[dhill1984]

yeah it went in easy, and everything lined up. ive got the mobo in the case now and im starting to attach power lines.

[dhill1984]

okay- looks like everything is connected; i still have a huge amount of wires running everywhere in my case- any suggestions for controlling those before i power the thing up?

[smax013]

dhill1984 said:

okay- looks like everything is connected; i still have a huge amount of wires running everywhere in my case- any suggestions for controlling those before i power the thing up?

Since this last build was also my first one, I don't yet have good suggestions for managing the tangle of wires/cables. Mine are still a mess. I might go back and see if I can "manage" them a little more, but then I might just leave them...it works...I am not like some system builder where it also have to look "faaaaabulous" (although the blue LED lights on the fans for my case are kind of cool).

[dhill1984]

alright- bout to fire it up and start working on BIOS
my concerns right now:
1- that i applied the thermal grease correctly



2- that i connected everything to the mobo correctly



3-that vista home 64 bit will recognize everything ( i think everything is 64 bit ready, so hopefully that wont be a problem.

Also, once i have the os installed, how do i check the processor tempurature? is there a tool in windows that will let me do it?

edit- as of 1:30 up an running on vista 64, no problems yet, although i havent attempted to connect to the internet or start loading software.

edit- posting from the new rig. having a bit of trouble getting the video card drivers to play nice. Any suggestions on Anti virus software and firewall? I had PC-cillin on my old computer, should i stick with it or go to something else?

[mphenterprises]

Hi DHill. First, let me congratulate you on a successful first build. :D This is a very big step. I highly doubt you will ever buy a manufactured computer again. :-)





Okay, now to answer you concerns:

- Since you have the 64bit version of Vista, you may run into problem, either now or in the future, with applications not being supported. You may want to consider dropping down to the 32bit version. This may start to become a non-factor once vendors catch up with Microsoft but for now, just keep that in mind.

- Since this is a custom build, there should be some type of temperature monitor utility on the CD that came with the motherboard. If not, I highly recommend downloading SpeedFan. The hyperlink will take you to the download page. I use this and I am very happy with the integration. There is a temperature gauge that installs within the System Tray. Right now, my computer is humming along wonderfully at 104 Degrees Fahrenheit.

- Security is a never-ending concern within this forum. There are plenty of suggestions. Below are three links of current Discussions that will help you decide for yourself:

http://forums.pcworl.../23937?tstart=0

http://forums.pcworl.../23797?tstart=0

http://forums.pcworl.../23700?tstart=0




Now, if you have any specific questions regarding any security application, I would suggest you open a new Discussion within the Privacy & Security Community.

[smax013]

dhill1984 said:

edit- posting from the new rig. having a bit of trouble getting the video card drivers to play nice. Any suggestions on Anti virus software and firewall? I had PC-cillin on my old computer, should i stick with it or go to something else?

The video drivers issues could be 64 bit stuff rearing its head. From what I understand, the biggest issue with running the 64 bit OS are driver compatibility and application compatibility.

[dhill1984]

thats what i was thinking. also, i just found out that my current monitor, a 5-6yr old planar lcd, wont power up. its plugged in and the master power switch is on, but nothing happens when i hit the power button. so looks like im going to have to get a new one. right now i am using the s-video to tv connector to see whats going on on the screen. so there could be a discommunication between the screen and the graphics card once drivers are installed.



is there a recommended order in installing drivers? like mobo, then graphics card, then wireless adapter?

[smax013]

dhill1984 said:

thats what i was thinking. also, i just found out that my current monitor, a 5-6yr old planar lcd, wont power up. its plugged in and the master power switch is on, but nothing happens when i hit the power button. so looks like im going to have to get a new one. right now i am using the s-video to tv connector to see whats going on on the screen. so there could be a discommunication between the screen and the graphics card once drivers are installed.





is there a recommended order in installing drivers? like mobo, then graphics card, then wireless adapter?

As to the monitor, have you tested it with another computer to determine if it is a monitor issue or somehow a signal issue from the graphics card?



I am not aware of any formal recommendations. I would think that mobo drivers should typically be the first things that you install. Personally, I would likely then go to the graphics card next...and then other hardware from there. Actually, any hardware that Windoze has built-in drivers and that Windoze recognizes will the be first installed when you finishing booting up Windoze for the first time as it will "find" all that hardware and install the drivers. Then it becomes of issue of whether or not you have more recent/specific drivers that came on a disk with the hardware. For example, I believe when I hook up my internal card reader, Windoze will likely recognize it automatically and install some generic drive at least...but it did come with a driver on a disk, I believe, that will add more specific functionality.

[rgreen4]

!http://forums.pcworld.com/legacyimages/
1!

There is nothing like turning on a computer you have assembled for the first time. Thats also the most difficult one, from now on they will seem a little easier with each additional one, and there will be additional ones. Who knows, you may start putting them together for your friends.

As to the video card, according to the XFX website, the current driver for you card is version 169.04, and is available for bothe the 64 and 32 bit versions of Vista. The download size of the 64bit version is 68.2MB while the 32bit is only 55.4MB. If there is any doubt in your mind, check the version on the driver tab for the video adapter in the device manager. Start -> CP -> System & Maintenance and the Double Click on "View hardware and devices" under the heading "Device Manager"

When you installed the video drivers from the XFX disc, it should have detected the 64bit OS and installed the 64bit driver

Since you should still have your old PC intact, reconnect the LCD monitor to it as one last test. If it is in fact gone, that is a bummer.

[dhill1984]

well i followed the directions for installing the 32 bit os and success! ive got my video card drivers up and running. looks like the 12v converter for my old monitor is dead. so i pulled out an old crt monitor and it works! i guess until more updates come out im gonna keep running the 32 bit os. gonna do some more tweaking and well see what happens. does anyone know if mozilla firefox is vista ready?

[lilxkid24]

firefox is 100% vista ready

[rgreen4]

Lilxkid answered your question on Firefox and yes, I am using it on Vista 32 as I type this. As to your previous question on anti-malware, I use Avast and Superantispyware on Vista 32bit. I have not had a chance to research on 64bit compatible programs.

Condolonces on your old monitor. Maybe Santa will bring you one of those nice 22 inch wide screen LCD monitors. I have a short run HP 22w that has now been superceeded. The new one has a black fram (mine is silver) and the screen is now the glossy bright view (mine is the old matte finish). When you get around to picking out your new monitor, try to get one that has not only the older VGS connection, but also the newer DVI. There may come a point when you may need to connect an older machine to your monitor and the old VGA connection would come in handy.

[dhill1984]

ha i wish santa would bring a nice new lcd monitor. ive got a friend who works in a lab and they said they have some extra 12v converters and that they would bring one by tomorrow. So hopefully i can get the monitor running. maybe when the rebates come back ill pick one up. still waiting on hdd #2 to arrive so i can get the dual boot going.



question- when i go into the computer properties, even though i have 4gb of ram in the machine, it says i only have 2.75gb anyone know why or how to fix this?

[rgreen4]

I missed the fact that your monitor has a separate external 12v converter. Most of the newer monitors have an internal converter so you simply plug them straight into 110v.

[smax013]

dhill1984 said:

question- when i go into the computer properties, even though i have 4gb of ram in the machine, it says i only have 2.75gb anyone know why or how to fix this?

2.75 gb seems a little low, but you will NOT get the full 4 gb to show up. My system has 4 gb of RAM and only 3.5 shows up in the computer properties. It is a function of how Windoze deals with memory. 4 gb of physical RAM will show up as something typically between about 3 and 3.5 gb. This explanation should help some.

[dhill1984]

do you know how to get the 3.5 to show up?

its been kinda fun so far- ive been bouncing back and forth between th 32 bit and 64 bit os. right now im trying to do a clean install with an xp professional upgrade cd (again, gotta love $10 software from college) on the second drive bc my fiancee still uses alot of programs that require XP. right now im thinking one drive will be xp pro, the other will be either 32 bit or 64 bit vista, which ever i can get to work best. im think i might just install 64 bit home right now, since i will eventually have to activate, then contact MS and see if i cant get an 64 bit ultimate cd in the future. anyways, thanks for all the input so far- who ever posted about not ever buying another premade computer is correct- i think all my future computers (except for laptops) will be custom builds.

[smax013]

dhill1984 said:

do you know how to get the 3.5 to show up?

its been kinda fun so far- ive been bouncing back and forth between th 32 bit and 64 bit os. right now im trying to do a clean install with an xp professional upgrade cd (again, gotta love $10 software from college) on the second drive bc my fiancee still uses alot of programs that require XP. right now im thinking one drive will be xp pro, the other will be either 32 bit or 64 bit vista, which ever i can get to work best. im think i might just install 64 bit home right now, since i will eventually have to activate, then contact MS and see if i cant get an 64 bit ultimate cd in the future. anyways, thanks for all the input so far- who ever posted about not ever buying another premade computer is correct- i think all my future computers (except for laptops) will be custom builds.

Well, either your system's setup somehow results in only 2.75 showing up as being addressable...or maybe one of your RAM DIMMs is bad. I forget if you have four 1 gb DIMMs or two 2 gb DIMMs. I would try taking out one DIMM at a time and see what happens to your memory allocation in the computer properties. The other option is to run Belarc Advisor and see if it shows all your DIMMs as being recognized.

[dhill1984]

im running 2gb x 2 dimms. all 4 gb showed up when i had the 64 bit os installed, but right now it is only showing 2.75 gb on both ultimate and xp pro. i guess i would have to go into BIOS to fix this?

[smax013]

dhill1984 said:

im running 2gb x 2 dimms. all 4 gb showed up when i had the 64 bit os installed, but right now it is only showing 2.75 gb on both ultimate and xp pro. i guess i would have to go into BIOS to fix this?

I am not sure there is a fix. If it is the problem that I noted in the link, then there is NOTHING that you can do.

[dhill1984]

what is a good cpu temp? right now BIOS says its 43*C right now at idle. also- any tips on setting up dual boot drives?