Day 4

MS-DOS

and

Computer Resources

MS-DOS stands for Microsoft Disk Operating System.

What is a Disk Operating System and what does it do?

The minimal system requirements to run the first DOS version are:

A steady power supply
A working CPU above 2 MHz (Intel’s 8080 CPU)
640K of memory (RAM)
A disk, either a FDD or a HDD that holds at least 720K of space
An input device (keyboard)
An output device (monitor)

The minimal system requirements to install and run Windows 95 are:

A steady power supply
A working CPU above 33 MHz 386DX CPU
4 MB of RAM
35 MB of free Hard Disk Drive space
One high-density floppy disk drive or CD-ROM drive
Keyboard
Mouse
VGA video card and monitor

The minimal system requirements to install and run Windows 98 are:

486DX2 66 CPU
16MB of RAM
250 MB of free Hard Disk Drive space, both for the OS and Virtual Memory
4X or faster CD-ROM
SVGA video card and monitor
Mouse
Keyboard

Recommended Hardware Requirements for Win98

Pentium 100 or faster CPU
32 or more MB of RAM
500 MB or more of free Hard Disk Drive space, both for the OS and Virtual Memory
8X or faster CD-ROM
SVGA PCI video card with a high frequency Super-VGA monitor
Three button Mouse
Microsoft Enhanced keyboard

The minimal system requirements to install and run Windows XP are:

P-II 300 CPU or better
64MB of RAM
2500 MB of free Hard Disk Drive space, both for the OS and Virtual Memory
16X or faster CD-ROM
SVGA PCI video card with a high frequency Super-VGA monitor or better
Mouse
Keyboard
Phone line

Recommended Hardware Requirements for WinXP

Pentium 550 or faster CPU
128 or more MB of RAM
2500 MB or more of free Hard Disk Drive space, both for the OS and Virtual Memory
32X or faster CD-ROM
SVGA PCI video card with a high frequency Super-VGA monitor or better
Three button Mouse
Microsoft Enhanced keyboard
Internet connection

In this next section, I will go over some of the steps to assemble a PC.

Assembling PCs

The tools which are needed are:

Philips Screwdriver

ESD wristband

The parts needs are:

A roomy ATX tower case with a 300W P/S or better

ATX Socket A (462) motherboard (ASUS A7V KT133 with audio)

AMD Duron or Athlon Thunderbird CPU (Duron 800 MHz or T-Bird 1~1.4 GHz)

HeatSink with Fan (Globalwin)

168 pin DIMM rated at PC133 or faster (128 or 256 Megs, CAS 2)

AGP graphics card (Geforce 2 MX 400 or Geforce 2 GTS/Pro from Gainward)

PCI V.90 Modem (Lucent)

Optional – PCI Network card (D-Link or 3com)

A roomy HDD (Maxtor, Fujitsu, or IBM 40 Gig)

CD-ROM or DVD or CD-RW (Creative Labs 52X or Acer CD-RW)

2 IDE cables (with blue end for the 80 line connection, used for ATA66~100 HDDs)

Optional – FDD with cable

Take the CPU and mount it to the motherboard as shown here.

Left the handle on the socket, which releases the lock on the socket…

Place the CPU in the socket by seeing which side goes where. The CPU is missing a pin on one edge, so line up this edge with the socket’s edge that has the same shape. Careful now, it should just drop in, really! Do not force it and take your time to see that you are aligned correctly.

Once the CPU is all the way in, close the handle or lever.

Now apply white thermal grease compound onto the center of the CPU.

Take the CPU heat sink and work the spring-loaded straps so that you will not have to apply so much force to secure it to the CPU. Once the straps feel easier, then secure it to the CPU. Be very careful, the CPU is very thin and does not take much force to crack it!

After securing the heat sink, the assembly should look like this… Note that a Swiftech heat sink and Papst cooler were used here, but other great heat sinks are from Globalwin (FOP-32 and 38) and Vantech.

Now it is time for the memory. Insert the DIMM by lining up the notches. Do be sure that the DIMM is rated for AMD CPUs.

The two locking levers should be closed to prevent the DIMM from falling out.

Now it is time to mount the Motherboard into the case. Screw in the metal standoff screws into the back plate, so that they line up with the holes in the motherboard. Secure it with screws.

The motherboard should now be secure with the (4 or more) screws in place, so that we may now connect the front panel LED and switches to the motherboard. Be sure that you are checking the motherboard book as you proceed, if you are not used to that model.

Plug the ATX power connector into the ATX plug, found on the motherboard

Now install the AGP graphics card, as well as any of the other adapter cards.

Mount the FDD, HDD, CD-ROM and DVD into the case. The HDD needs to be installed from the inside, but the FDD and CD-ROMs may be installed by sliding them in from the front panel. Now secure them and attach the FDD with the FDD cable. Attach the HDD with the EIDE ATA100 cable, which is seen below. The blue end goes into the motherboard. The red strip goes to pin one, and there is a pin one on both the M/B and IDE devices.