If you want to set up a new PC (Personal Computer) at home, carefully set the PC and monitor on your desk. Both the PC and monitor should be angled away from the wall so you can access their back sides and connect up various cables. If you have a standard desktop casing you can either leave it on top of desk or if the keyboard, mouse and monitor cables are long enough place it underneath to save desk space. if you a tower PC, Keep your desktop free and find a home for the tower casing under your desk.
Plug in the keyboard:
Usually the keyboard has a PS/2 cable that ends in a circular, 5 pin male plug, which fits into a round female port on the back of the system unit, although a few systems have the keyboard connector in the front. A few other systems use a phone style connector. Line up the pins on the plug with the holes in the keyboard port, a notch usually keeps you from plugging in the wrong way.
Hook up the Monitor:
The monitor has two cables: an AC power cord and video cable. The video cable is thicker than the power cord and ends in a 15-pin male plug. Video connector has a D-like shape keeps you from reserving it. The 15 -pin female video port will probably be located on the rear metal bracket of an expansion card. Connect the video cable using gentle pressure and screw- in the plug's thumbnail screw. Plug the AC cord into the back of the monitor.
Connect the Mouse:
If you have USB mouse, connect to a USB port. If you see a round 5-pin PS/2 mouse port, plug the mouse into it. If there is no mouse port, plug the mouse into serial port(also known as a COM or communication port) Serial ports are either 9 or 25-pin D shell and are always male. Most newly purchasable computer has a PS/2 mouse port.
If you have the wrong plug, you can usually buy am adopter.
Hook up a printer:
The printer has a thick cable that plugs into a parallel port(also called a printer port), a female 25-pins connector on the rear side of the system unit. Some printers can also connect to a serial port or a USB port, but the parallel port is always preferable because it is faster. Most printers do not come with a cable. You have to buy it separately.
Plug in the modem:
If the modem is an external unit then it simply plugs into a serial port, and to a phone line. If it is an internal modem, then it is an expansion card. Simply plug a phone line connector and connect a phone set on the other.