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Ask Root: Computer Physical Installation

root — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 04:22:00 GMT

gulch1969:

In 2 weeks or so I will be putting together my very first build (FINALLY!)
What order should I install everything to have a quick, painless and hopefully be free of the BSOD.

Root:

Congrats! Well, from my own building experience, the first one can be painful. So here are my lessons learned for you good sir.

Golden Rules:
Touch metal before you touch any electrical part
When playing with power, work with one hand (2 hands may create a circuit, through your heart).
If you fear electrocution, touch the wire in question with the back of your hand (your muscles, out of reflex, will tighten--back of the hand means you won't grip the wire).
Take your time
Make sure parts are securely pushed in (half pushed in memory sticks can smoke your memory and possibly your board)
If you smell something burning (burnt circuity has a distinct smell) shut down immediately and unplug all power
Unplug the power cord before you work on any part inside the case
Research and plan carefully (this is one hobby that can cost you some green if you screw up)
READ THE MOTHERBOARD'S MANUAL FRONT TO BACK!
Google is your friend (as well as EggXpert of course!)
Some materials to have at hand (not necessarily required):
Magnetic screw driver (saves you a lot of grief with those pesky screws)
Flashlight
Cardboard
Sturdy work table
SATA and/or PATA cables (if you have more devices than the amount of cabling your mobo provides)
Thermal Material Remover/Thermal Surface Purifier (my recommendation)
Thermal Paste (my recommendation)

Physical Installation Steps:
Lay the mobo down on an anti-static bag (sturdy work table is a plus)
Make sure you are standing on hardwood floors, tile, or cardboard (static isn't out friend) as you do the rest of the steps (remember Golden Rules)
Install the CPU and heat sink
Purify the CPU if you've bought the purifier (not required)
Apply thermal paste (if you don't want to use the stuff that comes with your HSF--not required)
Mount heat sink fan (remember to scrape off the thermal paste that usually comes with a retail CPU's HSF if you are using a third party thermal paste).
Install memory (according to mobo manual)
Switch to the case, install PSU (Power Supply Unit)
Install any optical drives and hard drives
Hook up cables to the mobo (before you mount the mobo to the case) and attempt to boot up.
Assuming a successful boot (No bootable device found or boot to CD ROM), unplug all cabling and mount mobo to the case and install the back IO plate
Hook back up all cabling, but make sure there is proper airflow (cables are tucked neatly away).
Test each part
Memory: Memtest86
CPU/Memory: Prime95 ver 25.4
Drives: Thrash

Have any tips of your own for gulch1969 or to anyone else reading this? Leave a comment!

Until next time users,

Ask Root: Diagnostic Doctor

root — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:55:00 GMT

condar

Root,
I'd like a general guide to diagnosing computer problems. Can you help me out?

Root

Are you just getting into the Geeky world of computers like my friend condar? Have you told your family yet? If you have, I'm afraid to be the barer of bad news.
My dearest young padawan, you have been forever marked.
"Marked, WTF mate?"
You are now your family tree's (as well as any trees nearby) tech support and you will forever be on call 24x7x365 with little financial opportunity.
"But I only told mom...."
I'm sorry son. You are marked.
"What does this mean?"
It means that you will come into 2 different types of problems:
Those that are annoyingly simple to fix (yes, you actually have to turn ON the monitor to see your desktop)
Those that will make you want to reformat and start from scratch... but you can't... because they didn't back up... and have lost the installation cds.
"But-But-I'm too young for number 2!"
Fear not my user, Root is here to the rescue.
Diagnosing problems is a science mixed with a little art and just a touch of luck. While nothing can ever replace experience, we can at least give you an outline that's a good base to start out with for any problem they (said family tree) can throw at you.

Hardware, Software, or Middleware?
There are two main layers to computers. The physical and the logical.
Hardware (physical) is the moving parts aspect of the computer. Typically when it's a hardware issue, you can't boot to the OS or if you can it doesn't last long (unless it's a peripheral problem).
Software (logical) is the witch. This is the application level of the computer, what's more tangible.
"What the heck is middleware?"
Drivers.
Close your eyes and mutter to yourself incoherently all you want, they aren't going away. Drivers are the pieces of code that allow communication between the hardware and software. This is a frequent problem and usually the first to get the finger pointed at. BSOD (blue screen of death) is where drivers' anger problems are usually found (but not always mind you).
The main focus of this section is figuring out which layer it is. Sometimes this can be difficult but the moment you know which it is, you can focus your complete attention on solutions that are more geared toward that layer.

Whiteboard your troubles
Ever seen an episode of House? There is a reason why they write down all the symptoms (as well as things that it isn't). Not only is documenting all the things you have done going to help you in the long run, but sometimes just putting these to paper can shed light on the real problem. "I've done this this and this, what am I missing? Oh, Brainblast!"
Why document? So when you come to tech sites like here for advise, you can easily show them exactly what you HAVE done. Knowing what something isn't is just as important as knowing the symptoms.

Google is your friend
Google is my strongest tool in my arsenal of tools. "Knowledge is power" is something you can take to heart in the computer troubleshooting world. Learn all the different queries and operators, as well utilize Google Groups (a hidden gem). Here is a great page that is a must read IMO. Believe it or not, there is only a finite amount of problems out there and 9 times out of 10 you aren't the first person to experience them.
Tip: Is the answer to your question just a login away? Did that Google Query give you a link that requires for you to be a member? Try checking the cache link next to the link. Sometimes tech sites don't block Google's cache feature.

Learn to think logically
This is probably the most important thing you could take from this post, and for some it's a difficult thing to learn (as well as to teach).
When you get a problem you have to go through, in your mind, how the application/hardware operates and test each of those parts. Divide (preferably in the middle) and conquer. Find out what it isn't and go down the list of what it could be by what it isn't.
Take for instance... A user says they can't boot up and you've narrowed it down to the hard drive. At this point you will want to figure out if it's a hardware or software problem. How would I figure that out? Check the BIOS. If it isn't logging in, then you know it's most likely to be a hardware problem (could be a BIOS / middleware issue though but less likely). Hardware devices need 2 things to operate: power and communication. Test the PSU (Power Supply Unit) and it's power connections to the hard drive. Then test the data communications to the mobo, both SATA/PATA cable and the port on the mobo. Try a different PSU and mobo if you have spares lying around, and make sure that you KNOW that the parts you are using to test are good.

Sort of seeing it now?
As I have mentioned, nothing can replace experience in this matter. Great way to gain it quickly? Scroll through other people's problems and see how some of our community member's respond. Watch how they diagnose people's problems, how they ask certain questions to narrow the problem down to a particular part or software application. You can't magically learn trouble shooting over night. It required knowledge of the product, how it works, and the 'troubleshooting-logical-brain" to go through the possibilities of what it is and isn't.

If anyone else has any tips that aren't in here, by all means post them up!

Until next time users,

Ask Root: Memory

root — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 02:07:00 GMT

mterickson82 Asks:

Explain memory to me, please. What's this DDR2 800 mean? And how does it relate to my motherboard?

Root: Memory can sound complex at first. But thankfully, I brought two friends with me today that will help address the common questions about memory. Say hello.

Sparker366: You owe me 10 bucks.

TheLarrikin: Who's root?

Root: Thanks guys.
TheLarrikin:
Sparker366: haha
Root: No, really. Thank's for ya'lls time. I know you guys are busy. So I hear this a lot from the new builders out there. Let's take this G.SKILL memory for instance. What can you guys tell me about this Spec's page?
Sparker366: You mind?
TheLarrikin: After you.
Sparker366:
Sparker366: From a compatibility standpoint, you have to look at two things when matching it up to your mobo. Speed and Voltage. In your example, it would be the DDR2 800 PC2 6400, and 1.8V-2.0V
Root: And for those who don't understand that?
Sparker366: Well DDR2 is part of the SDRAM family. It uses a 240pin module design with a notch in a different location then the older DDR so it can't be used in the older memory slots.
Sparker366:The 800 refers to the transfer rate. 800 has a memory clock of 200MHz at a data transfer rate of 800 Million per second (that's where the 800 comes from). Your motherboard will state what memory it can take speed wise.
Root: And voltage?
TheLarrikin: The motherboard can sometimes be flaky when it doesn't support a certain voltage. Safest bet is to check out the motherboard's compatible memory. Voltage matters most to Overclockers. The lower the voltage is, the more you can raise it, whilst maintaining stability, and increase the speed of your RAM.
TheLarrikin: Due to manufacturing revisions, DDR2 memory runs at a much lower voltage than the older DDR memory. Of course, if you have a laptop, you could undervolt your memory to save battery life (with the trade-off of having a slower machine).
Root: Speed and voltage check. What about Timings? We hear that term alot.
TheLarrikin:'Timing' is exactly that, time. Well, specifically, how much it takes for your RAM to do anything. The given 4-4-4-12 is how much time it takes for your RAM to do everything.
Root: What do the numbers mean?
TheLarrikin: I thought you might ask that. The first number, CAS Latency, is how long your memory takes (in clock cycles) to find a specified column of data. The second number is your RCD Latency. It stands for 'Row to Column Delay', and is how long between the Memory getting the Row/Column, and being able to write to it. The third number is RP Latency, and is how long your memory takes to close one Row of memory in order to be able to open another. The fourth and final number is RAS Latency, which is how long your memory takes to find a specified row in your previously specified column of data.
Root: Say I just skimmed over that, what's this translated into for the beginner builder?
Sparker366: Lower the numbers, the better. For the one you picked, that's a good baseline for DDR2 800. This is where the price comes into play, and one of the biggest reasons why it jumps significantly between two memories sticks at the same speed.
Root: And this PC2 6400 number?
Sparker366: I actually don't know that one lol
TheLarrikin: PC2 6400 is an approximate number (because it's rounded to end in nice, pretty zeros) that indicates it's theoretical bandwidth. It's easily calculated. Let's look at your example: DDR2 800 = PC2 6400. Hmm... 6400 / 800 = 8. That's all you do - take the DDR2 number, and multiply it by 8. Why, you ask? DDR2 RAM transfers data on a 64-bit wide bus (or 64 bits at a time). One byte is 8 bits, and therefore, the bus is 8 bytes wide. That's where the 8 comes from!
Root: Say I skimmed....
TheLarrikin: Higher the PC2 number, the faster the memory.
Root: haha thank you.
Sparker366: So about that money.
Root: Thank you so much guys.
Sparker366: You owe me 10 dollars.
Root: I appreciate ya'lls time. If anyone has any questions regarding this subject, feel free to leave a comment below.
Sparker366: You're ignoring me now aren't you...
Root: And now a few tips from my side kick, and partner in crime, PROACEX1

PROACEX1:

Don't use "Value RAM" when overclocking (cheap memory normally has a very low tolerance)
You can lower your voltages yet still retain the original clock speed.
Don't combine cheap memory with a good mobo (or visa verasa)... Your mobo may auto-clock your memory beyond what it should be (Thanks to EPP, most EPP compatible memory and motherboards won't have this issue)
2GB is the pretty much the standard now, get at least that.
Try to get 2 sticks (aka kits, which are matched memory modules that allow you to run the memory in Dual Channel mode). SLI is a slightly improved version of Dual Channel
How much the memory can be overclocked is based upon the EPP values.

Until next time users,

Ask Root: NTFS vs. FAT32

root — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:28:00 GMT

splendedwarrior Asks:

What are the differences and similarities between FAT32 and NTFS filesystems, and what situations are better for each?

root:

A great question that doesn't get asked often. Many people don't think about the filesystem. For those who don't know what a filesystem is, it's pretty much a lookup directory for all your files (think of a phone book, numbers/names being your data/locations). NTFS was Microsoft's response to FAT32's limitations. Did they succeed? You betcha. Here is a quick comparison of NTFS over FAT32: http://www.ntfs.com/ntfs_vs_fat.htm (Note, second and third column is NTFS and FAT32)
So when would you ever use FAT32? NTFS isn't supported by all Operating Systems (OS) so you will sometimes be forced to use it. From a strictly performance standpoint, as you can see in the comparison chart, FAT32 is better than NTFS in smaller volumes. What does "volumes" mean? Partitions. But the key words here is 'strictly performance standpoint'. NTFS has many features that aren't on FAT32, like journaling and compression. Overall, NTFS is more resilient and harder to corrupt than FAT32. Here is a great FAQ article: http://faq.arstechnica.com/link.php?...d1

Other reading materials:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTFS
http://www.ntfs.com/ntfs_optimization.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filesystems
http://arstechnica.com/paedia/n/ntfs/ntfs4-1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_partitioning

PROACEX1:

Hmm, I think NTFS5 instead of NTFS, thanks to a few more technical abilities...The former, for example, allows for encryption, while the later doesn't...FAT32 overall I've never liked too much...Good to great speed on small files, but being a power user, I mainly work with large files anyhow...Also, FAT32 compared too NTFS causes more blue screens, data loss, and other issues I don't like...Minor annoyances, but still, not good...
However, since it is just between NTFS and FAT32, I'd have to go with: NTFS, due to better speed with large files and for a better fault tolerance...Also, the overall abilities of NTFS blow FAT32 outta the water...Of course, as you said, there are many OS's which don't support NTFS or NTFS5, which is a downside...Other than a few Window's OS's, Mac OS X, and a few Linux OS's, and a few other OS's, NTFS isn't available...Details needed to ensure compatibility with NTFS (on the implementation's internals) are closed, so third-party vendors have a difficult time providing tools to handle NTFS...Which is mostl likely the reason why most OS's don't have compatability with NTFS, especially free-ware OS's, such as Linux...
Another downside to FAT32 is that, unlike NTFS even, FAT32 doesn't always have a 2 Terabyte limit like all NTFS OS's do...So FAT32 can also be a limiting factor when it comes too storage...
64-Bit OS's have some pretty good upsides, being able to normally support NTFS...
Respectfully,
PROACEX1

Do have a question? Want an Answer? Until next time users.