DIY PC - Testing

Testing

Does it work, or have you blown it?

  Switching the power on.

  Any damage done due to faulty construction, is going to happen faster than you can turn off the machine, so do not fear start up too much. That said, should the processor fan not be turning around, or there is some other obvious fault then don't just hang around looking at it!

  If all your parts are of a reasonable quality, and you are not already aware that you may have broken something, you should have no problem at this point. Once power is on, the motherboard should beep, and the normal boot sequence should begin.

Initial problems.

  If the motherboard emits a series of beeps then there is an error, which your motherboard manual should help you to clear up. If the documentation is not sufficient, refer to the BIOS manufacturer's website for a detailed explaination of the beep codes. However, it does mean that the processor is ok since the motherboard can't even beep without that.

  If the Floppy Drive light lights up but does not then dim as you would expect it to at boot time, then the most likely cause is that ribbon cable has been fitted the wrong way around. The hard disk will obviously complain about this too.

  Once the video card is giving you an output you should be able to view the system memory checking out. Check that main memory reports the correct size, and that the machine is recognizing the processor and cache ram.

  Checking.

  Before closing the lid, check the insides once more, and, with the power off, make sure the processor fan is secure, and that still no wires are going to foul it, or the heatsink.

  Then screw the case together, and remember to keep an eye on the system for the first few days. Try to open it up during this running period, just to make sure everything is ok.

  Setting up.

  The first job once the computer has started up will be to check the BIOS settings. Depending on the complexity of the system that you have built this will be a more or less simple task. Make sure that all your EIDE devices are being detected, and that the drives are set to be masters/slaves as you intended.

  Once the computer starts up, you will probably need to partition and format the hard disk, so have a copy of your operating system software handy. This could be on floppy disk or on your old hard disk which you have installed.

  Personally, I recommend connecting your old computer's hard disk temporarily at this stage and transfer all the files you need across to the new one. It is likely that your new hard disk will be large enough to take all of the old one if necessary.

"He's Dead Jim": What do you do if the computer doesn't work...

Firstly, you have got to work out just how dead it really is...

Is the PSU fan going around?

Does the motherboard have power?

Is the motherboard shorting with the case, or a power lead?

If the computer is failing to boot, then is one of the internal cards to blame? This has happened to me: one dodgy card has prevented the whole computer working.

The PSU output can be checked with a Multimeter if everything is that dead.

If you cannot think of an obvious cause, then you are going to have to dismantle the computer, until it does work, or until you have found the cause of the failure.

This is the part where you might actually need to use your brain!

Power Supply Unit problems.

Do not try to take the power supply apart to mend it. Even without mains power, there are capacitors inside which could give you a deadly shock. I repeat: Do not mess with it.

Conclusion.

The PC you have created will have hopefully saved you money, (or at the very least given you more power for the same money!) It will have been made with care and it will have taught you something. The latter will help you to use and diagnose it in the future. I hope all goes well for you.

A page from James David Chapman's website. Located at: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~jchap/ Site mirrored here at: http://www.j.chap.btinternet.co.uk
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