How to Slave a Hard Drive for an Emachine W3609

All desktop computers usually have an extra drive bay or a space that can be used to place a spare or slave hard drive. One type of system that can have a spare hard drive added as a slave is the eMachine w3609. A hard drive can be slaved for this machine by opening the case and installing the drive into the computer.

Things You'll Need

• Screwdriver
• Spare hard drive
• Needle-nose pliers

Instructions

1. Make sure the computer is powered down and that it has been unplugged from the wall. Unplug all of the cords from the back of the machine and place it on a table for easy access.

2. Remove the side panel from the computer case. Use a screwdriver to remove the screws that are being used to secure the panel. Pull the panel out to expose the inside of the computer.

3. Change the jumper setting on the hard drive to the Slave setting. The jumper setting is initially set to Master, and it needs to be set to Slave. Use a pair of needle-nose pliers to gently remove and replace the jumper cover.

4. Place the hard drive into an empty drive bay within the machine. Plug the data cable as well as the data cable, and then use a screwdriver to secure the drive in the bay.

5. Restart the computer to verify that the hard drive can be accessed. Press the F2 key to access the BIOS to see if the computer system has properly identified the hard drive.

Tips & Warnings

• An existing hard drive can be set to slave to reformat the drive or to try and recover data.

• Never attempt to change the jumper without first removing the drive from the case.

References

• Hard Drive Recovery Tutorial