How to install a SATA Hard Drive | Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200.12

Installing a SATA hard drive is a very simple and straight forward task. Unlike IDE hard drives there are no jumpers to set and each drive connects to the motherboard using an individual SATA cable. There are other advantages to using a SATA hard drive such as much faster data transfer and better performance. If your motherboard has a E-SATA port then you can even use a SATA hard drive externally.

The first thing to do is choose an empty 3.5 inch hard drive bay. Position the drive so its ready to be inserted into the bay. Gently slide the hard drive into the bay as shown. Make sure the circuit side of the hard drive is facing down towards the bottom of the case. Finally lock the hard drive into place using the lock slider or if your case does not have a lock mechanism you can just screw it into place.

The image below is a SATA power cable. Attach the SATA power cable by gently pushing it into place.

It will only fit one way so check the orientation before pushing it into place.

The image below is SATA data cable. Attach the SATA data cable to the hard drive. It only fits one way.

The connectors are like an L shape so check the orientation to match the hard drive before pushing it into place.

Finally attach the other end of the SATA cable to the motherboard.

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