Now you have a PC which you built and it is now running with a newly installed operating system. Great job!
You are now ready to get the PC set up as you want it. With Windows set up as a virgin installation, there are a few things you need to do right at the start. Windows XP will seek to get you to activate your copy of Windows, but it is recommended you hold off on this until you get your drivers finalized.
- Enable Windows XP’s built-in firewall (if you are using XP). The firewall is not perfect and you can easily replace it later with a better option. However, you need to connect to the internet now to download the latest drivers for your PC. The Windows firewall will suffice for now. To enable the firewall, go to the Control Panel and click Network and Internet Connections, then click Network connections. Right-click on your network connection and choose Properties. Go to the Advanced tab and check “Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to the computer from the internet”.
- Next, connect to Windows Update by visiting www.windowsupdate.com using Internet Explorer. Scan for Updates and then go directly to the critical updates and service packs section. If there are any major service packs listed, install them now and reboot.
- Install your motherboard’s chipset drivers. Most likely, your motherboard came with a CD which contained drivers for the chipset as well as any integrated hardware. You can install this software and drivers now from the CD. You should also check the motherboard manufacturer’s website and see if there is any updated driver software since the CD was created. After installing these drivers, reboot again.
- Re-visit Windows Update and install any other key updates, including DirectX.
- Now, visit the website of your video card manufacturer and download the latest drivers for your video card. Install them. You will likely need to reboot again.
- Lastly, you should install any remaining hardware and drivers for your new computer. Install the sound card drivers as well as the drivers for any remaining hardware. Visit the manufacturer’s website to see if there are more recent versions of each. You may need to reboot after each installation. Simply go through each until each component in your PC has the required drivers installed.
- Now, active Windows. If you installed Windows XP, there is an activation process which you must go through. This is Microsoft’s way of curbing pirated copies of Windows. Windows will give you a grace period of 30 days after installation to activate it. If you do not activate it within this timeframe, Windows will stop operating. Windows will remind you when you log in as well as at a regular internal until you do activate. To activate, you simply follow the wizard. It is easiest to activate via the internet. Doing it this way is very automatic and is done using a secure server. If your PC is not internet connected, you can activate it via telephone. Call the toll-free number on the screen, read off to the operator the number displayed on the screen and type in the confirmation number they give you.
For future reference, if you make a major hardware change to your new computer at a later date, Windows may require you to re-activate. Simply follow the same procedure.
Windows will also ask you to register your copy. This is totally optional. If you skip it, it will not ask you again.
At this point, your new PC is now ready to go! Next, you can begin installing your software and customizing your new computer to suit your needs.
Congratulations. Enjoy your new PC!
Thank you so much for this incredible guide! I just built my first PC, and it booted up perfectly the first time! This article definitely made the process much easier, so once again, thank you!
nice guide. It’s real good but i’m having problems which
parts to find. But anyway it’s a guide not a parts list. Very good. Now about the parts.
Dude if you want best of the best stuff look at tigerdirect.com. Has latest tech! A little spendy but worth it and theres is also tons of affordable items
Great guide nice a real lifesaver for first time builders like myself. Nice and organized too so you don’t have to read a bunch of stuff if you just have an issue with a specific thing. NICE!
Thanks a bunch for the excellent guide. I’m expecting all of my parts for my first build to arrive later this week, and this guide will definitely be of major help to me.
Big Thanks
Just like to say a big thank you for this terrific site and the immense help it has been, and for all the straight forward, easy to understand steps to building my own pc. This is my first complete home pc build, but i know that thanks to people like you, it will not be my last. Many thanks to everybody involved. Keep up the good work.
Excellent guide! My only final suggestion is that you add a warning about the danger of ESD at the beginning of the guide. Something along the lines of “don’t attempt to handle PC components while shuffling on shag carpets while rubbing ballons on your head.”
As long as you keep yourself grounded with the case chassis, ESD is not a problem, though most don’t know that a static discharge slight enough to go unnoticed is enough to fry some components.
I’d just like to add my thanks for your excellent guide. Covers all the fundamentals, logical and easy to follow. Although I referred to a number of manuals and how-tos and emergency googles, your guide was my touchstone througout. Great job!
Chris
I would like to thank you very much for this guide, i was about to purchase a brand new alienware area 51 desktop for $2500 plus all the extras like recovery disk ($49),cooling devices ($180) etc. i was about to pay aroud $2800. Alienware was charging me $500 more just for upgrading from a 2.0 core 2 duo processor to a 2.5 core 2 duo, and i just checked on some websites (tigerdirect, frys) and they have the same part for $249, i did the math and i can get the exact same specifications for $1500. Now you have an idea how helpful this guide is for me. Thank you once again!
Wow, great guide. The explanations and the layout are excellent. I’ve read through every PC build guide I could find via Google and this one is hands down the best. Thank you for this superb content.
Tis is an awsome site and thanks for it but i do not know where to plug in the head phone connection to my motherboard? Can anyone help id appreciate it
i have a problem with my PC.When I turn on the PC I didn’t hear a beep,no display but the fun of CPU is turning on.what’s wrong with my PC?Pls…..Help me.tnx
hey great peice my one question is does alot of the parts for computers are they adaptable,bacically for example can a nividea graphics card go with a intel mother board,same with the rest of the parts,do certain name brands only go with each other or can they be configured to gether
no jon, you can mix and match name brands. You can use an intel CPU with an EVGA MOBO and a XFX GPU and so on. Just need to make sure the actual hardware is compatible IE: the MOBO you get has the right socket for the CPU you’re getting, you have the right RAM for the MOBO.
Thank you! built my first PC this guide is great. But whats wrong with activating windows first?
Hi, I will like to receive the free book 20 TIPS TO BECOME a TECHNOLOGY POWER USER,
I saw the guide add but can dowload it.
Thanks
Pete Perdomo
Miam FL.
wpt19@webtv.net
I LOVE THIS SITE…IT’S COOL, INFORMATIVE AND EDUCATIVE…KEEP IT UP
this will be very helpfull to me as a beginner in building a new pc thank a lots pc mech.
Lot of thanks to u.It’s a great job.This guide is very useful for all beginners.They will keep a full confidence themselves on assembling of a new PC.Once again i thank to u.
how much does it costs (more or less) to buy all those things to buy a pc?
loads of thanx to u.. it realy helped me..
i hate this website its very crappy
it cost more to buy it in youre own but is betther that way
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ILY ANTHONYY <3 <3 <3 <3 !!
11.04.10
I recently built my first computer following most of this guide. Thanks a lot, it really helped.