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Industry since 1983

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TASK 03 Unit 1 Basic Computer Assembly and Testing

During this TASK the VIDEO CARD will be plugged into the MOTHERBOARD and secured. Power will be applied to the
computer and the results will be monitored.
Parts List
Video Display Card Since the MOTHERBOARD will require power we shall be connecting a
Monitor power plug to it. Power will also be required for the CPU, the FAN on the
Mains Lead CPU and the internal COOLING FAN. We shall connect the INTERNAL
Patch Lead SPEAKER and POWER SWITCH

Before connecting the MAINS CABLE and switching on, you should check that the FAN on the HEAT SINK is free to
rotate. When we do switch on several things should happen

• The FAN on the CPU should immediately rotate, if it does not a serious problem may have occurred such as one
of the metal supports is shorting out the MOTHERBOARD. However it could also mean that there is no power to
the FAN. In any event if the FAN does not rotate always SWITCH OFF then check your connections.

• The INTERNAL COOLING FAN should also rotate if it has been connected to a power plug, if it does not rotate
SWITCH OFF and check your connections.

• Since we have also connected the INTERNAL SPEAKER we should hear an AUDIO BLEEP

• If all is well and both FANS rotate and a BLEEP is heard we should have a number of messages on the screen.
In most cases this will comprise of the following

MAKE OF MOTHERBOARD. Most MOTHERBOARDS will at this point display the name, type and a Version
number here.

CPU DETAILS. If the settings of the CPU SPEED were previously set then this should display the correct
speed.

AMOUNT OF MEMORY. This should be the total of the RAM that was fitted in the last TASK

NO HARD DRIVES DETECTED. At this stage since it has not been connected to the MOTHERBOARD
through a DATA CABLE it is something we should expect.

FLOPPY DISK DRIVE FAILURE. Once again since this has not been connected to the MOTHERBOARD
we can expect this.

KEYBOARD ERROR OR NO KEYBOARD FOUND. Another expected result since one is not connected

CMOS CHECKSUM ERROR. This is the result of DISCHARGING THE CMOS which was done in the
previous TASK

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It should be pointed out that not all of the previous messages will appear as this will depend upon the type of
MOTHERBOARD you are installing.

1. Insert the ATX 20 PIN MOTHERBOARD POWER CONNECTOR into the MOTHERBOARD.

HOW: Fig 01
a) Locate the 20 PIN ATX POWER SOCKET on the MOTHERBOARD fig 01
b) Plug the POWER CONNECTOR from the MAINS POWER SUPPLY into this. You
should note that because of its shape it will only go in one way.

2. Insert the 12 VOLT CPU POWER CONNECTOR

HOW:
a) Locate the 12 VOLT CPU POWER SOCKET on the MOTHERBOARD, fig 02
b) Trace from the INTERNAL POWER SUPPLY the 4 PIN CPU POWER
CONNECTOR and push it into the MOTHERBOARD SOCKET.
20 Pin ATX CONNECTOR

Fig 02
Fig 03
3. Insert a POWER PLUG for the INTERNAL COOLING FAN

HOW:
a) From the INTERNAL COOLING FAN you will find a 5 ¼” POWER
SOCKET, find a spare 5 ¼” POWER PLUG and plug it in, fig 03

Most MOTHERBOARDS have expansion slots called the PCI SLOTS. The number of
these slots depends upon the type of MOTHERBOARD, in the example shown, fig 04
there are three. The PCI (PERIPHERAL COMPONENT INTERCONNECT) SLOTS
are connected to the FSB (FRONT SIDE BUS) SYSTEM of the MOTHERBOARD
and are used for expansion purposes, such as MODEMS, NETWORK CARDS and
VIDEO CARDS. These DEVICES are plugged into the SLOT and secured with a
fixing screw. The PCI SLOTS are
normally WHITE as shown in fig 04 and have a BREAK in them. The
Fig 04 DEVICES that are plugged into them contain one or two NOTCHES for
alignment purposes, fig
05

PCI Video
Adapter
Break
Fig 05

Notch

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Although the PCI is more than adequate for most communication devices such as MODEMS and NETWORK
ADAPTERS it lacks the speed that 3D GRAPHIC VIDEO ADAPTERS demand. One problem with the PCI SLOTS is
when the DEVICE that is plugged into the slot requires access to the main memory it has to wait until the CPU is free to
handle its request.
AGP Video
Adapter The AGP (ACCELERATED GRAPHIC PORT) was designed to solve this problem
by being able to access the main memory directly, without waiting FOR the CPU
to be free. This port is used specifically for the new generation of 3 D GRAPHIC
ADAPTERS.

The AGP PORT is normally brown and is shorter than the PCI SLOT, fig 04

Fig 06 Notice the physical difference

between the edge connectors
of the PCI and AGP ports

4. Insert a suitable VIDEO DISPLAY CARD

HOW:
a) If you need to insert a VIDEO card you will need to remove one of the BLANKING PLATES found on the
rear of the computer, fig 07
b) Remove the VIDEO DISPLAY CARD from its ANTI STATIC PACKING taking care not to touch the
electronics components.
c) Locate a PCI SLOT (normally white) or AGP SLOT
(normally brown) on the MOTHERBOARD and insert it by
applying equal pressure.
d) Secure the VIDEO CARD using a screw.

Some MOTHERBOARDS have the VIDEO ADAPTER already built onto

them fig 08, this is a 15 PIN FEMALE PORT If you are installing a PCI
Fig 07 or AGP Video Card then
Fig 08
remove one of the metal
panels

5. Attach the POWER SW (SWITCH) and the INTERNAL SPEAKER to the MOTHERBOARD

HOW:
a) Connect the POWER SW to the FRONT PANEL CONNECTOR

First find the connector labelled as POWER SW, normally this will have a BLUE and WHITE WIRE, fig 09. Now locate
the FRONT PANEL CONNECTOR, this is where all the SWITCH’S and LED’S on the front
of the COMPUTER CASE are connected to, a typical layout is shown in to fig 10

Fig 09

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 Front Panel Fig 10a
Fig 10 Connector
2 4 6 8
Fig 10a is a typical illustration you would find in a schematic diagram, and the black area represents
the position of the POWER SW on the FRONT PANEL CONNECTOR. Notice the BLACK LINE on
the left-hand side of fig 10a, this indicates the lowest pin number or pin 1. Fig 11 shows the
numbers of each pin although in most cases only pin 1 will be indicated. 1 3 5 7 9
Fig 11
As we can see in fig 11 the POWER SW is connected across pin 6 and 8, but the question is what colour
wire should be connected to which pin number? In this instance it would not normally be a problem since the POWER
SW does not have polarity, but if it was an LED then it would mater.

It is industrial standard for all the coloured wires to be facing the lowest pin number. In our
example the BLUE WIRE should be connected to pin 6. BLACK and WHITE are not
considered as colours so if the wires where GREEN and BLACK then the GREEN WIRE would
be connected to pin 6.

Power SW
Fig 12 shows the position of the POWER SW on the FRONT PANEL CONNECTOR. On some
occasions you may encounter a connector with a BLACK and WHITE WIRE, this means it does
not have any preference and can be connected either way around.

b) You should now connect the POWER SW to the FRONT PANEL CONNECTOR
and remember that the coloured wire should be connected to the lowest number
c) Locate the SPEAKER WIRE this again will contain two wires but normally is on a 4 Fig 12
pin connector, fig 13
d) Find on the SPEAKER CONNECTOR on the MOTHERBOARD see fig 14

Fig 13

Fig 14
1 2 3 4

Speaker connector

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Once again we can apply the fact that all the coloured wires are connected to the lowest pin number, so the RED WIRE
should be connected to pin 1, fig 15

It is useful to know that once you have established where pin 1 is on a connector, then pin 1
Red
will be the same on all the other connectors that are facing the same way, fig 14 may help to
explain this better.
Speaker
Fig 13

Pin 1 has been found on this

connector, so all connectors facing
Fig 14 this way (vertically) will have pin 1 in
the same position (Bottom)

Pin 1

Pin 1 Pin 1

Pin 1 has been found on this

connector, so all connectors facing
Pin 1 this way (Horizontally) will have pin 1
in the same position (left-hand side)

e) Connect the SPEAKER WIRE to the FRONT PANEL CONNECTOR

6. Connect the MONITOR and check for POWER

HOW:
a) Connect the SVGA 15 PIN LEAD from the MONITOR into the
VIDEO DISPLAY CARD or the on-board VIDEO ADAPTER of the
computer
b) Ensure that the FANS are free to rotate
c) Insert a MAINS LEAD into the rear of the computers POWER
SUPPLY,

Before continuing double check the following,

9 That the MOTHERBOARD SUPPORTS (if used) are not shorting the
MOTHERBOARD
9 That the 20 PIN ATX MOTHERBOARD POWER PLUG has been
connected

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 9 That you have connected the 4 PIN CPU POWER CONNECTOR to the MOTHERBOARD (Where required)
9 That the internal COOLING FAN has power (where applicable)
9 That the VIDEO ADAPTER is seated correctly and secured (if fitted)
9 That the POWER SW is in the correct position on the FRONT PANEL
CONNECTOR
Pin 15
9 That the SPEAKER WIRE has also been connected to the MOTHERBOARD.
Some MOTHERBOARDS already have a SPEAKER built onto them as shown in
fig 15

7. Check the rear POWER MAINS SWITCH

HOW:
a) If the POWER SUPPLY has a MAINS SWITCH it should switch to the ON position now.

8. Check for POWER

HOW:
a) Press the OFF/ON BUTTON on the front of the case. When the computer is
first switched on the FAN on the HEATSINK should rotate immediately, if it
does not the computer should be switched off
b) The INTERNAL POWER SUPPLY FAN should also rotate, , if it does not
the computer should be switched off
c) In some cases you may find a third FAN, again if this does not rotate,
SWITCH OFF and check your connections.
d) Check the MONITOR for messages fig 16 and in most cases you will hear a
BLEEP(S)
1 This Motherboard has a Phoenix Award
1 BIOS, another popular BIOS is American
Phoenix – AwardBIOS v6.))PG, An Energy Star Ally
The quick(C)
Copyright brown fox
1984-2005, Phoenix Technologies, LTD Megatrends (back to this in future Tasks)
2 WinFast 760GXK8MC Series 54EW1P23 100805
It is Manufactured by Winfast, another popular
3 Main Processor : AMD Sempron (tm) Processor 2600+ make is Asrock. This is followed by a model
2
Installed Memory : 256M OK 4 number, in this example it is 760GXK8MC

5 IDE Channel 0 Master : None The CPU is an AMD SEMPRON 2600+.

IDE Channel 0 Slave : None
IDE Channel 1 Master : None
AMD is the Manufacturer and SEMPRON
IDE Channel 1 Slave : None 3 2600+ is the model

IDE Channel 2 Master : None

IDE Channel 3 Master : None 4 This is the total RAM we installed

5 Since we have not connected any Hard

6 Floppy disk(s) fail (40) Drives to the Motherboard, we can expect
that the IDE Channels will all be NONE
7 CMOS checksum error – Default loaded

We can ignore the Floppy Disk drive error

Fig 16 6 since we have not connected one to the
Motherboard
Press F1 to continue, DEL to enter SETUP
10/08/2005-SiS-760-6A7I7FKAC-00
The CMOS checksum error was caused when
we discharged the CMOS.
7

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It didn’t BOOT !!

If you are following this course practically and the computer did not initialise then you will need to fault find. Go back to
instruction 6 and check for power etc. If these prove to be okay then it is possible that the CMOS has caused the
MOTHERBOARD to shut down.

Some MOTHERBOARDS have a special protection built in that can cause them not to not REBOOT (BOOT is the
process which the computer follows when it is first switched on, we shall be examining this later) if a fault is detected. As
an example if a computer is switched on and off quickly three times then this will cause it to shut down. So when fault
finding you should make it a practice to DISCHARGE THE CMOS, like we did in the last TASK.

If this does not clear the problem, then it could be a component fault. Let’s list the components that we have used,

The POWER SUPPLY in the COMPUTER CASE

A MOTHERBOARD
A CPU
A RAM MODULE
(We can ignore the FLOPPY DISK DRIVE and HARD DRIVE as they are not connected to the MOTHERBOARD)

Now you need to decide which of them you should replace first. If there is POWER and the FANS are rotating then we
can disregard the POWER SUPPLY, so we are now down to three components.

We could replace the MOTHERBOARD first but it would be quicker to replace the RAM since it can be removed from
the MOTHERBOARD without any major upheaval.

If this does not cure the problem then you should replace the CPU and finally the MOTHERBOARD. As you replace each
item DISCHARGE THE CMOS.

e) Assuming that the computer did BOOT, SWITCH OFF by holding in the front OFF/ON BUTTON for 5
seconds, then remove all EXTERNAL CABLES

You should now complete ASSESSMENT 03

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 Date Students
Signature
Notes:

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