| If you have ever owned your own computer then at | | | | the mother board. SATA on the other hand, uses a |
| some point you have had to deal with hardware that | | | | lot smaller cable. They both also have some form of |
| dies at some point. Often many people do not know | | | | power cable attached to them. This is usually a small, |
| what is even wrong, but just their computer quit | | | | white plastic jack for IDE, and an even smaller black |
| working and will not start. Oddly enough, when you | | | | jack for SATA. Once you know what kind you have |
| actually try to start the computer it beeps a few | | | | you simply need to go buy a new hard drive thats |
| times and suddenly displays a message... "OS Not | | | | the same as the old drive. |
| Found". | | | | 7. At this point you can disconnect the old hard drive. |
| Luckily for us though, its actually quite simple to | | | | Do not disconnect the cables yet. |
| replace a broken hard drive. Most of the time the | | | | 8. Install the new hard drive to the slot and screw it |
| only tool you even need is a phillips screw driver. | | | | back down properly. |
| Following these steps will allow you to replace that | | | | 9. Once you have the new hard drive in place, |
| hard drive in no time flat! So here they are... | | | | disconnect the first cable from the old hard drive. |
| | | | 10. Attach this cable to the new hard drive. |
| 1. Disconnect the power cable from the back of the | | | | 11. Disconnect the last cable and attach it to the new |
| computer. | | | | hard drive. |
| 2. Once you have the power disconnected, unplug all | | | | 12. With both cables connected, you should be able |
| the other cables and wires from the computer. | | | | to replace the cover and screws to reseal your |
| 3. Place the computer tower on a table or stand to | | | | computer case. |
| allow easier access to the computer. | | | | 13. Re-attach each cable to the back of your |
| 4. Locate the two screws holding the cover on the | | | | computer, connecting the power cable back up last. |
| side of the computer. Some computers, like Dell, | | | | 14. Install a fresh copy of Windows on your |
| have a handle or button you press that will release | | | | computer and you should be good as new. Most |
| the side of the computer for you without having to | | | | computers come with some kind of disk that will |
| remove any screws. | | | | reinstall Windows for you. Simply turn on your |
| 5. Remove the cover and place off to the side, out | | | | computer, insert the disk as soon as you can, and it |
| of the way. | | | | should display a message asking you if you would like |
| 6. Unless you ordered more than one hard drive for | | | | to boot from the CD. The Windows installation is |
| your computer, most computers only come with one | | | | fairly simple after that. |
| hard drive. Most of the time they are located in the | | | | Once you've replaced a hard drive, replacing other |
| spot directly under your computer's CD-ROM or DVD | | | | things like a vidoe card, or modem are a piece of |
| player. Older computers use IDE's drives and newer | | | | cake. Most everything else simply plugs into some |
| computers use SATA drives. IDE is easy to spot as | | | | kind of slot making most hardware work a breeze. |
| it has a fairly wide cable attaching the hard drive to | | | | |