Computer Upgrades CAUTION

Transcription

1 D Computer Upgrades If there s one thing you should take away from this book, it s not to be afraid of the computer. I realize that until you crack open the case of your (expensive) computer, the idea of doing hardware installations and upgrades seems to be the job of the (also expensive) local computer guru. The truth is, with a few simple precautions, you can do the job yourself and learn more about how your computer works in the process. This appendix is a collection of how-to steps for some of the most common upgrades of computer hardware. You shouldn t feel like you ve got to go through all of these steps all at once, but when it comes time to give your computer a facelift, these procedures should help you. In this appendix, you ll learn how to: Install system memory. Install and set up a new or additional hard drive. Add an expansion card to your computer. When you need to do any of these things, just take a deep breath, summon all your courage, and follow the steps. CAUTION Though a computer shouldn t be an object of fear, it is an expensive piece of equipment that deserves respect. Before you crack your computer case open, make sure that you have your parent s permission to do so. They might even want to supervise as you tinker with it, and that s a great idea you can all explore the inner workings of the computer together. 1

2 APPENDIX D Computer Upgrades Installing RAM Before you think about adding RAM to your computer (certainly before you make any purchases), make sure that you can answer the questions on this checklist: How much RAM do you have in your computer now? What type of RAM does your computer use, and what sizes and speeds? How much RAM do you want to add? Does your motherboard have the available slots for the memory? Is your computer still under warranty? If it is, you may be voiding that warranty by opening the case. In that instance, you might consider having an authorized technician install the new RAM. CAUTION While a visual examination can certainly let you know how many empty RAM slots your computer has, it s often hard to tell the difference between different types of RAM (and you won t be able to visually tell the speed and capacities of the slots at all). When in doubt, refer to documentation. Putting the wrong type of RAM card into your computer can damage your computer and destroy the card. If you can t easily find the answers to these questions, check your computer s documentation or contact your computer s manufacturer. Got the answers cool, let s go (see Figure D.1). CAUTION The installation of a memory module into a slot doesn t require any tools. In fact, if you re tempted to use something like a screwdriver to help seat the card, don t. The last thing you want is for that screwdriver to slip and scratch the motherboard that could turn your computer into a very expensive paperweight! 2

3 Installing RAM Figure D.1 Always unplug your computer first! 1. Turn off the computer and unplug it. 2. Discharge any static electricity you might have by grounding yourself. If you re already computer savvy, you might have an anti-static wristband, which does the job nicely. If you don t have one, then you can easily ground yourself by touching anything in your house that s grounded (like the middle screw on an a/c outlet in my home, it s grounded to the foundation of the house). See Figure D.2. Figure D.2 Removing the cover. 3. Open your computer case. In many cases, you ll need a screwdriver for this job. With some newer computers, the case can be opened with a latch or thumbscrew. When the computer s open, you ll see the motherboard and all the internal components (see Figure D.3). 3

4 APPENDIX D Computer Upgrades Figure D.3 RAM slots on the motherboard. 4. Locate the memory slots in your computer. There s no fast rule on where exactly those slots will be on your motherboard it depends on your motherboard. The slots will be grouped together (it s called the memory bank), so they won t be hard to find. In some of the slots, there ll be some RAM cards already (assuming that you are upgrading, and not building a machine from scratch). See Figure D.4. Figure D.4 A RAM card. 5. Taking care not to touch the bottom edge of the card (where it connects with the motherboard) or the electronics on the card (even though you ve grounded yourself, these electronics are very sensitive to electricity), remove the card from its antistatic bag. 6. If you re installing a SIMM module, take a look at the card itself. Note that the module has a small notch in one lower corner. Make sure that the notches in the card line up with the tabs in the slot. 7. If you re installing SIMMs, to install your module, you ll need to slide it into an available slot slanted back at a 45-degree angle, making sure that the corner of the card with the notch matches the corner of the slot with the tab. Make sure that the card is firmly seated in the slot. 8. If you re installing SIMMs, pull the SIMM module until it s standing upright. The slot and the plastic tab will match up. On many computers, there is a set of metal clips that will snap as soon as the card is completely installed. 4

5 Installing RAM TIP When you pull the SIMM module forward, you shouldn t have to force it. If you feel too much resistance, or if the metal clips don t catch easily, make sure that the notch is at the right end and that the card is fully seated in the memory slot. Figure D.5 A RAM card has slots for alignment With DIMM modules, you ll notice that there s no corner notch. No problem what you will see are a couple of notches in the bottom of the card, where it will attach to the motherboard. Notice that the notches are off center. When the time comes to insert the module into the slot, you ll match up these notches in the module with the un-indented area of the RAM slot on the motherboard (see Figure D.6). Figure D.6 Inserting a RAM card With DIMM modules, it s not necessary (indeed not possible) to insert the card at the 45-degree angle described previously when dealing with SIMMs. So how do you determine what kind of setup you ve got? Just take a look at the slots on your motherboard. If there s a single groove in each slot, allowing the card to move only up or down, then all you ll need to do is to press the card down 11. Close the case, plug in your computer, and start it up. Your computer will automatically detect the new memory during its POST (PPower On System Test). That s it! 5

6 APPENDIX D Computer Upgrades NOTE Many DIMM slots don t have metal clips and use simple friction to hold the card. Installing an IDE Hard Drive CAUTION If you re building a computer from scratch and this will be your system hard drive, make sure you ve got either an operating system installation disk (like Windows XP) or a bootable system disk. NOTE In a basic IDE setup, a drive must be set up as a master or a slave. The master will be your C system drive, and a second drive on the same IDE cable(for music computers it s usually for audio files) will be designated as the slave. Look to your hard drive documentation or the drive label for instructions on how to set the jumpers on the drive to configure it one of these two ways. Drives are usually preconfigured to be masters when you buy them. If you happen to have a primary and secondary IDE connector on your computer, it s a good idea to make your audio hard drive the master drive on the secondary IDE cable, rather than the slave device on the primary IDE cable. 1. Power down your computer, unplug it, and open your computer case (see Figure D.7). Refer to the Steps 1 through 3 in the previous section entitled Installing RAM to guide you though this process. 6

7 Installing an IDE Hard Drive Figure D.7 IDE connectors on your motherboard. 2. Locate your motherboard s IDE connector (your motherboard will label it). If you ve already got a hard drive set up in the computer, there will be a ribbon cable plugged into the connector. 3. Just to make the job a little easier to see, remove the IDE cable from the connector (see Figure D.8). The ribbon cable is usually very easy to remove with a bit of a rocking motion. TIP Most motherboards have built-in IDE controllers, but some older motherboards might not. In the event that there s no built-in controller, your IDE controller will come in the form of an expansion card. Figure D.8 IDE connector and power connector on your hard drive Let s disconnect any hard drives you might have now. Note that there is an IDE ribbon cable and a small 4-pin power plug. Even though the IDE ribbon cable is usually quite easy to remove, sometimes the power connector can become stuck. Just rock it back and forth, and take care not to pull on the wires. (They re fairly easy to pull out of the connector.) See Figure D.9. 7

8 APPENDIX D Computer Upgrades Figure D.9 Mounting a new hard drive. 5. Next, screw the new hard drive into the drive bay. If the drive is smaller than the bay, you ll need to use the mounting bracket included with the drive (see Figure D.10). 5 CAUTION Mounting screws will be included with your hard drive. If for some reason you re tempted to use some other screws lying around, beware because using screws that are too long can crack the circuit board under the drive. NOTE Many motherboards have not one but two IDE connectors, allowing for two IDE ribbon cables to be connected to your system (usually labeled as primary IDE and secondary IDE).. You ll be able to attach up to two IDE devices (a master and a slave) to each of the ribbon cables connected to these ports. If you have only two devices, you can make life easy on yourself and set up both the devices as masters on their own IDE chains. Otherwise, you ll have to designate masters and slaves using jumpers as outlined at the beginning of this section. 8

9 Installing an IDE Hard Drive Figure D.10 Attaching an IDE cable to your hard drive Now it s time to attach the ribbon cables to the hard drive(s). As you connect the ribbon cable from the controller to the drive, make sure the red edge of the ribbon cable is lined up with Pin 1 on the drive. (Pin 1 will be marked.) If you are adding a second drive to an IDE chain, just choose a connector on the same ribbon cable that is not used. Most ribbon cables come with three connectors: one on the end, one mid-way, and one farther away on the other end that connects to the motherboard. It generally doesn t matter which plug goes in what drive the computer detects the master/slave jumpers to identify devices. Although if you have only one drive connected to an IDE cable, it should not be connected to the middle plug (see Figure D.11). CAUTION If you accidentally insert the IDE cable backwards, you will get strange errors from your computer. Don t worry, you probably haven t killed the drive, and if you shut down the computer and turn the connector around, you should be fine. 9

10 APPENDIX D Computer Upgrades Figure D.11 Attaching a power cable to your hard drive. 7. Now it s time to supply power to the drive. Simply connect the power adapters to the drives, making sure to match up the bevels and notches on the plugs to those on the connectors Before you reassemble your computer, it s time to check your connections. Make sure that every plug is firmly seated. If you haven t tightened down the screws, you can do so at this point, but take care not to tighten them too much, as overtightening can put stress on the hard drive s circuit board. 9. Once everything is set, replace the case, plug the computer in, and start it up. If you re replacing your system ( C ) drive, you ll need to install an operating system to get the ball rolling. If you re adding a second (or third, or fourth) drive, then you ll have to format the drive to store data. Read on. NOTE Often, your computer will automatically detect the addition of a hard drive, but sometimes that doesn t happen. If so, don t worry just go into your computer s BIOS settings and configure it. You can get into your computer s BIOS (the initial settings of your computer) by hitting a specific key command, usually during power-up. Those key commands, as well as the specific organization of the BIOS window, will be outlined in your computer s documentation. (If you don t have that documentation, contact your computer s manufacturer.) Formatting a Hard Drive After you ve added a new hard drive to your system, you ll have to prepare it to hold data. Formatting a drive refers to organizing the surface of the metal disk into sectors, where data can be deposited. The good news is that it s easy to do maybe too easy, considering that formatting a disk will completely erase all pre-existing data from the disk, wiping it clean! See Figure D

11 Formatting a Hard Drive Figure D.12 The first step to formatting a hard drive. 1. From the Start button, choose My Computer. The My Computer window will appear, showing all the storage devices attached to your system (see Figure D.13). 1 11

12 APPENDIX D Computer Upgrades 2 3 Figure D.13 The hard drive s drop-down menu. 2. Right-click on the device that you want to format. A drop-down menu will appear. 3. Choose the Format option from the drop down menu (see Figure D.14). 12

13 Formatting a Hard Drive 4a 4b 4c 4d 5 6 Figure D.14 The Format window. 4. The Format window will allow you to make some choices: 4.a. Capacity: How much of your drive to you want to use? Typically, you will choose the greatest capacity. 4.b. File System: If NTFS is available to you, it is generally recommended. 4.c. Allocation Unit Size: This determines the smallest area of your disk that can be used to hold data. Choosing Default Allocation Size will minimize the amount of wasted space on your drive. 4.d. Volume Label: This is where you can enter a name for your drive 5. Do not check any of the format options. 6. When you re all set, breathe deep and press the Start button in the format window. Formatting will now begin. When it s finished, you ll be able to store data on this drive. 13

14 APPENDIX D Computer Upgrades CAUTION I ve gotta say it one more time, before you go on to the last step. Formatting a drive will permanently remove all the data that previously existed on it. Don t format a hard drive until you are absolutely sure that you can afford to lose all the data on that drive! TIP Hard drives aren t the only storage devices that can be formatted. Floppy disks, zip disks, and others can be formatted as well. Adding an Expansion Card In a music computer, you re likely to add music-related expansion cards, like an upgraded sound card, SCSI hard drive controller card, or even additional microprocessors for more powerful audio effects. These easy steps will help you install any card onto your computer s motherboard. CAUTION Before you lay your money down for a card for your computer, make sure that your computer can handle the card you want to add. Here are a few questions to ask before buying: Do I have the right kind of computer type (Mac or PC) for the card? Do I have the right kind of expansion slots (PCI, ISA) for this card? Do I have the right operating system (Windows XP, 2000, etc.) for the card that I want to buy? Do I have an available empty slot for this card? 1. Turn off the computer and unplug it. 2. Discharge any static electricity you might have by grounding yourself. See the section on installing RAM for more details on how to do this. 3. Open your computer case. In many cases, you ll need a screwdriver for this job. With some newer computers, the case can be opened with a latch or thumbscrew. When the computer is open, you ll see the motherboard and all the internal components (see Figure D.15). 14

15 Adding an Expansion Card Figure D.15 Removing the slot cover. 4. Locate your available expansion slots. In many cases, empty slots are accompanied by a plain metal cover. Before you can install your card, you ll have to remove this blank cover with your screwdriver (usually Phillipsstyle screws are used here). Make sure that you keep the screw, as you ll need it later (see Figure D.16). Figure D.16 Inserting an expansion card. 5. Using firm, even pressure, slowly slide the bottom of the card (where the connectors are) into the slot (see Figure D.17). 15

16 APPENDIX D Computer Upgrades Figure D.17 A well-seated expansion card. 6. Once the card is in the slot, visually check the seating of the card. Make sure that the card is level in the slot and the brass-colored connectors are fully inserted in the card slot. 7. Now that everything is 6 okay, use the screw that was holding the slot cover to anchor the card. Take special care not to overtighten (these screws are easy to strip!). 8. Close the case, plug in your computer, and start it up. Since different kinds of cards demand different kinds of configurations, you should refer to your new card s documentation to find out how to install drivers and other related software. That s it! 16