Main Menu
Home
Type of PC
PS & Cases
Memory
Processors
Motherboards
Hard Drives
CD-Roms & Floppy
Video Cards
Sound Cards
Modems
Personal Links
Need Parts
My Links
link Exchange
View Guestbook
My Awards
Contact Me
Install Your Hard Drive , CD-Rom and Floppy
Find your IDE cable's and floppy cable. On both cables there are two connectors on one end and one on the other. The end with one connector attaches to the mb. You'll attach the other connectors to your drives later.
Hints for connecting
The connector pins are clearly labeled and usually have a missing pin that corresponds to a missing hole on the cable to keep you from attaching it the wrong way.
There will also be a red or striped wire on the cable that should correspond to pin 1 on the connector. Pin 1 is usually clearly labeled on the mb. The cables slide right onto the connectors with very little force, but make sure they're on tight.
Attach the cables to the motherboard
Attach the floppy cable to the floppy connector and the IDE cable to the primary IDE connector. You should use the secondary IDE connector for your CD drive.
Ware to install your drives in the case
The hard drive and the floppy drive will fit into the drive bays in the case. The smaller (3-1/2 inch) bays are for these drives.
You might also need to set the jumpers now. The proper jumper settings will be in the instruction booklet or printed on the drive.
If you're installing two drives
If you're installing only one hard drive, leave the jumpers alone. If you're installing two, set one to "slave." and the other "Master", You'll use the primary IDE cable for both drives. The "master" drive should be the one with your OS on it. "Master" = C:/ and "Slave" = D:/ .
Place the drives
1. Slide the drives into the bays with the connectors facing into the case. You'll notice that there are holes on the sides of the drives that correspond to holes on the sides of the drive bays.
2. One at a time, hold the drives in place and attach them with the screws that came with them.
3. Once the drives are secure, attach the cables. Again, the connectors on the drives will usually have the missing pin/missing hole scheme, and you can line up the red wire with pin 1. In the case of drives, pin 1 will be the pin closest to the power connector.
4. You'll notice that one of the connectors on the floppy cable has a little twist in the cable. This connector should connect to your "master" or single floppy drive. Snug the cables in tight.
5. Grab one of those colorful power cables snaking out of the power supply. The hard drive will take one of the larger connectors; the floppy drive wants a smaller connector. The power cables are shaped so that they fit only one way and are usually difficult to connect.
Repeat for CD (s)
The steps for installing a CD or DVD drive are exactly the same. Just be sure to plug these drives into the secondary IDE connector, and set one of the drives to "Master" and one to "slave" if you're installing two.
All done
You now have your drives installed
Back
or
Next
Contiued
AGP, PCI and ISA Cards
Final Steps