Guide to Installing a Hard Disk or CD ROM Drive

Installing a hard disk or CD ROM is easy trust me.

There are only three basic steps to installing these computer drives:

1. Set the jumper pins on the hard drive or CD ROM

2. Plug and screw the drive in

3. Boot the computer up and make sure the drive is detected

Step 1: Setting the drive up

The pictures here are for a hard disk drive but the same jumper settings and IDE cables are used for installing a CD ROM.

Lets take a look at the back of a hard disk drive to see the jumpers and IDE cable connectors.

A = This is the IDE cable plug. Attach one end of the cable here and the other goes into the motherboard. Remember that the end plug of the cable is the master and the middle plug is the slave. There is a notch that prevents incorrect insertion.

B = These are the jumper pins. Set your drive up as the master. The diagram for this jumper configeration should be on a sticker on the hard drive or CD ROM.

C = This is the power plug. Plug in the power cable from your power supply here.

Here is a picture of an IDE cable:

The master plug is marked with a red arrow. The other end of the cable plugs into the motherboard while the middle plug is for drives in the "slave" configeration.

You can have a "master" and a "slave" on the same cable. That is the whole point of the system!

I recommend you set up your drive as "master". The jumper setting for this should be on a sticker. Simply put the jumper over the two pins indicated for the master setting. Now you must plug the drive into the end plug on the IDE cable. This is the "master" plug.

Another option is to set the drive to "cable select" where it will adjust itself to whatever plug you attach it to. Not all drives support this however.

Step 2: Installing the drive into the case

Here is a picture of a couple of hard drives installed in a case. The power and IDE cables have been attached.

Simply screw in the drive to secure it in the case. One you have the power plug in, it is time to make sure your system accepts your new drive.

Step 3: Setting up your system

Now you must enter the system BIOS and make sure the appropriate IDE channel is set to AUTO, in order to autodetect the drives. Most motherboards ship with IDE channels set to AUTO by default.

To enter the system BIOS press delete shortly after powering the system on.

Simply search around until you reach the IDE menu. Remember to save when you exit the BIOS.

Now when the computer powers up the drive should be detected with it's size given.

You are now ready to install Windows onto your new computer with the large hard disk drive and CD-ROM drive.