Plugging All the Cables
Now comes the time to plug all the cables.
Now comes the time to plug all the cables.
Two cables need to be connected to the motherboard to provide power.
The 2 cables
Here, it is almost impossible to get it wrong because of the shape of the connector. Remember do all the plugging with the power cord unplugged from the power supply.
The hard drive require 2 cords
IMPORTANT : SOME HARD DRIVES COME WITH THE LEGACY AS WELL AS THE SATA POWER CONNECTOR. DO NOT CONNECT BOTH POWER CORDS…ONLY CONNECT ONE
Above from left to right: IDE power cable, Floppy power supply (also used to power some front panels) and the SATA power cable.
Once the power is connected we connect the sata cable. Be careful as the connector can break if too much torque is applied. This is NOT covered by the warranty.
Connect the SATA cable to the motherboard
Connect it to SATA 1 (refer to the manufacturer’s manual to find it). Most of the CD/DVDs still use the legacy connector, for power and data. The IDE cable is bigger (do not mix the floppy cable and the IDE cables) but as easy to connect.
The last thing to do inside is to connect the front panel connector. Power button, reset, USB cables…etc..
By now, you know the drill refer to the motherboard manual to know what to plug where. Like most of the cables, these cannot be inserted the wrong way.
Leave the case open in case of a problem and plug the display, power cord, and mouse/keyboard.
Now, the moment of truth …. Put the power supply on “on” or “1” depending on your particular model and press the on button on the front.
If you put everything right you should see the first screen called POST. It shows you that the hard drive the computer is detecting, the CPU model and the amount of RAM . You should also be able to see the 3 options on the bottom of the screen - one for entering the setup and one to choose the boot options.
