How to Load a New Hard Drive in a Dell Dimension 4100 With a Recovery Disk

Installing a new hard drive into your Dell Dimension 4100 by using a DOS recovery disk allows you to format and initialize the drive from the DOS environment. You can complete this process in around 20 to 60 minutes, after which time you will enjoy a vastly expanded storage space in your Dell computer system.

Things You'll Need

• Phillips screwdriver
• DOS recovery disk

Instructions

1. Shut down the computer and unplug it.

2. Use your hand to unscrew the thumbscrew at the back of the Dell case. Pull off the side panel.

3. Insert the new drive into the drive bay under the current drive and screw it into position.

4. Connect a four-pin power cable to the back of the drive and a SATA or IDE cable to the drive, depending on the new drive type.

5. Close the computer and insert the DOS recovery disk.

6. Start the computer. Press any key to load into DOS.

7. Type "format x:" and press "Enter," replacing "x" with the drive letter of your new hard drive. This is one letter removed from the existing drives in your system. For example, the new drive will be the "D" drive if you only had a "C" drive in the computer.

References

• HelpwithPCs.com: Install drive
• Computer Hope: Microsoft DOS Format