How to Install Two Sata Hard Drives
A hard drive is a physical disk drive that stores data to a metal disc or platter. SATA hard drives are a type of hard drive technology that started to replace the older IDE hard drives during the mid 2000s. The advantage of installing SATA hard drives is that they tend to operate faster than IDE hard drives, and their cords are smaller, so it will reduce clutter in your case and potentially increase airflow.
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Things You'll Need
- Screwdriver(s)
- Two open hard drive bays
- Two SATA motherboard cables
- Two SATA power cables
- Mounting screws
Instructions
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1
Power down your computer and unhook all cords.
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2
Use your screwdriver to open the computer's case. Normally a case can be opened by removing the panel on the left side of the tower, by taking out two or three Phillips-head screws from the back of the case.
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3
Locate two free hard drive bays. Most desktop computers can handle at least two hard drives and possibly four or even five. Hard drive bays look like rectangular spaces in a metal housing toward the front of the case. Locating your current hard drive will allow you to identify other slots easily.
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4
Mount both SATA drives in free drive bays. To mount a drive, simply slip it into the drive bay and line it up so that the screw holes on the hard drive line up with the holes on the metal housing. Then use a screwdriver to put in the mounting screws that came with the hard drives. It is normally adequate to secure hard drives from only one side of the case, but if you wish, remove the right side of the case and add additional screws.
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Connect the drives to the motherboard with SATA cables. The motherboard plugs for SATA drives are usually toward the bottom and front of the case.
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6
Connect SATA power cables to the drives. Look for power cables coming from the power supply, which have black ends that are different from all the other cables. SATA power cables can only be used for SATA drives, so just find the plugs that fit the power plug on the back of the drive.
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Close the case, plug the cords back in and start the computer.
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8
Format the new hard drives. Click "Start," "Control Panel," "Administrative Tools," "Computer Management" and then "Disc Management." Your new drives should appear under disc management; right-click a drive and select "Format." Choose from the available formatting options and begin formatting. Repeat the process for the second drive.
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Tips & Warnings
If you plan on replacing your current hard drive with one of the SATA hard drives, you will need to load an operating system onto one of the drives using the appropriate CDs.
Running several hard drives increases the load on the computer's power supply and heat within the computer.
