How to Install a Second Hard Drive on a Dell 1100

If you are running out of storage space on your Dell 1100, adding a new hard drive can solve the problem. Once you have selected and acquired your new hard drive, installing it is relatively easy, if you follow these steps.

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Screwdriver
• New hard drive
• Hard drive manual (if one is available)
• Controller card (optional; use this if you don't have a spare connector on the motherboard or space on an existing ribbon cable to connect your drive to. Make sure you get one that matches your drive)
• SATA/IDE adapter (optional; use if you have a new SATA drive).

1. Step 1

   Shut down your computer.

2. Step 2

   Remove the various plugs from the back of your computer and then pull out your case into the open so that the side panel can be removed with ease and that you will be able to get inside it without any problem.

3. Step 3

   Unscrew, either using a screwdriver or your fingers, the two large screws on the right (looking at the back ) of the case. They will be along the side (left side from the front, right side from the back). You may have to remove the other side panel later, so look and see if there are screws for the other side panel now for later reference.

4. Step 4

   (This step assumes that your new hard drive is intended for extra storage. If it is intended to be the primary hard drive for a fresh install of an operating system, then you will want to set this hard drive as a master, rather than a slave.)
   
   Put the jumpers in the appropriate place to set your hard drive to be a "slave" drive. On the back of your hard drive you will see a set of nine pins in between the IDE connector and the power connector. Refer to your hard drive manual to find out what position the jumpers should to be placed in that area.

5. Step 5

   (Your new hard drive is most-likely an ATA drive, because the Dell 1100 is designed for these drives. If it is a SATA drive, you should have a SATA/IDE adapter for it. If so, follow this step. If you do not have a SATA drive, skip this step)
   
   Attach the SATA/IDE adapter to the back of your new hard drive. There will be a wide set of pins on the left side of the back of the new hard drive that should fit to the adapter easily. After it is set look to see where your old hard drive is installed inside your computer.

6. Step 6

   Look to see if there is an extra slot for your new hard drive to be installed. It should be below the CD/DVD drives. If there is no extra slot, look to see if there is an extra slot where an extra CD/DVD drive could go.

7. Step 7

   (If there is an extra hard drive slot:)
   
   Place the new hard drive along side the original one.
   
   (If there is not an extra slot for a hard drive, but there is an extra slot for a CD/DVD drive:)
   
   Fasten your 3.5 Inch to 5.25 Inch Hard Drive Mounting Kit Adapter into place, and then place the hard drive within the brackets and then secure it with screws.

8. Step 8

   Line up the hard drive to the holes in the case and, using the screws that came with your hard drive, screw the hard drive in place. With some case designs, this may include removing the side panel from both sides of the tower, and for others it will not. Observe how the original hard drive is fastened in place and mimic this with the new one.

9. Step 9

   Plug the IDE ribbon that the original hard drive is attached to into the IDE connector of your new hard drive or to the adapter if you have a SATA hard drive.

10. Step 10

    Attach one of the spare power plugs from the power supply into the right side of the back of the new hard drive. If you are unsure where to plug it in or what the plug looks like, refer to how the original hard drive is plugged into the power supply.
    
    Make sure that all the plugs are in snugly, the screws holding the hard rive are in firmly, and that nothing else inside the computer has been accidentally unplugged or removed.

11. Step 11

    Place the side panels into their appropriate sides and replace the screws.

12. Step 12

    Re-plug in the various plugs into the back of the computer and turn it on.

13. Step 13

    Insert your hard drive's CD and follow the onscreen prompts to format and set up your new hard drive.