How to Install a Maxtor Hard Drive & Set It to Slave

Install a Maxtor hard drive as your second drive.

So you've got a Maxtor hard drive and you need to install it and set it to slave. There are two settings for drives installed in your PC; master and slave. Typically, if you are installing a second hard drive, you set it to run as a slave of the first drive. Installing hard drives only requires a couple of wires which should already be inside your computer, but the process should not be undertaken by a novice.

Things You'll Need

• Phillips Screwdriver

Instructions

1. Set the correct jumper settings for your Maxtor to be a slave. Your jumpers are located on the back of the drive. The jumpers are usually just a single plastic plug that covers two pins in a series of pins. Check your Maxtor's manual to see where this plug should be placed for slave; sometimes it might involve removing it altogether.

2. Remove your computer's cover. This might involve removing a couple of screws on the side or back of the computer, or maybe flipping a couple of switches or buttons.

3. Mount your hard drive. Locate an empty bay inside your computer; try immediately underneath your current one. Holding the drive so that its screw holes line up with the ones on your computer, and insert each of the four screws that came with the drive until the Maxtor is secure.

4. Connect your drive. First, locate a power plug. These will be white plastic plugs with three or four holes in them and coming out of your computer's power supply. Insert one of these plugs into the thicker rectangular port on the back of the Maxtor. Then locate the IDE wire coming out of your current hard drive; this will have a long and flat plug somewhere along it. Connect this plug to the other port on your Maxtor.

5. Recover and reconnect your computer.

6. Boot your computer and enter its BIOS screen. If you are unsure how to do this, watch your computer upon start-up; there should be a message telling you what to do. Enter the basic setup screen and locate the Primary Slave under "Drives." Select your Maxtor drive, then exit BIOS and reboot your computer.

Tips & Warnings

• BIOS menus vary wildly by computer. If you are having trouble with BIOS, check your computer's manual for more information.

References

• Maxtor: Diamond Max Hard Drives