. The set up starts up the Windows OS and prepares the computer for first time use.
13. The user is then prompted to provide with a username which is used to identify the
user and distinguish him/her on a network.
14. A password is used to set up for an account which is used to provide security and
authentication to the system.
15. The user is then prompted to type the windows product key which is available along
with the operating system CD.
16. The windows update parameters can be set up by the user when the update settings
are displayed on the system.
17. The time and date settings are then displayed on the screen where the user can
provide the details of the present time, time zone and date as required.
18. The window finalizes the settings and displays the desktop for the user.
Connection of Peripherals to the PC
1. The power cable is connected to the power outlet present at the back panel of the
PC cabinet.
2. The peripherals such as mouse and keyboard are connected via the USB ports
present in the back panel of the cabinet.
3. The LAN cable is connected to the Ethernet port adjacent to the USB ports in the
cabinet.
4. The monitor can be connected with the help of the VGA cable to the VGA port
provided in the back panel of the cabinet.