Replacing Hardware

External Device

We start with the easiest kind of hardware to replace, external hardware. This technology is the easiest to replace because it is simply connected with an interface port (SCSI, USB, IEEE 1394, etc.), and a power cable. The reasons for removing/replacing this kind of hardware are: 1) you have determined the hardware to be faulty, 2) the hardware has a conflict with another, more important, device, or 3) you simply don't want it anymore. Whatever your reason, here are the steps for replacing an external device:

Removing

  1. Uninstall Device - This step is, in most cases, unnecessary. The Windows OS will recognize upon the next time that the computer is powered up that there is a change in the hardware configuration and make the necessary modifications. If you want to play everything safe though, you will want to make sure that you not only uninstall all of the device software that came with the device, but also delete the device from the Device Manager (see Control Panel page below for the steps necessary to accomplish these tasks). Note: This step is unnecessary if you plan on plugging in a replacement device that is the exact same device that you previously had installed (the computer will not recognize a change from when you shut it down to when you start it back up).
  2. Turn Off Computer - You NEVER want to remove any device from your computer without first turning off your computer. Although computers have advanced to a point where disconnecting an external device may not cause any problems whatsoever, if you want to avoid any potential problems (now and in the future) you will turn off your computer before removing any installed device. There are sometimes situations where a manufacturer will tell you that it is OK, such as a device that is capable of Hot Plugging, but just to be safe you may want to do this anyway.
  3. Turn Off Device - Once your computer is completely shut down you will want to turn off the power to the device you wish to remove. This step is almost unnecessary, but is a good habit.
  4. Unplug Device Power - Today, it does not matter the order in which you unplug the cables, but, for ultimate safety, and good habits, you will want to remove the power before removing the cord that interfaces the device with you computer.
  5. Remove Interface Cable - All communication is dead, it is now safe to remove the interface cable.

Adding

  1. Check Computer's State - In order to add an external device to your computer it should be completely powered down and unplugged. If you have any doubts about your computer's state follow step (2) above.
  2. Connect Interface Cable - Connect the device's interface cable to the appropriate open port (USB, SCSI, IEEE 1394, etc). It may be entirely likely that you will need to buy some sort of adapter if you do not have the required port available on your computer (e.g. an adapter to convert USB to PS/2).
  3. Plug in Device Power Cable - Plug in the device power cable to the device and to an available outlet. It is always a good idea to plug in any electronic device into a surge protector, as power surges can overload circuit boards, which in turn makes the device completely unusable.
  4. Turn on Device - You want to make sure that the device is completely powered up when you restart your computer. When your computer powers up it automatically detects hardware changes and sets up any plug-and-play devices that it finds, having your device powered up and connected to your computer means that there will be very little work for you to do.
  5. Turn on Computer - The drive is all set up, let's see if it installs correctly.
  6. Install Device in Windows - There are very few devices that are currently on the market that Windows will not recognize and install upon startup, but if you encounter such a device you will have to use the installation disks that came with the device in order to have your computer communicate properly with it. Also, most device CDs come with added programs and utilities that you may find useful to have when working with the device.

Internal Drives

Replacing an internal drive, such as a CD-ROM, Hard Drive, or Floppy Disk, is much more involved than removing an external device, and requires that you be much more familiar with your computer. As the title suggests, you will have to open up your computer's case, and if experience teaches nothing, every single computer case that is manufactured has a different mechanism for opening and removing components. I will for the most part deal with commercial cases which are sold stand alone, if for any reason your configuration differs make sure to consult your computer manual for the appropriate measures that need to be taken in order to accomplish the task.

Removing

  1. Uninstall Device - This step is, in most cases, unnecessary. The Windows OS will recognize upon the next time that the computer is powered up that there is a change in the hardware configuration and make the necessary modifications. If you want to play everything safe though, you will want to make sure that you not only uninstall all of the drive software that came with it, but also delete the drive from the Device Manager (see Control Panel page below for the steps necessary to accomplish these tasks). Note: This step is unnecessary if you plan on plugging in a replacement device that is exactly the same as the drive that you previously had installed (the computer will not recognize a change from when you shut it down to when you start it back up).
  2. Turn Off Computer - You NEVER want to remove any device from your computer without first turning off your computer, and you especially NEVER want to open your case with the power on. Any sort of electric shock (static electricity included) may render any device, or the whole computer, completely useless. Circuit boards are very sensitive devices, and if handled inappropriately, they can easily be broken.
  3. Turn Off/Unplug Power Supply - This step goes hand-in-hand with the previous step. Although it may appear that your computer is off when you turn it off, the power supply is still on, and may still be providing power to many areas of your computer. There should be a switch on the back of your computer next to where the power cord is located; turn it off. Now unplug the power cord from either the outlet or the back of your computer. Your computer is now completely powered down.
  4. Open Case - It seems that every computer you encounter has a different method for removing the outer casing; some you have to remove screws, other you merely have to push a button. This, undoubtedly, you will have to look inside your reference manual to accomplish.
  5. Attach Static Wrist Band (If Applicable) - Again, circuit boards are sensitive devices, and the static electricity in your fingers can arch to the circuit boards and render them completely useless. In order to prevent this from happening you need to ground your body. The easiest way to do this is to buy a static electricity wrist band (they are cheap), and attach one end to your wrist and the other to any metal surface, including the computer case. The other method is to make sure that you always have one hand placed on a piece of metal at all times; this however means that you would only have one hand to work with.
  6. Unplug Device Interface/Power - At the back of every drive there should be both a power cable and an interface cable. The power cable is usually white on the end and has four wires leading to it (red, yellow, and two black), while the interface cable will most likely be a ribbon cable of various lengths, and number of pins, depending on the interface type. Unplug these from the drive.
  7. Unscrew/Remove Device - Usually drives are held in their bays by four screw or some type of drive sled. Again, this differs from case to case, so you may need to look up how to accomplish this task. On most cases, remove the screws holding the drive in place and the drive should slide out easily.
  8. Update Other Device Configurations - It may be the case that other devices that are linked to the same interface will need to be reconfigured if you are not installing another device in place of the one you are removing. An example of such; some hard drives require that you specify whether or not they are the only device on an IDE chain. If you remove a drive from such a chain you may need to reconfigure the drives that will remain in order for them to work properly.
  9. Close Case/Plug in Power - If you are not inserting any more drives into the computer, close the case, plug back in the power to your computer, and turn on the power supply.
  10. Turn On Machine - Your computer should now be hooked back up the way it was before this tutorial began. You can now turn on your machine.
  11. Update BIOS - If you removed an IDE or Floppy device from your computer you may need to make some changes in your BIOS. Most computers are setup to automatically detect these changes, so you may not need to do anything. See next page for more information on the BIOS.

Adding

  1. Check Computer's State - It is vital that you computer be in the state in which it was after completing step (5) above. If you are unsure about your computer's state, redo steps (2) through (5) above before proceeding.
  2. Insert/Screw In Drive - Again, the method used to insert a drive into a computer is different from case to case, but most drives you will just be able to slide the drive into an appropriately sized bay (usually located in the front of you computer), and screw in. Look in your computer's reference manual for information if this strategy does not apply to your computer.
  3. Attach Interface/Power - Attach an appropriate interface cable to the back of the drive, and a power supply. If you do not have enough power cables in your computer you can buy an extra one at most computer stores. Although you can often buy an adapter for most external methods there are very few adapters that will allow you to change the connection method for internal devices, so make sure that you have an available port before buying the device.
  4. Update Drive Configuration - Some devices currently inside your computer may need to be reconfigured along with the device you are adding to your computer. As an example, hard drives have a master/slave relationship, and if one of the drives is incorrectly configured neither will be recognized by the computer. Consult your drive documentation for more information.
  5. Close Case/Plug in Power - Close the case, plug back in the power to your computer, and turn on the power supply.
  6. Turn on Computer - Your computer should now be hooked back up the way it was before this tutorial began. You can now turn on your machine.
  7. Update BIOS - You may need to reconfigure the BIOS in order for your computer to properly recognize the new device. See the next page for more information.
  8. Install Device In Windows - There are very few devices that are currently on the market that Windows will not recognize and install upon startup, but if you encounter such a device you will have to use the installation disks that came with the device in order to have your computer communicate properly with it. Also, most device CDs come with added programs and utilities that you may find useful to have when working with the device.

Peripheral Cards

In many respects peripheral cards are much easier to install than drives, but this wasn't always the case. A few years ago, installing a peripheral card meant settings jumpers for various settings found within the card; today the cards are plug-and-play -- you plug them in and then they are ready to go. Peripheral cards add functionality to your computer; they can be for graphics, audio, controllers, network interfaces, etc.

Removing

  1. Uninstall Device - This step is, in most cases, unnecessary. The Windows OS will recognize upon the next time that the computer is powered up that there is a change in the hardware configuration and make the necessary modifications. If you want to play everything safe though, you will want to make sure that you not only uninstall all of the device software that came with the device, but also delete the device from the Device Manager (see Control Panel page below for the steps necessary to accomplish these tasks). Note: This step is unnecessary if you plan on plugging in a replacement device that is the exact same device that you previously had installed (the computer will not recognize a change from when you shut it down to when you start it back up).
  2. Turn Off Computer - You NEVER want to remove any device from your computer without first turning off your computer, and you especially NEVER want to open your case with the power on. Any sort of electric shock (static electricity included) may render any device, or the whole computer, completely useless. Circuit boards are very sensitive devices, and if handled inappropriately, they can easily be broken.
  3. Turn Off/Unplug Power Supply - This step goes hand-in-hand with the previous step. Although it may appear that your computer is off when you turn it off, the power supply is still on, and may still be providing power to many areas of your computer. There should be a switch on the back of your computer next to where the power cord is located; turn it off. Now unplug the power cord from either the outlet or the back of your computer. Your computer is now completely powered down.
  4. Open Case - It seems that every computer you encounter has a different method for removing the outer casing; some you have to remove screws, other you merely have to push a button. This, undoubtedly, you will have to look inside your reference manual to accomplish.
  5. Attach Static Wrist Band (If Applicable) - Again, circuit boards are sensitive devices, and the static electricity in your fingers can arch to the circuit boards and render them completely useless. In order to prevent this from happening you need to ground your body. The easiest way to do this is to buy a static electricity wrist band (they are cheap), and attach one end to your wrist and the other to any metal surface, including the computer case. The other method is to make sure that you always have one hand placed on a piece of metal at all times; this however means that you would only have one hand to work with.
  6. Unplug Any Interface/Power - Although the majority of peripheral cards have no other interfaces or power cords besides the actual ISA/PCI/AGP slot, many high-end or specialized cards may have additional power cords, or interfaces that plug in directly to other portions of the computer that provide special functions. You will want to remove all of these cords from the device that they connect to before proceeding.
  7. Unscrew/Remove Device - In most cases, peripheral cards are held on by a single screw, which is found at the top of the card; you will want to remove this screw in order to remove the card. Once the screw is removed you should be able to just lift the card out of it's slot; make sure the life at both end evenly in order to prevent bending anything. If you are not planning on inserting another card into the slot right away, you will want to screw in a slot cover which prevents dust and dirt from entering the case.
  8. Close Case - With everything removed you will want to close the case before powering the machine back up.
  9. Turn On Machine - Turn on the machine, your computer should work fine now.

Adding

  1. Check Computer's State - It is vital that you computer be in the state in which it was after completing step (5) above. If you are unsure about your computer's state, redo steps (2) through (5) above before proceeding.
  2. Insert/Screw In Device - Find a compliant slot in your computer and insert he card into it. You will want to insert the card so that the face plate is flushed against the back of your computer. When pushing the card into place do not be afraid to apply a little pressure, it won't hurt anything, just make sure to apply the pressure evenly across the top of the card.
  3. Attach Any Interface/Power - Some cards may have special interfaces or power cords that you will need to plug in inorder to get the card's full functionality (e.g. sound cards have audio cables that plug into the back of CD-ROMs, and NIC's often have a cable that can be plugged directly into the bottom of the motherboard for a Wake-On-LAN feature).
  4. Close Case - With everything removed you will want to close the case before powering the machine back up.
  5. Turn on Computer - The device is now installed. Let's turn on the computer.
  6. Install Device In Windows - There are very few devices that are currently on the market that Windows will not recognize and install upon startup, but if you encounter such a device you will have to use the installation disks that came with the device in order to have your computer communicate properly with it. Also, most device CDs come with added programs and utilities that you may find useful to have when working with the device.

RAM

The RAM on your computer is where your computer stores information that it is still in the process of using. This memory is temporary, and, when you computer shuts down, all of this memory is erased. RAM, like any other computer component can go bad, but, most often, people are more interested in adding more memory because this will, to a certain extent, make your computer faster (the reason for this being that the access time to access information stored on RAM is much faster than trying to access the information on the hard disk).

Removing

  1. Turn Off Computer - You NEVER want to remove any device from your computer without first turning off your computer, and you especially NEVER want to open your case with the power on. Any sort of electric shock (static electricity included) may render any device, or the whole computer, completely useless. Circuit boards are very sensitive devices, and if handled inappropriately, they can easily be broken.
  2. Turn Off/Unplug Power Supply - This step goes hand-in-hand with the previous step. Although it may appear that your computer is off when you turn it off, the power supply is still on, and may still be providing power to many areas of your computer. There should be a switch on the back of your computer next to where the power cord is located; turn it off. Now unplug the power cord from either the outlet or the back of your computer. Your computer is now completely powered down.
  3. Open Case - It seems that every computer you encounter has a different method for removing the outer casing; some you have to remove screws, other you merely have to push a button. This, undoubtedly, you will have to look inside your reference manual to accomplish.
  4. Attach Static Wrist Band (If Applicable) - Again, circuit boards are sensitive devices, and the static electricity in your fingers can arch to the circuit boards and render them completely useless. In order to prevent this from happening you need to ground your body. The easiest way to do this is to buy a static electricity wrist band (they are cheap), and attach one end to your wrist and the other to any metal surface, including the computer case. The other method is to make sure that you always have one hand placed on a piece of metal at all times; this however means that you would only have one hand to work with.
  5. Remove RAM Stick - Modern computers have two white tabs at both ends of a RAM slot; push down on these tabs to pop the stick out of the computer. Once these tabs are are released, the stick should easily lift out of the computer, if it does not do not force it up -- push down on the tabs again.
  6. Reorder Current RAM/Insert New RAM - It is always a good rule of thumb to make sure that your RAM are arranged in their slots correctly. The sticks should be in the slots found closest to the CPU (they are also labeled with numbers, put the first stick in slot one, the second in slot 2, etc.). Also, you will want the larger sticks to be in the lower order slots (e.g. If you have 1 stick of 256 and one stick of 128, you will want to put the stick of 256 in the first slot and the stick of 128 in the second slot).
  7. Close Case - With everything installed you will want to close the case before powering the machine back up.
  8. Turn on Computer - The device is now installed. Let's turn on the computer.
  9. Verify Installed RAM on Boot - On most computers, when the computer boots up it counts the amount of RAM it has installed. You should count it up before hand, and when your computer starts you will want to make sure that this number reaches a point close to what you counted (it will in all likely hood not be exact). If you cannot see this information displayed on the screen that appears when your computer first starts up, you will want to go into the System Control Panel in Windows and verify it from there. If the amount is not what you calculated you will need to reopen the case and verify that your RAM is installed correctly.

Adding

  1. Check Computer's State - It is vital that you computer be in the state in which it was after completing step (4) above. If you are unsure about your computer's state, redo steps (1) through (4) above before proceeding.
  2. Insert RAM Stick - To install new RAM, you must first locate the slots on your motherboard (they are usually close to the processor), and then verify you have an available slot. The RAM stick has slots, or divots, in the row of contacts which make it impossible to insert a stick of RAM incorrectly. Just align these divots to the corresponding extrusions in the slot and push the stick directly down into the slot. It is often easier to insert one end of the stick at a time. When the stick is correctly inserted both tabs will be brought up into the stick to hold it into place.
  3. Close Case - With everything installed you will want to close the case before powering the machine back up.
  4. Turn on Computer - The device is now installed. Let's turn on the computer.
  5. Verify Installed RAM on Boot - On most computers, when the computer boots up it counts the amount of RAM it has installed. You should count it up before hand, and when your computer starts you will want to make sure that this number reaches a point close to what you counted (it will in all likely hood not be exact). If you cannot see this information displayed on the screen that appears when your computer first starts up, you will want to go into the System Control Panel in Windows and verify it from there. If the amount is not what you calculated you will need to reopen the case and verify that your RAM is installed correctly.

CMOS Battery

The CMOS battery is what keeps all of your settings such as boot options, date/time, and hard rive settings current. The CMOS battery is shaped like an oversized watch battery, and resides in a socket directly attached to the motherboard.

Replacing

  1. Turn Off Computer - You NEVER want to remove any device from your computer without first turning off your computer, and you especially NEVER want to open your case with the power on. Any sort of electric shock (static electricity included) may render any device, or the whole computer, completely useless. Circuit boards are very sensitive devices, and if handled inappropriately, they can easily be broken.
  2. Turn Off/Unplug Power Supply - This step goes hand-in-hand with the previous step. Although it may appear that your computer is off when you turn it off, the power supply is still on, and may still be providing power to many areas of your computer. There should be a switch on the back of your computer next to where the power cord is located; turn it off. Now unplug the power cord from either the outlet or the back of your computer. Your computer is now completely powered down.
  3. Open Case - It seems that every computer you encounter has a different method for removing the outer casing; some you have to remove screws, other you merely have to push a button. This, undoubtedly, you will have to look inside your reference manual to accomplish.
  4. Attach Static Wrist Band (If Applicable) - Again, circuit boards are sensitive devices, and the static electricity in your fingers can arch to the circuit boards and render them completely useless. In order to prevent this from happening you need to ground your body. The easiest way to do this is to buy a static electricity wrist band (they are cheap), and attach one end to your wrist and the other to any metal surface, including the computer case. The other method is to make sure that you always have one hand placed on a piece of metal at all times; this however means that you would only have one hand to work with.
  5. Remove CMOS Battery - The CMOS battery is very easy to remove. There should be a metal arm over the top of the battery; this should easily swing around it's pivot to a position where it no longer covers the battery. Now you should be able to lift up the battery using your fingers; you may need to use a flat head screwdriver, but be sure you do not create a connection to any other place on the motherboard, or scratch the surface of the motherboard.
  6. Insert New CMOS Battery - It is very important that your replacement battery is the exact same model of the one that you removed from the motherboard; you can verify this by looking at the number etched on the top of the battery. You should be able to easily place the new battery into the now empty socket. If the battery does not fall into place on it's own, lightly push on the top with just enough pressure to force the battery into place. Slide the metal arm back over the battery.
  7. Close Case - Secure the case back in place.
  8. Turn On Machine - Turn on the machine...once you removed the CMOS battery, all of the CMOS settings were reset back to default.
  9. Set Time/Date in BIOS - Since all of your CMOS settings were reset back to normal, you will need to reset your Date and Time on your computer along with all of the drive and integrated peripheral settings.
  10. Verify Integrity - You will need to keep an eye on your computer's date and time in order to verify that you inserted your battery correctly (simply look at it when you restart your computer). If the date and time show incorrectly after you restart the machine, you may want to reopen your computer and verify that the battery is installed correctly.
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