Top Mistakes made by newbie box builders

[flexy]

10% hardware, 90% software/setup

Common mistakes:

Problems with too old hardware (eg. drives not dma capable, hangs while setup...happened to me)
Messing around/installing CPU or heatsink....(with a screwdriver....too much thermal paste....scratched motherboard etc...)

Putting in Ram sticks the wrong direction (yeah...that really happened to one..i remember this thread a while ago....amazing if you consider the ram sticks usually have a notch and only fit one way )

Forgetting to connect fans to the PSU/MoBo connectors..therefore blowing a cpu

Stuck PSU and/or HD/Floppy drive connectors......(literally ripping the cable off the plug while the plug is stuck in the drive )

Jumpers (in general...they're always good for some fun )

Btw..."installing RAM while motherboard is in the case"

I do that all the time (and i will do again today, i got a RMA back from curcial)....do you seriously expect removing the whole board because i want to add/exchange a new ram stick ? I hate that too...especially since the board usually always bends down a bit and there is no way of pushing against it from the other side...

I just wish it would be common that there are like additional stands BELOW the ram connectors (in the middle) on the back of the board just to avoid that "bending"...but obviously no mobo manufacturer ever came to that idea :/

Edit:

A few years ago i got that 486 board with a DX40 cpu... took it out (better: my roommate )...looked at it...put it back..wanted to try out the new purchase.
Board didnt fire up...no bios...no nothing.....
Called the one guy you sold me the board....met him...went to a computer repair center to let the board check out whether it worked fine.
Turns out the CPU was put in the wrong way Put it in the right way..board fired up...everything was fine....sometimes *really* stupid things can happen

 

[mjolnir2k]

Standoffs are the little "bumps" that are on your case where your MotherBoard will be screwed down. These are where you will screw in the MoBo retaining screws. Having one out of place and contacting the MoBo directly might cause an issue like a short. Not having a "spacer" between your MoBo and the standoff might also cause an issue if your MoBo is not pre-equipped with protective spacers (little eyelets around the screw holes as opposed to bare MoBo).

I think that's what he meant anyway.

 

[J Heartless Slick]

1. Working on the system with the powersupply plugged in.
2. Starting the system without having the heatsink properly installed.
3. Pouring water on the system

 

[Scurvy]

"One potentially big problem that is often overlooked is how to format the disk. If you are installing a brand new disk, most of them don't mention how to format it, and usually the motherboard manual won't say either (at least one's that I've seen). Make sure you have a bootdisk (i.e. a windows startup disk) handy so that you can fdisk. "


Is this really still an issue? I am also about to build from scratch, and I've asked about this on another board and the word I got was that the old bootdisk method is unnecessary now as long as the mobo recognizes the master optical drive in BIOS .... if so then you can set it to be first to boot and then reboot with the Win XP disk in the drive. Win XP setup will then format and partition (if you want) the cherry hard drive.

Am I wrong, or is there some reason not to do it this way?

 

[AA0]

Most people spend way too much on a case when they'll never use the features, or even be in it much. Generic is fine.

PSUs are generally fine at 300W, even no name brands. Some motherboard require pricey PSUs though. I find less problems with cheap psus, then with brand name ones.

Most people pick any motherboard, you can't do that. Don't go cheap, especially your first time, you'll just cause problems.
Video card shouldn't matter for the most part, same with sound. Unless you want something special.

The building isn't the hard part, thats easy. Just follow the manual with your board, it will tell you how to do it right. Picking out parts that work well, and are stable are the hardest part. Most people don't think, they just slap things together.

 

[Jerboy]

Athlon system:

1.crushing the CPU core

2.frying the CPU due to improper installation. My poll said 20-30% has destroeyd their processors at least once.

 

[Mavrick007]

I don't see why they don't make mobo trays out of plexiglass or something as sturdy. It wouldn't short out the mobo and would look cool cause you could see the back of the board.

Make sure you try to have the jumpers configured to what they should be before powering up the system. Double check everything over after components and cpu are inserted to make sure connection is good and in the right orientation. HD cables in right direction, fans connected, etc.

After components are in place, make sure you read up on adding a new component or a series of components to your system. Sometimes you have to load drivers in a certain order for them to work correctly.

 

[inqztive]

I haven't built any pentium systems. so the list here is only for athlon system.

1) Not doing research before buying (comatibility of components)
2) Buying a case that would block your CPU fan or make it impossible to install the CPU fan.
3) Buying a case that would not support atleast two 80 mm case fans.
4) Buying a case that doesn't have enough length and your CD rom hit the memory module when installed
5) Open the the boxes and take out your mobo and other cards and specially the hard drives with bare hand without grounding yourself first as soon as they arrive.
6) Not reading the mobo manual.
7) Try to push the CPU in the socket with wrong orientation
8) Not putting your mobo on hard flat static free surface while installing the CPU heat sink and cooler.
10) screwdriver slipping off and hitting the mobo while installing CPU cooler.
11) putting excessive pressure and break the core while installing the CPU
12) putting no or excessive thermal paste between CPU and cooler.
13) Touch the cpu core with bare finger tip to distribute the paste. (use a clean metallic object, the oil and dirt on hand prevents proper heat transfer later)
14) Not connecting the CPU fan to the CPU fan header on mobo.
15) Not putting your mobo on hard flat static free surface while installing the memory
16) Installing the memery backwards (specially DDR memory) and not able to snap in the clips
17) Drppping screws on the mobo while setting it in the case.
18) Using a strong magnetic screw driver
19) Pressing the ATX power cable in reverse.
20) Not installing the video card right
21) CD/ Hard drive master/slave jumper setting.
22) Connect CD/ hard drive on wrong end of ribbon cable
23) Trying to connect the power cable to HD/CD rom in reverse
24) Connecting the floppy cable in reverse or wrong connector
25) Connect the front panel LEDS and speakers in reverse
26) Not checking the power supply selector switch weather its on 110 or 220V. (I bought a box where it came with switch at 220v)
27) Not looking at the CPU fan when you switch on for the first time. (even if you have done everything right the fan may be defective and not rotating, happenned to me)
28) connect the monitor cable while it's on
29) connecting any component (even a case fan) while the power is on.

If I can think of something more i will put it here.

 

[SpecialEd]

ugh.. i hate the damn HDD LED... i never get it on right... and I never care enough to switch it once everything is set up.

 

[cthulhu]

When I built my first machine, I didn't check the power supply setting - it was set to 230 not 115, from what I remember. The pc would seem to boot up but there was no video. Everything worked like a charm when I changed the setting on the ps.

 

[apoppin]

<< Top Mistakes made by newbie box builders >>


No.1: Not using the "search" function before posting a GH thread asking for help.



No.2 is probably not researching the component combo thoroughly.

 

[flexy]

overclocking

Never cared about a few mhz more before...but since i have this new system now i already shot a Radeon 8500 retail card and (last week) a stick of 256MB crucial ram.
FSB was at 144...system stable and everything...'til all of a sudden the ram went defective.

May be the case that i just didnt have luck with my 1st radeon retail AND also got a "bad" stick of ram.....but going thru all that hardware in a matter of 2 months..and sending the stuff back in the hope to get it replaced/fixed...system downtime....data loss etc...REALLY makes me think twice about how "benefitial" overclocking is...and a system may even be stable (there are programs like prime95 etc.).....but (nevertheless) the life time of components can be shortend *considerably*....

I think it may well fit into the category "newbie mistakes"

 

[apoppin]

I gotta agree and disagree about O/C'ing.

Overclocking too soon is a newbie error. Make sure the system is absolutely stable before attempting a mild O/C. That might mean days or weeks at default and not ignoring odd O/S inconsistencies.

That way - if you O/C - you will already have a track record of stability to compare to. O/C'ing (within reason) is not inherently dangerous.

 

[kgraeme]

4-in-1's are a package of drivers for VIA motherboards.

 

[The Sauce]

<< 3. Pouring water on the system >>


Hah! Yeah, where is DocRetard these days?

Another word about the spacer thing. When you go to install the mobo onto the mobo tray in the case you will see a lot of holes in the mobo tray. These are used to screw the mobo onto the tray and secure it there. However, you can't screw the mobo directly onto the case (usually)...you have to install spacers. These are like little screws that go into the case that you can, in turn, screw something else into. They keep the mobo up off of the case. The problem is that there are more screw holes in the mobo tray than there are holes on the mobo (in order to accomodate more than one mobo type). Now if you put one of these screws into the tray where there is no corresponding hole in the mobo, it will touch the bottom of the mobo and short something out. this usually presents as a black screen on boot-up with no-POST.

 

[clumsum]

EyeOfThe,

Wow ................ so many good responses, should make this thread a "FAQ"!!!

One other thing ...................... is that last week I was looking at a new Gigabyte mainboard (in the retail box) and I was amazed at the excellent fold-out poster type "How to" documentation for new builders that came enclosed.
I can't remember the exact model, but it was a new Athlon DDR board w/the dual bios.............plus LAN.
I have no experience w/Gigabyte mb's ....... but I would not hesitate to try one, they have a good reputation, ...... why not make your first pc project as easy as possible?
You may want to at least look at one (Gigabyte mb) locally, just to check out the documentation, if you prefer some other product then most of the steps are very similiar?
I just could not help wishing that I had access to such a good guide on my first build!

Again ......... good luck,

 

[Dreadogg]

<< Hah! Yeah, where is DocRetard these days? >>

That guy will never live that down!

 

[hopeless879]

<< there's no such thing as cheap and good >>



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Also make sure the voltage is set to 115 on your power supply. Made that mistake my first time, tried to boot up, fans turned on, but nothing else, no beeps, nothing. Took me a couple hours and various emails to get it right, eventhough it was very simple. Just take your time and don't give up and pay someone else to do it. (Like i almost did)

 

[jkellynewyork]

My biggest mistake was shopping around for computer parts. I thought the parts were inexpensive at the time but then later found out through the internet that I could have got the components a lot cheaper. That will really piss you off when you see much cheaper prices or the ability to have bought a much better piece of equipment for the same price of the lower end equipment you already bought. Also, I think a lot of the parts at the computer shows are repackaged refurbished or used goods. All of the other problems I had building my first computer were minor adjustable problems that have already been covered by everyone else.

 

[bravesfan258]

There's been a lot of talk about spacers, but I haven't seen this specific issue mentioned.

Spacers Summary:
The mobo spacers have a threaded (male) screw on one end, and a female screw hole on the other. They're used to hold the mobo off of the side of the case, and to secure the mobo. Maybe the picture helps:

Mobo Screw: ]-- Mobo: || Spacer: ]=-- Case: ]
]-- || ]=--]

My newbie problem with spacers: I put my spacers in the wrong holes, but only discovered this after I had begun screwing in the motherboard. When I went to unscrew the mobo, it turned out that because the mobo screw was tighter in the spacer than the spacer was in the case, that I was unscrewing the SPACER below the mobo, and not the mobo screw from the spacer. That sounds complicated, but I don't know how else to describe it.

Long story short: Screw the SPACERS into your case tightly: you wont hurt your case or the spacer. Then lightly but firmly screw in your motherboard

 

[stonecold3169]

The whole mobo shorting out thing, couldn't this be nullified by using those little plastic spacers as opposed to metal ones? Ypu know, you screw in the plastic plug, and then you slide the fat end through the mobo mounting holes and it expands to hold it tight?

 

[wyvrn]

If you have extras, yes. But a lot of cases don't come with the plastic connectors while almost all of them have the metal spacers.



<< The whole mobo shorting out thing, couldn't this be nullified by using those little plastic spacers as opposed to metal ones? Ypu know, you screw in the plastic plug, and then you slide the fat end through the mobo mounting holes and it expands to hold it tight? >>

 

[davesaudio]

Don't Panic
Don't believe everything we "experts" say
-just kidding , lots of good advice above

can u find an experienced mentor locally?

 

[bjc112]

i tihnk the most Serious is HSF...

but the less serious are definatley the LEDs...

 

[ed21x]

do yourself a huge favor and get a case with a removeable motherboard tray. It'll make life infinitely easier