Installation Guide for Hard disks

Transcription

1 Installation Guide for Hard disks We explain you the installation of Hard disks in simple steps. Hint: If you search general information on the functional principle and choosing of Hard disks, you can find it at the end of our description of the purchased product. 1. Before Installation When installing or changing computer components it is important to ground oneself first because computer components can be damaged irreparably by electrostatic energy. Just touch a non-painted part of a heater, a water faucet or water conduit or a similar grounded piece of metal. After that you should begin the installation without friction at or with clothing, a chair or the floor. Artificial fibers charge themselves particularly heavily and quickly. You should avoid contact with such materials during the installation. First shut down your computer and disconnect it from the energy grid. Important: Disconnect the main power plug prior to opening the computer! With a laptop, remove the battery in addition. Prior to beginning the installation of the Hard disk (respectively the removal of the old one), you should make yourself familiar with the case. If it is a laptop, consult the manual and the Internet, because laptop cases can be constructed very differently. Modern desktop cases are equipped either with a removable basket for installing the Hard disks, which is locked with a little lever, HDD-Installation Guide -1- myne GmbH 2012

2 or with a rail system, in which the rails are screwed on the Hard disk prior to the installation, and then, the Hard disk is inserted with the rails in the designated drive bay. In older desktop cases, the Hard disks are screwed directly into the drive bay of the case. HDD-Installation Guide -2- myne GmbH 2012

3 Get familiar with the respective system prior to the installation. In any case, assure that there is enough space for the Hard disk and for the installation procedure. 2. Installing the new Hard disk Desktop Removing the old Hard disk If you have to remove an old Hard disk prior to installing the new one, first pull out all connectors of the Hard disk. If the Hard disk is installed in a basket together with other Hard disks, unplug them too. This is necessary, because the basket is removed from the case now. Remove the Hard disk now. If your case is equipped with a rail system, remove the rails from the old Hard disk. Installing the new Hard disk If the new Hard disk is an ATA IDE Hard disk, it has to be configured with jumpers (little connectors) prior to the installation. A SATA Hard disk dos not require such a kind of configuration. The configuration of a SCSI Hard disk is set with jumpers too, but that would be going too far here. If you want to configure a SCSI Hard disk, please consult the manual respectively a search engine. The jumper settings are stated on the Hard disk itself in most cases. Alternatively, this information can be found on the Internet. HDD-Installation Guide -3- myne GmbH 2012

4 This is necessary, because it is possible to operate two devices at one ATA IDE data cable. One device has to be configured as master (MA), the other has to be configured as slave (SL). There is also the setting cable select (CS) and on some (mostly older) Hard disks other settings, which are stated on the Hard disk in those cases. Configure the Hard disk on which the operating system is installed (and from which is booted) as master and the other Hard disk as slave. If there is only one Hard disk being connected, it has to be configured as master. If you want to use the cable select setting, both Hard disks must be configured CS. When using cable select, the order in which the Hard disks are connected decides, which one is master and which one is slave. The Hard disk at the (black) end of the data cable becomes master, the Hard disk at the (grey) middle connector becomes slave. Important: This configuration has also to be done, if there is another drive, for example a DVD drive, going to be connected. If the new Hard disk is going to be installed into a basket in which other Hard disks are already installed, you have to unplug them, so you can now remove the basket from the case. When using a rail system, attach the rails to the Hard disk. In an older case, the Hard disk is inserted directly into the drive bay and screwed on with 2 screws per side. Install the new Hard disk now. Hint: Take care, that the Hard disk has a little bit space above and beneath. This prevents heat problems. Laptop Normally the installation of a laptop Hard disk is relatively easy. After you have made yourself familiar with the case using the manual and the a search engine, open the case, unplug the old hardisk carefully and plug in the new one. After that, close the case again. There are detailed guides for most laptops. HDD-Installation Guide -4- myne GmbH 2012

5 3. Connecting the new Hard disk Now connect the data cable and the connector of the power supply. If you use ATA IDE, first plug in the data cable in the connector of the first IDE channel on the motherboard (normally marked blue, labeled on the motherboard or stated in the manual) with the blue plug. After that, connect the plug at the end of the cable (black) to the master Hard disk and the plug in the middle of the cable (gray) to the slave Hard disk. If there is only one Hard disk being connected, it is connected to the end of the data cable (black). The plug in the middle (gray) remains unconnected in this case. The connector has a separator in the middle of one of the flat sides, which matches a notch in the port of the Hard disk. In rare cases (mainly at the older 40-wire cables) it is possible, that this notch is missing. In this case plug the cable so, that the red wire on one side of the ribbon cable is on pin 1. Which one that is, is stated in the manual of your computer respectively motherboard and stated on the Hard disk, or has to be researched on the Internet. Of course you can simply exchange the cable against one with a separator. Hint: There are two kinds of ATA IDE cables. There are the older 40-wire cables, and the newer 80- wire cables. They can be distinguished simply by how they look (see photo). The technical difference is, that a 40-wire cable supports only transmission speeds up to 33 MB/s (ATA 4 / Ultra DMA 2) and a 80-wire cable allows up to 133 MB/s (ATA 8 / Ultra DMA 6). However, the two cables are compatible. If a device which supports faster standards than Ultra DMA 2 is connected with a 40-wire cable, the computer displays a message when the system starts. HDD-Installation Guide -5- myne GmbH 2012

6 The Molex plug of the power supply only fits in the Hard disk in the right position. With a SATA Hard disk, both the plug of the data cable, and the plug of the power supply unit, fit in the Hard disk and the motherboard connectors in only one position. For the correct installation of a SCSI Hard disk, please consult the manual and a search engine. HDD-Installation Guide -6- myne GmbH 2012

7 4. Format, Partition and Check Prior of using your new Hard disk it has to be formatted (and depending if you wish to, also partitioned). Our Hard disk are delivered unformatted, just like new ones. If the operating system is going to be installed on the new Hard disk, you can partition and format the Hard disk during the installation. Hint: Formatting means that a file system is installed onto the hard disk, whereby it gets able to store data. Partitioning means that a Hard disk is divided into logical drives (for example one drive for the operating system and one for software and data). If the Hard disk shall be partitioned, then it has to be partitioned first, and then the single partitions are being formatted. Important: Through the partitioning and formatting all data stored on the Hard disk will be erased! Verify exactly which hard drive you have selected before you start formatting respectively partitioning! Check during the formatting respectively the partitioning if the Hard disk is identified with the correct capacity. Keep in mind the two different ways of representing with either decimal or binary prefixes. HDD-Installation Guide -7- myne GmbH 2012

8 Manufacturers of Hard disks state the capacities with decimal multiples (kilo, mega, giga etc.). Most operating systems (also Microsoft Windows) calculate with binary multiples(although Windows for example, despite states kilo, mega, giga etc.). decimal multiples: 1 kilobyte (kb) = 10 3 bytes = bytes binary multiples: 1 kibibyte (KiB) = 2 10 bytes = bytes That leads to the (only apparently) contradiction that a Hard disk, which is stated with a capacity of 100 gigabytes by the manufacturer, is displayed by most operating systems as a Hard disk with 93,1 gigabytes (actually gibibytes). But in both cases 100 gigabytes are meant. The difference results only by the way the capacity is stated, the effective capacity is the same. For more information on this, please search the Internet. If the new Hard disk is installed in addition and shall not be partitioned, you can easily have it formatted by the respective operating system. If the new Hard disk is installed in addition and shall be partitioned, you best use a for Hard disk management specialized program. For Windows, there are commercial programs which mostly offer a trial version (e.g. Partition Magic from Powerquest) and programs which are free for private use (e.g. Partition Master from EaseUS) or free software. For other operating systems there are similar programs available. Hint: To make changes to a Hard disk on which the respective operating system is installed, it is necessary to use a so called live system, which is started from a CD/DVD or from an USB flash drive. This is necessary, because a operating system is not able to make changes to a Hard disk on which itself is installed (even if using additional software) and which it accesses the most time while in operation. There are live systems specialized for that task, as for example Gparted, which is free software. Summary: There are several ways to format or partition a Hard disk: The CD/DVD of an operating system can be used. For example, you can boot from a Windows CD/DVD and the formatting and partitioning can be done in the installation menu. It can be necessary to boot from CD/DVD, that you have to change the boot order of your system in the BIOS. If the operating system is not installed on that Hard disk, it can be formatted without partitioning by the respective operating system. If the operating system is not installed on that Hard disk, it can be formatted with partitioning by specialized software, which works under the respective operating system. You can boot your computer with a so called live system from a CD/DVD or a flash drive. For that, it also can be necessary to change the boot order in the BIOS. You call up the BIOS ( Basic Input Output System - firmware for configuring the hardware) by pressing a certain key when the computer is starting. Which one it is is displayed normally. In the majority of cases it is either the Del - key or the F2 - key. In the BIOS you can get information about the boot order and configure the settings under the specific menu. Important: If you configure other BIOS settings you should be sure what you are doing. By wrong BIOS settings, hardware of your computer can get damaged! When in doubt, consult an expert. HDD-Installation Guide -8- myne GmbH 2012

9 Troubleshooting Problem 1 Hard disk does not start (no function) If the Hard disk does not start (no sound and vibration detectable) check the power connector at the Hard disk and possibly exchange it. If the Hard disk is equipped with both, Molex and SATA connectors, you can also change completely to the other connector. Problem 2 Hard disk is not detected despite function If the Hard disk is not detected check the complete wiring and the tight fit of all connectors. If it is an ATA IDE Hard disk, check the jumper settings on all devices connected to that data cable. Please be aware of the following: Never save your important data on only one Hard disk (respectively data medium). Even the most reliable Hard disk can leave you from one moment to another one day. Advisable for data protection is to use a separate Hard disk and save especially important data in addition on an external data medium like DVDs or an external Hard disk. To restore data from a defect Hard disk mostly is not possible, and if, it is very expensive. To secure the own data should be considered in any case, because a loss is usually very painful. It should further be noted, that many modern computers are able to run several Hard disks grouped together in a so called RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks). In this RAID, Hard disks can be mirrored (RAID-1), what improves data safety or, depending on the RAID-level, increase the speed of the data transmission, or even do both at the same time. It is possible to add a RAID controller using an expansion card if the motherboard is not equipped with one. At least two (for some RAID-levels more) Hard disks are required, which ideally should be identical. For further information please search the Internet and consult the manual of your computer respectively motherboard. Final Hints: The company myne GmbH assumes no liability for the statements made in this guide. Changing computer components should be done only by persons who have corresponding experience. We assume no liability for any damages done to persons or properties that may possibly arise in that connection. This guide is the property of the myne GmbH and may without the consent of myne GmbH neither be copied or reproduced. HDD-Installation Guide -9- myne GmbH 2012