Set Up Keyboard and Mouse

Your mouse and keyboard both connect to the computer using one of a variety of connections but we recommend USB since it is the current standard.

The 9-pin serial port (which looks similar to most monitor connections) was the standard connection for a long time but is now obsolete. If you do happen to have such a connection both on your motherboard and on the mouse you want to use, they are straightforward to install, just push the connection into place and screw down the securing pins with your fingers.

The PS2 connection is small and round and is slightly easier to install than the 9-pin connection. The only difficult thing is the orientation, but if you look very closely at the pin configurations in both the male and female sides of the connection the correct orientation will become obvious.

The newest type of connection, of course, is USB. There is also USB 2.0 but it doesn't really matter for installation purposes which one you have; in either case you simply push the connection into the slot. USB was conceived with the plug and play philosophy in mind, meaning that USB is the only type of connection where you can disconnect or reconnect any device without having to reboot your computer. For this reason it's sometimes convenient to have USB slots such as the ones on the front of the case free to be able to attach any device instantly. Since you will most likely want the mouse and keyboard plugged in at all times we recommend you use the rear USB ports which are harder to reach.

Since this is a straightforward step, you should take the opportunity to check over your work. This basically consists of making sure that everything is firmly in its socket and that you didn't forget anything. Check the heatsink on the CPU to make sure it is clipped properly; you can grasp the heatsink and wiggle it to detect whether it and the motherboard are securely in place.

Now you're ready for the next step: Turning on your computer for the first time.