The safest way to work inside of a computer is to wear an antistatic wrist strap while working on the computer.
Notice that the cable on the left is insulated and has a wider connector than the other. This is the Serial ATA power cable which connects the HDD to the computer’s power supply. The flat, red cable on the right has a smaller connector. This is the SATA Data Connector which connects the hard drive to the motherboard. Disconnect each from the drive by pulling gently on the connectors.
Remove the screws and slide the old HDD out from the drive bay. The old drive has now been removed.
If the power supply is older, it may not have any SATA power connectors. If this is the case, you will need a Molex-to-SATA adapter. Molex plugs have four pins, and may be white or black.
SATA ports are usually grouped together and labeled. If you can’t see the labels, refer to your motherboard’s documentation. Your primary (boot) drive should be connected to the lowest SATA port on your motherboard, unless otherwise specified in your motherboard documentation. This is usually SATA0 or SATA1. If you don’t have any SATA ports on your motherboard, your motherboard does not support the SATA interface. You will need to install a motherboard that supports the SATA format.
Install Windows 7. Install Windows 8. Install Linux. Format your new storage drive.
The safest way to work inside of a computer is to wear an antistatic wrist strap while working on the computer.
Secure the drive using two screws on each side, or by using rails if your case has them.
If your hard drive does not have any SATA ports, your motherboard does not support the SATA connection. You will need to install a new motherboard if you want to use your SATA drive.
Some hard drives will have cages attached to them. You will need to unscrew the cage and then attach it to the new hard drive before inserting it.
Secure the hard drive with any screws or clips that you removed to get the old one out.
Install Windows 7. Install Windows 8. Install Windows Vista Install Linux.
