Limited By Nothing

Running out of space on your somewhat new computer already? Are you choosing between keeping your precious digital home videos and your vast music collection? If you have said yes to either of these questions then you may be in need of an additional hard drive. The simple task of installing one has left many not so tech savvy people paying extra money to retail computer stores to do the install. Im here to tell you not to waste your money on a very easy do it yourself process that takes only a few steps.

1. Find Out What Type of Hard Drive You Will Need
The type and size of hard drive you will need depends on a few factors including such things as physical space in your computer’s case, and what connections your computer supports. Hard drives can be internal and external, using various connection methods. Most internal hard drives available for purchase come in both Serial ATA and Parallel ATA. The latter of the two connection types is becoming depreciated in more modern computers. External hard drives are mainly produced to connect via USB or FireWire, though some are also made to connect by other methods such as External Serial ATA.

2. Buy The Hard Drive
There are a plethora of sites to shop from, so there is no reason to settle on a drive that you dont find to be a great deal. Prices, at the time of this writing, are reaching lower than $0.20 per gigabyte of space for an internal 3.5 inch hard drive. One place I can recommend getting a hard drive from would be NewEgg. They sell quality computer parts at low prices and have a terrific customer service. Of course, you can also check out eBay or Amazon for some great deals.

3. Install The Hard Drive
Once you have purchased the drive that fits your needs and your budget, you can save yourself a lot of money simply by installing it yourself. If you have purchased an external hard drive all you need to do is simply plug in the data cable from the drive to the computer, and then plug the power adapter if necessary from your drive to a wall outlet. Most external drives are already set up out of the box to store files, others however will require you to first run the provided software to begin using them for storage.

If you have purchased an internal hard drive then you must first begin the install process by running any software that came with your drive. Most retail drives that come with software will also provide a step my step manual on how to install the particular drive you have purchased.

One thing to remember about internal drives is that most must be set as a slave or secondary drive via a little switch or jumper on the back of the drive before they can be used correctly in your computer. In the case that your hard drive uses a jumper on the back, set the drive to secondary position by using a pair of tweezers or pliers to pull the plastic jumper off of its current position and place it on the position labeled secondary or slave.

Finish the install process by actually opening your computer’s case and locating a place to store your drive inside of the case. Most cases will provide extra drive bays for the purpose of installing a spare drive, as we are doing now. Different cases use different hardware methods to secure the drives, so the tools you may need will differ, but usually a medium sized Phillips screwdriver or a flat head screw driver will do the job.

Once you have physically mounted the drive into the case all there is left to do is attach the appropriate data cable provided in the retail box for your hard drive, and then attach the four pin “Molex” power cable (easily distinguishable by its four colored cables: Yellow; Black; Black; and Red,) from the power supply in your case to the hard drive you have just installed. Check to be sure that you plugged in both cables correctly and that you did not unplug anything else in the process. Re-close your computer’s case and power it back up.

4. Enjoy The Extra Space
Perhaps now is a good time to adopt a system of organization if you haven’t already. A large hard drive can make finding files difficult later on. It might also be a good time to back up your data from your original hard drive. Most of all give your self a pat on the back for taking the time to save youself some hard earned money and learn a useful skill while doing it.