If you've ever been unsure about how to install a hard drive, don't be,
after a couple of quick steps, you'll wonder why you've never attempted
it in the past.
Installing a hard drive has only a couple of basic steps.
Putting the drive into the computer case, connecting the
interface cable that goes to your motherboard, and last, connecting the
power cable. It really is that simple.
Since just about every motherboard on the market auto detects a newly
installed hard drive, after you boot up, it's recognized by Windows and
you'll be free to use it. If you don't see it in Windows,
then you just need to format the drive in Windows so it's available.
Adding or removing hard drives is a commone procedure in any
computer.
Replacing
a
drive takes only a couple of minutes when you've done it a few times.
Let's take a quick look at the connectors on a hard drive
before we start. The connection on the far left is a standard
power, use this only if you don't have a SATA power connection which is
the one on the far right. The connection in the middle is
know as a SATA.
Step 1
- Slide
your hard drive into one of the drive bays in your computer
case.
Move the
lock or install the screws to hold it in place.
Step 2
- Plug in a SATA power connector from your computer power
supply. If it doesn't have one, use a standard power
connector.
Step 3
- Locate the interface connections on your motherboard.
Step 4
- Get a SATA cable.
Step 5
- Connect the SATA cable to hard drive, then connect the other end to
the motherboard. A motherboard with a few drives installed
will look something like the picture below.