Whether you require extra storage space or your old hard drive is on its last legs, installing a hard drive is a skill that everyone could do with.

Adding extra storage space can be done with either an external or internal drive. The internal drive sits on your desktop and plugs in via a Firewire or USB cord. USB hard drives are particularly easy to install; all you do is just plug it in and Windows will automatically install the drivers. I like external drives as a way of backing up files. If you keep your hard drive in a different room from your PC, you will be less at risk from thieves stealing your backup files.

Internal drives are a bit more tricky to install, but really are about as difficult as fitting a new plug. There are two types of connector two choose from, IDE and SATA. IDE is the older technology, so it is not as fast as SATA. However, if you are a moderate PC user you probably wouldn’t notice the difference in performance, so you might be better off with a cheaper IDE drive.

Once you have got your hands on a new drive you will need to switch off and open up the case of your PC. The drive should be positioned in one of the empty bays (normally at the lower front of the case), and fixed solidly in position with the supplied screws. Each hard drive needs two cables plugged into the back – one for power and the other for data.

This might all sound a bit foreign to some, and this highlights how the simplest tasks become overly complex if they are not accompanied by drawing. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and this is certainly true for hard drive installations. To use another proverb from Abraham Lincoln: “If I had 8 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend 6 hours sharpening the axe” - another very applicable piece of advice. So, for newbies I would recommend spending 45 minutes on Google to find a really good illustrated guide. Only then, spend 15 minutes following the steps.

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Zach Hope is the author of Speed-Up-Windows-XP.com, a site that can teach anybody to speed up Windows to invigorate old computers. You can eliminate slow boot troubles today and transform your slow computer.