It is usually not difficult to remove a hard drive from a desktop or tower computer for testing, virus scanning, data transfer, or disposal. The biggest problems you might run into are accessing the screws or having enough room to slide the drive out of the back of the cage. There are a number of steps to follow to install a new or replacement drive, but it usually isn't difficult either.

Hard Drive Removal

The first step in removing a hard drive is, with all the cables and power disconnected, to open the case and access the drive, as instructed in tutorial 4, "Cases and Power Supplies." You will probably have to remove four screws, two on each side of the drive. Then, remove the power connector and the data connector.

Hard Drive Installation

There are several steps you need to take depending on whether the drive is new or you are reinstalling an existing drive.

Setting Jumpers

The first thing you'll want to do before installing a hard drive is to decide whether you want it to be a primary or secondary, master or slave, based on the other EIDE devices that are or will be installed in the machine. Then, make sure the jumpers are set correctly for master, slave, or cable select.

Cable Select is a setting that allows the slave or master condition to be determined by which connector on the ribbon cable the EIDE device is connected to. The cable and motherboard or IDE controller must support cable select in order to use it. Cables that do support cable select have three different colored connectors: black at one end for master, gray in the middle for slave, and blue at the other end for the motherboard. Other cables with three connectors might support cable select. If you have two EIDE devices on one channel (primary or secondary), both or neither must be set to cable select. That is, you can't mix cable select and master or slave jumper settings on the same channel. Jumper settings are usually displayed on the drive label. If not, go to the drive manufacturer's Web site. For example, go to seagate.com and enter "cable select" in the search box. Then, open the article entitled What is Cable Select and How Do I Configure my Seagate Drive to Use It? This article gives an explanation of cable select, along with a jumper diagram for Seagate hard drives.

Also notice the notch in the connector. This is for the ridge in the cable connector, called the key. The key should fit in the notch. Some well-designed connectors are actually polarized—they will go in only the correct way. Thankfully, all SATA connectors are polarized.

There are two types of EIDE ribbon cables. Make sure that the ribbon cable is rated for the UDMA capacity of the hard drive and motherboard. Although all the connectors at the ends of the cables have 40 pins, cables for UDMA 66 through 133 have 80 conductors (wires). UDMA 33 cables have 40 conductors. The speed is printed on the cable. If the cable says 66, it is good for the higher speeds. If you use a 33 cable with a 66 hard drive or higher on a motherboard that supports the higher speed, the UDMA speed of the hard drive will still be held to 33.

Note You might see the term UltraATA in place of UDMA. For the purposes of this discussion, there is no difference.

Round Cables

Round cables are likely to all be designed to handle UDMA133. The rules for connecting them are basically the same as ribbon cables, but pin 1 is marked on the connector rather than on the wire. Round cables are much more expensive than ribbon cables, but are easier to work with and allow for better airflow. Search the Internet for round EIDE cables.

Tip Make sure to tie off cables neatly. Use plastic wire ties, never rubber bands or twist-ties.

Hard Drive Bays

PC cases have a few different locations for hard drive bays. The most common is in a cage that holds drives horizontally at the front of the case. The second most common is the bay that holds drives vertically at the front of the case. The vertical bay is often used in smaller cases, or in larger cases for additional hard drives. If you are placing the drive horizontally, the label side should face up and the controller side should face down, unless it was previously installed and running in the opposite position. Then, connect the power connector.

Sometimes it might be necessary to install a hard drive in a 5.25-inch bay, the type usually used for optical drives (CD and DVD). There are adapters that allow you to do this. See tutorial 7, "CD and DVD Drives," for more information on optical drives and 5.25-inch bays. There may come a time when you want to install a 2.5-inch laptop drive into a regular computer. This requires an adapter for the data connector for a temporary situation, and a full kit for a permanent installation. To find an adapter, search the Internet for "2.5 hard drive to 3.5 adapter." If you can't determine which pin on the notetutorial hard drive is pin 1, consult the manufacturer's Web site. Unlike others, 2.5-inch laptop style hard drives do not have a separate power connector; the power connector is part of the data connector. There are two rows of pins with a space between it and the 4-pin jumper block. The first pin after the jumper block is pin 1, and the last pin at the opposite end on the bottom row is the positive power. If you connect this wrong, you might be connecting a power lead to a data pin, which, once the computer is powered on, will damage the drive and possibly the motherboard.

Notetutorial/Laptop Hard Drive Installation

Unfortunately, there is no standard location where notetutorial manufacturers put their hard drives. On some machines, you might find that simply removing a single screw on the bottom of the machine and removing the plastic plate gives you full access to the hard drive. Other machines require you to remove the keyboard (see tutorial 9, "Input Devices," for more information). Still others have the hard drive in a slot on a side panel. Unless you have the first type, you will probably have to go to the manufacturer's Web site for service information. Once you find the hard drive, however, replacing it should be easy; the connector is usually polarized (goes in the correct way only). For more information, search the Web for notetutorial hard drive installation.

Hard Drive Setup

Once the drive is in place, there is a series of steps to perform to set up the drive and prepare it for use. The first is to make sure the BIOS recognizes the drive.