Installing a New SATA Hard Disk

Serial AT Attachment (SATA) hard disks are more common in use today, and the reason is because they are much faster and communicate through a serial connection (hence the term "Serial" ATA), meaning one disk does not have to wait for the other to finish a task before it can start its own operations. There are a number of things you must do before you install a hard disk.

If you want to invest time and money in installing a new SATA hard disk, you will need to have a motherboard that has some SATA ports. If you do not, this simply means you will have to go and get one. If you do not know what a motherboard is, I suggest you consult someone who works in a computer hardware store to help you get what you need.Motherboards are not very expensive, but can be, depending on how many features you want in them, and the type of CPU they support. You might get into a mess of buying new hardware, so be aware that investing in SATA is not for the faint of heart. You will have to get used to this if you want to customize your computer.

If you already have a motherboard that has SATA connectors, installation is simple. First of all, you will have to open up your computer to operate inside it. There are small 4-wire connectors leading from the power supply called peripheral power connectors. There are two types of these. The first type usually has a white plug and is thick. The second type usually has a black plug and is dimensionally flat and thin. The latter are SATA drive power connectors. If you do not have such connectors, you should purchase a converter, which has a receiving connector on one end (for the thick connectors) and a transmitting connector on the other end, which will lead to your hard disk. Connecting the power connector to your SATA hard disk is simple. All you have to do is connect it to the leftmost port, which it fits inside of perfectly.

The next step in installing your SATA hard disk is to connect the SATA cable. You should have an SATA cable available, or else you will have to purchase one at your local computer hardware store. The motherboard of your computer should have some SATA ports usually located near the PCI bus. These connections are easy to identify, since they do not have any pins sticking outwards inside them. Your SATA hard disk should also have a port that looks similar to the one on the motherboard right next to where you connected the power connector. Just connect the cable to both ports and make sure that the cable is firmly in place. You can check if an SATA cable is firm by pulling lightly on it. If it stays on and does not move around, it is firmly attached.

After following these steps, your SATA hard disk should be ready to use and you can close your computer now. If you have any problems after the disk installation, contact an assistant at the nearest computer hardware store and the assistant will be more than glad to help you out.