Task 03

Servicing the Computer Industry since 1983

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Training Computer Engineers for tomorrow The Orion Centre PO BOX 360 Hull HU8 8XY Tel 01482 715152 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 SPEAKER and POWER SWITCH Patch Lead 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: 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.

Fig 01

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 Page 2 of 8

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

Fig 07

Fig 08

If you are installing a PCI or AGP Video Card then 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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Fig 10

Front Panel Connector

Fig 10a

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.

2

4

6

8

1

3

5

7

Fig 11

9

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.

Power SW

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. 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 pin connector, fig 13 d) Find on the SPEAKER CONNECTOR on the MOTHERBOARD see fig 14

Fig 12

Fig 13

Fig 14 1

Speaker connector

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2

3

4

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 will be the same on all the other connectors that are facing the same way, fig 14 may help to explain this better.

Red Speaker

Fig 13 Pin 1 has been found on this connector, so all connectors facing this way (vertically) will have pin 1 in the same position (Bottom)

Fig 14

Pin 1

Pin 1

Pin 1

Pin 1

Pin 1 has been found on this connector, so all connectors facing 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 9

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

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9 9 9 9 9

That you have connected the 4 PIN CPU POWER CONNECTOR to the MOTHERBOARD (Where required) That the internal COOLING FAN has power (where applicable) That the VIDEO ADAPTER is seated correctly and secured (if fitted) That the POWER SW is in the correct position on the FRONT PANEL CONNECTOR Pin 15 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 2

1 Phoenix – AwardBIOS v6.))PG, An Energy Star Ally The quick(C) brown fox Copyright 1984-2005, Phoenix Technologies, LTD

This Motherboard has a Phoenix Award BIOS, another popular BIOS is American Megatrends (back to this in future Tasks)

WinFast 760GXK8MC Series 54EW1P23 100805

3

Main Processor : AMD Sempron (tm) Processor 2600+ Installed Memory : 256M OK 4

5

IDE Channel 0 Master IDE Channel 0 Slave IDE Channel 1 Master IDE Channel 1 Slave

: : : :

None None None None

It is Manufactured by Winfast, another popular make is Asrock. This is followed by a model 2 number, in this example it is 760GXK8MC The CPU is an AMD SEMPRON 2600+. AMD is the Manufacturer and SEMPRON 2600+ is the model 3

IDE Channel 2 Master : None IDE Channel 3 Master : None

4 5

6

Floppy disk(s) fail (40)

7

CMOS checksum error – Default loaded 6

Fig 16

Press F1 to continue, DEL to enter SETUP 10/08/2005-SiS-760-6A7I7FKAC-00

This is the total RAM we installed

Since we have not connected any Hard Drives to the Motherboard, we can expect that the IDE Channels will all be NONE

We can ignore the Floppy Disk drive error since we have not connected one to the Motherboard

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:

Exclusion of Liability and Disclaimer Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is accurate and contain expert advice. The publisher, author and retailer who have approved the contents shall not be liable to any person or entity with respect to loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by what is contained or left out of them. Page 8 of 8