I am building my first computer soon and I have some q's...

[Dr. KillGood]

Ok, for those who have built a computer please answer my questions no matter how stupid they are. (please don't insult me I never built one before!)

1: I bought my hard drive OEM and I thought it would come with the CD to format it, it did not. So if I just put the windows CD in will it format it for me?

2:With that said what dose OEM stand for?

3:I am getting the below CD burner but it dosent say what read speed it is for reading a CD/DVD only the burn/RW speeds how do I tell?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... 64&CatId=4

4:Should I get Windows XP home edition or professional? What is the difference?

5:How do I uninstall half-life on this computer so I can put it and my newly bought half-life 2 on my new one? Dose it tell Steam when you uninstall it?

6:What is a good way to get good light to see what you are doing besides holding a flash lite in you're other hand? (I don't have a lamp that is good to use for it like those adjustable ones)

7:Should it take a long time to put it all together (3-4 hours) or dose it take only half a hour or so?

8:Do you think I can do it? (my dad is helping me don't worry he built his computer!)

[daguuy]

1. Windows does it for you

2. dunno

3. DVD+R Write Speed 16x

DVD-R Write Speed 16x

DVD read Speed probably 16x

CD Write Speed 48x

CD Rewrite Speed 24x

CD read Speed 48x

4. Doesn't matter, I use pro and don't see many advantages over home other than the bundled crappy video editor and stuff. But then again, I don't really know anything about the different XP's

5. Does it have an uninstall optoin in the task bar? if not, go to start>control panel>add or remove programs

6. lamp or ceiling light. This hasn't been a big issue for me and I build all my computers

7. Takes me less than an hour to put it together and less than an hour to set up the software

You can do it as long as you don't screw anything up. Here's a good computer building guide. You're computer is probably different than that one but it's the same concept

[atari2600a]

Pro has support for multiple CPU cores & is better for networking.

[HomicidalBarber]

http://tools.corsairmemory.com/systembu ... t_id=12472

that is a really nice guide if you havent ever done it before. I learned somethings myself. It covers everything on building a computer. From prep to installing windows and BIOS configuration.

[gannon]

2. Original Equipment Manufacturer

[Dr. KillGood]

THX GANNON!

THX daguuy!

So I just pop in windows CD when I am suppost to format the drive for the motherboard? Or dose it not have to be formatted for the motherboard?

[loup]

to expand on atari2600a's answer about pro vs. home

Pro supports multiple processors, if you plan on using multiple processors or a multicore processor you will need to use winxp pro to actually get any benefit from it, home will just use one processor or core.

Pro lets you better manage your users and their permissions, home has extremely basic user settings and really won't let you manage permissions at all.

Pro has a built in file encryption system for NTFS partitions, I don't believe that home has it.

If I remember correctly, computers running home edition cannot be a member of a domain, only a workgroup, Pro can be a member of a domain.

I'm not sure on this one but I don't think home comes with backup, pro does (not that it's that great of a backup program, but it is missing in home edition)

Pro comes with IIS (Internet Information Services,) it lets you set up web and ftp servers (and a few other things.) Honestly though, with the handful of web and ftp servers I've set up I've never used IIS, I usually use a third party solution.

pro supports dynamic disks, home doesn't

there are a few other small differences as well, but those are most of the important ones. Take a look at the differences, if you think you need something provided by pro but not provided by home, then get pro, otherwise, get home.

[loup]

sorry to double post

THX GANNON!

THX daguuy!

So I just pop in windows CD when I am suppost to format the drive for the motherboard? Or dose it not have to be formatted for the motherboard?

Formatting doesn't have anything to do with the motherboard, it has to do with the operating system. it will probably give you the choice of formatting it as either fat32 or NTFS, NTFS is generally a better choice (although, linux has a bit of a harder time working with NTFS if you were thinking of dual booting windows and linux)

[edit]And yes, formatting the hard drive is one of the steps involved in the windows installation, the installation CD will prompt you to do so at some point durring the install, it's pretty self explanitory when you get to that point.

[timmeh87]

re: formatting

when you purchase a drive it has not been formatted, all of its space is 'raw'. trying to boot it will give you a "insert boot disk" error.

a drive that has been formatted can be read inside any computer. im not sure what you are thinking, but if you are comparing it to an xbox with hard drives being 'locked' and stuff, forget it. also, hard drives dont need specific drivers, they operate on a highly standardized and common interface, i think most of it is done in hardware or hardcoded into the OS. no hard drives ever come with CDs. while im talking about it, DVD drives do come with CDs, but they will also be automatically detected and installed. the CD usually just has some crap free software on it, i usually just toss them.

the windows cd is also a boot disk, inserting it with an unformatted hard drive should cause it to boot off of the cd. the windows install utility will format your drive as part of the windows installation process. use NTFS

[Dr. KillGood]

Pro supports multiple processors

PRO IT IS! I am getting AMD 2.6 5200 Dual core

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103759

[atari2600a]

You know, Vista is coming out in a short while, so...

[Dr. KillGood]

It is going to be loaded with bugs so I am waiting till 2008 to get it. I always give new things at least half a year or so to work out all the big bugs!

[atari2600a]

They've been beta testing for a LONG time now so I wouldn't be too worried. I almost got a copy but RIGHT when I decided to give it a shot MicroSoft cut off their beta testing program & I was too lazy to torrent a copy.

[vb_master]

They've been beta testing for a LONG time now so I wouldn't be too worried. I almost got a copy but RIGHT when I decided to give it a shot MicroSoft cut off their beta testing program & I was too lazy to torrent a copy.

The RTM (build 6000) sucks too.

[bicostp]

1: Yes. You don't need a special CD to format the disk. Windows will do that before it copies files.

2: <b>O</b>riginal <b>E</b>quipment <b>M</b>anufacturer

3: It's most likely got a 48x or 56x CD-ROM read.

4: Professional just has some extra stuff, like domains and encryption, that you'll probably never use. Instead of either of those, buy media Center Edition. It's more expensive than Home, but cheaper than Professional, and you get the media center software.

5: I don't have that game so I'm not sure, but it shouldn't matter if you install it more than once...

6: Work under a skylight and let the power of nature illuminate your workspace. (You could slways simulate the power of nature with light bulbs...) Or get someone to hold a good flashlight for you.

7: It should take less than an hour to build the computer, but installing Windows can be a slow process.

8: Definitely. As long as you are careful with the board, wear a wrist strap, and follow directions you should be fine. Remember, you shouldn't need to use excessive force to do anything.

Some hints:

1. AVOID VISTA AND IE 7! They're brand-new so they haven't been "real world" tested yet.

2. Create a ghost DVD after you install all the drivers, updates, and essential software (like maintenance tools and anti-virus). That way if it gets really buggered up, you can re-image the hard drive without going through tons of grief and aggrivation. (You won't have to activate Windows again, either.) There are tutorials all over the web for this.

3. I've got a list of recommended tools and programs to install. It will be easier if it's in a table, so I'll throw together a HTML page and post the link here.

4. Install hard drives on seperate IDE channels. IDE is parallel, and data can only be read or written to one device at a time. By putting your disc frive and hard drive on seperate channels, you can get better performance.

EDIT: Can MCE work with multiple processors/cores? It's basically Pro with some of the stuff Joe Sixpack wouldn't miss...