Installing a hard disk drive

Home

Site Map

Computer Directory

Add URL

Cheap Computer Guy


Categories

	Store

	News

	Specifications

	DIY Build

	Used Computers

	Upgrades

	Parts

	Barebones

	Laptops

	Software

Drive Installation

Prepare

Motherboard

CPU

Memory

Install Case

Drives

Boot Up

Once the motherboard is installed into the case we can begin to fit the optical and magnetic drives (CD/DVD and 3.5" floppy disk/Hard disk drive).

Notes on fitting drives: Try to keep things spaced out so air can flow over the drives (we dont want them getting too warm). Also try to keep magnetic drives away from your power supply. Most cases have the 5.25" drive bays (generally for optical drives) between the PSU and the 3.5" drive bays (generally for magnetic drives).

If you are using an adaptor to fit a 3.5" drive in a 5.25" bay, keep it in a lower one to save magnetic interference from the PSU scuppering your magnetic data.

The face of your computer case will have blanking plates which can be removed to allow fitment of disk drives. There may be different blanking plates for 3.5" drives such as floppy disks and hard disk drives, and 5.25" drives such as CDs and DVDs.

Select which drive bays you will use for your drives. Remove the blanking plates for floppy disk, CD and DVD drives. Your computers motherboard will have two IDE sockets, to each of which you may connect two drives. It is usually best to connect magentic drives to one and optical drives to the other. Your magnetic (hard) disk drives and optical (CD/DVD) disk drives will have jumpers, as described in the motherboard configuration.

If you have one drive per IDE socket the drive should be set as MASTER. If you have two then you will have a MASTER and a SLAVE. Your boot drive should be set as MASTER. The floppy drive does not have these complications and should have a channel of its own. The drives should slot into the drive bays and fit snugly. Use the screws provided to secure them in place. Connect cables (dont forget the audio cables for CD/DVD). Check your work.

Next: Booting up your computer for the first time