Hard Drive Installation
Step One: Preparing the computer to install the new hard drive 

• Turn the Computer off. 
• Remove the cover. There is no standard for securing the cover, most are held tight by screws in the back, some are removed by pulling the front of the case off and sliding side panels forward. So you will have to figure out haw to remove the cover on your own. 

Step Two: Installing the new drive.

• The first item to consider is whether the old hard drive is to remain in the computer. If it is to remain in the computer then locate a drive bay where the IDE cable will connect both drives 
• Next if both drives are to remain in the computer which drive will be the main drive or master needs to be decided. Most people who are installing a new drive will want their new drive to be the master. However if you are using Hard Drive Mechanic you will need to temporary put the additional drive in as a slave until the cloning process is complete. 
• Then the jumpers need to be set, the main drive set as master and the other drive set as slave. Usually the drive case has a sticker on it with the jumper setting, if not, here is a site which should take you to jumper settings for your drive.
• If the old drive is to be removed but the data on the old drive is going to be copied then temporarily set the jumpers so the old drive is the master and the new drive is the slave, this is required for the transfer. Once the cloning process is complete you can set the new drive as the single drive. 
• Now hook the new drive to the other IDE slot on the cable, if there is a red stripe on the cable line it up with the number 1 pin on the hard drive 
• Hook a power power cable to the drive. 

Step Three: Powering up the computer 

• It is time to check the CMOS to see if the Auto-Detection is set for the new drive. Press the on most computers as it is just booting up you can press the DEL key to enter the CMOS. Your computer may have different instructions, look for these instructions as you first turn on your PC. 
• Set the Drive type to Auto Detection, some systems require you to set the drive type manually.

Locate and select "Save and Exit Setup" then select "Yes" when prompted. Your Drive is now installed and ready for your to run Hard Drive Mechanic

Back to top