How to Install a Hard Drive on a Windows PC

Computers have greatly evolved over the years. Gone are the days of needing a computer science degree to make any changes to the computer's hardware. Installing a PC hard drive is easier than ever before with just a few easy steps. Your new or additional hard drive is only minutes away.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Small screwdriver

IDE Installation

1. Save any critical or important files. Even if this is an secondary hard drive installation.

2. Turn off the power and unplug the PC from the outlet. Also, unplug all external connections to the Windows PC. Be sure to touch something metal to ground the user. Static electrical shocks can damage a PC.

3. Open the PC housing and determine the placement of the hard drive. Generally computers come with a latch that, when pressed, opens the housing. Make certain the space necessary for the hard drive is available. Usually the drive bays are in the front of the PC near the CD or DVD drives.

4. Make sure the IDE jumpers are set correctly. If the hard drive is the primary drive then set the jumpers to "Master" mode. If the hard drive is the secondary drive then set the jumpers to "Slave" mode. Please consult the hard drive's manual for the proper jumper setting for each mode. Another possibility--if there are two hard drive, set both drives to "Cable select" mode and the Windows PC will choose which one to make "Master" and "Slave."

5. Mount the hard drive in the available internal slot. The drive is sometimes mounted with four screws to the drive bay. Some internal drives have a rail that slides into the open bay. Look at the other devices to determine which mounting option is available in the specific computer.

6. Connect the hard drive cables to the Windows PC. Connect the power supply connector to the available cable. Next, connect the data cable to the available connector. The internal data cable usually has a red stripe to make identification easier.

7. Close the housing and reconnect the external power supply. Plug the external cables back into the computer and reconnect to the power supply.

8. Configure the BIOS. The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is accessible during computer start-up. To access the BIOS consult the computer manual to find out with which key press during start-up. Most often, the key is F8. Once in the BIOS change the hard drive setting to "Auto detect." When finished, exit the BIOS and allow the start-up to continue.

9. Format and partition the Windows PC hard drive. Select "Start" from the operating system menu. Choose "Control panel" from the start menu. Next click on "Administrative tools". From the administrative tools menu choose the "Computer management" icon and finally "Disk management." Choose the new hard drive and right click. Select "New partition" from the right click menu. Follow the on-screen option to partition and format the drive the drive.

10. Restart the computer and check the hard drive to ensure it is operating properly.

SATA Installation

11. Save any critical or important files. Even if this is an secondary hard drive install.

12. Turn off the power and unplug the PC from the outlet. Also, unplug all eternal connections to the Windows PC. Be sure to touch something metal to ground yourself. Static electrical shocks can damage a Windows PC.

13. Open the PC housing and determine the placement of the hard drive. Generally computers come with a latch that, when pressed, opens the housing. Make certain the space necessary for the hard drive is available. Usually the drive bays are in the front of the PC near the CD or DVD drives.

14. Check the internal hard drive connectors. Make sure the hard drive and the internal connectors--power supply and data cables--match correctly. When installing a SATA drive in older computers a SATA adapter may be necessary to install the hard drive.

15. Mount the hard drive in the available internal slot. The drive is sometimes mounted with four screws to the drive bay. Some internal drives have rail that slides into the open bay. Look at the existing devices to determine which mounting option is available in the specific computer.

16. Connect the hard drive cables to the Windows PC. With SATA drives the cable connects directly to the motherboard. Connect the power cord to the available power supply.

17. Close the housing and reconnect the external power supply. Plug the external cables back into the computer and reconnect to the power supply.

18. Configure the BIOS. The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is accessible during computer start-up. To access the BIOS consult the computer manual to find out with which key press during start-up. Most often, the key is F8. Once in the BIOS change the hard drive setting to "Auto detect." When finished exit the BIOS and allow the start-up to continue.

19. Format and partition the Windows PC hard drive. Select "Start" from the operating system menu. Choose "Control" panel from the start menu. Next click on "Administrative tools." From the administrative tools menu choose the "Computer management" icon and finally "Disk management." Choose the new hard drive and right click. Select "New partition" from the right click menu. Follow the on-screen instructions to partition and format the drive the drive.

20. Restart the computer and check the hard drive to ensure it is operating properly.

Resources

• SATA drive adapters.

[Danni-B]

on 4/2/2008 This actually was VERY informative.