Started building, have a few questions.

[EvolutionarySleeper]

Hey again guys, you all were so helpful with picking out my parts, figured you'd be able to answer a few questions I have.

So I'm just about finished (woohoo) except I have two red cables connected to my case. They're labeled "Serial ATA" and look like SATA cables but I'm not sure what to do with them. I figure they're for the slot on top of the case that allows for an external drive, but I'm not sure. Do I just plug them into the SATA ports on my mobo? If not, can I just leave them unplugged?

Also, while I was putting the motherboard into my case, the standoffs scratched a couple small soldered (I think) spots ( silver looking spots dotted around the screw holes) off of the motherboard... How bad is this? The damn I/O panel has padding that made it really difficult to get the mobo to fit right with my case.

Sorry if that sounds confusing, I guess I'll just see when I fire it up.

Edit: One more more thing, the front case USB cable, does it matter which port on the motherboard I connect it to? As in 1314, 1112, 78, or 910?

Those are all the questions I can think of for now.

Thanks

[EvolutionarySleeper]

Alright, well I found out it doesn't really matter which USB port I use. Decided to just leave those red Serial ATA cables unplugged and try to fire her up.

I'm getting a "reboot and select proper boot device" message. Is this something to do with the HDD? I'm pretty much clueless right now :\

Edit: I do this too much, haha. Start asking questions before I've tried looking for all the answers myself first. I was expecting to be able to go into BIOS and make some changes right off the bat, but apparently I had to install the OS first. /shrug

So for now, my only remaining question, is what do I do with those damn red Serial ATA cables?

And I guess those MOBO scratches were nothing because I'm having no issues with that.

[birddog_61]

Serial ATA cable's are are SATA cables, if you have any SATA ports on your board left then plug them in and you should be good to go. Also you can get into bios before windows is installed, during the boot up you should see a screen with your board manufactures logo, usually on the bottom right it will tell you which F button you need to press to enter bios. It is recommended to enter bios before windows installs and change the HDD settings to AHCI instead of IDE, this change can be made after the fact but it requires editing the registry.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Those silver "bumps" around the screw holes are designed to prevent the screw from making contact with the mobo. Long time ago, cases came with washers designed for the same purpose. These are they. Use them if you have them or can get them.

[David M]

Don't worry about getting the washers. All you need to do is get the machine screw into the standoff and screw down moderately. There is enough space built in there to keep the screw or the standoff from grounding a live circuit.

As far as the IO shield goes, you need to make sure it is popped in all the way into its mount. They can be a little stubborn sometimes. Sometimes you just have to push the motherboard against it gently in order to line up the motherboards holes with the standoffs.

Normally the default boot order is good enough to load your OS. If not, then go into the BIOS and change the boot order so the BIOS attempts to boot from the hard drive first. You can change your BIOS settings at any time, before or after the OS installation.

You only need to run your case SATA connectors to your motherboard if you have an external drive requiring an eSATA connection.

[glc]

Normally the default boot order is good enough to load your OS. If not, then go into the BIOS and change the boot order so the BIOS attempts to boot from the hard drive first.

Nope - CD/DVD drive first.

Exact motherboard model, please. The case eSATA cables should be connected to eSATA connectors if you have them. If you don't plan to use eSATA drives, you don't need to connect them.

[EvolutionarySleeper]

@ Birddog: Ahhh, okay, thanks for explainin that. I just left them unplugged but I still have quite a few free SATA ports left. I'll go ahead and plug em in next time I open up the case. And about the BIOS; Yeah, for some reason I was havin trouble getting into it at first, maybe pressing the wrong key or wasn't quick enough, but after installing the OS all was well, and I accessed it without a problem.

@ Nuclear and David: So it should be fine with those scraped bumps? Everything is working great so I imagine so. As for the I/O pate, yeah, it was pretty stubborn, but I did get it in all the way. I still had to push the motherboard into the plate pretty hard to get the holes over the standoffs though, was actually the hardest part of the whole build for me. Was about to just rip the damn padding off the shield.

@ glc. Alright, cool, I might just leave em unplugged then, reduce wire clutter.

Anyway, thanks for the help guys.

[Nuclear Krusader]

It should be fine. Mobo designers are smart enough not to place circuitry too close to the screw area. Some mobos even have a white circle that shews you the maximum diameter the screw's head should not exceed. I'd put the washers for peace of mind, but you don't really need them.

[EvolutionarySleeper]

Ahh, yeah, none of the scrapes were outside the circles. And I'd love to put the washers on, but the board was so hard to get over the standoffs the first time I'm too scared to risk scratching it even more.

[Nuclear Krusader]

You don't have to take it out again. Just unscrew each screw, one at a time, put the washer and screw it again. Then move on to the next.

[EvolutionarySleeper]

Oh, yeah, duh. Sorry, was thinking about it the wrong way, haha.

[birddog_61]

What case are you using?

[EvolutionarySleeper]

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

I read that it was pretty good. Aside from the issues with installing the mobo (if that's even the case's fault) I've had no problems.