Hard Drive Install Process Essay Essay, Research Paper

How to Install a Hard Drive

I. As you accumulate software, you may find your hard drive is running out of space.

A. Bloatware

B. Here I will help you gather the needed equipment,install,andtroubleshoot a new hard drive.

II. What will you need to complete this task?

A. Needed tools

B. Purchase cost

C. Benefits

III. We are now ready to begin installing the hard drive installation.

A. Installation preparation

B. Removing the case

C. Removing the old hard drive and installing the new hard drive

D. Closing the case

E. Preparing to start the computer with the new hard drive

IV. Most of the difficulty in replacing your hard drive is simply hoping that your new drive will get along with your system’s BIOS and operating system.

A. Your system’s BIOS and operating system

B. Mis-configuration of the hard drive jumper

C. Connecting the data cable

V. All this is time-consuming, but you’ll be enjoying your new drive’s extra space when you’re through.

A. Technical support

B. Load files faster

As you accumulate software, you may find your hard drive is running out of space. Today, feature-rich applications and massive operating systems, which are derisively termed “Bloatware”, take up a large amount of file space. A more insidious culprit is undeleted E-mail and its attachments. Add in the movie trailers you have been downloading and all those scanned photos that are too cute to delete, and you may find yourself looking for a bigger hard drive. Here we will help you gather the needed equipment, install, and troubleshoot a new hard drive.

What will you need to complete this task? The tools needed are as follows: Phillips screwdriver or a nut driver set, small pliers, paper, and pen. It will also take approximately two hours to install the drive but it could take longer. The cost of hard drives vary but plan on spending $50 to $1,500, depending upon the capacity and type of hard drive you desire.

We are now ready to begin installing the hard drive installation. Read your new hard drives documentation thoroughly. Back up your entire old hard drive to an appropriate medium, such as tape or a Zip or LS-120 disk. If the hard drive or computer manufacturer offers relevant information, such as jumper settings on its Web site, you may want to print these off now while your system is still operational. If your drive has no installation software or you are installing a second-hand drive, the drive manufacturers site will offer setup software and documentation. It’s time to open your computer’s case. Find your present hard drive inside your PC. Computer layouts vary, but the hard drive should be easy to spot. It is a thin metal box about 6-inches long, 1-inch thick, and 3.5- or 5.25-inches wide. It will not have an opening accessible from outside the computer, like a diskette or CD-ROM drive, but it will have a flat gray data cable and a squat four-pin power cable. You will need to install the new hard drive in exactly the same position as the old drive. Make a diagram or take some notes about how things are connected so you can reassemble them when you’re finished. The rear of your old hard drive probably has a jumper, which is a small plastic block that fits over two metal pins of a six-pin group. Configure the drive by pulling out the jumper and pressing it gently over two specific pins. For example, if the hard drive is the only one in your computer, the primary of two drives (the master) or the secondary of two (the slave), set the jumper accordingly. The new hard drive’s label or documentation will indicate its jumper’s correct orientation, but it probably came with the jumper preset to be a solitary master drive. Look at the flat gray data cable connected to your old drive. Notice that its red stripe is pointing toward the power cable’s connector. You must connect the cable to the new drive the same way. Disconnect the data and power cables from the old hard drive by grasping their connectors and pulling with firm, even pressure. You can rock the connectors slightly from side to side but be careful not to break the pins to which they connect. This cable or terminator must be connected to the new drive in the same way so remove it now. Support the old drive with one hand, and use the screwdriver or properly sized nut driver to remove its mounting bolts with the other. It may be easier to remove the mounting brackets, if any, along with the drive. Take care to retrieve any little bolts you unscrew and put them aside for now. Ease the old drive out and set it aside. Handle it by the edges and don’t touch its exposed printed circuit board. Now, remove the packaging from the new hard drive and put the old drive into it. Write down all the information from the new drive’s label, such as the number of cylinders, heads, and sectors it has, along with its model and serial numbers. Test the new drive’s fit in the computer. Position it the same way as the old drive. Attach the brackets to the drive using the bolts that came with the new drive or reuse the old bolts. Bolt the drive to the computer’s case. As before, be careful not to drop the drive or any bolts and don’t over tighten anything. Connect the old data and power cables to the new drive. The power cable will only fit in one way, but you will have to attach the data cable with the red stripe facing the power connection. Don’t force any connector or bend its pins but be sure the connections are fully engaged. Re-install any cards, panels, or cables you removed in order to swap the hard drives and double-check their locations from your notes. Finally, put the case back on the computer, plug it in, but don’t turn it on just yet. Major hard drive manufacturers include installation software that recognizes your hard drive, partitions it, and formats it without any input from you. Insert the diskette in your diskette drive, turn on your PC, and follow the on-screen directions. Afterward, simply re-install your operating system and applications.

Most of the difficulty in replacing your hard drive is simply hoping that your new drive will get along with your system’s BIOS and operating system. Major hard drive manufacturers include installation software that reconciles your hard drive with your BIOS, partitions the drive, and formats it without much help from you. A second common problem is mis-configuration of the hard drive jumper. The jumper must be set correctly. If the hard drive is the only one in your computer, it must be allocated as the master drive. If it is the secondary of two (the slave), set the jumper accordingly. Another common problem occurs when connecting the data cable to the new drive. The power cable will only fit in one way, but you will have to attach the data cable with the red stripe facing the power connection. If the drive’s documentation says something different, though, take its word over mine. Don’t force any connector or bend its pins but be sure the connections are fully engaged. Loose cables can cause strange errors later.

All this is time-consuming, but you’ll be enjoying your new drive’s extra space when you’re through. Of course, don’t be afraid to call the drive manufacturer’s technical support line. New hard drives should include free technical support for a period of time. This task is difficult but the benefits are a larger hard drive which means you can install more applications. It may even save and load files faster than your old hard drive resulting in greater enjoyment.