The primary drive should be connected to the motherboard’s lowest SATA port – usually SATA 0 or SATA 1Ĭomplete the process by ensuring all connections are secure, closing the PC casing, then powering the system up once it is safe to do so Insert the new hard drive into an empty bay in the PC case, ideally with space between the new and existing drives to enable better airflowĮnsure that the SATA cable connection ports are easily accessible then secure the drive in positionĬonnect the SATA cable to the port on the hard drive, then connect the other end of the cable to the motherboard, taking care not to disturb or impede the connection to the existing HDD Instead, you will need to follow these steps: On the other hand, if you are using a SATA cable to add additional storage to a configuration, you do not need to address the existing hard drive.