Many people are intimidated by the concept of a computer. People who were born before 1975 did not grow up surrounded by computers and computer driven device like the younger people of today. Because of this, the less daring in this category have not step boldly into the digital age. They have been pulled into it against their will. One of the barriers to getting into the computer age and surfing the world-wide web is learning to deal with the hardware itself.
Today’s personal computers regardless of brand have been designed to extremely user friendly. That is, they are made so that it does not take an engineer to piece them together and make them work. Becoming proficient with a computer can take years, but learning to function adequately with one requires a matter of hours.
A person who has been reluctant to purchase a computer because of price no longer has that as a real deterrent. If he or she can afford a television or stereo, there is a computer available in a reasonable price range. Even a good used computer can give many years of excellent service for as little as $50 to $100. If a person whines enough to friends and relatives, probably a free one will come drifting into the house.
After getting one of these devices, assembling it can be daunting if a person has never really looked at a computer. The good news is that putting it together is actually relatively easy. Personal computers only have about five to ten components to be attached together to make the computer run. The openings or ports on the computer box are often color coded and have pictures of what plugs into the holes.
The first piece to look for is the computer itself. This will be a square or rectangular box. Most computers are about 18 or 20 inches across and long and about 6 inches wide or thick. Depending on the type of computer, it will either stand up tall or lay down flat. You can usually just look at it and figure it out pretty quickly. The front of the computer will have one or more buttons and some little round LED type lights. The back of the computer will have a lot of ports.
The next piece to find is the monitor. This just looks like a television with two or three cables coming out of it. If the speakers are attached to the monitor, it will have three cables. Without speakers attached, it will have two cables. One of the cables is the power cord that will be plugged into an outlet. It is best to use a power strip with a surge protector built into it to plug in all of the computer electrical cords.
The computer and monitor should be put where they will be permanently based. The monitor cable with the computer connector to the back of the computer needs to be run to the back of the computer. There will be a port with a connector that matches the size and shape of the monitor cable. It will either say “monitor” or have a picture or both. This cable needs to be plugged into the computer. Care needs to be taken not to bend any of the pins as the connection is made. The thumb screws need to be tightened to complete the connection.
Now that the computer and monitor are in place, the next piece to find is the key board. This looks like a typewriter keyboard without the typewriter. It has one cable running from it. The cable needs to be plugged into the computer in the appropriated port. This may either be a round opening with pins, or on the more modern computers, it will be a flat USB connector. If it is a USB, it may not matter which USB port that is used. The computer may have eight or ten of this type of port.
The mouse is the next piece to attach. It is a small oval-shaped object with one wire coming out of it. It will plug in the same way as the keyboard. The mouse will need a nice flat place to sit. Both the keyboard and the mouse may be cordless and have just an adapter that plugs into the computer that communicates with devices.
If there is a printer, it will almost always have a USB connector today. If it is an older model, it may have a connecter that looks like a larger version of the monitor connector. Either way, it just needs to be plugged into the computer. The printer will also need to be plugged into an electrical outlet for power.
For internet accessibility, the computer will need to be attached to a phone line or other type device depending on the type of service being used. Most computers have a built in phone jack with an internal modem for dial up connections. New computers will have a larger port for network connections. This is needed for DSL or cable connections.
A novice user may need to get some advice from a live person if he or she does not understand the difference between a phone jack and a network port. This can be obtained by calling the internet service provider.
If there are speakers, the wire from the speakers will need to be plugged into the speaker jack. The same is true of a microphone. A web cam may be included with the computer. This will plug into one the USB ports. This is about everything that will come with a new computer purchased by a first time user.
Once everything is connected, the power button on the front of the computer needs to be pushed. This will start the operating system. When the system is up, most new systems will give a signal that it can now be used. For a used computer, it is ready to use when screen quits adding new icons, and the hard drive quits making sounds like it is being used.
