Installing ROM Drives

1.) Follow all safety precautions
2.) Be sure to have physical room in your case for a drive Locate an open bay inside your computer case.

You will need a Sata or IDE cable to connect a drive. Some IDE cables have two spots that will allow you to plug two different drives in with just one cable. Choose a plug on your ribbon cable to attach your drive to. Then go over to your drive itself and look at the back. Make sure the small white plastic jumper is set to cable select. If the computer won't see the drive it may need to be set to master or slave depending on how the drives are layed out. Sata cables do have jumpers sometimes as well but they are not for setting drive priority but for setting transfer speeds. The Sata drive controller itself handles the drive negotiation.

Jumpers may be different depending on model but the basic ideas are the same.


To install, first use a screw driver (make sure you and the screwdriver are grounded before proceeding) and knock the slot cover out of the front of the case if necessary. Slide the drive gently into the slot and make sure the screw holes line up. Using fine thread screws screw the drive into the case and tighten them. You will typically only need a screw in the front and one in the back to make sure it is secure. 






Next, cable the drive by connecting it to the IDE cable. Make sure the IDE cable is also connected to the motherboard. Locate a power cable (any one will do) and pop that into the drive as well. Some drives use another type of cabling called SATA. This drive's cable is not a flat ribbon drive like an IDE cable is. For a SATA drive, you must also determine if you have a slot and cable available for the drive. SATA cables can only be plugged in one way, so line it up correctly and plug it into the motherboard. 


If your power supply does not have a SATA power lead, you will need to get an adapter. Connect the power lead to the adapter and SATA power lead, and then connect it to the drive. That's all it takes to install CD and DVD drives. Remember that my Computer Repair Mastery Video Training Course shows these steps to you in detailed video format.