Do you own a computer that is more than a year honest-to-goodness ? If so , then you may be run out of disk distance . In the same way that closet and attics have a way of filling up and overflowing , so dohard drive . Maybe your 8 - megapixelcameraneeds a gigabyte of phonograph record space every prison term you discharge the camera ’s memory board card . Or yourMP3collection spring up by 10 call every day . Perhaps you are trying to edit video recording of the child , and every 5 proceedings of magnetic tape wipe out a gigabyte of disk space . Or possibly you would wish to add a TV tuner card to your motorcar and turn your computer into aDVR .
Digital cameras , video cameras , MP3 players and telecasting radio set cards all have portion of disk space . If you use any of these gadgets , chances are that you need more space . In this article , we will show you how easy it is to bestow a new hard drive to your existing machine .
1: Research your machine
Before we take up the process of total a private road , we call for to do a pocket-size amount of enquiry inside your machine . The finish of the research is to find out if it will be easy or not so wanton to contribute the new intemperate effort . We also require to find out what kind of drive you need to buy . You may be able to do this inquiry by reading through your computer ’s manual of arms , but it is far easier to but open up the shell and seem inside .
The first question to answer is : How many backbreaking disk crusade have already been installed inside the eccentric ? In the legal age of machines , the solution to this question is " one . " hold only one heavy disk drive install make it easy to set up another one . After you open up your computer ’s vitrine and look in spite of appearance , you will probably find oneoptical drive(aCDorDVDdrive ) , a single hard magnetic disc ride and perhaps afloppy disk driveway . The optic and floppy drive will be promiscuous to find because you’re able to see them on the exterior of the case . The tough crusade may take a trivial searching . If you have no estimation what a gruelling drive appear like , look at the photo above .
If there are already two driving force installed inside your causa , then add a fresh one is more difficult .
2: Check how much space is available
Is there space available to tally another surd - magnetic disk drive ? Your current heavy record is probably go up in a little alloy John Cage or torture inside the machine . Make certain there is space available in the cage for another drive . If not , bestow an external parkway is an option.
An outside drive connects to your reckoner through either aUSB2.0 connection or aFireWireconnection , so your estimator needs to have USB 2.0 or FireWire connectors . Once you buy the driving , all you have to do is link it and can up your computer . The driveway will come in with configuration instructions , but on Windows XP it will likely be plug - and - gambling . you may startle saving files on your new parkway immediately .
There is one big advantage to an external drive : you’re able to plug away it into multiple machines and move files around . you’re able to take it with you anywhere you go . The only real disadvantage is that it will be slower than an internal drive . If it takes a minute of arc to re-create a gigabyte of information on an intragroup thrust , it might take two minute on an external drive . That may or may not be important depend on what you desire to do . For most applications , the slower speed is irrelevant .
3: See what type of cable system is used
Find out what case of cable organisation is used to connect movement to themotherboard . There are two systems in coarse function : IDEdrives ( also do it asPATA , or Parallel ATA ) , andSATA(Serial ATA ) drives . PATA drives have wide , flat cable television service or thick cables as wide as your finger , while SATA drives have thin cable about the diam of a pencil . You will need to know whether to buy an IDE or SATA driving , and you should be able-bodied to tell by looking at the transmission line .
Now that you have confirm that there is space to install a new driving in your auto and you know what type of parkway you ask ( PATA or SATA ) , you may buy a unexampled drive .
4: Buy a new hard drive
you may buy a new tough drive from many dissimilar places : a retail store , a prominent computer storehouse , a local computer parts store or by mail order . Wherever you go to buy it buy it , keep three things in mind :
Now that you have your new drive , you are quick to install it .
5: Eliminate static electricity
Before we start up working with the drive , we take to talk aboutstatic electricity . Your computer is extremely sore to static shocks . This stand for that if you build up static electricity on your body and a shock croak from your organic structure to something like a concentrated drive , that hard crusade is dead and you will have to buy another one .
The fashion to wipe out inactive electricity is by grounding yourself . There are lots of slipway to do this , but probably the comfortable manner is to fag out agrounding braceleton your radiocarpal joint . Then you plug in the wristband to something grounded ( like a copper piping or the centre screw on a wall outlet ’s side home base ) . By connecting yourself to mash , you eliminate the possibility of unchanging shock . you could get a watchband for a few dollars .
6: Set the jumpers
First , lay out the jumpers ( if it is an IDE drive ) . Let ’s talk about this in more detail , because most people have IDE drives .
In the IDE system , most motherboards allow you to have two IDE cables . Each cable can connect to two drives . unremarkably you practice one cable television to link one or two opthalmic drives to your auto . The other line is used to unite one or two heavy drive to your political machine .
You desire both hard drives to be on the same cable television service . The two driving force on the cable are called " master " and " slave . " You want your existing hard drive ( which contain the operating system of rules and all of your current information ) to be the " master " and the new laborious parkway to be the " slave . " The drive should have instructions on them that tell you how to set the jumpers for maestro and striver . So take the instructions and set up the jumper . If you are using SATA driving , you do not need to jell jumpers for headmaster and slave because each ride gets its own cable’s length . match outHow IDE Controllers Workto acquire more about the master and slave configuration .
7: Mount the drive and connect
Now that the jumpers are put right , mount up the new movement in your drive cage and screw it into billet .
Next , plug in the drive ’s power connector to the power supply . If it suit , then it ’s a match .
link the IDE or SATA cable television to the ride .
8: Format the new drive
shut the machine , power it up and configure your new campaign using the Windows XP drive presidential term shaft . To do this , click the Start clit , launch the Control Panel , Switch to Classic View , sink in on Administrative Tools , select Computer Management , get through on Disk Management . ( ForWindows Vista instructions , click here . )
see at the graphical arena in the bottom right of this display . magnetic disk 0 is your original laborious drive . Disk 1 is the new hard drive . Chances are that the raw parkway will not beinitialized , or initialise . tick the modest button to initialize the drive , and then format it as an NTFS mass ( right tap the new drive , then click “ Format … ” ) . Formatting may take an time of day or more , so be patient .
When the formatting is done , you are ready to apply your new private road .
For lots more data on hard drives , computers and more , turn back out the links on the next varlet .
