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Computer Assembly
12. Close the case and turn it on
Here comes the home stretch!
You're going to begin seeing your creation come alive now that all the physical parts are put together.
Start by closing up the case and putting the screws in the back. Don't tighten them all the way because there is a good chance you may have to open up the case soon to make some unforeseen adjustments.
Once the case is closed, connect the power cord to the power supply, the keyboard and mouse, monitor, and finally the speakers. Everything these days is color coded so this part should be easier than it was in the past. Still, if there's any confusion, make sure you consult your manuals.
While you're at the back of the computer, make sure the switch on the power supply (if there is one) is in the on position. The on position would be towards the side with a line rather than a circle. See the picture on the right.
Turn it ON!
Once everything is set up and you're at the monitor and keyboard, go ahead and push the power button making sure to listen to the beeps coming up. If the computer beeps once then everything is working well. If there are a series of beeps, then that means something is wrong. Consult the interpreting BIOS beeps post on the Message Boards to find out what the beeps mean. If you can't locate the problem there, check the motherboard website and see if they explain it, otherwise go through the troubleshooting guide that comes with the manual.
When the computer first starts up there won't be any information on the hard drive so nothing is really going to happen, you'll probably just see a screen similar to the one below.
Once the computer is done going through the startup process and you see the screen mentioned above, you're almost ready to turn off the computer. We did this initial startup just to make sure everything is working together. Before you turn off the computer, make sure you insert the Windows XP installation CD. Once the CD is in the drive, you can restart the computer by pushing the restart button. This gives you a chance to make sure the reset button is hooked up correctly and works.
When the computer restarts the Windows CD should load automatically and take you through the installation process. If this happens then you can move on to the next step.
Software Installation (Step 13)