The Hard Drive ...

This is very similar to what we just installed. A lot of the steps are going to be repeated, but there are some small, yet important differences (so pay attention!).

First of all, take a look at the picture of the PC case. The 3.5" Drive bays are where you install your hard drive(s). If you plan on installing multiple drives, I suggest spacing them out for better air flow inside the case.

You don't want to use the drive bay with exterior access; these bays would be used by a floppy drive, if you had one (which most people don't nowadays). I won't take the time to detail how to install a floppy drive here, instead, here's a link on installing a floppy drive.

Now, before you slide the hard drive into the slot, take a look at the back of the drive (see below for a reference).

 

3.5" Drive Bay - Build PC Guide - Fast PC

Hard Drive - Build PC Guide - Fast PC

 

So let's take a closer look at the back of your drive. You should see similar labelling on the back of your drive to what is in the picture. Here's what these letters mean:

  • MA- Master. This means that this device will be the primary device connected on the IDE cable. For this setting to work 100%, you must connect the end of the cable to the device (see picture below on the left).

  • SL- Slave. This means the device will be the secondary device on the IDE cable, and it will boot after the Master device. You must connect the proper plug into the device for it to work (see picture below on the left).

  • CS - Cable Select. I recommend not using this setting, as I've frequently encountered problems using this setting. This means that the device will be either a Master or Slave device depending on where it's plugged in on the IDE cable.

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    These settings are very important for hard drives, for a number of reasons. Whichever drive you select as your 'Master' drive will be the one that your Operating System boots from. If you don't make sure that the jumpers match up with the plug that the device is connected to, the device won't work at all.

    An important note: don't connect the hard drive to the same IDE cable as CD/DVD drive! It's important for hard drives and CD/DVD drives to have their own, separate cables (there are at least 2 IDE connections on the motherboard, so you'll be fine doing this). This is important for data stream integrity and so that a hard drive will never be a 'Slave' device to a CD/DVD drive (which would cause a LOT of problems, to say the least).

    While most devices ship with the jumper on 'Cable Select', I suggest changing the jumper to the appropriate plug.

    		 Back of IDE Drive - Build PC Guide - Fast PC

    After figuring on where you are going to insert your drives and changing the jumper settings, slide the drive into the drive bay and screw it in.

    Again, connect your IDE cable using the same plugs. Your primary hard drive (the big one you are going to install Windows on) should be configured as the 'master' drive.

    Configure it this way and make your life a lot easier. I think I've beaten this point into the ground enough, so we'll move on.

    IDE Cable - Build PC Guide - Fast PC

    IDE Drive Power Cables - Build PC Guide - Fast PC

    Before finishing up with the hard drive, we'll need to connect the power supply to it! The red-circled plug is the one we're referencing to.

    The power plug will connect to the back of the hard drive to the right of the IDE cable. The power connection is keyed, so the plug will only go in one way.

     

    We're now moving on to the last step of building your FAST PC!

     

     

    Next - Assemble a Computer: Case Fans »

     

     

    Tip: As I stressed earlier in my Hard Drive purchasing guide, the quality of your hard drive is probably the most important thing for you to consider when you are purchasing your parts. I strongly recommend a Seagate/Maxtor drive (they are made by the same company), as I have had very good experience with them. I have heard horror stories about other drives (such as Western Digital drives). Stick with my recommended hard drives, and you should do fine.