Now
that the HTPC is fully
assembled, it's time to hook it up for testing. Let's take a look at the
back of the Aopen XCube-encompassed HTPC
Quite a few ports here.
Most of these will be instantly familiar to anyone who has setup a home PC
before. For now, connect the power cord, mouse and
keyboard (either to the PS/2 ports or the USB ports) and the monitor to
the video card.
Powering on the computer to test the
components
Time for a quick test to
verify that everything is working as it should be. Ensure that your
monitor is on, flick the power switch on the power supply at the back of
the case and turn your new HTPC on.
Things to watch
for:
That the computer turns
on and the monitor shows an image.
That the correct amount of
memory is displayed during the POST process.
That the hard drive and DVD
writer are present during the POST process.
Installing windows XP
It's time
to install the operating system. We're not going to go through the
procedure of installing and updating Windows XP in this article, but you
can follow the procedure outlined in our guide to installing Windows XP if you need help.
Once you
have finished installing the operating system, install the
drivers for your wireless (or wired) network
adaptor and connect to the Internet to update your HTPC with the
latest Windows patches and Service packs.
Installing drivers
and VIVO components.
Now it's time to make sure the HTPC has all the necessary
drivers installed. First install any drivers that came with your
motherboard or SFF PC case (with the Aopen Xcube, the included CD contained
the necessary chipset, audio
and LAN drivers for the motherboard).
Next, connect to your
video card and TV tuner manufacturers website(s) and download the latest driver
versions for both. Assuming your video card has VIVO functionality as ours
did, you will also want to grab the latest WDM (Windows Driver Model) drivers
which enable this function. For nVidia cards, these drivers can
be found under 'multimedia software' in the drivers section, while for
ATI they are included
with the company's Catalyst driver package.
RSS Newsletter
