If you are installing a hard disk, it is best to install it in the internal bay. This reserves the external bay for any accessible drives you may want to add later. If you prefer, however, you can install a hard disk in the external bay; just leave the drive slot cover installed in the front panel.

You can install 3½-inch drives in the internal bay. In the external bay, you can install 5¼-inch drives or 3½-inch drives with 5¼-inch mounting frames attached.

You also need to attach metal drive brackets to each drive you install in the external bay. Two sets of these brackets (and their retaining screws) came in the box with your computer. The instructions in this chapter tell you how to install them.

Setting the IDE Hard Disk Drive Jumpers

You may need to change the hard disk drive jumper settings if you install or remove an IDE hard disk drive. The jumpers tell the computer whether you are using one hard disk drive or two.

Note

You do not need to set any jumpers if you are removing your only hard disk drive.

If you are installing only one hard disk drive, see “Changing the Jumper Settings” below to check your drive’s jumpers.

If you are removing one hard disk drive and leaving another in your computer, you need to change the jumper settings on the remaining drive to indicate that it is the only hard disk drive installed.

Installing and Removing Drives 6-3