Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
FinishingUp
At this point, the new system is just about ready to roll. Before you power it up,
though, take a few minutes to do a few final tweaks.
First, if your server looks anything like ours did, there's a rats' nest of cables
running hither and yon. Your new system will look better, be easier to trouble-
shoot, and be more reliable if you dress those cables and tuck them out of
the way. To dress the cables, organize them into bundles and route them as
far away from the motherboard and other components—particularly fans—
as possible. If necessary, disconnect cables temporarily to untangle them and
reroute them as necessary. Use the cable ties supplied with the case to secure
the bundles, and don't hesitate to tuck the cables under or tie them to chassis
components to get them out of the way. (If you need more cable ties, the yel-
low plastic ties supplied with lawn bags work well.)
After you finish dressing the cables, do a final check to make sure everything
is correct:
Power supply input voltage set correctly (if applicable)
No loose tools or screws (shake the case gently)
CPU cooler properly mounted; CPU fan connected
Memory modules fully seated and latched
Front-panel switch and indicator cables connected properly
Front-panel I/O cables connected properly
Hard drive data cables connected to drives and motherboard
Hard drive power cables connected
Optical drive data cable connected to drive and motherboard
Optical drive power cable connected
All drives secured to drive bay or chassis, as applicable
Expansion card(s) (if any) fully seated and secured to chassis
Main ATX power cable and ATX12V power cable connected
Case fan(s) installed and connected
No unused cables flopping around
Once you're certain that all is as it should be, it's time for the smoke test. (As we
mentioned earlier, you may want to do the smoke test with a minimal configu-
ration to avoid risking all of your expensive hard drives.) Connect a keyboard,
mouse, and display, and turn on the display.
False Starts
When you turn on the rear power
switch, the system will come to life
momentarily and then die. That's
perfectly normal behavior. When
the power supply receives power, it
begins to start up. It quickly notices
that the motherboard hasn't told it to
start, though, so it shuts down again.
All you need to do is press the front-
panel power switch and the system
will start normally.
Connect the power cable to the wall receptacle and then to the system unit.
The Antec power supply has a separate rocker switch on the back that controls
power to the power supply. By default, it's in the “0,” or off, position, which
means the power supply is not receiving power from the wall receptacle.
Move that switch to the “1,” or on, position. Press the main power button on
the front of the case, and the system should start up. Check to make sure that
all fans are spinning. You should also hear the hard drive(s) spin up. At that
point, everything should be working properly.
