Materials Required and the Approach

• When replacing your IDE hard drive, you have two options. First, you can back up the data on your hard drive to an external medium, such as an external hard drive or some DVDs, then remove the drive, put in your new drive, install Windows XP and reload your data. The second option is to leave your original drive in your computer, but swap out which ATA slot it is on. This way the replacement drive will be the primary hard drive for the computer and your old IDE drive will be the secondary drive. You can then install Windows onto your new drive and when it starts up, your second drive will appear as an attached storage drive, and you can just drag and drop your files over from your old drive to your new one. This process is certainly easier and takes less time than the first approach, but does require that you have an ATA cable with at least two slots on it, or at least two free ATA ports on your motherboard. Most computers meet this requirement, though, so you shouldn't have to worry.
  
  

Data and Hardware Safety Tips

• If you suspect that your old IDE drive is failing, you should copy the data off as quickly as possible to prevent data loss. Don't wait around, since every moment the drive is spinning is another moment closer to it dying for good. When you open your computer case and put your new IDE drive inside, don't forget to wear an anti-static wristband, or you risk damaging internal components of your computer. Be cautious when putting the ATA cable into the hard drive, too, as putting it in the wrong way can bend the hard drive pins and permanently damage it.