ok it's assembled.. now what?

hello , I just put in my last part for my pc (7900gs) and i turned it on and everything looks good its just i don't know what to do next.... also my keyboard won't work. I can press f12 and all that but when the options come up to go up or down or to press enter none of those buttons works and I tried two keyboards.

I'd like if anyone had a detailed guide that tells me what to do after the assembly. Thank you.

I apologize if this didn't make sense. I'm to extincted and nervous. Also if anyone has the free time they could help me through this? Thank you.

Gigabyte DS3
E4300
Hiper 580
Seagate 500GB
2 gb G,Skill
7900 GS KO

Well at first the computer didn't recognize the keyboard it's usb but i found another and hooked it ups that's ps2. At this point I have 50% of xp home installed . So far so good. I really appreciate the help. Stick around if ya can

My xp number says it's invalid when i enter it i checked and rechecked... But i might know why. When I started to build my new computer part by part the computer i'm using now started messing up so i used my new xp disc on my old computer. Could this be why it says invalid product number? I'm not connect to the internet on the new computer btw. Thanks for the help.

lol sorry again the 6 was a G. ><

The Product Key is not specific to the CD that it comes with. Essentially, you are purchasing the Product Key as the CD is useless without it. No where on the CD does it have a reference to the Product Key. Just imagine what a nightmare it would be to have to match the key with the right CD during manufacturing. These CD's are stamped, not written, so one Windows XP Home CD is the same as the next (barring Service Packs, which would be more specific to when you purchased it) When you enter the key, windows uses the key to do a check (uses key to generate a number), if it doesn't return a valid result, your key is determined to be invalid. So if it's returning an error regarding your key, you are typing it in wrong. The only other thing I can think of is that you have mixed up a XP Home CD with a XP Professional Key or vica-versa. The key for one won't work for the other.

I would slow down and be sure you are reading the key correctly zeroes and O's look similar, as do G and 6. If the Product Key you are using matches the type of Windows you are installing then it's just a matter of entering the key correctly.

Thanks for the help both of you. I'm up and running. I'm going to install some programs and check things out. First thing on my list is speedfan to check my temperatures. After that what do you suggest?

I would install/activate your firewall, install anti-virus, get your windows updates installed, then driver updates installed. I would also restart your computer between each install/update to make sure they take affect and don't screw anything up. Do these the first day and before you load any other software.
After the above is done, I would install programs only as you need to use them. I've noticed windows seems to be more stable if you wait a few days between installations of software. Don't know why that is, but it always seems that when I do a complete re-install all at once, it never works right.

This one can be a bit thorny. Is your copy of Windows an OEM copy or retail copy? Theoretically you can't move an OEM copy from one machine to the next (it's supposed to die with the machine). That said I have done so, but the hardware was very similar, so it didn't require any further intervention (ie calling MicroSoft). If you have a retail copy (cost's more than the OEM and comes in a fancy box), you are allowed to move it from machine to machine (I think only five times before having to call in though).

To remove it from your old machine, just format the hard drive from the old system.

What are you doing with the old system? If you plan to sell it, don't sell it with the HDD. Reason being identity theft (if you keep any personal information on it). There really isn't any commercially available way (that is cheap enough) to make it impossible to recover the data from a "wiped clean" hard drive. No, a format or zero fill isn't good enough. There are people that look for old computers, not to use, but to steal your information (credit, personal, etc) and use sophisticated means to extract that data. If you are going to be handing it down to a relative, or kids (if you have), just reformat and get them another copy of windows and install it.

Not knowing which you have (OEM vs. retail), I will add this. If it is OEM, you may trip up going through activation or WGA (Windows Genuine Advantage), with Windows telling you that you don't have a legitimate licence for Windows. If so you can always call MicroSoft and explain what you are doing. I have had to do this (not with my own computer, but computers at work), they just ask you some questions and give you a huge freaking number to enter and bam your activated. If WGA trips you up, I'm not sure what recourse you have there because it's never happened to me.

Anyway, good luck and have fun.

P.S. My order of installation
1. Windows (of course)
2. Chipset / Reboot
3. VGA Drivers / Reboot
4. Sound Drivers / Reboot
5. Remaining drivers (network, wireless, etc) usually followed by reboots
6. Install antivirus and firewall (Windows firewall isn't good enough) before connecting to the internet.
7. Updates (hope you have a fast connection)
8. Install hardware monitoring tools
9. Run burn-in software (Prime95 / ORTHOS, Super PI, Si-Soft SANDRA) for hours to assure stability.
10. This one isn't absolutlely necessary, but I do it, run Memtest overnight just to be sure of my RAM.

If you have the luxury of another computer, I would use it to download all the newest drivers off the internet, don't use the ones on the CDs. The ones on the CDs are usually outdated. Once you have completed your burn-in / stability testing, you can start to install apps. Be sure after each install of a new app that your computer is still stable and run the app to make sure it behaves with your system. Also patch the app to the latest revision if applicable. Once you are satisfied, move on to the next and so on. Don't just install all the apps all at once without some testing inbetween. It makes it much more difficult to troubleshoot which install caused problems, if you do them all at once.