List the most useful Building TIP to avoid disastors

[goofy2000]

We all have different pcs, different experiences and disastors
What would be the most useful tip you can give to someone on building a PC, oh wise ones?

Mine would be.... don't fall in love with your pc. It will break ur heart. (and they get old quite fast too..)

 

[madthumbs]

Don't skimp on the quality of any parts (especially power supply, motherboard, case, and ram).

 

[chansen]

1. Unplug the thing.

2. Make sure everything is fully inserted.

3. Plug the thing in.

(in that order)

Regards,
Craig

 

[Charles]

madthumbs is right.

 

[goldboyd]

DON'T FORGET THE SPACERS!!!

 

[Paladinexe]

chansen has it very close to right. It should not be plugged in to begin with if you are just building it. First step is to learn what you will be doing before starting. Possibly build a practice system with the cheapest components (mainboard in particular) if you are prone to do things as swap out a floppy drive with the system powered up. Hmmmmm. Anyone reading between the lines here?

 

[Roguetech]

Always have some method to get onto the internet if things go horribly wrong! The internet is your life-life! Drivers, updates, patches, advice, etc. No internet, you're stuck with your local CompUSA rep, which is BAD thing!

 

[RossGr]

Do your initial built out of the case. Install, CPU, Memory, Vid card, power(both switch and PS), Speaker, mouse, and keyboard while the Mobo is sitting on a insulated surface (a piece of cardboard will do nicly). If you can boot to the BIOS screen you know all of the basic components are good. If you do not get to BIOS it is now easy to access the components for reseating/ testing.

Once you get it to boot to BIOS, power down and unplug. (The ATX PS is not "cold" until unpluged).

Now mount the mobo in the case, (leave CPU and Memory installed) Be sure that the case standoffs line up with mobo mounting holes, DO NOT LEAVE EXTRA FOR "SUPPORT". Boot to BIOS again.

Now install the HD and floppy.

Install the OS.

After the OS is up, install the sound card, (it's a resource hog get it going first).

Then install the rest of your cards. Sometimes it helps to try different slots if the system hangs.

ENJOY

 

[WileCoyote]

don't forget the cup holder.

 

[Bignate603]

Always unplug before you do anything. I added a fan while my computer was on once and nice little blue sparks flew out of the power connector.

 

[nickburns]

Definetly take your time, ensure the motherboard is mounted well. Work on the motherboard (set jumpers, instal CPU and ram before mounting the board.

 

[Muerto]

madthumbs is right on the money. You should skimp on critical parts like the motherboard, power supply, and RAM.

I always like to partition my hard drive so if the OS crashes and I can't fix it I don't lose all my data when I format. I've talked to so many people who haven't done that and lost everything during a format.

 

[AmdEmAll]

Dont drink and build at the same time

 

[madthumbs]

Unplugging it takes away its proper grounding. If it isn't grounded properly, it wont discharge static properly when you touch it. Even when the PC is plugged in and off it is grounded. Another thing to check is that your power socket is properly grounded. If you use an anti static wrist band, it still needs proper grounding as well.