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Building Your Own PC - Part 3

Great, we've completed building your PC - hardware wise. All that's left is installing the operating system, drivers and the applications you need. Be sure you have prepare their installation CD / packages. Driver(s) software for your hardware usually comes on the CD bundled with your hardware. If you don't have them for some reason, it might be a good idea to download them first from your vendor's or the manufacturer's website. By the way, drivers are usually updated pretty often, so it's a good idea to check these websites regularly, even if you have the original driver CD that came with your hardware. An updated driver usually contains bug fixes, additional features and performance improvement.

So, prepare all of this in advance (before you start installing Windows XP):

Turn on your PC and then place your Windows XP installation CD inside your CD / DVD-ROM. Make sure you've configured the BIOS to boot from the CD first and then the hard drive. If you're going to use a RAID array, then choose the CD first and then the controller that holds the array. Your PC should boot into the CD now and the installer will start. Press 'F5' if you're going to install Windows XP on a RAID array or a S-ATA hard drive. This will bring up an option to install the necessary drivers (your S-ATA / RAID controller drivers) so the installer will be able to detect the hard drives and arrays. It may take some time, just make sure you've pressed the 'F5' key until the menu appears. Continue with the installation until you see new menu - the 'Welcome to Windows XP installation' menu.

Windows XP is Easy

Follow the instructions displayed and you should be fine. The installer will try to detect all the hard drive you've connected to the motherboard. After this, you will be asked where you want to install Windows XP into. Pick the appropriate option (hard drive or array). Since we're installing into an empty hard drive, we must make a partition for that drive and format it. ATTENTION: this will erase any data on the hard drive / array, so make sure it's empty. If you have any data on them, exit the installation process and back it up first.

If you're using a hard drive bigger than 8 GBs, you will have to choose the NTFS format if you want to use a single partition. This is basically the easiest option so just follow it for now. To do this, just enter the maximum number indicated by the installer. Afterwards, choose NTFS and choose the 'quick format' option. This will save some time, since the installer don't have to format your hard drive (or array) physically. The installer will then check the partition for any errors and starts formatting. Next, it will copy the necessary files to complete the installation process, then it will restart your PC.

After restarting, let the PC boot from your hard drive, but don't remove the installation CD. We still need it since the installation process is not finished yet. The installation process will continue copying files and configuring your Windows XP installation. Keep your Windows XP product key handy, because the installer will ask for them. In some point, you will also be asked other things such as your PC's name, what will be name the domain / workgroup your PC belongs to and also the password you want for the Administrator account. Basically, your PC's name is the name your PC uses to identify itself to other PC in your LAN / network. Your LAN / network usually comes in two categories, either as a domain or a workgroup. If you're not sure, check with your LAN / network Administrator. If you don't have one, just choose the workgroup option and pick any name you want. You can leave the PC's description blank for now. For the Administrator password, put in the password you want - make sure you remember this password. The installation process will continue and restart your PC once again. Afterwards, before going into your desktop, you will be asked what are the names of the users that will use your PC. Just fill in the first one with your name (or nickname if you prefer). That's it. You should be able to see your Windows XP desktop now.

Drivers: the Correct Way

Patience. We've haven't finished installing Windows XP, rather Windows XP have finished installing itself. We need to install drivers (remember them?) so Windows XP could use your PC's hardware to their full potential. Start with your motherboard's drivers: this basically means you have to install the motherboard's chipset drivers first, and then the sound card and network adapter / LAN controller drivers. The last drivers to be installed should be the graphics card drivers.

When asked to restart, do so. It's a good idea to restart every time you've finished installing one set of drivers. This way, if anything bad happens during drivers installation (not that we wish it), you'll be able to figure which drivers cause the problem. You may also see a warning dialog complaining that the drivers are not digitally signed or not certified - ignore them for now and press 'Continue' to continue installing them. These drivers will work fine, but it's a good idea to update them after you've finished installing all the drivers, utilities and applications.

DirectX and Service Packs

Drivers are only the first part of the equation. You also need to install updated libraries and patches. The important libraries are DirectX (for your hardware, basically it's used for games and multimedia) and the .NET framework (for your applications, since some applications require this). You can download them from Microsoft's website. It's also a good idea to check some game / application installation CD. They sometimes came with these libraries so you don't have to download them.

Since its launch, Windows XP have been updated quite a lot. Every now and them, Microsoft release a cumulative patch for all of Windows XP components, in what's called Service Pack(s). Windows XP has two service packs: Service Pack 1 and Service Pack 2. You probably only need Service Pack 1 for now, since Service Pack 2 causes problems with some applications. But if you could only find Service Pack 2, you should have no problem using it (remember, we haven't installed any application).

After several restarts and everything's done, it may be a good idea to set up your connection to the Internet. Just follow the steps given to you by your ISP or cable provider and you should be able to connect to the Internet in no time. Besides browsing, you might want to check the Windows Update website or download any driver updates from your vendor.

Windows Update: Do you really need it?

OK, we've finished installing Windows XP, drivers, libraries and patches. The next step is optional, so you don't have to do it. If your PC's connected to the Internet (either via a network / LAN or through a dial-up / broadband connection), it might be a good idea to check whether or not there's any new (small) patches to Windows XP. To do this, just open the Start Menu by clicking 'Start' and choose the 'Windows Update' icon. This will connect your PC to the Windows Update part of Microsoft's website. Windows will automatically check whether or not there are new patches and display a list so you could see what patches will be downloaded to your PC. Choose only the patches you need (basically any critical / security patches). That's it then, you've completed your first Windows XP installation. Congratulations!

Configuring your copy of Windows XP

Now, that wasn't so bad, was it? You've just completed your Windows XP installation, complete with drivers and patches. We just have to do some leftover housework to keep your Windows XP clean, fast and tidy. Let's start with those drivers first, since they're the ones that affects the performance of your PC. If you remember, basically we've installed drivers for the chipset, sound card, network card and graphics card. So we will go about them in that order.

Motherboard Chipset Drivers

There's usually not much to configure when it comes to chipset drivers. Basically they came down to configuring the motherboard's IDE controller driver. So if you're using the newer boards that uses PCI Express and paired it with a S-ATA hard drive or RAID array, you don't have to do this. We'll start with the IDE controller driver first. Right click on the 'My Computer' icon, which you'll either find in the Start Menu or on the desktop. Choose 'Properties' and left click, this will bring up the 'System Properties'. Pick the 'Hardware' tab and left click on the 'Device Manager' button, this will bring up the Device Manager. You should a list with several items, one of them should be 'IDE ATA / ATAPI controllers'. Left double click on it to show a drop down list / tree. Now double click on the items usually named 'Primary IDE Channel'. This will bring up another window that show's that particular peripheral's properties. There should be an 'Advanced Settings' tab on that window, select it. Basically, you want the options to be 'Auto Detection' and 'DMA if available'. Make the appropriate changes and repeat this for the 'Secondary IDE Channel'. What this options does is tell Windows XP to use the fastest method possible when accessing and writing data to your IDE hard drive(s) and CD / DVD-ROMs.






Graphics card

You still remember what we talked about monitor's resolutions before right? If you haven't done so, apply the resolution you want for your monitor. To do this, right click on your desktop to bring up a context menu. Choose 'Properties' and you'll see a window called 'Display Properties' appears. Choose the 'Settings' tab, here you'll see a slider you can use to change your resolution. There's also a drop down menu to select the color depth, just use the 'Highest (32 bit)' here.





Left click on the 'Advanced' button to bring up another window. Depending on your graphics card, you'll probably see all kinds of tab on this window. Remember what we talked about refresh rates? Choose the 'Monitor' tab and you'll see a drop down list of refresh rates you can use. Pick the refresh rate you're comfortable with (or the highest one). Generally, this number runs from 60 Hz to 120 Hz, don't choose higher than 120 Hz. Click apply, you might see your monitor flicker - this is normal. What's not normal is if your monitor gone blank. Press the 'Escape' key if it does. What just happen is that you pick a too high refresh rate for your monitor (on that resolution). Choose a lower one until you find a refresh rate that works for you.



Now, this is where things gets a 'little' interesting.

For ATI users

For those with an ATI graphics card, choose the 'Display' tab. It's here that the graphics card list all the output available - your monitor(s), TV and flat panel display. Choose your monitor by clicking on the appropriate button. This will bring up another window showing your monitor properties. You could set the 'Maximum Resolution' and 'Maximum Refresh' for your monitor here. Consult your PC monitor's manual about the values your monitor supports. If you have a PC monitor that supports DDC, these options will be automatically set for you. The next option we want to set is the 'Refresh Rate Override'. What this function do is set the refresh rate for your monitor when you're playing games. You would want this set to 'Same as desktop'.







Next, click on the '3D' tab. In this tab, you can set options that alter the image quality and performance of your graphics card when playing 3D games or running 3D applications. These games and applications uses two standard: Direct3D or OpenGL. The general settings are the same for both, you could toggle which standard you want to customize by choosing either Direct3D or OpenGL. For most users, using the slider is easier - just choose 'Balanced' to pick the best combination of quality and performance. You'll notice that moving the slider to the 'High Quality' and 'Optimal Quality' settings activates features such as Anti Aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering. Like we've said before, these features provides higher quality images (in 3D games and applications) but comes with some performance penalty. If your games and application offer these options in-game, it's better to apply it there. These options are basically for older games and applications that doesn't support these feature directly.

For NVIDIA users

For those of you with a NVIDIA graphics card, choose the tab with your graphics card's name on it. On the left slide menu, choose, Refresh Rate Overrides sub menu. Make sure you choose 'Override refresh rate', otherwise the resolution's list will be greyed out. Choose the resolution you will be working on, and choose the appropriate refresh rate. As the resolution go higher, make sure you do not choose a refresh rate higher than what your monitor support.





Next, choose the Performance and Quality Settings sub menu. You can apply a default global profile for all 3d games and application, or you could apply them per application. As a general guide, moving the slider to the left means less quality but faster performance. You don't have to change any of these if you have a modern graphics card. But if you have an old GeForce4 or below, you could choose a faster setting to allow playable frame rates in newer games.

Making Windows XP snappier

Windows XP sure looks nice, but all these niceties comes at a price. Like your PC's components, Windows XP comes with lots of stuff, some you'll need and some you won't. There are even some you probably come to hate. For example, some of these features will make your PC 'feels' slower, since Microsoft put all those slick and splashy transitions and animations for your toolbar, your start menu etc. Call me old fashioned, but if i just bought a brand new PC that's supposed to be fast, i want my Windows XP to display everything I want in a snap and not slowly fading in / out. Thankfully, Microsoft realize this and still allows you to make the adjustments.

Desktop and User Interface

If you used PCs before, you'll probably notice that by default Windows doesn't put anything on your desktop. You could find the usual icons are now placed in the Start menu. You could put them back on the desktop. Right click on the desktop and choose 'Properties'. This will bring up the 'Display Properties' window. Choose the 'Desktop' tab and left click on the 'Customize Desktop' button. Check on the icons you want to be displayed on the desktop.







Let's change Windows XP so it will work faster! Bring up the 'System Properties' window again. You still remember how to do that, don't you? For starters, choose the 'System Restore' tab. While actually this is a good idea, it's not that good in real life. Check the 'Turn off System Restore' option to turn it off. Next is the 'Automatic Updates'. Again, another good idea, but personally I don't like Windows trying to connect to the Internet when I don't want it to. You can still update manually through the Windows Update website, just turn it on again before you do so. Again, check 'Turn off Automatic Updates'. Next of course, is the 'Remote'. Mmm, i think you probably can figure what i think about this. Uncheck both options - 'Allow Remote Assistance....' and 'Allow users to connect....' to turn this feature off.











We're finally here - the 'Advanced' tab. You could quickly see that we want to choose the 'Performance' part. Left click the 'Settings' button to open another window, you'll see two tabs here - 'Visual Effects' and 'Advanced' (what's with all the 'Advanced' stuff, anyway). Now, while some of you might be tempted to choose the 'Adjust for best performance' option, I do like the new Windows XP look, but not all the added baggage that came with it. Basically, what i do is choose the 'Custom' option. You could pick what feature you want on and what you don't want. Here are the ones I've chosen:


Turn everything else to off and you'll have a good balance of between that Windows XP look and your PC's performance.

Folder Options and File Listing

Another thing you could do to speed up Windows is manage how Windows displays all those files in, well, windows. If you're new to Windows XP, you'll find Windows XP is easier and splashier, the files listed as icons that's arranged neatly to look good and in logical order or groups. You can even preview what's inside those files if you choose to display them as thumbnails. But once you're over the bells and whistles, you don't really need that much 'user friendliness'. Viewing images and videos as thumbnails may look cool and somewhat easier, but it makes your PC slows to a crawl and may be even more confusing if you have 100 or more images to squint at. Caching the thumbnails makes this process faster, but will quickly eat up your hard drive. And since these icons are larger and takes more screen space, you have to scroll or click more than before.

All is not lost for those of you who don't need all those 'user friendliness' and wants your PC to be faster. These simple steps will allow you to get the speed back from your PC.






OK, we've just customized how your copy of Windows XP displays files. This way you could see more of the list and the changes we've made makes navigating the list and working with files and folders easier and faster. Since Windows XP doesn't have to read the additional file details and displays the thumbnails of the file contents, the list will be displayed faster. We also save some of your hard drive space since Windows XP doesn't have to cache the thumbnails. Of course, these are big changes but once you get used to them you wouldn't want to go back to the 'new and improved Windows XP look' again.

Additional Settings: Using Tweak UI

There are still some additional settings we want to change. While most of these settings can be changed by altering their values in the Windows registry, I wouldn't recommend that approach. Luckily, some of these settings can be altered by using the Tweak UI Powertoy from Microsoft. It's quite small, easy and best of all, free.

There are three areas we're going to change with Tweak UI: Explorer and Taskbar. Left click on the 'Taskbar' list and go to the 'Grouping' sub item. By default, Windows XP will group the windows of the same application but with different documents. For those familiar with older versions of Windows, this feature acts much like the 'Window' menu in the menubar. I'd recommend setting the 'Group my application with at least..." to 2 items. This way, you won't run out of taskbar space for switching applications, but you could still switch documents quickly (one left click on the grouped application on the taskbar, another to select the document).



Open the 'Explorer' item, you'll notice there's quite a few settings here. What we want to change is the file search options, you'll find it in the bottom of the list. Check 'Use Classic Search' for both Explorer and Internet Explorer. Sure, this means we won't be using the search assistant, but believe me, this will make your file searching easier. Just enter (part of) the filename, where to look and left click on the 'Search Now' button. With the search assistant, you'll have to go through several menus, since Microsoft decided to integrate file searching with Internet and address book search. You can still do this using the 'Classic Search' mode, just click on the bottom left to bring up the related search options. For those of you who wants their shortcut names to be shorter, you can check off the 'Prefix Shortcut to..." here. This will minimize icon clutter due to long filenames. You could still see which icons are shortcut or files by looking at the small arrow on the bottom left of the icon.





As you can see, Tweak UI also allows you to change numerous other settings. It's really a matter of personal preference, so choose the settings that works best for you. Try it one at a time and see how it feels like, that way you could easily pick the ones that's good and leave off the ones that's not.

Checking Startup Items

The easiest way to check what programs are called when Windows boots into the desktop is with the System Configuration Utility. Just click the 'Start' button and choose 'Run'. Type 'msconfig' (without the single quotes) and press the "Enter' or 'Return' key. Or you could run it directly from the folder "C:\WINDOWS\PCHEALTH\HELPCTR\Binaries" if you've installed Windows using the default options (Windows usually will install itself in the folder 'Windows' in your C: drive). Choose the 'Startup' tab and see what those programs are, usually you don't need most of them. You could get an idea what they are by looking at their location (in the field 'Command'). Just cross reference what you find here and the programs you've installed.







You can also choose which services (think of them as a special kind of program) Windows will run at boot. I wouldn't recommend changing them here, though. We'll get into these services later.

Services: What Windows is Doing Behind Your Back

Every time Windows boots, it runs several special programs called services in the background. These services supply applications access to the resources on your PC, LAN / network and Internet. Some are a must, while others may be turned off. It makes sense to customize which services will run, since these services do take some resources (which can be used by other applications) and slimming down these services will mean more resources for your applications and faster boot up time. Just remember, you have to logon as 'Administrator' or a user account with administrative privileges to change them.





Right click on the 'My Computer' icon and select 'Manage'. This will bring up the 'Computer Management' window where you could change lots of settings. We're only interested in services for now, so choose the 'Services and Applications' on the bottom of the list on the window's left pane. Open up the 'Services' item and a list of all the services will be displayed on the right pane. I recommend choosing the 'Extended' mode, since in this mode, you'll be able to read the information on a selected service. Do you still remember how to sort a detail list like this? Right, left click on the 'Status' column to sort these services by status - whether or not they are running. There should be several services running, select them one at a time and read the description. There should be also an option to either stop, start or restart the selected service under the description. For those without a LAN / network and don't connect to the Internet, you could probably turn off all those network related services. If you don't have a printer and a UPS, it's a good idea to shut down the related services. Now, to set whether or not a service will run at boot, right click on the service and choose 'Properties'. If you're not sure whether or not you need these services or not, choose 'Manual' for the Startup Type. With these settings, Windows will run this service when it's needed, and not at boot.

Here's a list of services and what I recommend for their respective startup type:

'Manual' settings for:

These services are optional, depending on your needs and whether or not you're connected to a LAN / network:

Your PC is all primed up and ready to do whatever you want it to do - software wise of course. Now, you can begin installing the applications (and games) you want, be it office productivity applications or just regular Internet applications such as browser, e-mail etc.

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