How to Install a New Hard Drive Into a Dell Computer
Hard drives are one of the devices in a computer most prone to experiencing failure. Hard drives are composed of multiple spinning parts that heat up when they spin and cool off when the computer is turned off. This leads to shrinking and expanding of the platters, which can eventually result in failure. If you experience hard drive failure in your Dell computer, replacing the drive is not a difficult task. The whole process takes about 15 minutes, depending on your technical skill level.
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Instructions
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Ground yourself to prevent static electricity. This can be accomplished by touching something metal before you start the procedure. You can also wear a grounding wrist strap that attaches to something metal to keep you grounded during the process.
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Disconnect the power from the PC. It is easiest to remove the black power cord from the back of the computer where it plugs into the power supply.
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Open the case. Many Dell cases have a sliding latch that will pop open the cover when slid. Some older cases are still sealed by attaching the panel to the chassis by screws.
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Disconnect the hard drive from the power supply. This is a cord that runs from the hard drive back to the power supply. Typically it will be a multi-colored cable with a white or black connector.
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Disconnect the data cable from the hard drive. This is the remaining cable running to the hard drive. If your hard drive is an IDE drive, it will be a wide ribbon cable with a thin red stripe on one side. If it is a SATA drive, it will be a thin cable with a black connector going to the hard drive. Many SATA cables are red or black.
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Remove the old hard drive from the case. The hard drive will be mounted flat against the chassis with a bracket or mounted inside a cage in the chassis. Either way, it will be mounted with screws that will need to be removed. If the drive is mounted flat against the case with a bracket, then you will need to remove the brackets from the hard drive as well.
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Mount the new hard drive to the case. If the hard drive is inside of a cage, then slide the new drive into the cage and attach it with the screws removed from the older drive. If the mounting used brackets, attach the brackets to the drive, then mount the drive with brackets to the case. You will be using the screws you removed from the old drive.
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Attach the data cable to the new drive. The connector is shaped in a special way to allow only one way to connect. If you find yourself trying to force the connection, it is possible you have the connector aligned incorrectly.
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Add the power cable to the new drive. Again, this connector is formed in a certain way to allow connection in only one direction.
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Close the computer case and plug in the power cord.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit hard drive interior image by Curtis Sorrentino from Fotolia.com
