Internal storage drives are most commonly found in the form of hard disk drives. These drives use non-removable media to store and retrieve data. Internal storage drives also come in the form of removable cartridge drives, which can supplement a hard drive but don't usually serve as a replacement.

You should consider an internal storage drive if you want to increase your storage capacity. If you plan to transfer files between computers that are not networked, it would be best to purchase a removable cartridge drive, so long as the destination computer has a drive of the same type. Otherwise, if you do not plan to share files, it would be best to go with a hard drive because they are faster and generally cheaper for their capacity.

Internal storage devices can be found with either the SCSI or IDE interface. SCSI storage devices are a usually much more expensive than their IDE counterparts, but they can transfer data faster.

The type of drive you buy (IDE or SCSI) should depend on what you would use the drive for and what components you already have. If you already have other SCSI components, getting a SCSI storage drive would be better because data is transferred especially quickly between SCSI components. If you do not already have SCSI components, an IDE drive would be better because they are cheaper and their speed should be sufficient for most applications. If, however, you run storage intensive applications such as video editing software, a SCSI drive is definitely the best choice, regardless of whether or not you already have SCSI components.

A Phillips screwdriver and about 15 minutes of time are required to install an internal SCSI storage drive.

Click here for a list of links to internal SCSI storage drive manufacturers.
 

the installation

1. Make sure the computer is turned off.

2. Carefully disconnect all of the cables from the back of your computer, place the computer on a stable working platform, and remove the outer case. Discharge any static electricity from your body by touching the computer's power supply.

3. If you have the option to change new drive's SCSI ID using jumpers on the back of the drive, assign it an ID that you know is not in use by another device.

4. Mount the new drive in the desired location, then secure it with mounting screws.

5. Locate a free power cable with the appropriate connector and plug it into the new drive. Plug an unused SCSI connector into the drive, making sure that the side of the cable with the red wire is on the side of the drive connector marked with a 1 or an arrow (if applicable).

   

6. Replace the outer case and move the computer back to its original location. Reconnect all of the cables.

7. Start up the computer. Windows should recognize the new drive and attempt to install the drivers for it. It may prompt you to insert the Windows 9x CD or the CD or floppy disk that came with the drive.

8. Click on the Start button, move the cursor to Settings, and click on Control Panel. Double click on the System icon. Click on the Device Manager tab, then expand the Disk drives category. There should now be an entry for your newly installed storage drive. If there is no entry, or if the entry has a yellow circle with an exclamation mark next to it, your storage drive is not configured properly or there is a hardware conflict of some sort. Consult the manual that came with your drive and/or use the Windows Troubleshooting Guide to resolve the problem. To access the Troubleshooting Guide, click on the Start button, then click on Help. Troubleshooting should be listed in the table of contents.

9. Install any software that came bundled with the drive.