Now you need to install the Operating System (OS).

Your new computer powers up but it still isn't finished.

Most people use Windows, some use the Mac OS, some use Linux.

For the most part this is a Windows based web site, the last Mac OS I was associated with didn't have a number or a name it was a Mac. Then there is Linux, this is a really geeky OS, if you can't write your own drivers or compile your kernels then stay away from this one. (As I said geeky, not Nerdy, geeky!).

I won't go over the nuances of installing the OS, if you need that much help then check my books.

I will how ever point out some things that will help you once you start to install the operating system:

• When you partition your OS boot drive I suggest you split it up in to two or more partitions depending on the capacity of the drive. Such as:
  • A 64 to 200 Gig drive I would make two partitions.
  • A 300 Gig to 1 TB I would split in to two or three drives (depending on the use, if you collect or make videos then three partitions).
• I would make the OS boot partition no larger than 64 Gig, 32 would suffice.
• Only make 'Primary' partitions, don't fall in to the 'Extended Partition' trap.
• You can only make one 'Primary' partition with the installation program, all other partitions should be made after the OS is installed.
• If you have two drives leave the second drive alone until after the OS is installed.
• Note: If you are going the Multi [Dual] boot route you need to install the oldest OS first, say you want to have Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, then the sequence would be Win7, then Win8.1, and lastly Win10. If you install Win10 first you will have problems getting Win7 or Win8 to start, something about the backward compatibility... It ain't there!

Once you have installed the Operating System you can install your additional hardware such as Sound or special application cards.

Troubleshoot, repair, maintain, upgrade & secure...     With this!

Now you are ready to make the rest of your drives. As I said above don't fall in to the 'Extended Partition' trap. Extended partitions are a hold over from the early days of DOS, when the maximum size of a partition at that time was 30 MEG! and the maximum number of partitions you can have is FOUR. So if you have a very large drive or more than one drive you can only have four partitions if you use the Extended Partition feature in the Drive Manager. The other part of the trap is you can not delete the partitions in the middle that is the # 2 and # 3 with out deleting the # 4 first.

Resources:

Once you have the drives partitioned then you can move on to the next step in building a custom PC, the security portion of the Operating System install