SATA Hard Drive Installation
SATA or Serial ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) hard drives are some of the most widely used hard drives today. They are considerably faster than other forms of ATA hard drives and external USB hard drives. Aside from that, the cables necessary to connect them to the motherboard are cheaper, smaller and easier to connect without damaging them. Installing a SATA drive in your computer can be tricky though, even if you have some knowledge of internal computer parts.
Instructions
1. Open your desktop computer case. open your case will vary based on the make and model of your computer. Most have a side panel that opens by releasing a lever or switch or by removing screws.
2. Locate your hard drive bracket or sleeve. It will usually contain your current hard drive or be an individual sleeve located below, above or next to your current hard drive. If you are replacing a hard drive, disconnect both the power wire harness and the SATA cable or IDE cable.
3. Open or remove your hard drive bracket or empty sleeve. If you are replacing a hard drive, remove the sleeve containing the current hard drive. You may need use your Phillips screwdriver to remove a screw to remove the bracket or sleeve
4. Insert your SATA hard drive into its bracket or sleeve in the same fashion your current one is installed. If you are replacing a hard drive, use your Phillips screwdriver to remove any screws connecting the hard drive to the bracket or sleeve first.
5. Insert no fewer than four hard drive mounting screws through the bracket or sleeve and into the sides of the hard drive in the holes provided.
6. Insert the hard drive bracket or sleeve back into the case in the reverse manner you removed it. Attach the power cables and SATA cable by sliding the wire harness and wire into the appropriate slots on the hard drive.
7. Attach the SATA cable to your motherboard. The location will vary depending on your motherboard, but the connection will only fit the SATA cable.
8. Close your computer case and power it on. If any alarms go off or beeping occurs, power off your computer and contact your local technician as something may be wrong with your computer.
9. Press the "F2" key when your computer's first screen appears to open your computer's BIOS. For a Dell, this would be the Dell screen and not the Windows screen; same for an HP, etc. The specific key to open your computer's BIOS may differ, but your opening screen should state which key it is.
10. Locate the drives section of your BIOS. You may have to browse a bit as this will vary based on the make and model of your computer. As long as you aren't making any changes, you won't create any problems.
11. Check to see that your new SATA hard drive appears in the list of drives in your BIOS. You may need to add it using the BIOS auto discovery or adjust some settings. Follow the onscreen instructions for doing either of these.
Tags: hard drive, your computer, bracket sleeve, hard drive, drive bracket, hard drive bracket, hard drives