Our guide to PCI card installation.

Many components use the PCI slots in a PC, the most common of which are modems, sound cards and ethernet (network) cards.

This guide will take you through the installation process with the use of photos and text.

To install your PCI card you will need:

Compatible modem, ethernet card, sound card or other PCI card.
Cross-point (Philips) Screwdriver suitable for your PC case.
Fixing screw (usually comes with the case).
Anti-Static Wrist-strap (if available).

Before you follow this tutorial you must read the terms of our disclaimer.

note: Disconnect the power and remove your PC's cover, see our guide.

Locating the PCI slots

When the cover is removed, the first thing to do is to locate the PCI slots on your motherboard. Different motherboards have different amounts of PCI slots, for example, you may already have a PCI card installed, in which case just choose an empty slot to install your new PCI card.

you can see an example of a PCI slot in fig 1.1 below:

In fig 1.2 above you can see a typical PCI card, we have pointed out an alignment notch (A), this is used to align the card with the slot. If you take a look at the slot in fig 1.1 you can see how it is aligned with the card.

Install modem/sound card/ethernet card

Once you have chosen which PCI slot you want to use, remove the "blank" from the back of the case to make room for the card. If you are unsure how to remove the "blanks" see your PC case's manual.

note: Blank refers to a small piece of metal that is inserted into the back of the case, in alignment with the PCI slots. Most blanks are fixed into position with a screw, but different cases use different methods.

After removing the blank, align the card with the slot and gently but firmly push the card into position.

Once the PCI card is seated firmly into place fig 1.3, insert the fixing screw fig 1.4, check to make sure nothing has been loosened during installation and then replace the case cover.

When you reboot your machine, your operating system should find the card automatically. It will then prompt you for the driver disk/cd that came with your card, insert the CD and follow the on-screen instructions.

If you here a sequence of beeps when you boot your machine back up, then the card may not be fully seated in the slot.

If you encounter a problem with interrupt requests, and/or intermittent problems, try using a different PCI slot, or adjusting the IRQ settings in your bios.

Tip: Click here to check for outdated device drivers