How to Install a Floppy Disk Drive

Installing a new internal floppy drive is relatively simple and straight forward. Installing a internal floppy disk drive can be easily achieved by following a few simple steps.

Before doing anything, make sure you have unplugged all cables from the computer and you have easy access to the computer from all angles. It is a general rule of thumb to do hardware installations in uncarpeted areas to avoid static electricity. An unexpected static electric discharge can cause an abundance of issues which may even result in physical injury or require new hardware for your personal computer.

Now that you are prepared to begin the installation, the next thing to do is - you guessed it, the installation!

The first thing you will want to do is remove the faceplate that houses the floppy drive and have easy access to the bay from one of the sides of the computers. You can do this by removing one of the side panels from the computer.

Slide the floppy drive into the slot and connect the main ribbon coming from the motherboard to the floppy drive. Make sure you match the red stripes on the ribbon with the one on the drive connector. Now connect the power supply cable to the power supply connector.

Make sure you secure the floppy disk drive in place so it doesn't slide around and possibly damage other internal computer parts. Before closing your computer up, make sure that all the cables are tightly connected and are firmly in place. It is a huge pain to reopen the case only to find that the cable is partially unplugged from one of the connectors.

Once everything is set and in place, put your computer back together and refer to your computer's manual to make any adjustments in the BIOS so the computer can recognize the floppy drive.