How to install and configure hard drives on Windows systems

by Alan Stark.
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Hard drives, or fixed (or not easily removable) disk drives, are internal devices used to store the operating systems, applications, and data. There are external hard drive devices that are used to back up data from the internal hard drive. These devices typically hold only data – not the operating system. Storage capacity for hard drives is measured according to gigabytes (GB), while capacity for smaller drives is measured in megabytes (MB). Drive speed is measured in milliseconds. IDE drives IDE drives (IDE stands for Integrated Drive Electronics) come with a controller right on the disk, and can connect to the motherboard or another controller card. These early drives were limited to a maximum capacity of 528 MB and you could only have two in a system.

EIDE drives Enhanced IDE drives followed the IDE standard. EIDE drives are faster than their predecessors and allow for considerably larger drives (80gigabytes and beyond) and allow you to have up to four drives in one machine.

SCSI drives SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) hard drives utilize a bus architecture, which allows each device on the bus to be identified through its own unique SCSI number. Internal SCSI drives use a 50-pin ribbon to connect each device in the chain. SCSI drives are very fast and reliable and are most common in servers.

Installing a hard drive

To install a fixed drive you may need all, or most, of the following items, depending on the drive and the computer current configuration:

A standard computer toolkit

A controller card

Rails for the drive to rest on (Hard drives are often 3.5 inches wide. Bays for most computers are 5.25 inches. The rails “fill-in” the gap and secure the drive in place.)

The hard drive

The ribbon to connect the drive to the motherboard

STEP BY STEP: Installing an Internal (Fixed) Hard Drive

  • 1. Power off the computer, disconnect all cords from the PC, and then open the case of the computer.
  • 2. If this is a secondary drive, consult the drive’s instructions on how to set the drive to be either a slave or master by moving the drive’s jumpers to the appropriate positions.
  • 3. If you are replacing a drive, remove the old drive and set it aside. If you’re adding an additional drive, prepare the bay by removing the cover plate on the face of the computer, if necessary. As always, follow your manufacturer’s guidelines for opening your computer.
  • 4. If necessary, install the rails that your drive will rest on and then insert the drive into the rails (if there are any) and position the drive so it can be secured with screws. Once the drive is aligned on the rails, fasten the drive with the screws.
  • 5. Connect the ribbon to the drive and to the motherboard or “controller card.” The red stripe on the ribbon represents the first pin on the controller. Newer drives will only allow the ribbon to be connected to the drive if it is in the correct position.
  • 6. Inside the computer, locate an available power connector. Connect the power source to the drive’s power receptacle.
  • 7. Replace the cover and cords and power on the computer; then refer to the next section, where we show you how to configure the drive.

Configuring the hard drive

After a hard drive is installed properly, you need to create a partition (or partitions) and format each partition with a file system so that the operating system can read and write to the drive. The operating system you are using determines how you will configure the drive.

Windows 9x configurations

In Windows 9x, hard drives are configured by using FDISK, an MS-DOS-based program that allows you to configure all aspects of a hard drive. When you run FDISK, the program asks if you’d like to enable large disk support. Large disk support allows you to create partitions larger than 512MB. If you enable large disk support, you’ll be using the FAT32 file system (which we discuss in a moment). After you choose whether or not to enable support for large disks, FDISK displays a menu that gives you the following options:

  • 1. Create a DOS Partition or Logical DOS Drive
  • 2. Set the Active partition
  • 3. Delete Partition or Logical DOS Drive
  • 4. Display Partition Information

If this is a new drive, you may have to boot from a Windows 98 startup disk to access the features within FDISK. For a new drive, you’ll most likely use the following Step By Step to create a partition on the drive.

STEP BY STEP: Partitioning a New Hard Drive

  • 1. Within fdisk choose the first option to create a DOS partition or Logical DOS Drive. The first partition you create is the primary partition and is typically your C: drive.
  • 2. Designate the size of the primary partition. Some technicians find it best to create one large partition, as FAT32 partitions can be as large as 2TB (terabytes).
  • 3. After creating the partition(s), you must reboot the system and enter FDISK again. However, if you are creating multiple partitions, you can create all your partitions in this one session of FDISK before rebooting.
  • 4. Start FDISK again and choose the second option to set the active partition. An active partition is the partition from which the system’s operating system boots from by default. When you’re done, reboot again. After the partition(s) are created, you need to format the drive with a file system so that Windows 98 can read and write to the disk. You can use the Format command at the MS-DOS-prompt. (If Windows 98 is already installed, you can right-click the new partition and choose Format within Windows Explorer.)

Windows 2000 configurations

Windows 2000 allows you to configure drives via two main methods: during the installation process and by using Disk Management. During a typical Windows 2000 installation, you are given the choice to format (or erase) the hard drive and partition it as you see fit. You can also choose a file system for the partition. After installing Windows 2000, you use the Disk Management tool to view, create, and format partitions.

STEP BY STEP: Installing a Windows 2000

Disk Using Disk Management

  • 1. Choose Start/Programs/Administrative Tools/Computer Management.
  • 2. Expand the storage container by clicking the plus symbol next to Storage. Click on Disk Management. Within Disk Management, a console shows all of the current drives and their storage features.
  • 3. If a new drive has been added, the Write Signature and Upgrade Disk Wizard appear when you open Disk Management. A signature allows the disk to be read by Windows 2000. This utility walks you through the process of writing a signature to the drive (so Windows can access the drive) and upgrading the disk to a basic disk or a dynamic disk.
  • 4. Right-click the drive and choose Create Partition to summon the Create Partition Wizard. This tool guides you through creating the partition, its type, and the file system to be used on the disk. (See the next section for more information on file systems.)
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