Test Your System

Now that your computer is configured and everything is installed, there are a few things you can do to make sure everything is working correctly.

First, check the lights (or LEDs, short for light-emitting diode) on the front of your machine. The power LED should always be lit, and the hard drive LED should be lit whenever the hard drive is being accessed; you can check this by watching it during bootup since the hard drive is accessed at least once during the POST (Power On Self Test). If any of the LEDs aren't functioning correctly, they probably aren't connected properly to the motherboard so just try reversing the orientation (after powering off your system, of course) and refer again to your motherboard's manual for assistance.

Test your reset and power buttons if you haven't already done so to make sure the buttons are working correctly. Check each fan including the CPU fan, power supply fan and case fan if you have one to make sure they are all spinning smoothly and that there are no wires or protrusions obstructing their operation.

You can test your hard drive by listening to make sure it is spinning and ensuring the correct information appears under the Primary IDE section of your BIOS. The floppy drive and CD or DVD LEDs should also come on briefly during bootup; test the CD or DVD drives by hitting the eject button to make sure the drive opens. If any drive does not seem to be functioning as it should, check that all drive cables including power and IDE ribbon cable are properly connected. Some motherboards require the drive to be connected at a specific spot on the IDE cable depending on whether it is master or slave; consult your motherboard's manual for details.

It's a very good idea at this point to perform a rudimentary test on the heat of your CPU. After the computer has been running for at least fifteen minutes, cut all power, ground yourself, and touch the heatsink on the CPU. It should be warm, but if it is too hot to touch you shouldn't run your system again before installing a better heatsink and/or fan. Another thing you might do is enter your BIOS's hardware monitor if it has one and make sure the voltages and temperatures are within acceptable levels (consult manuals for details on your particular setup).

After performing these short steps you have done what is possible, up to this point, to test your system and everything should be in working order. You are now ready to prepare your hard drive for installation of your chosen operating system.