Installing hard drives and CD drives
Your computer case will be equipped with what are commonly referred to as cages or drive bays (1). These bays allow you to add different drives to the computer. There are two different sizes of cage that are in use for most home computers today. These are the 5.25” and the 3.5” drive bays. Usually, CD drives are a 5.25” drive and hard drives and floppy disk drives are 3.5”. Some of the drive bays will have openings at the front of the case so you can access them, while some of them will not. Make sure you take not of this when putting in your drives. It makes for a mess if you can’t open your CD drive.
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To install the hard drive simply slide it into one of the slots on the 3.5” drive cage in your computer case (1). Then, line up one of the screw holes on the hard drive with one of the holes on the cage and put a screw in (2). There are spots for screws on both sides of the drive, and you might have to remove the other side of the case to access these holes. I highly recommend putting at least one screw in each side of the hard drive to secure it, if not two on each side.
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Installing a CD drive can be somewhat more complicated. Most cases will have plastic covers over the drive bays in the front to prevent there from being a gaping hole in the front of your computer when there is not a drive installed there (1). For most cases you will want to push the cover out from the inside of the case. It might take a bit of pressure to get it to pop free. Some nicer cases actually have these panels screwed in instead of cheap plastic snaps (2). Refer to your case manual for specific instructions. After removing the front protective plate on your 5.25” drive bay, simply slide in your drive just like with the 3.5” drives (3). If some of the components of the computer are in the way you may have to slide the drive in through the front of the case. Secure it with screws just like you did with the 3.5” drives and you’re done with installation.
