Buying new HDD

[Zephik]

This is the one I am wanting to get...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148140

Now here is the reason why I am buying a new Hard Disk Drive.

I turned on my computer this morning and the error message for no HDD device detected showed up. So like a complete tard I am... I failed to notice that the sata cable wasnt plugged in all the way. So problem fixed right? Nah, I decided since I have never seen the inards of a HDD I would take it apart. Since you know, it didnt work anymore lol. So now I need a new one.

But I have never installed a HDD before other than the one that my friend set up for me. So what all do I need to do to get it working? I'm on my brothers computer right now btw. My computer right now has NO hard drive what so ever. So do I have to install windows again or what? How do I set it up when I get it and install it so I have windows and all that jazz?

-SF

[ajmilton]

well, your questions kind of go all over the place but let's see if i can help a bit
1) to get a HD working, you have to plug it in. that's basically it. i noticed that the one you picked is SATA3.0 - that's an awesome drive if your computer supports it. if you don't have any SATA slots, this could be a problem :P if your computer only supports SATA1.5 that's no big deal either, the seagate SATA3.0's are backwards compatible. if your motherboard >does< support 3.0, make sure you change the jumper on the back of the drive from the default 1.5 to 3.0. they ship like this, probably to avoid any confusion with older boards and people not reading the literature that comes with the drive.
2) if your computer has no HD in it, yes, you have to reinstall windows. or linux. or ... os/2. or whatever OS :P. (out of curiosity, where else would you expect your operating system hang out, if not on the HD? :P)
3) power up the computer, go into BIOS, check that you have the CD-ROM device in the boot sequence, put the OS cd in the drive, reboot. it should boot from the CD and you just follow the menus. you'll need to format, and if you're installing winXP, there's a quick format utility which is quite wonderful. it's pretty basic from there. you >can< partition if you want, but personally if i'm going to separate my OS from my data, i do it on separate drives anyways.

hope this helps :P

[nil8]

Dude, don't take apart a good hard drive. Take apart an old 4 gb one that doesn't matter.
AJ gave you all the info you really need.

If you take the platter and learn to roll it right, you can make them roll a few hundred yards. It's a lot of fun. A game me and a few friends invented called platter rolling. You stand in a line on a straight hill street and see which platter goes further.
It's all about the inversed wrist flick.
It's amazing how fast you can get them to go too.

[Airbozo]

Dude, don't take apart a good hard drive. Take apart an old 4 gb one that doesn't matter.
AJ gave you all the info you really need.

If you take the platter and learn to roll it right, you can make them roll a few hundred yards. It's a lot of fun. A game me and a few friends invented called platter rolling. You stand in a line on a straight hill street and see which platter goes further.
It's all about the inversed wrist flick.
It's amazing how fast you can get them to go too.

For a variation on this game use the drive motor to get the platter up to speed before "flicking" it off the drum. Great fun! Just be sure to wear eye protection. Hell I have a scar on my hand from this so use full body protection or better yet. DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!

Hehe sorry for the thread derailment...

[Zephik]

A. It was a crumby hard drive anyways.

B. I have no idea what you guys are talking about!? lol

Is there anyways around buying a new os cd? I can afford one.. but that means I have to sacrafice my lian li case. I've already asked around and no one I know has one.

-SF

[.Maleficus.]

No, there really isn't a way to get around buying Windows again, except getting a different OS. If you only use the computer for basic computing (NO games) then you might as well save your money and download Ubuntu or Mandriva or something.

[a.Bird]

Yup, .Maleficus. is right, there is absolutely no way of getting around paying for a new OS cd. Nada. Good luck.

[Zephik]

Ah bummer that really sucks. oh well I guess. At least now I will have a windows install disk on hand whenever I need it.

-SF

[a.Bird]

???? SnowFire, PM me your email address.

[Zephik]

**Replied**

-SF

[Omega]

Oh, and even if you fail to check the cable, always make sure it's in before going deeper. The way my IDE cables used to be config'd, the cable would barely come off of my boot drive (enough to make it not work) every 3 weeks or so and all I had to do was push it back in and it was fine.