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To install a hard drive in your computer you must have a decent knowledge of Computers and know what basic commands do. I wouldn't recommend a beginner trying to install a hard drive. These instructions are meant for intermediates or above. Before you start you should have already bought your hard drive.
You will need a Phillips screw driver, your Windows CD, and the manual that came with your computer. Before you get ready to install your new hard drive. Unpack the drive you just bought and make sure the hard drive, cables, manual, and diskette are there. We will begin by removing the four screws that hold the computer cover to the frame of the computer.
The easiest way to identify which screws to take out is to see which screws are covering the painted edge of the cover. Other screws, which you don't want to take out, hold the power supply which could harm the computer. Once the screws are taken out, the cover may still be hard to slide out. Use both hands, on each side of the cover and pull it out. Now find the hard drive it should be in the second slot starting from the top. Remember the drive should be about 3 1 / 2 inches in width, 6 inches long, and an inch in height.
Usually the hard drive is a silver and black color. After finding the drive, make sure you remove any static carried in your body by touching something metal before touching the insides of the computer. Now you will find two cables; these are ribbon cables that connect the drive to the computer. You will also find a power cable; it has four separate wires connected to plastic connectors on each end. To remove the cables, you just pull straight out.
This shouldn't take a lot of pressure, but just be sure pull the cables by the plastic connectors and not by the wires. Remove both ends of the cables for we will be replacing them with new ones. Remember where you take these out, for you will be connecting the new cables in the same place. After you get the cables off, remove the mounting screws that hold the drive in place. You should find them in the front and along the sides of the hard drive. After you get the screws out the drive will slide out the front of the computer.
If it is mounted on the side push it out the back. Now take the new hard drive and slide it in the way the old one came out, and screw in the same screws the old one used. Now, attach the ribbon cables that came with the new hard drive. The three cables you will be connecting are different sizes and will only go in one way, so you don't have to worry about which cable goes where. Now connect the cables to the motherboard (the big green card where everything connects to) they should go in the same place where you disconnected the old cables. Remember the cable will only connect one way, so you may have to turn the cable around to make sure it fits right.
Now that you " ve connected these ribbon cables, you can connect the power cables. Remember that these are cables with four separate wires connected to a white plug. The white plug is shaped to fit in only one direction; but in any computer, the colored wires from each end should plug into the same way. Now after all the cables are connected you can put the cover back on the computer the same way you took it off; by sliding the cover on and screwing in the screws.
You can turn on the computer now. But don't expect much we still have to install the hard drive for it to work. Before you can use the new hard drive, you have to make the computer know that its there. You do that by changing the settings in the computer. When the computer turns on it will come to a DOS-PROMPT. Insert the diskette that came with the new hard drive in the floppy drive.
Now type in 'A: ' then press enter. Then type in 'SETUP' and the program will automatically change the settings for you, and format the new hard drive for you. This process will take some time, usually it depending on the size of the drive it will take around forty-five minutes. After the computer completes this process it will take you to a DOS-PROMPT again. Now remove the floppy diskette and restart the computer. We are now ready to install Windows.
Insert your Windows 98 CD. You " ll see a message pop up asking if you want install Windows 98. Click 'Yes'. A welcome screen appears. Click 'Continue' to start installing.
Then the license agreement appears, read it, the click 'I accept the Agreement'. The program will check your computer for problems and make sure your hard drive working properly. Then a product identification screen appears enter in your Windows 98 product number (it should be on the front of your manual that came with the computer) and click 'Next'. In the next screen the select the country you live in so Windows will install the correct language for you. Click 'Next'. The next screen tells you its ready to install Windows click 'Next' to start installing.
This process will take a while. Eventually the computer will restart on its own and the Welcome to Windows 98 box appears. Type in your name and a password if you prefer one then click 'OK'. Windows is now successfully installed! And your new hard Drive is installed! Enjoy!
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Research essay sample on Installing A Hard Drive
