I have built a system not that long back and not any problems with it at all, in fact it's far more stable than any i previously had ever bought from any shop. I have recondition pc's in the past and this new one was set to be a challenge.. and came up trumps. Just to say never lose hope in building a first machine... if thwey work trouble free after your labours then it's a real buzz to you ego. Plus being your own technical support beats paying a £1 a min on any premium line...
Simple basics to be aware of
1) Static : Most components for computers can be easily damaged from static so be extremely careful, earth yourself by ensuring that your pc is connected to the mains but switched off at source (at the wall) this will provide a static drain for you. and ensure that you freqently earth your body to the chassis by touching the chassis with your free hand. Better still obtain a static wrist strap with a clip lead and connect that to the chassis, this will free both hands and avoid static damage too.
2) Don't drop components or manhandle in any way... you payed good money for them, so treat them like gold.
3) Read all instructions provided with components prior to installing them. Ideally draw up a basic list of components and make sure you have puchased all of them before proceeding to build the pc, including leads and outside peripherals.
4) Work preferably in the daytime for maximum light in a well lit place... by a windows good, also you'll be more awake to concentrate with the job at hand earlier in the day. Keep yourself organised - methodical and this will make the project more a pleasure.
5) Careful when installing the motherboard using the plastic lugs to avoid shorting the motherboard to the chassis in the case. Ideally use a rubber mat and lay motherboard on that on a flat table surface, then install processor and fan, not forgetting thermal paste. between underside of cooling plate and top of the processor itself, this will draw excess processor heat away from processor. This will aid in preventing processor damage another major pc hiccup leading to invalid page fault errors or other wierd messages appearing.
Good idea to install ram sticks (Memory at this point!)... Once this is done the dodgy bits over with. Then install motherboard and lugs into pc cpu tower, midi tower whatever case.
6) Graphics cards, sound cards etc... handle carefully install as per instructions provided. with windows XP you will get reports that your hardware doesn't have a xp certificate - licence... continue with installation.. it's just XP trying to be awkward with licencing regulations.. usually cards will work with no problems.
7) ensure cpu cases have adequate cooling depending on spec of machine as an overheated machine will prove very unpredictable or unreliable..
8) Usb 2.0 may present problems with Windows 98 se, though ok with XP
Hope this helps in building you new home pc project
Have fun and hopefully a working pc to display to your friends, and able to say ... hey i built that one ....waheey lol
