How to install a hard disk

Disconnect the power cable, then open up your PC and find a spare drive bay for your new hard disk drive – in this case there’s one at the bottom of the box, to the left of the main hard disk. Each has a removable plastic caddy designed to hold the disk so that it can slide in and out easily. You’ll also need to locate the spare Sata power and data cables. Look at those connected to your existing drive, then find two – one coming from the power supply unit (PSU) and the other from the motherboard – that match these.

Pay attention to the way the existing disk is mounted – in this case it’s suspended with the circuit board uppermost and the metal top plate below. Remove the empty caddy and turn it over. Then carefully insert the new disk and secure it using the four screws. Turn the caddy back over again and slide it back into the bay. At the exposed end you’ll see the two connectors – one for the data cable and the other for the power cable. Route them to the new disk and attach them carefully to the connectors. Replace the side panel and reconnect the monitor, keyboard and mouse, and the power cable. Switch on the PC. In Windows, click the Start button and then Computer – you should see your new disk listed.

If your new disk is from Seagate, Maxtor or Western Digital, you can download a special free version of Acronis True Image, to help you set up your new disk. It will let you create and format partitions. It will also clone an existing hard disk so that you can move Windows and your programs to the new disk if you wish. There are also features for backing up or restoring whole drive volumes, including your Windows system drive, or to create a bootable rescue CD. Visit the Seagate downloads page and download Disc Wizard if you have a Seagate or Maxtor disk. For WD drives, download True Image WD Edition from the Western Digital downloads page.

As this second disk is just for storage you don’t need to make any changes to your existing hard disk or setup. But you might want to change the default location for Windows to store your documents, pictures, music and videos, which will free up space on your system disk. On Windows 7 click Start then type Libraries into the search box and press Enter. In the folders list on the left, click the triangle beside Documents then right-click My Documents and choose Properties. Click the Location tab and then Move. Navigate to your new hard disk and click Select Folder. Then click Apply. Windows will move all your existing documents to the new disk. You can do this for your music, pictures and videos too.