Xxera Technologies and Systems, Inc.

Q. What need to know to build a computer system?

Answer: A knowledge to tell different components is a must, otherwise a physical damage might avoid warranty. Generally, it's not that tough to assembly or upgrade a personal computer. It will help a lot if you follow the following rules:

• Basic parts - motherboard (Intel Celeron, Pentium III & Pentium III "Xeon"; AMD Slot-A or Socket-A), CPU ("voltage" match with motherboard jumper setting), RAM (168-pin "PC-100/PC-133" SDRAM, Registered ECC SDRAM, or 800MHz ECC Rambus DRAM for supported motherboard), case & power supply (ATX, Micro-ATX or WTX), F/HDD & I/O controller (on board Ultra DMA-33/66/100 or U2W/Ultra160 SCSI), a floppy drive (3.5" 1.44 MB or LS-120/ZIP), a hard drive (15GB - 60 GB Ultra DMA-66/100 or SCSI U2W/Ultra160/SCA HDs), video (PCI, AGP 2X/4X, AGP Pro), keyboard (PS/2 or USB), mouse (Serial, PS/2, or USB), monitor (CRT or LCD), printer (stationary store maybe cheaper).

• Right tools - Philip #1 & #2 screw drivers, small pliers, clipper, cable tight, and your confident two hands (don't try if not sure - bring to local PC store).

• Right screws - normally smaller one for Floppy & CD-ROM, bigger one for hard drive and back panel plates. Make sure use short one for motherboard mounting & F/HDD so that won't cause physical damage to them. Tool box comes with your case & power supply should have all you need.

• Simple test before assembly - make sure power is off (unplug power cord for "ATX" power supply if no On/Off switch attached). Install CPU & RAM into motherboard, plug in 12-pin P8 & P9 power cables (20-pin power cable "AND" S/W power switch for ATX), plug in video card and monitor connector, also attach PC speaker to motherboard (a bootable disk in Floppy & a keyboard to run CMOS also help). This is the basic parts to test components outside before assembly. Refer to hardware FAQs if you could not get a display on your monitor.

• Setup IRQ & I/O Address - Skip this part if you're installing Microsoft Windows 95/Win98 OS (so-called "Plug & Play") and make sure your motherboard is "tested" and recommended by CPU makers (Intel, AMD, Cyrix). PnP software (such as Win95 OSR2, Win98. IBM OS/2 Wrap) is hardware related and will detect all PnP components and do the configuration automatically (you may need to download latest version of bios & drivers from manufacturer's website. Check Microsoft Web site or contact where you purchase hardware/software to get tech sopport if needed).

  A default for PC (with or without PnP BIOS) is IRQ4 for COM1:, IRQ3 for COM2: (disable this if you use same COM2: for internal modem), IRQ7 for LPT1:, IRQ5 for LPT 2: (normally is empty and used for other devices), IRQ14 for IDE hard drive primary port, IRQ15 for SCSI or 2nd IDE port. PCI IRQs are re-routed through ISA (if use separate PCI HDD controller, old 486/586 motherboards) or is automatically re-routed by moterboard BIOS (if built-in on board, all new P5/P6 based motherboards). Normally, a higher priority is given to networking card if exists, then sound card and others.

• Setup CMOS - just check to see if hard drive is good and can be auto detected by motherboard BIOS. also select the floppy drive (default is 3.5" 1,44M FD), adjust time, and disable COM2 if you want to use internal modem. Memory size should match (otherwise you might have unreliable memory chips). Enable/disable "PnP" BIOS (disable PnP if install WinNT - you can enable it "after" NT installation is done, it's easier to trace your hardware setup). If everything works okay then we're ready to assemble the whole thing into chassis.

• Assembly & Burn-in - Assemly PC components (the tested basic parts first, make sure it's work, then install FD, HD, CD-Rom, other interface cards), tight up data cables (red-colored wire is pin-1 position) for FDD, HDD, and CD-Rom, audio cable for sound card, make sure no screws above or under motherboard since it will cause circuit shortage and damage the motherboard.

  Turn on power switch (ATX power supply is tricky - plug/unplug power cord if no On/Off switch on power supply, S/W power switch on front panel won't shut the power down - it just set your system as "idle/sleep" mode), insert a bootable diskette ("format a:/s" or "sys a:" under DOS) into floppy drive, if you can see the DOS prompt then "hardware" installation (not involve hard drive software installation) is done. Run testing utility or any program (boot from floppy, not C: drive) at least 48 hours and make sure put case cover back so that any heat/thermal test can be fully tested (very important for high-speed CPUs today - check Intel/AMD/Cyrix Web site for thermal requirements, 2nd ball-bearing intake or 3rd exhaust cooling fan is highly recommended to improve better airflow). Go to software installation to finish the whole system setup.

• Remarks - Always get help from "experienced" people who really "know" something about PC hardware (not guess job). Or, bring to local computer store and let "professional" technician guarantee your job. There may have $45 - $75 per hours service charge (we charge $55/hr "hardware" service charge to install/trouble shooting hardware. "System" software, not "Applications", installation such as Win95, Win98, WinNT, ... with extra "software" service charge.) but it's worthy if you can not figure out what's going wrong (DIY is not that easy for "hadware" trouble shooting).

  Hardware selection & installation is the hardest part for most customers. We use only "tested" components from authorized distributors in US (not gray market). Therefore no software/hardware compatibility issues for most projects (check manufacuturer's website for product specifications). We've designed several very basic "starter" units and update those on "Current Price List" accordign to market prices (and our cost from vendors). You'll find that the "hardware" installation/testing service charge only $30 for bareborne/starter unit; $60 for "whole system" configuration ("server" is higher - accoring to your hardware configuration ). A small parts or even an audio cable may delay your complete project. We suggest user install "software" (such as Win98 or LINUX) but leave the "hardware" job to professional if possible. Good luck!