Hard drive installation Guide

.

Hard-Drive Installation

Installing a hard drive is a medium level job. If you are confident in yourself and would like to save the money a computer guy would charge to do it, go ahead and do it yourself. It won’t be that bad. The physical installation is actually pretty easy. Getting it ready for use takes a little longer.
The worst part about installing hard drives is setting the jumpers on the drive so that it works correctly with your current hardware. You only need to worry about jumpers if you are using an IDE hard drive. IDE hard drives have settings for master, slave and cable select. This is because, for an IDE drive, it matters. For Serial ATA drives (SATA), you don’t need to worry about jumpers at all. Now that SATA is becoming much more prevalent than IDE, it is becoming a lot less likely that you will need to worry about jumpers during this process.
Before installation, inspect the inside of the computer’s case and determine where you want the drive to go. If you are using an IDE hard drive, you want to optimally connect the drive on a different IDE channel than your DVD/CD drives. Most motherboards have two IDE channel connectors. So you would put your disc drives on IDE2 and your hard drives on IDE1. For SATA drives, your life, again, got easier. SATA gets it’s own channel and, as of this date, SATA DVD drives are very uncommon.
Materials Required
Hard drive
Copy of the hard drive manual (if you need to set jumpers; this can be downloaded if your drive didn’t come with one)
Controller card (optional; use this if you don’t have a spare connector on the motherboard or space on an existing ribbon cable to connect your drive to. Make sure you get one that matches your drive - Serial ATA for an SATA drive; ATA/100 or ATA/133 for an IDE drive; SCSI for a SCSI drive.)
Data cable for the drive (if you aren’t installing the drive as a slave on an existing cable)
Power cable Y-splitter (if you don’t have a spare power connector)
Ultimate Boot CD (if you want to clone your old hard drive to your new one)
How will you be using your new drive?
If you are replacing your primary hard drive, make sure you back up any data you want to save before you start. If you don’t want to reinstall Windows, you can clone the contents of your old hard drive to your new one using the setup utilities that hard drive manufacturers provide, or you can use a specific cloning program like HDClone or PC Inspector Clone Maxx. All of the above-mentioned utilities are available on the Ultimate Boot CD, so you can download and burn that and then choose the utility that is easiest for you to understand. (If you don’t have access to a high-speed internet connection, you can order a CD for a small fee.)
If you are willing to reinstall Windows, make sure you have discs for Windows and all your programs. This will prevent frustrations about losing programs after you have already formatted your computer.
If you are simply installing a secondary hard drive for storage, you don’t have to make any changes to the configuration of your current hard drive. If, however, you are installing a second IDE drive, it is possible that you will need to alter the jumper configuration of your primary hard drive. If your current hard drive is set as “Cable Select” (meaning it is the only drive on the channel), then you may need to change it to “Master” which will allow you to add the second hard drive as a slave (see below).
Setting Jumpers: IDE Drives
IDE can accommodate two drives per channel, with most computers having two channels built in. The primary drive on a channel is called the Master, and the secondary one is called the Slave. The IDE channels are also labeled as Primary (or IDE1) and Secondary (or IDE2). The hard drive that the system boots from is usually the primary master. Generally, if you’re adding a second hard drive you would set it up as the primary slave. (The secondary master and slave are usually used for optical drives, although they can accommodate hard drives if needed.)
Most drives come set to be used as masters, so if you want to use one as a slave, you’ll have to change the jumpers, which are located between the power connector and the IDE connector. Each manufacturer has different jumper settings, so I can’t give you exact instructions here. However, there is often a diagram on the top of the drive telling you how to set the jumpers, and if not there will certainly be instructions in your hard drive’s manual (which you can download from the manufacturer’s website if your hard drive didn’t come with one).
Another jumper setting, which you can use if you have an 80-conductor ribbon cable, is Cable Select. 80-conductor cables can be identified by their much finer wires compared to 40-conductor cables and by their connector colors (the motherboard end will be blue, red, or green, and the drive connectors will be black for the one on the end and gray for the one on the middle). With both drives set to Cable Select, the computer will recognize the drive hooked up to the black end connector as the master and the one hooked up to the middle gray connector as the slave.

Setting Jumpers: SATA Drives
Good news! There are no jumpers to worry about on SATA drives. Some SATA drives do have a jumper which controls the speed of the SATA drive itself, but you do not need to worry about anything related to master, slave or cable select.
Physical Installation
Now’s when you actually take off the case and get your hands dirty. Let’s get started:
Turn the computer off, unplug it, and take the case off. At this point, you may want to make some quick sketches of just how everything is in there: Which direction is everything facing? Where and how are the cables connected? For some people, such sketches help to put everything back when you are done.
If you are replacing your old hard drive, remove the cables from the old drive. You will see both a ribbon cable and a small power plug. Do not force them out. The ribbon cable is usually quite easy to remove. Sometimes, though, the power connector can become stuck. Just rock it back and forth (lengthwise along the narrow side of the drive), taking care not to rip the connector off the drive. Then remove the mounting screws that hold the drive to the case frame. Sometimes, you may need to tip the case or get into some strange positions to reach all the screws; other times, the hard drive is mounted in a cage that you’ll be able to take out to get to the other side of the drives. Finally, remove the old drive from the case. Be sure not to bump anything too hard on the way out.
If you are replacing the old drive, slide the new drive in right where the other one came out. If you are adding a second drive, just pick any empty drive bay - one a bit below the current drive might work best, because it will make it easier to route cables. If you are installing a 3.5″ drive into a 5.25″ drive bay, you may need to add rails or a mounting bracket to make it fit. Screw the drive into place, making sure the screws aren’t going in crooked. Don’t force them.
If you need a separate controller card, install it now into any unused motherboard slot. Chances are that you don’t need to worry about this. It is usually only necessary if you want to add more IDE drives than your computer will support with it’s two built-in channels. If you are using SATA, your motherboard likely comes with enough SATA ports. If not, you can extend it using a controller card just the same way as with IDE.
Attach the cables to the hard drive and to the motherboard or controller card if necessary. There are two cables: the ribbon cable (or SATA cable) and the power cable. The ribbon cable goes from the controller to the drive. Most cables are keyed to the connector so they only go in one way; if the cable isn’t going in, try flipping it over. Don’t force it. If you are adding a second drive, simply choose a connector on the same ribbon cable that is not used. Most IDE ribbon cables come with three connectors: one on the end (usually black) and one mid-way (usually gray), then one further away on the other end which connects to the motherboard (usually blue, green, or red). In general, the master drive should use the black connector on the end and the slave should use the gray connector in the middle, but if each drive is set either as master or slave, the position is not as important. On a SATA hard drive, position of the drives on the cable does not matter at all because a SATA cable only accomodates one drive.
Plug the system in and turn it on. It is best to leave the case cover off for now in case you need to fiddle with something or troubleshoot the installation.
If you did not use a controller card, enter the BIOS (usually by pressing the F1, F2, F10, F12, or Delete key when you see the Power-On Self-Test or the manufacturer logo). Check the BIOS to make sure that the drives are all being recognized. If you installed a drive on a connector that was not in use, you may have to set the corresponding drive to “Auto.” If your BIOS has an auto-detect feature, you can use that as well. If you did use a controller card, it will pop up a screen showing the name of the card and any drives it has detected.
If the drives are not being recognized, check that both power and data cables are in tightly (including the motherboard end for the data cables), and that the jumpers are set correctly. If they are all recognized correctly, let’s move to the next section.
Software Installation/Cloning
Now that your new drive is installed, we can move on and get it set up with Windows. If you are replacing your current drive and cloning it to your new drive, you will need to connect both drives. Change any necessary jumpers (see “Setting Jumpers” above) so that both drives as well as a CD drive are recognized. At this stage it is not important to screw in your old drive; you can just rest it somewhere convenient, but don’t leave it hanging in midair. Boot from the Ultimate Boot CD, and select the utility you want to use to clone the drive. Go through the appropriate prompts, making sure to select your older drive as the source and your newer one as the destination (pay careful attention to the hard drive sizes indicated by the cloning program). You don’t want to clone your new drive with nothing on it to your old drive with all your data!
If you are replacing your current drive but not cloning its contents to the new drive, put your Windows CD in the drive and boot from it. You will be prompted during the first part of setup to partition and format your drive; if you are using Windows 2000, XP or Vista, make sure to use the NTFS file system.
If you are simply installing a secondary drive, boot into Windows. In Windows 2000/XP/Vista, your new drive will not appear at all in My Computer until you format it. In Windows 9x/ME, it will appear, but you will need to right-click on the new drive and choose “Format” from the menu. To format the drive in Windows 2000 or XP, right-click on My Computer and go to “Manage”. In the window that comes up, click Disk Management in the left pane. Once it loads, you should see an “Initialize Disk” wizard pop up. Partition and format the disk to your liking, but make sure not to convert it to a dynamic disk, as doing so will provide plenty of annoyances down the road.
Finished!
New drive is installed! Now that you have installing your hard drive under your belt, you might be interested in partitioning your hard drive (that means dividing your space so you can separate data).

References
1. www.hardwaresolutions.com
2. www.computermech.com

.

CPU & RAM installation

.

CPU And RAM Installation
In this section we will learn the installation of CPU and RAM. Generally Heatsink and fan is supplied for the CPU cooling. Go for the silent CPU cooling fans and keep your CPU cool. It is better to invest in good CPU cooling solutions in long run. Your PC will perform better.
Some CPU boxes havetransparent cover. In that case, just check the CPU pins before opening the box. If pins are bend, don't open the box. Your dealer may treat this as physical damage. Just return the box to the dealer and get the fresh piece.Let us learn to install CPU. Pentium 4 is a socket type CPU.Place your motherboard on the plain surface. If motherboard isinstalled in Computer Case, tilt the case in such a way thatmotherboard is horizontal. Please check the bare socket and CPU. There are notches and markers to show you the right way to plug the CPU. You will notice some missing pins in one or more corners.

Intel Pentium 4 CPU and Socket
Your CPU should exactly fit into the socket. First put the lever of the socket in UP position. This is very important step to install CPU. Now place CPU in socket as shown in the diagram. Now align CPU to the socket as per photo. Place the CPU into the socket and slowly insert in to the socket. Don't exert excessive force. It should fit easily. you should not have to force it. It should fit in very easily. If you find it tough to plug in, check the CPU orientation. And plug the cpu in the socket easily. Now lower the lever so that CPU will firmly sit the socket. With this we have successfully installed the CPU in your cheap computer.
Note for Socket type CP

The procedure to install CPU is similar for Intel and AMD type CPU's. For AMD CPU remove plastic sticker on the bottom of the heatsink. With this, we have completed the step by step procedure to install CPU.

Now you know to Install CPU into the socket. You should nothave to force it. It should fit in very easily. If you find it tough to install CPU, check the lever position. Lever should be in up position. And also ensure that CPU has the correct orientaton.
Now, with the CPU plugged in, lower the lever to lock the CPU in position.
Let us learn the last step to install CPU. Yes, it is Heatsink / Fan installation on top surface of CPU. This is required for CPU cooling. Fan acts as a CPU cooler.

CPU Coolers & Heat Sinks
CPU Coolers for modern processors will generally have some form of heat transfer material on the underside. This may be in the form of a small square about 1 or 2mm thick. This will help the heat to dissipate from the CPU core to the CPU cooler. Be sure to check the instructions that come with your CPU cooler. In some cases, a thin protective film will need to be removed prior to fitting the cooler to the CPU. Failure to do so will cause the CPU to overheat very quickly and destroy itself.Never power up the PC without the CPU cooler attached! The heat sink is a very important piece of your cheap computer. It's main function is in CPU cooling. It keeps the CPU from overheating and crashing your whole system. Heat sinks come in many different shapes and most will do the job, although you should make sure that heat sink you have is sufficiant for CPU cooling.
Now grab the thermal grease that came with your heatsink. Ifyou don't have it, buy it from your local electronic store. It helps in CPU cooling. Apply the thermal grease to the raised portion of the CPU and not on the circuit board.Now place the heatsink on top of the CPU. The heatsink has a raised lip on the bottom. This lip sits over the higher section on the socket. Attach the levers on the heatsink to the matching hooks on the socket below it. Take your time with this so you don't damage the CPU or the motherboard. Also connect the fan cable to the motherboard fan connector. Fan will get the power through this cable. RAM Installation - Your computer brain ( CPU ) will require memory to start working. Now we will learn to install RAM in your motherboard.RAM / Computer Memory installation is very easy. But take care to keep it straight. NOTE: Make sure you have the right kind of Computer memoryfor your cheap computer. The motherboard manual will say what type of Computer memory ( RAM) you will need for your cheap computer.Computer Memory ( SDRAM /DDR RAM ) InstallationRAM / Memory InstallationSDRAM can be distiguished from DDR RAM by its notches. SDRAM has 2 notches, one in the middle and one near the edge of one side.


RAM Installation
Now find the RAM slots of your cheap computer's motherboard. Usually there are two or three slots for Computer Memory ( RAM ), so you can add more later if you want.Here is photo of Computer memory slot.
First, open the locks on each side of the RAM slot. This is the first step for the RAM installation.
Now insert the RAM after aligning it with slot. Check the notches on the computer memory ( RAM ). Slowly Slide the RAM into place and get the click sound. The side locks should click in and lock the RAM and hold it in slot. They fit into 2 notches on the side of the RAM so you will know when it is in. There you go, your Computer memory - RAM has been installed into your cheap computer!
Now we have installed the Computer memory ( RAM ) successfully.

References

1. www.computerhardware.com
2. www.hardwareinstallation.com

.

Network Folders And File Sharing

.

Windows XP Simple File Sharing


Windows XP lets you share a computer’s disks and folders with other computers on the network, using a method called Simple File Sharing. And it really is simple. If a disk or folder is shared, everyone on the network can access it. There are no user permissions and no passwords. Because sharing in this way is so wide open, Windows XP tries to protect you from some potential security risks.

Note: Windows XP Professional has a much more powerful way to
control file sharing. For full details, see our article on Windows XP Professional File Sharing.

Right click the disk or folder that you want to share and select Sharing and Security.


The disk or folder that you share, along with all of the folders that it contains, will be accessible by other network users. If you’re sharing an entire disk, Windows XP gives a warning. The implication of the warning is that it’s better to share a specific folder, since only that folder (and its subfolders) will be accessible by others, and the rest of the disk will be inaccessible. Click where indicated if you want to go ahead and share the entire disk. This screen doesn’t appear if you’re sharing a folder.


The first time that you set up sharing, Windows XP displays a warning, urging you to use the Network Setup Wizard for safety. Click where indicated to either run the Wizard or to do it yourself.

What great secret does the Wizard know that XP thinks you don’t? The Wizard automatically enables the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) to prevent other Internet users from accessing your shared disks and folders. If you have Service Pack 2 installed, the built-in Windows Firewall should already be running automatically, unless you turned it off.


XP displays another warning. If you want the firewall enabled, select Use the wizard to enable file sharing. Otherwise, select Just enable file sharing.


Having successfully run the Wizard’s obstacle course, you may now specify a Share name, which users on other networked computers will use to access this disk or folder. For maximum compatibility with all versions of Windows, use 1-12 characters.

By default, users on other computers have full access: they can read, write, and delete shared files. If you only want them to be able to read files, un-check Allow network users to change my files.

Warning: If a user has full access, deleting a file doesn’t put it in the Recycle Bin. Once it’s deleted, it’s gone for good.


Hiding a Shared Disk or Folder

What if you don’t want everyone on the network to be able to access a shared disk or folder? For example:

Mom, Dad, and Junior each have a computer.

The computers are networked so that everyone can share a cable modem Internet connection.

Mom and Dad share a folder that stores the family’s financial data.

They don’t want Junior to see the folder or the data.

The answer is to create a hidden share by adding a dollar sign (‘$’) to the end of the share name. A hidden share doesn’t appear in My Network Places or Network Neighborhood on any of the networked computers. In order to access a hidden share you need to already know the name of it.

Warning: Using hidden shares is a good way to keep their contents out of the hands of casual users, but a determined individual using certain techniques and/or utilities will be able to detect them. Therefore, you should not rely on hidden shares to provide security for any truly sensitive data.

To create a hidden share, right click the disk or folder and select Sharing and Security.


Specify a share name that ends with a dollar sign. Once again, use 1-12 characters (1-11 before the dollar sign). If Junior is clever enough to guess a name like Finances$, use a more secure name, like a combination of letters and numbers. Just make sure that Mom and Dad can remember it, and don’t write it on a yellow sticky note attached to the monitor!


Accessing a Hidden Share

A hidden share doesn’t appear on any of the networked computers, so how can someone on another computer access it? The answer is to map it as a network drive, which assigns a drive letter to the hidden share. Once it has a drive letter, you access it just like a disk on the same computer.

To map a network drive, open My Computer, click Tools, and select Map Network Drive.


Specify an unused drive letter and enter the network path for the hidden share, being sure to include the dollar sign. If you check Reconnect at logon, the mapping will happen automatically every time you start your computer. Otherwise, you’ll have to map it manually every time.


Click Finish. The mapped drive is connected and appears in a new window. It’s also available in My Computer.


References:

1. www.practicallynetworked.com

.

Building a Computer Guide

.

“How to build a Computer Guide.”
Building a custom PC guide is not difficult, but it does take good preparation and the right tools to insure a smooth installation. One of the first things to think about before getting started is what are you going to be using your new computer for primarily?
Type of Machine?
Is this machine going to be used as your daily computer to browse the internet, check e-mails, and do some word processing? Are you going to be doing alot of digital or video editing? Maybe you want a machine that is capable of playing the latest games?
Selecting the right hardware from the beginning is a key part of building your new machine, and you really need to have a plan for this.
Now we come to the technical step by step process of dessembling and assembling of a personal computer.
In the initial steps we are going to dissemble a pc.

Here's how I laid my computer parts out-The motherboard and some cables. The case
And my components.

Getting the case ready for the motherboard
As you can see, my case clearly isn't ready for a motherboard. There are cables from the power switch, cables from the fans, cables from the USB ports....all summing up to one big mess. So here's what you need to do before you even think about putting your motherboard in.
The IO Shield
See this? It probably came with your motherboard. See this? It's the same thing, except with one big difference. The IO shield that came with your case will not let your motherboard fit. You need to replace the IO shield. Some IO shields will pop in and out, but the other ones have screws that hold it down. You need to take those screws off, take off the IO shield, put the IO shield that came with your motherboard in, and screw it in. Now you can relax knowing that at least one part of your motherboard will fit.
The Spacers
When I first saw these in the bag of screws that came with my case, I had no idea what they were or what they were for. These are the single most important screws you will use in your build. To help you understand exactly what they are for, let's pretend that you're not going to use them. How are you going to get the motherboard secured to the case? You are probably going to screw the motherboard directly to the case. And if you screw the motherboard to the case, the whole thing will short circuit, killing your motherboard and quite possibly your processor because the whole backside with all the soldering and pins will touch the case metal. And so, remember the spacers, and you won't have to go through the really long process of RMAing your motherboard and processor. Install the spacers exactly where you plan on screwing the motherboard to the case, so that the spacers effectively elevate the motherboard and prevent it from touching the case. After you install the spacers, your case should look something like this.
The Power Supply

Now that your case has an IO shield that will fit the motherboard, and the spacers are in, you should ensure that your build will have power. To do this, put the power supply on the rails located near the top of the case. The power supply has to be installed in a way so that the power supply can act as an exhaust fan. A fan on the inside of the PSU should be pointed towards the CPU. Make sure to screw the power supply in...I've marked the places where a screw should fit.
CHECKPOINT!
Alright, so you've got the IO Shield in, the spacers aligned, and the power supply secure. There are still probably all sorts of wires hiding around your case. These wires could sneak under your motherboard when you put it in, and that would be bad if you needed them. So what you should do is move the wires to the drive bays or the outside of the case. Once you're done, your case should look something like this, with the IO shield, spacers, and PSU in.

Getting the motherboard ready for the case
Congratulations, your case is just about ready for your motherboard. However, your motherboard isn't quite ready to be put inside your case. And so, here's what you should do to get your motherboard ready for its case.
Installing your computers memory
Now that you have straight access to your memory slots, now would be a great time to install your computers memory. This step is done at this point because some big CPU coolers may block access to the memory slots once the cooler is installed. Also it is a lot easier to install memory if you have open access to the motherboard.Simply open up the RAM tabs...Place the memory in the RAM slots... Please take a look at the little notch in the memory PCB and in the slot for the correct alignment of the module.And gently push the memory into its slot until the tabs are closed.Remember that if your motherboard supports DDR and DDR2, make sure you're putting the DDR in the DDR slot or the DDR2 in the DDR2 slot. DDR2 does not fit into DDR1 slots and vice versa.
Install the CPU and its heatsink
As much as I would love to post step by step instructions on how to put a CPU in, there are a TON of different sockets out there. Each socket requires a different way of inserting the processor, and each different way of inserting the processor has a different way of securing the heatsink. You're much better off reading the manual that came with your processor or heatsink. Just remember the following general guidelines-
If the CPU doesn't want to fit, it won't fit, so do not push. Neither AMD or Intel cover processors broken due to their customers frustration.
If the CPU does not fit right take it out again and take a good look if all the pins are straight. If not take a razorblade or similar and very carefully bend them back. Of course you can always return the CPU to your vendor in case you feel uncomfortable doing that.
Make sure that the CPU is all the way in. If it isn't all the way in, your motherboard won't recognize it, giving you a scare when you try to boot your machine for the first time.
Ensure that the CPU heatsink is secure and has very good contact with the CPU. If it doesn't, the CPU could fry itself, you could get very bad (= high) temperatures, or the CPU heatsink could fall off and damage other components.
After installing the heatsink, make sure to plug it in to the motherboard. The motherboard connector for the CPU is usually labeled "CPUFan".
If you lost the instructions for installing your CPU, I found instructions for
Intel Socket 478
Intel Socket T (LGA775)
AMD K7
The instructions for K7 are very similar to the K8 and K9 instructions, so you should be able to install a K8 or K9 processor using instructions for K7 (I don't reccomend it however, you seriously should use the instructions that came with your processor).
My CPU is in. Now what?
Now comes the fun part.See these headers? This is what the case wires connect to. The case wires are responsible for turning your computer on and off, resetting it, and lighting front panel lights. If you put the motherboard in BEFORE connecting the headers, you will have a very hard time seeing what you are doing, and manuvering the headers will be a pain. So what you gotta do is set yourself up like this.Connect each case wire to its respective header using your motherboard manual as reference. Remember, because the case wire connectors are very small, case makers have probably abbreviated the names of each cable. For example, PWR SW means Power Switch.
Now that that's taken care of, am I ready to put my motherboard in my case?
Yes. Put your case on its side, place the motherboard in gently, make sure to push the IO panel through the IO shield, ensure that the screwholes on the motherboard line up with the spacers, and screw in the motherboard to the spacers. It should look something like this.It usually helps a lot with the placement of the motherboard if you lie the case down so that the motherboard can rest on the spacers and gravity won't work against you.
Powering the motherboard
Okay, good job, you've got the motherboard in. Now your rig demands power. If there is no power, then it obviously won't run. There should be no less than two power connectors- a 20 (or 24) pin main connector, and a square 4 pin connector. Plug those in, and then refer to your motherboard manual to ensure that you don't have any other power connections to plug in. Plug EVERYTHING in that the motherboard manual tells you to. The people who make your motherboard probably know alot more about your motherboard than I do. If your motherboard has a big 8 pin connector instead of the usual 4 pin connector and your PSU only has one 4 pin connector, do not worry. Just plug in the 4 pin connector where it fits there. The extra four pins are for very demanding systems to ensure stability and are usually not needed.If your motherboard has a 20 pin connector and your PSU has a 24 pin connector (or vice versa). Just plug the connector in and it will work. The extra four pins are for additional power which might not be needed. Your system will still work fine.
CHECKPOINT!
So you've put in the motherboard successfully. Congratulations! Now, before we go any further, we need to make sure you didn't mess up. At this point, plug in your power supply, turn the power supply on, and press the on button. If you did everything right, the CPU fan should be spinning, and your case speaker should be giving you a long set of beeps summing up to "I have absolutely no hardware plugged into me right now". If you don't get a long set of beeps, then check the wiring of your case speaker. If you still get no beeps, I'd check your spacers, or hope that your case speaker is broken. If your CPU fan isn't spinning, turn off your system. Check all power connections, and if everything seems to be in order, I wouldn't be surprised if you received a dead motherboard or power supply. If your CPU fan was spinning and you got a long string of beeps, on to the next page!

Installing your peripherals
If you're like me and got system building experience from upgrading an old machine, then you probably know what to do from here. However, if you haven't had the experience of several upgrades, then read on!
Your various peripherals
Chances are that you'll be wanting an optical drive, a floppy drive, and a hard drive in your build.
Optical drive
An optical drive (CD-ROM / DVD-ROM / Burner) is a simple yet very important part of your computer. Basically, the back looks like this:and is generally connected by an IDE cable.There are special drives connected by SATA cables, but those are hideously expensive. However, SATA does come with a distinct advantage- no jumper settings to worry about. Remember to tell your optical drive exactly what it's going to do through the jumpers. Refer to the top of the drive, the manual, or the manufacturer for proper installation instructions. If you don't set the jumpers on your drive, your drive will get very confused and your system will not boot. Generally, jumper settings will tell your drive if it is a...
Master. A master drive is at the top of the round IDE cable, and is the first drive accessed in BIOS or whatever operating system you use.
Slave. A slave drive is operational, however takes second priority to the master drive in BIOS or your operating system.
Cable Select. This allows your IDE cable to decide what role your drive plays. This makes things alot simpler for you, but may cause some delay in BIOS when it detects your drive. Also it requires a special cable and that both drives are set to the cable select setting. In general it is easier to use Master/Slave.
Once that is all taken care of, installation is simple. Note- my case uses tool-less installation and will look different than yours. Take the front panel off of your case, as indicated in the case manual, take off whatever EMI shields stand in your way, and slide the drive in until the screwholes in the drive line up with the screwholes in the case. Secure the drive using screws. Then take the IDE cable, attach one end to the optical drive, and attach the other to the motherboard.
Floppy Drive
Floppy drives are positively ancient, and have little use in the age of flash drives and iPods. However, when you need to flash your video card's BIOS, install SATA drivers, or just do advanced system functions, a floppy drive comes in very useful.To install, do the same procedure as you would for an optical drive, but remember to use the smaller 3.5" floppy drive bays. Then take the floppy drive cable, which looks like a thin version of the IDE cable. Attach one end to the floppy drive, and plug the other end to the motherboard. Floppy drives are slightly more complicated then IDE drives when it comes to wiring them, because the design will let you get away with inserting the cable upside down. While the cable on the floppy drive won't fit if you put it upside down, the motherboard will not bug you about it. You will know that you have the floppy drive cable upside down if the floppy drive activity light is always on. Please note that if the cable is reversed and the drive is powered on it will erase a floppy if you left one in the drive.
Hard Drive
The hard drive is one of the most complicated peripherals you will ever use. It is either in SATA (Serial ATA), SATA2 (SATA-II) or IDE (ATA / EIDE).As you can see, SATA is alot smaller and easier to deal with than IDE, since the cable is a bit more fragile try to avoid very tight bends. SATA and SATA2 are almost exactly alike. For an SATA drive, you rarely have to worry about jumper settings. On an SATA2 drive, refer to the drive's manual to ensure that the drive isn't set to run at 1.5Gb/s. For an IDE drive, the IDE jumper rules apply for hard drives . However, hard drives are very senstive pieces of hardware. Please take note of the following tips when dealing with hard drives.
NEVER handle by the bottom, and try to avoid handling by the top. Doing so may mess up the motor, and a dead motor means a dead hard drive. Handle a hard drive by the sides only.
NEVER EVER handle a hard drive while it is on. Bumping it WILL cause temporary drive failiure, and if you are lucky, you can reset the drive by restarting the sytem. You can kill a hard drive by bumping it while it is on.
NEVER EVER plug in a harddrive power plug while the system running.
When you have a SATA drive with "legacy" power options like mine, you have the option to power the drive using either the four pin molex connector, or the new SATA power connector. Those both will be explained later in this guide. While you can power the drive using one or the other connector, You cannot use both.
To install, you do not need to take off the front panel. Carefully slide the drive into the internal 3.5" hard drive bay, and secure it using screws. As long as the drive is secure, the amount of screws do not matter. Remember to connect the cable from the motherboard to the drive.
CHECKPOINT!
Good job, you have successfully inserted your drives and connected them to the motherboard. However, your computer is not quite ready for its first run yet. The devices need to have power! If your motherboard's cables look somewhat like this, read on, and find out how to connect everything to your power supply.

Getting to know your power supply
There are four main connectors, aside from the main power line to the motherboard. They are...Four pin MolexSerial ATABerg (floppy)PCI ExpressBasically, you need to ensure that every peripheral device has a connection to the power supply, including fans. I circled exactly where the power connection is to every main peripheral I have. DVD-RWFloppyHard driveTake a minute to hide your cables, and then proceed to installing your PCI, AGP, and PCI Express devices.


How do I put these in my motherboard?
There are five main types of slots. These are ISA, PCI, AGP, PCI-Express, and PCI-X. ISA is outdated, PCI is used for just about every non-video device, AGP is becoming a legacy graphics interface, PCI-Express is the current graphics interface, and PCI-X is for corporate servers. The two slots you will probably use are PCI and PCI-Express. You will use AGP instead of PCI-Express if you have an AGP motherboard and an AGP graphics card , and the installation procedure is very similar.This is the graphics card I will install.And this is the sound card I will install.When installing these things, remember, if it doesn't want to fit, it will not. Do not force your parts in, or else you will break them as well as your motherboard. So be very careful and insert each device one by one. It is generally easier to insert cards from bottom to top so that you can always see the slot which you are working on.After the device fits snugly with your motherboard, screw it down in your case.When removing an AGP or PCI Express graphics card, remember that a latch is probably securing your card. Disengage the latch before trying to pull your card out. Installed GPU.Installed sound card. Everything is screwed in.



You're done! It took a good amount of time, a lot of effort, some serious concentration, and your back probably hurts. You are now done with everything hardware related. Take another minute to hide cables, shut your case, and connect your keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Now plug your rig in and press the on button. If you were successful, you should have gotten one "beep" from your computer, which is its way of telling you that your computer is ready for action. It will prompt you to "enter setup", so you should do that and make sure your computer at least knows what time it is. Setup, or BIOS, is also how you perform advanced system functions such as enabling or disabling onboard audio. After you've saved your BIOS settings, proceed to install a copy of your favorite operating system, configure it however you choose, and have a good time with your brand new custom built system. Once everything is all configured, remember one rule- If it isn't broke, don't fix it. It is a very hard rule to follow for computer modders, but you definitely won't regret it in the long run. If you feel like doing any modifications, make sure you are ABSOLUTELY CONFIDENT with doing them before you even power down the system.


References

www.techpowerup.com
www.buildacomputer.com

.

Connecting two or more personal computers using a standard hub or switch.

.

The simplest kind of home network contains exactly two computers. You can use this kind of network to share files, a printer or another peripheral device, and even an Internet connection. To connect two computers for sharing these and other network resources, consider the options described below.

Connecting Two Computers Directly With Cable
The traditional method to network two computers involves making a dedicated link by plugging one cable into the two systems. Several alternatives exist for networking two computers in this manner:
· Ethernet crossover cable
· Null modem serial cable or parallel peripheral cable
· Special-purpose USB cables

Ethernet - Of the above choices, the Ethernet method is preferred as it supports a reliable, high-speed connection with minimal configuration required. Additionally, Ethernet technology offers the most general-purpose solution, allowing networks with more than two computers to be built fairly easily later. If one of your computers possesses an Ethernet adapter but the other has USB, an Ethernet crossover cable can still be used by first plugging a USB-to-Ethernet converter unit into the computer's USB port.

Serial and parallel - This type of cabling, called Direct Cable Connection (DCC) when using Microsoft Windows, offers lower performance but offers the same basic functionality as Ethernet cables. You may prefer this option if you have such cables readily available and network speed is not a concern. Serial and parallel cables are never used to network more than two computers.

USB - Ordinary USB cables must not be used to connect two computers directly to each other. Attempting to do so can electrically damage the computers! However, special USB cables designed for direct connection exist that can be used safely. You may prefer this option over others if your computers lack functional Ethernet network adapters.

To make dedicated connections with Ethernet, USB, serial or parallel cables requires
1. each computer have a functioning network interface with an external jack for the cable, and
2. the network settings on each computer appropriately configured
One phone line or power cord cannot be used to directly connect two computers to each other for networking.

Connecting Two Computers With Cable Through Central Infrastructure
Rather than cable two computers directly, the computers may instead be joined indirectly through a central network fixture. This method requires two network cables, one connecting each computer to the fixture. Several types of fixtures exist for home networking:
· Ethernet hubs, switches, and routers
· USB hubs
· Phoneline and powerline wall outlets

Implementing this method often entails additional up-front cost to purchase more cables and network infrastructure. However, it's a general-purpose solution accommodating any reasonable number of devices (e.g, ten or more). You will likely prefer this approach if you intend to expand your network in the future.

Most cabled networks utilize Ethernet technology. Alternatively, USB hubs can be employed, while powerline and phoneline home networks each offer their own unique form of central infrastructure. The traditional Ethernet solutions are generally very reliable and offer high performance.

Connecting Two Computers Wirelessly
In recent years, wireless solutions have enjoyed increasing popularity for home networking. As with cabled solutions, several different wireless technologies exist to support basic two computer networks:
· Wi-Fi
· Bluetooth
· infrared

Wi-Fi connections can reach a greater distance than the wireless alternatives listed above. Many newer computers, especially laptops, now contain built-in Wi-Fi capability, making it the preferred choice in most situations. Wi-Fi can be used either with or without a network fixture. With two computers, Wi-Fi networking minus a fixture (also called ad-hoc mode) is especially simple to set up.



References

www.computernetworking.about.com
www.networkingworld.net

.

A Basic computer network

.

Introduction to computer networks.
What is a computer network?
It is a Connection between two or more computers through a cable or some type of wireless connection. It enables users to share information and devices between computers and other users within the network. On the network, you can share information and devices installed on other computers.
Components of a computer network.
There are many components that make up a computer network. Decades of technological advances power our networks today. Here are some of those components.
Network Cables

coaxial

Coaxial cable is a cable that consists of an outer plastic sheath, a copper screen, an inner dielectric insulator, and a copper core.

Fiber Optic

Fiber Optic cables are cables that transmit light versus an electrical signal. They are made up of a cable jacket, strengthening fibers, a buffer, a cladding and a glass core. Fiber Optic cables, since light is used instead of an electrical signal, are not susceptible to Electromagnetic Interference or Radio Frequency Interference (also known as EMI and RFI respectively.)
Serial

Twisted Pair

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)

Unshielded Twisted Pair cable is one of the most commonly used cable types in todays networks. Each pair is twisted together and then twisted in an unshielded cable.

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)

Shielded Twisted Pair is not as common as Unshielded Twisted Pair, but it is still used in some instances. STP is made just like a UTP cable, with the exception that a copper shield and copper ground are also run through the cable to help reduce the effects of EMI/RFI on data transmission.

Straight Through

Cross-Over

Rollover

Network Interface Controller (NIC) Card

Typically when you think of a NIC Card, you should think of an NIC embedded onto the motherboard of your computer or an expansion card that is installed into an ISA,PCI, or PCI-Express slot inside your computer.

Repeater

One of the limitations of computer networking is found in the transmission medium. Certain cables are only capable of transmitting a certain distance before a concept called Attenuation comes into play. If the distances of a cable run exceed the physical limitations of the medium, a repeater may be placed before the limitation distance to recondition and repeat the signal so that it may run the rest of the length of the cable.

Hubs

Hubs are very basic devices that are made up of many NIC ports. They take the electrical signals that a computer transmits into them and repeats them out every port on the device except for the one the signals arrived in. Since hubs offer no services other than repeating signals to multiple ports, they are often called multiport repeaters.

Bridges

Switches

Routers

Firewalls

.

world Natural disasters

.

Rainfall shortages resulted in worst drought on record for Md., Del., N.J., and R.I. The state of W.Va. was declared a disaster area. 3.81 million acres were consumed by fire as of mid-Aug. Record heat throughout the country resulted in 502 deaths nationwide.


Hurricane Andrew:
That was the one of the deadlieast world natural disaster happen in united states. In 1999. happen because ofrainfall shortages resulted in worst drought on record for Md., Del., N.J., and R.I. The state of W.Va. was declared a disaster area. 3.81 million acres were consumed by fire as of mid-Aug. Record heat throughout the country resulted in 502 deaths nationwide.

Damages:
the most demage cost was in florida united state.the cost of damages in 1999 because of hurricane was 27 billion that is showing in my pie chart in blue colour but in 2009 the cost is 40 billion us dollars if this disaster cost is compared in 2009.



All the labels in a pie chart are labeling with different colour that can be understand very easily.and in bar chart in the above diagram damages are showing in a percent.and are illustrating with different colour too.and the cost of these damages is also labeled.



All the titles are starting with the capital word and can be illustrate easily.

.