Now it's time for your hard drive install. Installing the drive is a relatively easy task, but activities required after the physical installation may be a little more complicated, depending on what you have planned.

If you're instaling a brand new operating system on your new computer, your task will be fairly straightforward. Migrating files or settings from an existing computer makes things a bit more complex. I'll discuss this more later on, but for now I'll focus on the physical installation. Most modern cases have a removable drive cage. If you're not sure if your case has a removable cage, check your owner's manual. If your drive cage is removable, remove it now. If you're lucky, your cage will include removable adapters that don't require screws for mounting the drive within the cage.

Take a look at your cage and decide where you'll be placing the new drive. Make sure the location of choice places the drive within adequate reach of power and motherboard connectors. If you're installing the hard drive in a larger 5.25-inch bay vs. a standard 3.5-inch bay, you'll need to install drive rails into the bay, slide in the drive, and then secure it with screws. If possible, try to position the drive within the bay to maximize the space between it and other components. This will aid in keeping the drive running cool.

I highly recommend that you purchase an install a SATA drive for your new computer. If you don't have a choice and have to install an earlier model IDE (or PATA) drive, then you'll have to pay close attention to the drive's jumper settings. Refer to your drive's owner's manual for the correct jumper settings. If you no longer have the manual, you can probably find a copy online without too much difficulty. SATA drives operate on their own channel and don't require a specific jumper setting for master or slave (as IDE/PATA drives do). However, on SATA drives, you may find a jumper related to drive transfer rate. If you're installing a SATA 150 drive, you shouldn't have to change any settings. If you're installing a SATA 300 drive, change the jumper settings to the maximum supported by your motherboard. Refer to your owner's manual for the correct setting.

After you've mounted the hard drive in its bay and secured it with screws, connect its power and motherboard cables.

Step 7: Install Video Card