NAME ______________________________ Roll No.

_________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________

TASK: 2
Assembling and disassembling of PC
Aim: Disassemble and assemble the PC back to working condition
ATX motherboards, AGP video graphics ports, USB Universal Serial Bus, RAM memory,
CD-ROMs, sound cards, optical scanners, and modems/faxes.

PREPARATION
Computer motherboards and expansion cards contain very delicate integrated circuit
(IC) chips. To protect them against damage from static electricity, you should follow
some precautions whenever you work on your computer.

1. Unplug your computer when working on the inside.

2. Use a grounded wrist strap before handling computer components. If you do not
have one, touch both of your hands to a safely grounded object or to a metal
object, such as the power supply case.
3. Hold components by the edges and try not touch the IC chips, leads or
connectors, or other components.
4. Place components on a grounded anti-static pad or on the bag that came with
the components whenever the components are separated from the system.
5. Ensure that the ATX power supply is switched off before you plug in or remove
the ATX power cod.

Assembling a Computer
After buying all the computer components they must be put together. This process is
called assembling. It usually takes about fifteen minutes (installing not included).
Although easy, it must be done carefully so as to avoid unnecessary damage to the
system.
Materials Required
Make sure that you have all the below materials before starting.

1. All the necessary components (Although the all the below components are
preferable, not all are necessary. Then necessary ones are marked with a *)
 Processors
 Motherboard
 Hard disk
 RAM
 Cabinet
 Floppy Drive

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________
 CD Drive
 Cards
o Display Card (Not needed if On-board display is available on
Motherboard)
o Sound Card (Not needed if On-board sound is available on
Motherboard
o Modem
o Other Cards (If Any)
 Monitors
 Keyboard
 Mouse
 Speaker
 UPS
 Other Components (If Any)
 Also keep the cables that came with the components close by
2. Philips head Screwdriver (also known as Star Screwdriver)
3. Flat head Screwdriver
4. Forceps (for pulling out jumpers and screws)
5. Magnetized Screwdriver
6. Multi meter (Testing)

Required Environment
Make sure that the following things are true of the room in which the computer is
assembled/kept.

 Make sure that a flat surface of a good area is available when the system is
assembled. Make sure that the room has enough space to move.
 See that the place where the Computer is kept is dust free as dust can harm the
system.
 Make sure that the room has good ventilation and won't be very hot.
 Check the grounding in the plug to make sure that earthing is done properly.

Precautions
Before starting the actual assembly of the PC System, the following precautions would
help you to avoid any mishap during the assembly process:

 While the motherboard has to be fitted at a fixed place inside the PC cabinet,
the locations of add-on cards (as and when used) and the drivers (hard disk
drive, floppy disk drive, and CD-ROM drive) within the drivers bay of the cabinet
can be changed within certain limits. But it is better to place them far away from
each other. (The length of the cable provided for interconnections to the
motherboard has to be taken into account, as there must be some slack after

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________
these are installed and connected.) This will improve the cooling and reduce the
chance of electro-magnetic interference between them.
 The motherboard contains sensitive components, which can be easily damaged
by static electricity. Therefore the motherboard should remain in its original anti
static envelope until required for installation. The person taking it out should
wear an anti static wrist strap that is properly grounded. In the absence of a
proper wrist strap, you must make one on your own, using a peeled of multistranded
copper cable and ground it properly. Similar handling precaution are
also required for cards.
 Be sure to handle all the components with great care. If a small thing like a
screw is dropped on the MB, it can damage the delicate circuitry, rendering the
Main Board useless.

Procedure
Installing Motherboard
You need to determine if the case has the appropriate risers installed. Risers, or
spacers, keep the motherboard from touching the metal surfaces of the case after it is
installed, avoiding a short-circuit and a wrecked computer. Any new case will include
some form of riser, metal or plastic. See the picture on Side for typical examples. They
may or may not be pre-installed into the case.
Keep the cabinet panel on the table and fix the motherboard on it. A gentle pressure is
enough to mount the Motherboard on it. There will be a mechanism to lock the
motherboard in place. Identify its working and mount the motherboard accordingly.
Tighten the screws on the motherboard to the panel.

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________
Placing the main board in the case
Handle the mainboard by the edges.
Fixing the Processor
Now gently lower the CPU into the ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) Socket. No pressure is
required. If the CPU is placed properly, it will slide into the socket. Make sure that the
Number 1 pin is placed correctly. If you cannot get the CPU to sit evenly DO NOT force
it. After placing the CPU, lock the socket using the Locking lever.

 There is a notch at the side of the lever. Pull the lever gently away from the socket
to clear the notch. Notice that the pin holes at the top on each side lack a hole for the
corner pin. This configuration prevents the CPU from being inserted in the wrong
orientation.
 You can now place the CPU into the socket. You just need to set the CPU into the
socket and close the lever.
 Now gently lower the CPU into the ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) Socket. No pressure is
required. If the CPU is placed properly, it will slide into the socket. Make sure that the
Number 1 pin is placed correctly. If you cannot get the CPU to sit
 Hold the CPU only by the edges. Due to the pin configuration, the CPU will only
insert in the correct orientation.
 Close the lever to secure it.

Installing the Heatsink/Fan

The next step is to install the heatsink/fan combination (a typical heatsink and fan are
shown in Figure).

Notice the thermal material at the bottom of the heatsink. This thermal material will touch the
die of the CPU. Feet on the CPU chip The heatsink sits on these feet, which compress
slightly. Notice the small square at the center. That’s the CPU die. When the heatsink pushes
down on the CPU feet, it will contact the die allowing heat to be effectively conducted to the

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________
heatsink.
This figure shows the top of the CPU chip. The bottom of the chip has many little pins which
will insert into the CPU socket shown.

Heatsink and fan Feet on the CPU chip

Apply the IC paste that comes with the processor to the bottom of the heatsink. Only a
thin layer is necessary. This lets the heat that is produced in the processor to be
conducted to the heatsink, which cools it. After applying the paste, fix the heatsink on
the processor. Make sure that the locks of the heat sink are in place.

Placing the heatsink and Heatsink sitting on CPU

Installing RAM
Keep the RAM module in the slot in the proper way and press downwards. Be careful
not to jerk the RAM while pushing it down. See that the lock get hold of the stay in the
locked position.

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________
The ways of inserting the RAM will vary with different kinds of RAM. There are different
kinds of RAM like SDRAM, DDRAM, RDRAM, etc. Please refer to the section on RAMS
for more details.

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________

Pushing the chip down will close the lever.

Now, pick up the RAM chip and place it over the RAM socket. Be sure that it’s aligned in
the proper direction. Press the chip straight down into the socket. If it sticks, you might
find it useful to allow one side of the RAM chip to enter first, but try to keep the chip as
nearly level as possible as you push it into place

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________

Connections
These are the list of cables that needed to be connected to the motherboard.

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________

Pin Configuration on Motherboard

There are many places to fix cables in the motherboard. The following are the pin numbers
for all the slots on the motherboard.
Device/Slot Name No of pins
LPT 26
COM 10
IDE 40
IDE Floppy 36

Now fix the motherboard to the Cabinet or the Case. Place your mother board inside
the case and fasten it in. Every Case fastens mother boards in different ways. Some
use plastic pegs, some use metal screws. See Picture for an example

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________

Expansion Cards
Now the expansion cards must be inserted. Insert your Video Card if it is not onboard.
There are presently about 3 different forms of slots on your motherboard - PCI, ISA,
and AGP. Video Cards are presently made for all 3 of them. AGP stands for "Accelerated
Graphics Port" Video Cards made for this slot are generally higher tech/performance.
AGP slots more than likely is the only small, brown, slot on your motherboard. PCI you
probably have the most of these white and little longer than AGP. ISA, these are long
and black. Insert your Video Card and snug it in there firmly. Make sure that the other
side of the card can be come out of the motherboard's backside. Screw the card in that
place. Similar fit the other cards in its respective places.

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________

Floppy Drive
Ensure that one of the 3.5- for the floppy drive, attach front of the computer until it clicks into
place. Rails are small metal pieces that clip or screw on to the sides of the drive and allow it to be
inserted and removed from the case with minimal effort. Otherwise, slide the drive into the front of
the computer until the faceplate of the floppy drive is flush with the front bezel of the case and the
screw holes along the side of the drive line up with the case. When everything lines up, screw the
floppy drive securely on both sides. Plug in the power cable (see picture to left) carefully, since it
is quite possible to miss one of the connectors, which will quite possibly cause some damage when
the computer is powered on. Floppy drive power connect, the red wire should be connected to the
pin designated as 1 on the surrounding PCB.

IDE hard drive and CD drive, so that the red stripe on the cable should be facing the
floppy drive power cable.

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________
Floppy drive cables (IDE) are solid ribbon on one end, and the other has a small section
of the ribbon cut and twisted around. Ensure you only attach the floppy cable as shown
in the picture to the right.

Installing Hard disk

Ensure that the hard drive is set up to be the master drive on its IDE cable. Each IDE
cable can support up to two etc., but in order for this to work, one IDE device must be
designated as a master device, and one must be designated as a slave device. You cannot have
two master devices or two slave devices on as BIOS.

Installing Optical Drive (DVD/CDROM)

Ensure that at least one full sized 5.25" bay is open in the case. Examine the jumper settings
on the top of the drive, as you did with the hard set to 'master'. If your case came with rails,
screw them to the sides of the C and insert it into the front of the case until it clicks into
place.
Otherwise, slide the drive into the front of the computer until the faceplate of the drive
is flush with the front bezel of the case and the screw holes along the side of the drive
line up with the case. Then, screw it in securely on both sides. Attach the power cable
(same as the hard-drive power cable) to the drive. Attach your secondary IDE cable to the
drive. Note that generally this should be a regular 40 wire UDMA IDE cable that is used for
the hard wire cable, however.
Set the jumper on the CD-ROM drive. Here you have a choice. You can either:

 Attach the CD-ROM to IDE connector 1 and make the CD-ROM a slave. In this
case, you will set the jumper on the CD-ROM to "Slave" and attach the CD-ROM
drive to the same IDE cable as the hard drive. Or,
 Attach the CD-ROM to IDE connector 2 and make the CD-ROM a master. In this
case you will set the jumper on the CD-ROM to "Master" and attach the CD-ROM
drive with a separate cable to IDE slot 2. In order to use this method, you will
need a second IDE cable.

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________

Power Supply
There are two main kinds of motherboards and Cabinets available today with reference
to Power Supply - AT and ATX. The have different connectors. They are shown below.
These wires come from the SMPS of the Cabinet. The figure on the right shows the
Power cables coming out of the SMPS.

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________

I/O, I/O (In or Out of the Computer)

When placing the main board inside the case, it will be necessary to push the main board
toward what’s called the I/O shield (input/output shield) of the case.
The I/O shield usually has several metal fins sticking out toward the main board.
Various connectors that are permanently attached to the main board will protrude from
the I/O shield.

 The serial ports

 Parallel port
 PS/2 keyboard connector and
 PS/2 mouse connector
 USB ports and Firewire IEEE 1394 connectors are other connectors
 If you’re big into video editing, you might want to select a mainboard with a Firewire
port. Otherwise, you can purchase a PCI card that gives your system a Firewire
connection.

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____

NAME ______________________________ Roll No._________________________
Branch ________________Year ___________ Exp.No. ________DATE ______________

Closing the Cabinet

After all the connections are made inside the Cabinet, double
sure all connections are firmly attached, and ensure that no wires are running close to
the top of the CPU heat sink fan. Then close the cabinet and screw it tight. Set it in an upright
position(assuming it is a tower type cabinet).

Configurations
At the first screen press the Delete key to enter the BIOS setup. Review the BIOS settings.
Here are a few that you may want to pay attention to:
 Time and date.
 IDE devices - Hardisk and Floppy Drive.
 Boot Order.

Conclusion:
If there are no troubles, the system is ready. The operating system can be installed now.
If some problems have appeared, read the troubleshooting guide for instructions to solve the
problems

VAAGDEVI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE Page No._____