Installation and Testing of Hardware

Ajay Jassi

Before starting

• Place the computer tower on top of an antistatic mat, and connect the wristband clip on the inside of the tower ready for use.

• Put the antistatic wristband on, so no electric charge is gained or lost. This is done to conduct the electricity.

Step

• Take out the wireless NIC from any packaging ready to install.

• Be careful to ensure that no connecters get destroyed.

1

Step

• If your motherboard has any frames to protect the component, unclip the latch/ supporter lever.

• Do this carefully, so that the part doesn’t snap off.

2

Step

• Allocate and apply a little pressure to the component to get it in place with the motherboard.

• Do not force the component as it can damage the connecters and the component.

3

Step

• Now push back the lever of the supporter.

• And screw in the wireless antenna on to the NIC.

• Ensure that the antenna is tighten well as this can affect the signal strength and prevent faults.

4

Testing Table for Wireless NIC

Test Number Test Description Expected Results Actual Results

1 See if device appears in device manager.

It will appear as a device and driver will be installed correctly.

The device was recognised and appeared in device manager.

2 Check if the lights on wireless NIC are working correctly.

Light on back was flashing, which means it is connected to internet.

The green light was flashing, so it’s successful.

3 Ping the machine. I thought the machine will ping around 150 ms.

The machine pinged at 168 ms which is better than expected.

4 Test to see if connection is working,

Connection will be strong.

Signal strength went low as the router was quite a far distance away,

5 Go to CMD and check if the ipconfig/all settings all are active and running.

list of internet information about the ip address, subnet mask, and the default gateway.

A list of internet information containing correct information, which was a success.

Wireless NIC detected in Device Manager

Test if connects to network

Potential problems and solutions

• Some problems that may occur when installing hardware are that the connect may be damaged, or maybe too be electric passing through.

• To prevent this you can use antistatic equipment such as a mat and a wristband when handling and installing components.

• It’s important to be fully aware and be concentration when installing hardware so no accidents are caused.