Culminating Blog Reflection

Hours Completed: 27

My computer is finished! This has definitely been one of the much harder one I have tackled in my life.

This project really forced my brain to problem solve, especially when I was working on managing the cables to maximize airflow through the computer. It was something I really never had to think about and was a very rewarding finish. It also helped learning more proper organization. Figuring out what my project was going to be was something weird to think about which was crazy. The help my mentor provided was really good and not intrusive. He made it obvious that it was my project and that he was just there for help. Having to communicate and depend on someone as much as I did with him was also key. Having him talk me through it and having me actually do it was different, but definitely welcomed to me, as a student.

I definitely gained some of the knowledge that goes behind computers. Learning to build them was a big dream I had and actually learning to do it was amazing. I feel like this project really helped me comunicate my problems a lot better with people in general. It was good being able to practice that skill with someone since I didn't know much at the beginning. I think this has also increased my maturity level a bit more because of the fact that I was dealing with really expensive equipment that I payed for. This was something I hardly get to do to begin with.

There were a bit of problems I ran into, but they all ended up being resolved. One of them was a hard drive problem that the computer had and it just wouldn't read it. I tried a lot of things to fix it, but in the end, asking my mentor was the right thing to do. Also, I had problems with the power supply after I was done with the actual computer. It ended up burning my main board. Luckly, my mentor had a machine to test it and see what it was. I ended up having to get it fixed, but in the end, it all worked fine. I got the fixed one back and installed it. Everything ended up resolved.

As I'm typing this now, on my computer, I realize how awesome it is to have finally accomplished my goal. It's an amazing feeling that I hope I get sometime soon.

Mentor Log #9 April 15, 2013

Individual Time: 1.5 Hours

Running Total: 27 hours

Ram came in today, so I decided to try to install it. Actually putting it in the computer was really easy since the slots are open, but I did have a problem I ran into. The CPU cooler I have is extraordinarily large on the main board of my computer and covered one of the slots with the fan. I had to remove the fan from the cooler and then add in the extra stick of RAM and then put the fan back on. It was quite a hassle, but it was the first time adding something major to the computer without the mentor being around. I was really nervous about it, but it ended up ok. Once I booted the computer, I made sure to set the proper speeds of the ram in order for it to be using its full potential. Everything ended up well and I ended up with full on 24gb of RAM in my computer. Feeling super accomplished that I was able to do all that on my own.