Beware, if you ask someone geeky, you might be told you fail in life since you can’t install something simple. Believe me, it happened to me when I asked to know how to install an internal card reader. I never asked again.

Installing a hard drive in my computer

So what did I do? I simply popped open my computer, placed the hard drive in a slot right above my old one and snapped it into place. Afterwards, I simply saw the cables that the old hard drive was connected with, and made sure the same cables were connected to it (which were the power and a SATA cable). It took about five minutes.

Feeling victorious, I booted up my computer and when I saw the drive was nowhere to be found in My Computer I threw my computer out the window. Well, not really but I was about to. It took me about 20 minutes of Googling online to figure out how to enable my hard drive.

Procedure for enabling your hard drive

1. Right click on My Computer and click on Manage
2. Go to Disk Management, and find your Hard Drive.
3. Make sure to assign it a letter, and format it by right clicking and configuring your drive to do so.
4. You are done!

Final Remarks

Installing components on a computer for a newcomer might seem to be a daunting task, but it’s proven to be relatively easy once you start. Have a question about installing something on your computer? Go ahead and ask! We are more than happy to help you out.

Need a SATA cable? They are less than $2 including shipping at DealExtreme.

Technical Details for Flip Mino

* Pocket-sized camcorder; Flat back panel with touch-sensitive buttons; 1.5-inch color LCD screen
* 2 GB of on-board flash memory–records up to 60 minutes of video; 2x digital zoom
* Internal Lithium-ion battery recharges when built-in USB arm is connected to a computer
* Connects to TV for instant viewing
* Built-in software lets you easily edit video files and upload them to video sharing sites
Source

The Flip Mino is currently running at $139. A lot of bloggers on the internet scene already have one! I also wanted to have something to take videos with and this is pretty small so I look forward on playing with my new toy once I receive it!

Use your PS2 controllers or Dancepads on your pc

It’s simple. Simply buy the Dual Shooter which runs for about $20 on Ebay or over at Play Asia. Once you receive it, rip the packaging apart, place the mini-cd that comes with it and install the drivers. After that, plug in your Dual Shooter adapter via USB, make sure the switch is on PC, then connect either the controllers or dancepads and your PC will recognize them as game pads.

After doing so, you’ll be receiving great response with no lag. You won’t be dissapointed!

Where to buy?

Simply buy the Dual Shooter and the Dance Pads on Ebay. I thought it was the easiest and cheapest solution. Or you can check out Dual Shooter at Play-Asia or check out the StepMania website to find the pads and dual shooter. Found a cheaper option? Post below.

What to do with the Dual Shooter?

Use them to play some old school emulation, Stepmania, or anything else you could think of. Tell us what you use them for.

Having problems?

Simply install the drivers again, plug in the dual shooter and restart your computer. That should fix the problem.

If you are wondering what PCI stands for here is the definition: Peripheral Component Interconnect

Here are a few examples of what a PCI device looks like:

Data Fax Modem, Network Card, Sound Card

In order to complete this tutorial you will need the following tools:

Phillips Head Screw driver
Grounding Bracelet (optional but highly recommended)

Step 1:

The first thing you need to do is unplug your computer from its power source and move it to a table or a location where you can work comfortably.

Step 2:

Once you have unplugged your computer from all of its peripherals and power source, the next step is to open it up. Most computers are made so that you only have to remove 2 or 3 screws from the back on the right side of the computer ( looking at it from the back ) Remove those screws and slide out the right side panel.
Do not touch anything inside yet!

Step 3:

After you have opened up your computer, the next thing you need to do is rid yourself of any static electricity that you might have in your body. This is where the Grounding Bracelet is a very useful tool. If you were to be statically charged and you never discharged yourself before working on your computer, you could easily discharge on your motherboard and completely murder your PC. This is why you need to ground yourself. So grab your grounding bracelet and if you are left handed strap it on your right hand and viceversa. Connect the end of it to the chassis of your computer to be grounded throughout the install.

If you don’t have a grounding bracelet the alternative to grounding yourself is to plug in your power cord to your computer and wall and touch the power supply for a few seconds. Don’t forget to remove the cords when you are done!

Once you are nice and grounded, move on to the next step.

Step 4:

Next, familiarize yourself with what’s inside your PC. You might have other PCI, AGP, or PCI Express cards installed. Most motherboard manufacturers use a standard color of Beige for a PCI slot. However it may differ on your computer. The beige slots are PCI slots on this motherboard.

Step 5:

Next step is to remove the bracket next to the slot in which you want to install your PCI card. Use your screw driver if you have a standard case ( Make sure to keep the screw because you will need it later ). Some cases don’t have screws. As you can see in the pictures, there is a green lever on this case which makes is a lot easier to install and remove devices connected to the motherboard. Most cases will not have that feature though.

Step 6:

Now, go ahead and grab the PCI card that you want to install and align it so that it is sitting on top of the slot you are going to use. Like this:

Step 7:

After the Card is in the slot, replace the screw that you removed when you took off the bracket and remove your grounding bracelet from the chassis. Close up your computer and replace the screws on the back if you have any. Your installation is now complete on the hardware side.

Step 8:

The last things you need to do is connect all your cables back and have your Drivers ready for when you turn on your computer. If your machine does not have the Driver for your device built into its cabinets then you will definitely need the Driver on hand to have the device working properly. That’s it!


Disclaimer
We do not take responsibility if something goes wrong with your machine. This tutorial is simply to educate you on a method of installation.

Enjoy!

For those with the pondering mind of what a Hybrid TV Tuner actually is…
Basically, this small device can receive Analog (NTSC) and Digital (ATCS) broadcasts. As most of you have probably already heard, on February 17, 2009 the United States will be switching to all digital broadcasting. With this Tuner you are ready to go! The cool thing about that is that you can get high definition channels directly to your Desktop or Laptop, and the quality is simply amazing.

Software I have Used it with:

ATI Multimedia Center
Windows Media Center
Roxio Easy Media Creator 10

I have used this device for many different tasks, and so far I don’t have any regrets. I can watch TV anywhere when I use it on my laptop and it’s really easy to carry around. Since it receives digital channels you don’t have to struggle to get good reception because the channels are always there. It can be a bit slugish at times when changing channels but not to a point where it makes you impatient. If you aren’t a big fan of USB devices I believe there is a PCI version for Desktops; I like this one because of the portability.

Price

When I bought my tuner I bought it at BestBuy.com and was lucky enough to get a $10 discount simply because they made me wait when I went to pick it up. It cost me roughly about $70.
ATI has put out a new version that allows HD input which is something I wish mine had. It looks exactly the same but the price went up about $20.

Current Version and Price:

ATI TV Wonder 600 HD @ Best Buy
ATI TV Wonder 600 HD @ Amazon