When building a PC, it is a good idea to make sure your core components are working before putting everything in the case. The Power On Self Test (POST) feature on your motherboard will come in handy for this!

Before you put your computer together, it is recommended that you follow these steps:

1) Take your Motherboard, CPU, RAM, video card (if the motherboard does not have onboard video), and Power Supply, and hook them up, setting the motherboard on a non-conductive surface (the motherboard box comes in handy for this!).

2) Plug in the monitor, keyboard, and mouse to your motherboard

3) Use a screwdriver or knife to bridge the power headers on your motherboard. Identify the power header on your motherboard by looking it up in the manual. It will be two posts sticking up in the front panel connections, with the Power LED, HDD LED, and reset posts. You will gently put your screwdriver in between the posts, and touching it to both simultaneously. This will power on your system.

4) Check to make sure the system gets through the BIOS screen properly, and should give you the standard “OK” beep. More than one beep indicates a problem.

5) If you get the “OK” from the system POST, shut the computer off by holding the screwdriver to the power posts on your motherboard, typically for 5 seconds or so.

This process can save you valuable time when building PCs.

*Please note, during the out-of-case POST, you MUST have the heatsink installed on the processor before turning it on!