Replacing a Hard Drive

A Simple Computer Repair

Is your hard drive dead? Do you simply want more storage space for your computer? Well, you're going to need to replace your hard drive. You may think that changing a hard drive is a difficult task, one that you couldn't do on your own. In reality you just need a screwdriver and an OS disk.

The Steps

To begin, save any information from your old hard drive that you want to keep. You can move it to an external drive, put it on a usb, or burn it to a cd or dvd. But , if your hard drive no longer functions this will not be possible, but if you call a computer repair specialist there is a chance that they will be able to recover information from your hard drive.

When you have finished transferring your data you will need to turn off your computer and unplug the power cable. Once you do this you can remove the case from your computer and find the hard drive. When you have located the hard drive begin removing any screws that hold the drive in place. Make sure to discharge any static electricity you may have built up before reaching inside your computer. A static shock may damage something in your computer. Before you can remove the hard drive you will need to remove the cables connecting the hard drive to your motherboard.

Some desktop computers have drive bays that are 5-1/4 inches wide. However, most hard drives today are just 3-1/2 inches wide. If you have 5-1/4 inch drive bays, be sure that the new hard drive you purchase comes with a 5-1/4 inch carrier - a metal frame into which the 3-1/2 inch drive can be secured. If your current hard drive is 3-1/2 inches wide, it may be in a carrier that you can reuse.

After you have fastened your hard drive into the carrier, plug the cables into your new hard drive. If the cables do not fit your replacement drive should come with cables you can use . You simply have to remove the old cables from the motherboard and connect the new ones. Now it's time to return the hard drive to it's place inside your computer. Now secure the drive with all of the screws you had previously removed. You can then replace the cover and plug your computer back in.

All you need to do now is reboot your system, install your OS , and transfer any data that you backed up from your previous hard drive. There you go, you just installed a new hard drive. A simple process that you can do on your own. But if it's too intimidating you could always contact a computer repair specialist and let them take care of it for you.