Original
Supplier
· Better service if things go
wrong
· Know your computer
· Can help you install via
phone
· Very easy returns
· Often more expensive
· If not local, delivery/returns take
time
Retail · See and read about product
· See working examples
· Easy returns (usually)
· Immediate purchase
· Salesmen usually don’t know
what they’re talking about
· Most expensive
· If you have any doubts about
compatibility, talk to a friend not
a salesman
Used
Equipment
· Can get pretty current
equipment
· Seller may help you with
installation/setup tips
· Private sellers tend to overprice
items—compare with new
· Caveat emptor
· Little idea how much longer part
will last
1.5HOW DO I SET UP MY COMPUTER?
Jargon
Term Definition
Manuals A set of technical texts that describe setup and maintenance of
equipment. If anything goes wrong, refer to the manuals—at least you
can get the support telephone number.
When you get your first computer, it is not exactly obvious what gets connected to what.
In fact, this is what intimidates most first-time users. I have to admit it, I feel like a little
kid sitting on the floor reading the manuals as all the cardboard and plastic lays all over
the place. But, hey! I'm a nerd! I relish in this stuff—just ask my wife!
Anyway, back to “reality”. There are basically two ways to assemble your computer: out
of the box and “piece meal”. Most would prefer the “out of the box,” because it is less
prone to problems.
1.5.1OUT OF THE BOX
When your computer is delivered, the first thing you should do is take inventory. Have
the list of features that you are supposed to get and check them off. No matter how good
a provider is, they will make some mistakes. What makes a good provider is a quick and
positive response to your problems.
Here is a list that every computer should come with:
If you have purchased some options, you should get these:
Table 7: Options' Requirements
Option What you should get
Printer Printer, power cable, parallel cable, drivers on floppy
External Modem Modem, power adapter, telephone line, serial cable, drivers on
floppy
Internal Modem Telephone line (you should see the two telephone jack ports in back
of your computer), drivers on floppy
1. Software: make certain you have CDs or floppies of all software (including
Windows and DOS!)
2. Cabling: you should have two power cables and may have a VGA cable (has a
metallic connector with 3-rows of five pins)
3. Computer (either tower or desktop), monitor, keyboard, mouse
4. Manuals (a must!)
Figure 3: Unpacking Checklist
Option What you should get
Scanner Scanner, power cable, SCSI cable, drivers on floppy (the provider
may not have installed your SCSI card, so you may see it in special
packaging)
External Tape Tape drive, power cable, data cable, drivers on floppy
Internal Tape Drivers on floppy
1.5.1.1Do you have to install computer cards?
See “Difficult Upgrades (Advanced)” (page 26) for information about how to install
computer cards.
1.5.1.2Cabling
This section will help you connect your computer.
Table 8: Computer Installation
Component Instructions
Computer · Plug power cable into back of computer.
· Plug power cable into power strip or wall outlet.
Monitor · Plug power cable into back of monitor.
· Plug power cable into power strip or wall outlet.
· Plug data (15- or 9-pin) into back of computer (make sure that it is
video).
Keyboard · Plug data cable into back of computer.
· You will find a circular connector that will mate—don't force it.
Mouse · If the data cable has a circular connector, find the mating connector on
the back of the computer.
· If the data cable is 9-pin and rectangular-shaped, plug into a 9-pin
female connector on back of computer.
Printer · Connect power cable or adapter.
· Plug power cable into power strip or wall outlet.
· Connect wide end (50-pin) of data cable into printer.
· Connect narrow end (25-pin) of data cable into female connector in
back of computer.
Modem
(External)
· Connect power adapter.
· Plug power adapter into power strip or wall outlet.
· Connect male-end of data cable into modem.
· Connect female-end of data cable into male 25-pin connector in back
of computer.
· Plug telephone cable (RJ-11) into “Line” jack on back of modem.
· Plug other end of RJ-11 cabling wall outlet.
· If you share voice/data on your telephone, plug your telephone into
“Telephone” jack in back of modem.
Component Instructions
Modem
(Internal)
· Plug telephone cable (RJ-11) into “Line” jack on back of your
computer.
· Plug other end of RJ-11 cabling wall outlet.
· If you share voice/data on your telephone, plug your telephone into
“Telephone” jack in back of modem.
1.5.1.3Remove any inserts for floppy/CD-ROM drives
Sometimes, computers are shipped with a cardboard insert in the CD-ROM or floppy
drives. Check to see if you got one of these inserts. Remove them—but, don't throw
them away! These will protect the delicate mechanisms from vibration; you will want to
use them later.
If you didn't get one of these, don't worry: most newer drives don't need them now.
1.5.2PIECE-MEAL (BUILDING YOUR OWN COMPUTER) (EXPERT ONLY)
For those that really want an adventure, building your own computer can be very... um...
“invigorating”. There really isn't a need to build a custom new computer from scratch,
since most manufacturers will be much cheaper than any single person's piece-meal
attempt.
However, you could piece together a used machine for very cheap. Therefore, you will
have to follow very specific steps in order to get things to work.
1.5.2.1Inventory: make sure you have everything!
Take inventory of all that you should have. Including the list of items for an Out of Box
installation, you will have to worry about the various cards/interfaces you will need.
Sometimes, these interfaces will come from the motherboard (MB):
Table 9: Installation from Ground-Up
Cards Description On MB?
Video Graphics or display card. Typically VGA. Maybe
I/O May have IDE/EIDE, serial, parallel, game ports. Some get
connected using ribbon cables mounted to connector plates.
If you have no other I/O on the motherboard (or modem or
elsewhere), you probably will not have to configure this card. See
the More Difficult section in What Can I Add Later?
Maybe
Memory Two kinds: DRAM and cache. The DRAM will typically be 30-
or 72-pin SIMMs and the cache will be DIP chips. If you install
cache RAM, you will likely have to configure your motherboard
—read the instructions supplied.
Yes
Cards Description On MB?
Network You will have to configure this card's DMA & IRQ. The RAM
on the card will not likely need changing. See the Difficult
section in What Can I Add Later?
Maybe
Modem You will likely have to configure the serial port on this card. See
the More Difficult section in What Can I Add Later?
No
SCSI You will have to configure this card's DMA & IRQ. See the
Difficult section in What Can I Add Later?
Maybe
Mouse A bus mouse is nice because it does not require any of your
precious serial ports. Usually, these do not require configuring.
Maybe
1.5.2.2CPU construction
Infrequently, some actually want to construct their own computers. I really don't know
why since most computer providers are much cheaper than buying the components
yourself. These providers buy hundreds (if not thousands) of components, so they get
substantial discounts.
Anyway, if you want to build your own computer, here's a brief list of instructions:
Be warned these instructions are very terse; they are only meant for instruction. If you
would like to learn more about computer construction take the advanced course.
1.5.2.3Configuration
After you have built your computer, you will need to do some system configuration. Out
of the Box computers will already have all these things done.
This should only get you to booting from the harddisk. Yes, this is a lot of work. The
next task is to install Windows and your software applications.
1. Install motherboard & connect to power supply.
2. Plug in memory SIMMs.
3. Install cabling for on-motherboard ports. These include ports and power.
4. Configure cards and plug into motherboard.
5. Set in floppy & harddrives, connect cabling & screw in.
6. Connect monitor and CPU power & power-on test. Power off.
7. Replace CPU housing.
8. Connect keyboard.
9. Power on again. Set up CMOS parameters for date, floppies and harddrives.
Figure 4: CPU Construction Steps
1. Power on and enter CMOS configuration.
2. Change drives settings (floppy & harddrive) & date.
3. Save settings and reboot (with boot floppy in drive).
4. Run fdisk. Partition harddrive.
Figure 5: System Configuration Steps
1.5.3SOFTWARE INSTALLATION [FUNCTIONING CD-ROM REQUIRED]
Some Out of the Box computers already have Windows and their software installed.
However, if you ever need to start all over again by formatting your harddisk, you will
have to follow these steps.
Table 10: Low-Level Installation
Exercise Instructions
To format harddisk: 15. Insert system floppy. Reboot.
16. Run `format c: /s'
17. Copy `config.sys' and `autoexec.bat' to drive.
18. Copy all necessary drivers to drive (especially the CD-ROM
drivers, for CD-ROM installation).
19. Remove boot floppy & reboot.
To install Windows
(from CD-ROM):
20. Insert Windows CD-ROM and type: “dir d:”15. You should
see the CD-ROM light go on. If you don't, get the drivers for
the CD-ROM and install them.
21. Type “d:setup”
22. Follow the directions.
To install Windows
(from floppies):
23. Insert the Windows Setup floppy. Type “a:setup”
24. Follow the directions.
To install Windows
Applications:
25. Insert the installation CD-ROM or floppy for that application.
26. Click “Start” button.
27. Click “Control Panel”
28. Click “Add/Remove Programs”
29. It may ask you the source (CD-ROM or floppy).
30. Follow the directions.
To install DOS
Applications:
31. Insert the installation CD-ROM or floppy for that application.
32. Follow directions as outlined by the application's instruction
manual.
If you make a mistake in the instructions above, sometimes you can go back to the
previous step. Otherwise, you have to start all over with re-formatting your harddisk.
DOS applications vary widely as to how they are installed. Windows improved this by
requiring all installation/de-installation programs to be called “setup.exe”. The new
Windows 95-compliant applications have to include a “de-install”—a way to remove the
application and its components.
15 Those who have two harddrives, you will need to do a “dir e:” or whatever drive letter your CD-ROM
was assigned.
1.6PROPER CARE OF COMPUTER (CPU, MONITOR, FLOPPIES, ETC.)
In order to maintain your computer for a long time, you will need to take care of it. There
are several things that will [irreparably] damage the sensitive components. This section
will describe several sources of danger.
1.6.1HEAT/MOISTURE/DIRT
Some of the most damaging things happen to a computer when it gets too hot, water
condenses on it or dirt gets in it.
Heat has sent many, many computers to an early grave. You might wonder: there aren't
very many moving parts in a computer, so how could heat damage it? The computer
components use chips which are little pieces of silicon (not silicone!) crystal. These
things are like shards of glass. As the chips heat up and cool, they expand and contract
like metal. Each time they expand and contract, the crystal weakens and eventually
fragments. With adequate cooling, the expansion/contraction is reduced to tolerable
levels.
To help proper cooling, ensure the following:
Unlike a lot of mechanical equipment, computers are very sensitive to dirt and moisture
— even a little bit can do quite a bit of damage. There are several computer covers which
will help you protect your computer when not in use. However, (with the exception of
keyboard covers) you will want to be sure to completely remove the cover while powered
—otherwise, your computer will overheat.
The computer can be exposed to moisture from various sources. The obvious sources are
spills, rain, etc. The not so obvious is bringing in a cold computer from outside. All
manufacturers recommend that the computer remain in the packaging and turned off until
it is room temperature.
1.6.2POWER
One of the obvious problems with computers and their sensitivity to electricity would be
“How do I protect my computer's power?” In fact there are several additional issues here.
· There's a 12” space from the back of the computer to any surface.
· Nothing obstructs airflow out of the rear fan.
· Nothing obstructs airflow into the computer.
· The vents on the top of the monitor are unblocked.
· The air blown out of the back is cool.
· The computer housing should not get warm; the monitor will get warm but
not hot.
· Make sure that the inside of the computer is cleaned every 1-2 years.
Figure 6: Proper Cooling Recommendations
1.6.2.1Leaving Computer “on”
Some professionals argue that if you are going to use a computer for lengthy periods of
time and everyday, the owner/user should leave the computer powered “on”. According
to them, this reduces the heat expansion/contraction cycles on the delicate silicon chips.
Also monitors will “remember” the places where the electron gun points if exposed over
and over. I’m sure you have seen those ATM machines which have an after-image of the
words on the monitor. The phosphor (the substance on the inside of the tube which glows
red, green or blue) will, over time, begin to degrade due to the constant exposure to
radiation. (By the way, this is why “screen savers” were invented.)
Historically, this could be quite a burden on power, and the CPU and monitor will age
more quickly. However, with the arrival of “green machines” (computers and
components that turn themselves off or go into low-power mode), this is not that big of
adeal. Still if you do not plan on using the computer for about a day or two, turn it off.
All new computers have to support either a “Green” or a “Deep Green” feature (others are
called “EnergyStar”) which will place the computer in a standby mode if unused for a
long time. In order for these machines to comply with “Green” and “Deep Green”, they
have to consume no more than a few watts.
One last note: a big disadvantage to leaving your computer running is that a powerouttage
may occur. When this happens, your system may not have been properly
shutdown (see “Shutting-Down (Turning Off) Computer” page 63). If you have any
doubts about the integrity of you power (you may not even notice it until you have a
computer), either get a UPS (see “Storms”, page 38) or turn off the computer when not in
use.
If the computer doesn’t get fried by the power surges, the power drops will cause the
computer to go down without a proper system shutdown. This will lead to file loss,
system instability and an eventual system crash (you will lose everything).
1.6.2.2Turning off/on
Turning “off” then “on” the computer should be done carefully. This is called “powercycling”.
Power-cycling can be damaging to the power switch (in which case you will
have to replace the whole power-supply unit), power supply and possibly the
motherboard, if you don't wait a few seconds between “off” and “on”.
A good rule of thumb is to count to ten (3-5 seconds) before turning the computer back
“on”. The delay helps the excess energy to dissipate and everything (like the harddrive)
to be quiescent before powering up again.
Also, some advertisers say that using a power strip will save the power supply on the
computer. They claim that most computers’ power switch can only handle being
pressed/switched a certain number of times. In this area, I would say a couple things: 1)
buying a surge-suppressor/power strip is a very good idea—it protects a great investment
and 2) out of all the computers I have owned/worked with, only one has had minor
problems with the power switch. Moral: “better to be safe, but there’s no rush”.
1.6.2.3Storms
Electrical storms and power surges are very damaging to computers. In one storm you
could lose everything in your computer. Even storms that don't pass overhead can strike
elsewhere and sear the power lines to your house. Additionally the power that comes into
the house is very “dirty”—it has a lot of variance in power, power surges and spikes.
How do you reduce probability of damage through power variances? There are a few
things that you can do:
Table 11: Options for Protecting Computer from Lightning
Option Description Reliability/Ease
Unplug the
Computer
When not in use or
during a storm, leave
the computer
unplugged.
· 100% reliable.
· Can be a pain.
· Should be done during vacations.
Surge
Suppressors
A power distribution
box that has outlets for
computer, monitor,
printer, etc.
Often the
manufacturers claim a
certain range of
suppression or “cleanup”.
· You get what you pay for: expect to pay $50
minimum.
· Less than $50 are simply power strips.
· No surge suppressor warrants against
lightning 100%.
· More reliable than without suppressor. No
maintenance.
Option Description Reliability/Ease
Uninterruptable
Power
Supply
(UPS)
There are many UPS
brands and they are all
pretty reliable.
· They clean up the input power from the
outlet.
· They maintain a constant voltage and cycle,
extending the life of your computer's power
supply.
· They have a large capacity battery (typically
lead-acid gel).
· If you have a “brown out” or “black out”, the
supply immediately kicks-in for as long as
necessary to save your work.
· Each supply is rated for a certain number of
watts. This will determine the amount of
time you have to save your work.
· Some have a port in the back that can be
connected to the computer which tells the
computer about the power and whether the
computer should shutdown.
· Having a UPS is becoming more and more
reasonable. Considering the investment, this
is very attractive.
· Very reliable.
· Getting cheaper ($100- 400).
· Relatively low maintenance.
· Some UPSs isolate the computer from the
outlet's power, thus ensuring power's quality.
1.6.3VIRUSES
More and more computer viruses are becoming a serious problem—especially for those
who get software from bulletin boards (BBSs, a modem-connected service which shares
programs, tools and notices) and the Internet (a world-wide network that avails us to more
information than ever before).
What are viruses? Viruses are computer programs that vindictive people write as a “joke”
or for revenge. What do they do? Most of the time, they are intended to harm other
software and sometimes your computer's hardware. It used to be impossible to harm
computer hardware with software, but with the new complex computers we have now, it
not only can happen—it does happen.
How do they get “transmitted”? Here are few ways: downloading programs from BBSs or
the Internet, using an unknown floppy (from a friend or company), email, etc. Even
normal companies have accidentally transmitted some in their software releases.
Viruses take many forms, but the intent is clear—replicate and destroy. There are many
programs on the Internet (for free) and for purchase. They range in reliability from very
good to very poor. Most will actually disinfect (or remove) the viruses if they can from
your system.
Table 12: Virus Checkers
Virus Checker Reliability Cost
Microsoft Poor (Part of Plus! Pack)
Norton Adequate $50-100
Invircible V. Good (requires expert) (free)
McAfee VirusScan Very Good $50-100
(others??)
One piece of advice I would like to pass on here: always make sure that the virus
checking software is in original packaging. This means that you should make sure that
the plastic wrap is intact and that you have software that is intact. There have been
occasions when people have bought an infected (or what they thought was) virus checker
—only to hate the day they got the machine. If you cannot be assured that the software is
intact, don’t buy it!
1.6.4SYSTEM MAINTENANCE
In order to keep your computer running efficiently there are several maintenance things
that need to be done periodically. Unless you have specific software to do this, you will
have to do it manually. Over time, if not properly maintained, you will notice lost drive
space, slower performance, or even lost data.
First of all, plan where you will store your private data, and make sure that it gets there.
In Windows 95, there is one directory (a folder of information) which is called “My
Documents”. Microsoft, by default, will place your Word, Excel, etc. files in there. If
there are several people using the computer, you may want to create directories (folders)
under “My Documents” with each user's name. This way, when you backup your
computer, you know what to backup and what not to backup (you don't need to backup
program files or Windows applications).
1.6.4.1Disk verification/defrag
As you use the computer, things are inevitably going to get a little out of whack: files
don't closed properly, programs crash, files get splashed all over the disk. Don't worry
this is actually normal for DOS and Windows! It's not great or the way things should
work, see, just normal. There are two tools that help keep the disk file system working
efficiently: “Scandisk” (or “chkdsk”) and “Defrag”.
Scandisk (was called “chkdsk”, short for “check disk”, anciently) goes through all the
files and directories and makes sure that everything “makes sense”. Typically you can
run this on “autopilot” (no prompting) if you wish. Please note that you will want to turn
off screen savers and power control (if you have any). They will force Scandisk to start
all over again each time a screen saver is called up or power saving is engaged.
Defrag is a tool that looks at your files and directories for “splattering”. Think of it like
this:
As you add and delete files, the disk gets “spotty” and has holes where no data resides.
Naturally, the operating system just fills in the holes with files. Often the files don't fit
exactly, so half the file may be in one part of the disk and the remainder elsewhere.
Fortunately, how the files are stored on the disk is hidden from you, so you don’t have to
worry about losing your data. The only thing you will notice is that the computer will
take longer and longer to do simple tasks. What would help is to periodically “rearrange”
the disk.
This is what Defrag does: it finds the files and directories that are splattered and makes
room enough to store them in one piece on the disk.
1.6.4.2Cleaning temporary files (Windows, Netscape, AOL...)
As you are working with Windows Applications, these programs use a lot of “scratchpad”
files called temporary files. There are lots of reasons to have temporary files— most
of the time it's for speeding up processing so you don't have to wait. Unfortunately, these
files don't always get erased. Several programs use these files, but some of the biggest
hogs are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, NetScape, AOL and CompuServe.
So, every so often, look in all “temp”, “tmp” or “cache” directories. Often you can
simply erase them, as long as you are not running any other application. However, keep
in mind that while NetScape and AOL (and other Internet software) store these files, it
helps speed up looking at images.
Imagine a large egg carton that has 10x10 cups. You have a hen house that
produces 3-10 eggs per day and you want to keep the eggs in the carton, but you
have to fill the cups left-to-right and top-to-bottom, filling in empty slots with
new eggs. Of course, you want to know how old each egg is, so you stamp the
date on each one.
Suppose in the course of a week you get the following batches of eggs: Day #1: 5
eggs, Day #2: 3 eggs, Day #3: 7 eggs, Day #4: 6 eggs, Day #5: 4 eggs, Day #6: 8
eggs and Day #7: 4 eggs. Also beginning with Day #2, you eat four eggs per day,
picking the eggs randomly.
Before long, eggs with the same date are not next to each other. The logical thing
to do is periodically rearrange the eggs so that all like-date eggs are together.
Figure 7: Egg Allocation Example
1.6.4.3Disk compression
If you start running out of disk space, you can get another harddisk or use the disk
compression tools—that often helps double the amount of available disk space (e.g. a
200MB free harddisk looks like 400MB). Microsoft includes one in their “Plus Pack”
called “DriveSpace”.
How it works is: each file is—as it is saved—run through a special program that
“squeezes out” the redundancy in the data. Pictures, texts, even programs have a lot of
redundancy. The new file is a fraction of the original size but does not require as much
space on the disk. Often, the average new file size is one half of the original. Therefore,
the drive appears to have almost doubled in size.
However, there is a noticeable cost. You system will run slower. Some claim that using
disk compression will increase performance; this may have been true a couple years back
but not any more. Also, if you have any problems with your disk, your compressed data
will likely be 100% lost. In order to uncompress the data after it has been compressed,
there are special pieces of data placed in the file which are like keys to unlock and
uncompress the data. If anything goes wrong, these keys will likely get damaged and
everything is lost.
Once you have decided to compress your disk, you will include running the compression
utilities as part of your maintenance cycle. Of the maintenance items, this is perhaps the
slowest and most time-consuming.
1.6.4.4Empty Trashcan
Windows 95 has a little safety feature that ensures that all harddisk files don’t get thrown
away immediately when you delete them. Instead they get moved into the “trashcan”.
Every so often, you will need to empty this can by right-mouse-button clicking the
trashcan icon and selecting “Empty trash” menu item.
To view what’s in the trashcan, double-click the icon. You can also delete items (for real
this time) by selecting what you want to toss and pressing <Delete>. Again, anything
tossed from the trashcan is destroyed for real.
Anytime you delete something on a floppy or network, it will not be saved in a trashcan.
Rather, it’s gone for good.16
1.6.5WHEN DO I UPGRADE?
On one hand you could wait and get the best computer; on the other, you get the best
available now; and lastly, you could add what you need to what you already have. The
problem with the first approach is that you will be waiting forever—each generation
bettering the previous. The problem with the second is you will be paying premium $'s
that will be obsolete that day after you order it. And, the problem with the third is that the
16 There are recovery programs that will find and repair DOS files. Windows 95 files also can be recovered
this way, but network files are always lost when you delete them. This is a good reason to save backups of
all files.
programs currently written will always need the best or latest hardware. What do you