No, JB, it's not built yet, although I have received all the parts & stuff. I've got to head over to the local store and pick up some cables, I think. Oooh! I know! I'll document my build with photos! How neat will THAT be? (Probably not very, that's the answer. I'll do it anyway.)

Good idea. And i'm sure well help in anyway we can. I know how hard it is to buld a PC. (sarcastic grin)

I have a bad records with bets but I bet 5kc that Leebs rips open his skin reaching inside the custom case.

Yet, I wish him well. Nyuk nyuk nyuk...

Hrm. Well, MGL wins, I got a good cut from some metal on my thumb's knuckle already.

The LeberPC is about 50% built, all interface cables connected, but no power cables connected yet. Kinda like the death star in Episode 6. It's embarrassing, but I had to do some SERIOUS searching to figure out where to plugin the case's powerSW and resetSW leads to the motherboard. Think I found it, though.

Goddamn CPU heat sink was a bitch to install, though. Everything else went pretty smoothly.

Wel, the big question is: Did you enjoy building it so far?

"Enjoy" is not the right word. More like, I will "enjoy" using it in the future I am sure, as I do not have to shut it down to complete projects or during VO sessions. (Like I do with the overheating iMac)

It's been a breeze so far. I'm nervous about the power supply connections, though...

LeberMac:"It's been a breeze so far. I'm nervous about the power supply connections, though..."

I don't think you have anything to worry about. Usually you can only insert cables one way and into only one connection in the mother board. Worse case senario it will just blow up!! (just kidding)

JB

Edit: There is one thing i should add though. Make sure you have a power supply that has more power then you need. When i built my computer 1 made sure it had enogh power so i could expand like crazy. I have 3 Internal hard drives, 2 DVD/CD burners, lights and extra fans. I knew i would be updraging so i made sure i had the power to upgrade internally.

Yah I've got a 580W PSU, should be enough unless I get another 8800 GTS... but that most likely will not happen anytime soon.

Anyway...

IT... LIVES!

I didn't smoke anything, I'm gonna leave room for ubuntu (but not install anything tonight), but I will attempt to have WinXP installed and the computer up & running standalone before I hit the sack.

What antivirus do y'all recommend?

zone alarm firewall
ummm im not sure about antivirus
i dont use any antivirus at all, i download regularly with bittorrent and gnutella and i've never had a virus, or a problem, so im not sure its really needed, even though people insist it is.

GAH! Defeated by BIOS!

I shut it down after getting into the BIOS the first time, had some stuff to eat, and now.... motherboard won't fire up. LOL. Figures.

There's a BIOS issue where you essentially get ONE chance to set up everything perfectly, apparently. If you stop before you're done, Bad Things.

So now I have to figure out where to get a floppy disk and how to flash the BIOS.

Most BIOS have a reset jumper switch... does yours?

Haha! I have made a surprising comeback and defeated the BIOS at the last minute! Apparently you can move the CMOS jumper, the motherboard gets wiped, and then move the jumper back. Slick! (If I could only do that with my clients...) So all went well on install try #2!

So, anyway, it's working now and WindozeXP is installed and all the other crap that came on the CD's, so now tomorrow I'll try to get online. I do not expect that battle to go any easier.

1. install anti-virus
2. reboot
3. ?
4. prophylactic!

LeberMac wrote: "What antivirus do y'all recommend?"

I use Symantec Anti virus Corp edition. It is very stable and doesn't install all the extra crap that regular Norton does. Another plus is that it doesn't ask you to "re buy" the product every year, so your virus definitions will always be in date. No matter what anyone says i think you need an anti virus program on any computer running windows. I've been supporting computers for almost 13 years, but that is just my opinion. Nod32 is also another good antivirus program. And its free.

After installing windows i would:
1. Turn on Windows Firewall if it not already on. (Should be on by default with SP2)
2. Install anti virus and then update to the latest definitions.
3. Run windows update and install at least the critical updates.
4. Reboot and run windows update again until there are NO critical updates. (This could take an hour or more. Seems like when ever you think you're finished another one pops up.)
5. Update your hardware to the latest drivers. I would do one at a time rebooting in between. That way if you do have a problem you know what driver upgrade caused it.
6. Install any additional software. Make sure you update them to the latest versions.
7. Install Windows Defender. You don't have to have it scanning all the time but its a good idea to have at least one anti spyware program. And so far Windows defender has been good.
8. Run windows update again. When prompted install and run Microsoft update. This will make sure all Microsoft products including Office are kept up to date.

Just one more thing. Before you upgrade your bios read the changes to the new version very carefully. If you don't need any new features and its working i wouldn't upgrade. Also read the instruction on upgrading the bios very carefully to. One error and you no longer have a mother board :(

who? me?: I think Windows firewall does a good job of keeping things blocked. I don't think you need Zone alarm unless you want to see ever attempt that was made to get into your computer.

OK, I didn't need to upgrade my BIOS, it's already at the latest version for my mobo. I just needed to reset it after my aborted launch attempt. So all is good there.

Otherwise, all good advice, JB. I'm at Step 1, yes it was "on" by default. I need to figure out how to get this thing online before I can proceed with 2 and below.

I think I actually have Symantec AV corp edition here at work, but it's probably a 5-year old version. I'll explore it.

Lebermac, if your mobo already has a ethernet port that accepts the basic CAT-5 cable just plug in the cable.

Yep, I got everything working tonight, although... looks like Windows STILL has more updates for me? It's like an endless string.

GAH

Update G requires update B which requires update C which can only be installed after update A. And then you can install Update F, I mean G.

So what has your $40/hour time cost, to build this, so far? Are you within budget? So far, from what I read in this whole thread, your experience is typical, so I'm guessing you're still within your time budget.

Actually from opening the boxes to putting everything together, wrestling with resetting the BIOS/CMOS/whatever to seeing the initial Win XP greenfield/bluesky pic, I'll say it was a matter of hours. 4 at the most. I'll probably spend more time throwing away the 20 boxes I got.

If I had to do it again, I could probably do it in 30 minutes. (Not counting the time it would take WinXP to install itself, which I would use wisely to go make a sandwich.)