It is time for the moment of truth. To see if this thing works!!

Let’s get everything connected and prepared to turn it on:

1. Connect your mouse and keyboard
2. Connect your monitor to the video card and connect the power cord to the monitor.
3. Connect the power cord to your power supply on the PC itself.

Okay, now for boot up time!

1. Stick your system disk into the A: drive. You should have prepared or gotten a system disk in the first step of this tutorial. If you are using a bootable CD-ROM (as is the case with Windows XP) then just stand by on this because the CD drive will not be openable until the power is on.
2. Turn your monitor on and let it heat up a few seconds before proceeding. Heating it up for a few seconds ensures you don’t miss any potential error messages because the CRT tube is not ready to display an image.
3. Before hitting the power switch, take note of what to expect. If you notice something awry right away, you may need to quickly turn the PC back off. Here’s what to look for:

   a. The power LED should turn on

   b. The CPU and PSU fans should start spinning

   c. The hard drive should power up.

   d. You will see the video BIOS screen first, then you will see the BIOS screen and it will proceed to count the memory.

   e. You may hear one beep from the PC speaker. It is possible you will get more than one beep, which indicates an error which we will address.

   f. You may also get a “CMOS checksum error” or another error saying the CMOS or time isn’t set.

   g. Know what key(s) to hit to enter CMOS setup. This will be shown on the bottom of the screen usually during the memory count. You will want to press the stated key combination to enter setup immediately because CMOS setup is the next step.

   h. If you hear any weird sounds such as grinding, scraping, or loud whining, be ready to turn the system off immediately.

   i. Keep in mind that if you miss the stated sequence to enter the CMOS setup before the boot sequence moves on, there is nothing wrong with just hitting the reset button and rebooting until you do catch what it is. It will not hurt your PC to reset it immediately or turn it off quickly if you notice a problem.

4. Press the power switch. If it powers up, observe the system closely. As soon as the BIOS screen appears, press the appropriate key(s) and enter CMOS setup. The correct key combination should be visible at the bottom of the screen. Sometimes it pops by too quickly for you to see which keys to press. No problem. Don’t hesitate to just hit reset and try again, as stated above.
5. If everything started up as expected and you successfully got into the CMOS setup screen, just let it sit there while you take out a flash light and inspect the system as it is running. Make sure all the fans are running. Make sure all the fans are operating smoothly and not generating any strange noises. Make sure the case power LED is on. Make sure the floppy drive light is not stuck on. If it is, the ribbon cable is not properly aligned with Pin 1 and you will need to turn the PC back off and flip it around. If any of the fans are not spinning, turn the PC back off immediately and plug the fan in. You do not want to run the PC for long without fans running, especially the CPU fan.

The PC Mechanic Tech Forums

If, at this point, you are incredibly frustrated because your new computer is not working and you just cannot seem to find the problem. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! We’ve got an extensive forum community at PCMech. In the forums, you can ask questions and get answers from many incredibly knowledgeable people. All you need to do is register. It is absolutely free. The forums are a great asset for PC Mechanic users, allowing everyone to learn from others’ experiences. Go to the forums!