How to Change a Computer Hard Drive Disk

This guide will take you on a step by step process to replace an internal hard drive in a computer desktop.
Steps

1If your hard drive is still working, make sure you make recovery disk or image by using backup or recovery software. If you drive has already failed, hopefully you have your important files saved somewhere as backup.

2Obtain a new hard drive. Make sure you have the right type of hard drive for your computer. Generally speaking, you want to replace your original drive with a similar drive to make the process easier and simpler. Although the hard drive's capacity might be much higher on a newer replacement drive, you typically want to choose the same data/power connector type and same physical form factor as your original drive. However, sometimes you may not want to keep the same hard drive type, so careful planning can help avoid problems later.
3Hard drives come with either SATA (Serial ATA) or IDE data/power connectors. SATA usually comes in 3 different versions (SATA, SATA and SATA III) You will need to check what your motherboard supports to make sure you have the correct replacement drives. Also, hard drives now come with different physical sizes. Hard drives may either come in a 2.5 inch or a 3.5 inch form factor now. 2.5 inch drives were mainly used in laptops while the 3.5 inch drives were used in desktops. However, the popularity of 2.5 inch SSDs (Solid State Drives) devices have made 2.5 inch hard drives popular options for desktops now as well. Some computer case manufacturers are including 2.5 inch hard drive cages in some of their newer designs. If you are planning to replace a 3.5 inch drive with a 2.5 drive, make sure your computer case has support for it, or you may need to purchase an adapter kit.
4Take precautions when touching electronic components. Improper handling of electronic components can cause damage to computer parts during handling. To avoid this, you must ensure you are grounded when operating inside your computer. One solution is to use an anti-static wrist strap which you should wear during the exchange. Make sure you terminate the strap by plugging it into a outlet with a ground. If you don't have one then constantly touch the back of the computer case. Please make sure to make contact on a surface that is metal. The static electricity will discharge into the computer case.
5Open the computer case. Open both sides of computer case by removing screws at the back of the tower and sliding the panels off. Some computer cases do not use screws. If your case is a screwless case, you will need to find the latch or button that releases the doors or panels. Remove the doors or panels as necessary.
6Locate the existing hard drive. Most computers will have the hard drive screwed within a cage inside the computer case. Identify the data and the power connectors and disconnect them.
7Remove any screws that is holding the drive to either the computer case or the hard drive cage. Most likely, the drive will be held in place by screws on both sides of the hard drive. Remove the screws. Please use your hard to support the hard drive if the case or cage does not support the drive. Once the screws are removed, you can slide the hard drive out of the cage or case.
8Do this step only if you have a IDE hard drive. Move the jumpers on the replacement drive to match the settings of the original. Your choices will be Master, Slave or Cable Select. SATA drives do not need to set jumpers. Once you have removed the original hard drive, look at the position of the jumpers on the drive itself. If you cannot see them, most drives will have a diagram on the hard drive's label illustrating the location of the jumpers. The jumper setting will either set the drive as Master, Slave or Cable Select. You should match the settings of the replacement drive to that of the original.
9Install the hard drive by sliding the drive into position. This will be the same position as the original drive. Carefully screw the drive in and reconnect the data and power cables.
10If you are replacing your primary hard drive, you will either need to reinstall your software or use recovery disks. Installing an operating system like Windows, Mac OS or Linux may be needed if you do not a recovery image or disk. If you are replacing a secondary drive, you might need to reload any software that was installed on the drive or copy back data files from a back up source.