How to Install A Second Hard Drive

If you want to increase the disk space on your computer, one of the cheapest ways to do it is by installing a second hard drive. While it may seem like a daunting task at first glance -- especially for the less technical -- adding slave drive to your computer is actually a rather simple job that can be performed by anyone equipped with both patience and the necessary tools.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• screwdriver
• screws
• hard drive
• hard drive manual
• pliers
• antistatic wrist-strap

1. First, make sure you are grounded by touching a piece of unpainted metal or by wearing an anti-static wrist-strap. Make sure your new hard drive is set to be installed as a slave (second) hard drive. Some hard drives come automatically set as cable select, meaning that you can use the hard drive as either a master (main) drive or a slave drive, depending on how you set up the BIOS to read it. However, some hard drives will come marked as a master drive, meaning the computer will not be able to read your second hard drive properly.

2. 
   jumpers

   Check your hard drive manual. It will tell you whether or not you will need to change the jumpers to set up your new hard drive as a slave. Jumpers are usually small plastic pieces that surround a group of 8-10 metal prongs on the back of the hard drive. Look at the picture to the left as an example. Keep in mind, jumper set-up is different for every hard drive brand, so your hard drive may need to be configured differently than the one in the picture.

3. To change the jumper, remove the plastic piece gently with a pair of pliers (you can also try to see if you can pull it out with your fingernails). Once removed, insert into the designated area of your hard drive, as shown in your hard drive manual. Make sure to handle the piece delicately, so as not to break it.

4. Make sure your computer is completely powered off. You can cause harm to the computer, and possibly yourself, by installing a slave hard drive while it's still powered on.

5. 
   PC interior

   Remove the computer case. You will need to make sure you have space to put your new hard drive. Computer manufacturers usually place hard drives towards the front of the computer, just below the CD player. Look at the diagram to the left to get an idea where your hard drive area should be (it's surrounded by the blue square). The vast majority of computer manufacturers will have multiple hard drive slots installed, but if there is only one, and that is holding your main drive, you will need to buy the equipment to install a second drive slot.

6. 
   ribbon & power cables

   Locate the hard drive connectors (see image). The thin, wide cord is the ribbon cable. The cord with the hard plastic at the end is the power cable. In most computers, the CD drive will use the same ribbon cable as the hard drive (there are usually two inserts on one ribbon cable). You may need to remove the ribbon and power cable from the CD-ROM drive and insert them into the slave drive, and then connect a new ribbon and power cable (if there is not one already included) to the CD-ROM and motherboard. This is only necessary, however, if the CD-ROM and the main hard drive are sharing the same ribbon cable. If you end up having to connect new cables to the CD-ROM, you'll need to configure it (the CD-ROM) as a master when you go into the BIOS after starting up the computer.

7. Install the ribbon and power cable into the back of the slave drive. Place the hard drive into the second available hard drive slot. Screw the second drive into place.

8. Power on the computer. You will not need to cover the case just yet. As it's starting up, go to the BIOS screen (usually it's an 'F' key such as 'F2' or 'F8'; your computer should display at the bottom of the start-up screen which key to hit). Make sure the computer is recognizing the new hard drive. You will likely need to set up the second drive as a slave drive. If the computer is not recognizing the second drive, power off the computer and make sure all the cables are properly connected, including those to the mother board.

9. If the computer recognizes the second drive and you have set it up as a slave, put the case back on the computer and configure the new drive as necessary.