Computer Hardware introduction. Learn components of personal computer hardware including input devices, output devices, storage devices and hardware connections.

The main reason for adding or replacing a hard drive is to increase storage capacity and then to increase system performance. With the low prices of storage more people are looking for space to store all of those music or photo files they have been collecting or looking for a additional drive to use mainly for backup purposes.

If your computer case has room for an additional drive inside, you may want to consider an IDE drive or the newer SATA drive.

Installing IDE Hard Drive
To install an internal drive, turn your computer off, disconnect the power cord, and remove the cover from the computer case. If you are replacing a drive, you will first need to remove the old one.

Start by unplugging the ATA ribbon cable and power cables, then remove the four screws holding it into the drive cage. Carefully slide the drive out of the cage - you may need to remove additional cables or expansion cards if space is tight inside your case.

Next, remove your new drive from its packaging and set the jumper on the back of the drive. If this is your primary drive, you will need to set it as master, though if it is an additional drive you will probably want to set it to slave.

Check the sticker on the drive itself, or the accompanying manual to see which pins to connect with the jumper in order to set the device as master or slave. Slide the new drive into the cage and secure it to the cage using four screws.

Next, attach the power and ATA ribbon cable. If you have set your drive to master, you need to attach the connector at the very end of the cable to your drive. If it is the slave, you will need to use the connector in the middle of the cable.

Check the connections to your drive, then plug your PC in and boot it up. It is often worth leaving the case off until you know the drive is functioning, as it is easy to set the wrong jumper settings or leave a cable improperly connected.

Windows will recognise your drive in My Computer. In order to use it, you must first format it, by right clicking and selecting format. If you currently use NTFS, you should set this drive to NTFS, otherwise use the FAT32 file system.

Alternatively, if this is a replacement for your primary drive, you will either need to mirror your old drives contents onto your new drive, or install operating system from the appropriate CD.

Installing SATA Hard Drive
SATA connections are found in the newest computers which means that in most cases you will need to buy a SATA controller card and install it in an unused slot on your motherboard and then connect the SATA drive to the card.

Adding a SATA card is advantageous because once you have a SATA controller in your computer, you have the option to connect an external SATA drive. Installing a SATA drive in your computer is similar to installing an IDE drive as the drives are physically similar on the outside in terms of dimensions and mounting methods.

The difference is with the data connector, which is much smaller with a SATA drive than an IDE drive. SATA connectors have been known to break easily, so use caution when inserting and removing them.

Turn your computer off, disconnect the power cord, and remove the cover from the computer case. If you are replacing a current drive, you will need to remove the power and data cables, then unscrew the drive from the cage.

Carefully slide the drive out backwards, you may need to remove some additional cables and expansion cards if space it tight. Slide your new drive into the cage and secure it tightly with four screws, with two in each side of the cage. Next, you will need to plug in the SATA data and power cables.

The data cable needs to be plugged into your motherboard on the first available SATA channel. If you have replaced your primary drive, this would be SATA1, though if it is an additional drive, may be SATA2. Replace the sides of your case and boot your machine up.

Windows will discover your new hardware, though you can check that it is present in Windows Device Manager which is located in Control Panel. If you have replaced your primary drive, there will be no operating system present and you will need to install one using the appropriate CD.