How to Hook up a Hard Drive

Steps

1. Turn off the PC and unplug it from the outlet or surge protector.
2. Set the jumper on the back of the hard drive to "master". This can be found on the back of the hard drive. Most hard drives have the jumper settings printed on the drive. Check the sticker on the drive to make sure you place the jumper correctly.
3. Mount the hard drive in a 3.5 inch bay.
4. Hook up the end of the wide data cable with the red band (pin 1) facing to the right - as if you are the computer looking forward (red band towards the power supply connection).
5. Hook up a power cable to the right of the data cable. It only goes in one way.
6. Put the cover on the case.
7. Boot up your computer.
8. Go into your BIOS. Press F10 or DEL at startup. If this fails, see manual.
9. Go to "auto detect hard drives."
10. Ensure that it detects your new hard drive.
11. If it doesn't detect the drive, go back and make sure the cables are inserted tightly.

Tips

• You may want to test your BIOS auto detect before you put the cover on.
• Most hard drives now come with the jumper settings set to CS (cable select). As long as you use the first connection on the IDE cable, you will not need to make a jumper setting change if this is going to be the primary, and only drive to go into the computer.
• Unless you are absolutely sure that you have it hooked up correctly, and the drive is going to work, leave the cover off of the computer case until the BIOS detects the drive. This will save you time and frustration if the hard drive does not work.

Warnings

• Always wear an anti-static wristband to prevent damage caused by ESD (electrostatic discharge).

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