Remove the PC Case cover.

Take care to remove the power and data cables from the rear of the floppy drive. Note the location and positioning of the cables PRIOR to removing them. Either write it down or mark the cables using some masking tape. Note that the data cablel should have one edge with a stripe or a red line. This is the Pin 1 line.

Today, most floppy drives are held in a cage within the computers' case. There will be up to 4 screws holding it in place, two on each side. Remove these screws. Make sure that you hold the drive when you remove the last of these, so it won't fall and damage any other components.

Gently remove the drive from its position. Depending on the type of case you have, the drive will come out through the back or you can push it through the front of the case.

Gently slide the new floppy drive into place, and hold it while you put the screws back in.

Reconnect the power and data cables. Make certain that Pin 1 of the data cable goes to Pin 1 on the drive's connector. The power connector is molded to only fit one way. If it requires a lot of force, then STOP! Make sure you have it properly aligned.

ScanDisk:

Using DOS (yes, some folks still use DOS) or Windows, you'll want to run this maintenance program on a regular schedule. Personally, I've run ScanDisk in Standard mode at least once per day. And then in Thorough mode at least once per week.

In general, you probably should run it in Standard mode at least once per week, and in Thorough mode at least once every month or so. With Windows, you can set it up on an unattended schedule. This way, the PC will "remember" when to do the job, and you don't have to.

Defrag:

Run a Defrag program at least once a month. More if you add/remove a lot of programs; or, if you have any large (200MB+) applications, which tend to become very fragmented.

This fragmentation occurs on all PC hard drives. And with increased fragmentation, you'll find that it takes longer and longer to access files on your drive(s).

For example, on my Win2K box at work, of the many large apps we use, the worst one for creating fragment files is Visual Age for Java Enterprise. We've found that in an average day, this app will create over 600 file fragments!

A better way to handle fragmentation of files and directories, is to use one of the defrag programs available. The best we've seen is Diskeeper from Executive Software.

It's "Set it and Forget it" control, which allows you to set the program to automatically defrag any or all of your drives, on a schedule that suits your needs, is a real time-saver. And the Boot Defrag is the safest we've seen. A very good app.

Remove the PC Case cover.

Take care to remove the power and data cables from the rear of the drive. Note the location and positioning of the cables PRIOR to removing them. Either write it down or mark the cables using some masking tape. Note that the data cable should have one edge with a stripe or a red line. This is the Pin 1 line.

Remove the screws and/or clips holding the drive in place.

Gently remove the drive.

Install all of the drives.Install all of the cards.

Reconnect the power and data cables. Make certain that Pin 1 of the data cable goes to Pin 1 on the drive's connector. The power connector is molded to only fit one way. If it requires a lot of force, then STOP! Make sure you have it properly aligned.

Finish by connecting these to their respective cables. Make sure that the cables Pin 1 goes to Pin 1 on the drives.

Most of the newer BIOS's can auto-detect the drive and it's parameters.

First, go ahead and partition the new drive using FDisk, into one or more logical drives. When this is done, you're ready to format the partitions, using - what else? - Format.

You can find CD Drive cleaning kits in the Electronics department of most stores (i.e. Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc.). The kit usually comes with a disk and a small bottle of cleaning solution - usually just isopropyl alcohol. The disk is the same size as the one that goes into your drive. The difference is that the disk generally has one or more soft bristle brushes attached. On one, you would apply a few drops of the cleaning solution. The other(s) brush wipes the residue off the lense.

In some cases, additional software can be found on the disk. For the most part, this software is more trouble than it's worth. If the disk is spinning, it's cleaning. You don't need a computer program (that usually doesn't work well) to tell you this.

You only need to run this disk cleaner about once-a-month or less, depending on such things as: 1) Dusty environment, 2) Any kind of smoke, or 3) Small children.

[Please note that, generally it's the adults who foul the CD lense; but small children have been known to put "other" things inside the CD drive. But we won't go there. Doc]

Remove the PC Case cover.

Rremove the power, data and audio cables from the rear of the drive.

Note the location and positioning of the cables PRIOR to removing them. Either write it down or mark the cables using some masking tape. Note that the data cable should have one edge with a stripe or a red line. This is the Pin 1 line.

Today, most drives are held in a cage within the computers' case. There will be up to 4 screws holding it in place, two on each side. Remove these screws. Make sure that you hold the drive when you remove the last of these, so it won't fall and damage any other components.

Gently remove the drive from its position. Depending on the type of PC case you have, the drive will come out through the back or you can push it through the front of the case.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions for setting any jumpers.

Gently slide the new drive into place, reversing how you removed the original drive, and hold it while you put the screws back in.

Reconnect the power, data and audio cables. Make certain that Pin 1 of the data cable goes to Pin 1 on the drive's connector. The power connector is molded to only fit one way. If it requires a lot of force, then STOP! Make sure you have it properly aligned. Then re-attach the audio connector. (If the connector does not fit this particular drive, you will need to get another audio cable, with the proper connectors on it. (Generally, most drives come with the correct cable.)

Before replacing the case cover, turn on the power & boot the PC.

What you don't want to see/hear/smell is: whining, smoke, crackling, and other things that say that you just "smoked" your new part.

"Smoked": in electronics parlance, whenever you test something under power, it can be referred to as a "smoke test". If you see smoke, that means you probably just ruined some electronic component.

If there isn't any smoke, then you've passed this test with flying colors. However, passing a "smoke test" doesn't always mean that what you were repairing - actually works!

Depending on your particular system, your BIOS may want to get involved.

If you had the same type of  drive prior to replacement, you don't need to change any settings in the BIOS. However, if the drive that was replaced was different than the new drive (or if this is an upgrade for a PC that had no CD-ROM drive), you must use the BIOS to let the PC know about the new drive you installed. Follow the instructions in your BIOS.

The new drive will usually come with a software setup program, to install new drivers, or any special programs that the CD Drive will need.

Some of these programs for burning CD's are pure trouble, with a capital 'T'. A lot of the people we talk to about CD burning programs recommend ahead Software's Nero Burning ROM. You can download the shareware version here.

Many of the newer drives will use the drivers available under Windows.

If you are using Windows 9x+, when you re-boot the PC, it will tell you that it has found some new hardware. Follow the instructions for installing the new drivers from the software that came with the drive. (In some cases, you may need to run an additional setup program for the drive, which will add special functions, as deemed by the manufacturer.)