Guidance on physically replacing my desktop's HDD

[tomhosker]

1. I'm looking to replace my 256 GB HDD with a 1 TB piece.
2. Because the PC in question CANNOT be out of action for more than 24 hours, I'll be doing the replacement myself.
3. Unfortunately, I have no idea what I'm doing!
4. I THINK I've found the current HDD, in the bottom right of the case. I can certainly disconnect (and reconnect) the cables to the suspected HDD, but I can't see any easy way of removing the component itself.
5. Would any new HDD, ordered from PCS, come with instructions for installing it?
6. The full spec for my desktop, as it is right now, is given below.

Case
AEROCOOL BOLT RGB MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-9400F (2.9GHz) 9MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H310M-A R2.0: Micro-ATX, DDR4, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)
8GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 1030 - DVI, HDMI
1st Storage Drive
256GB PCS 2.5" SSD, SATA 6 Gb (500MB/R, 400MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
USB 3.0 EXTERNAL SD/MICRO SD CARD READER
Power Supply
PCS 250W 80+ BRONZE POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
NO RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 6 to 8 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo

 

[B4zookaw]

Presume you mean SSD and not HDD, given your spec above. It should just be a case of switch PC off fully, remove the two cables from existing SSD (one for power, one for data), unscrewing it from the case, screwing the new SSD in to its place, and reconnecting the two cables. Straight forward.

The challenge is probably more how to you transfer key files from the old drive to new, and do you know how to install windows on the new drive. I'm assuming you don't want to keep the current drive of course, but is there a reason why you couldn't just add teh second drive and keep the current one as your boot drive?

 

[B4zookaw]

Might help if you could upload some photos of how the drive is situated. I think it might be mounted in the main part of the case, and screws were inserted from the back. In which case you'd need to take the back panel off to access. But some good, clear, in focus photos would help us.

 

[Martinr36]

Might help if you could upload some photos of how the drive is situated. I think it might be mounted in the main part of the case, and screws were inserted from the back. In which case you'd need to take the back panel off to access. But some good, clear, in focus photos would help us.

That's what it looks like in the case user manual They are wonderful things

 

[RichLan564]

Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-9400F (2.9GHz) 9MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® H310M-A R2.0: Micro-ATX, DDR4, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs

Will that motherboard not take an M.2 drive?

if it does and assuming there isn't one fitted which doesnt show in your spec above i would install one of those to run Windows from, you can then use your (rather small) SSD for storage

 

[tomhosker]

I think it might be mounted in the main part of the case, and screws were inserted from the back. In which case you'd need to take the back panel off to access.

I think that's the crucial piece of information I was missing. Any guidance on how to remove that back panel? Apologies, I set up this PC almost two years ago, and I've long since binned the manual.

As requested, here's a photo of the inside of the case.

I believe that's the SSD in the back bottom right? Two follow-up questions:

1. Could I install an additional SSD/HDD, in the space ABOVE where the current one is located?
2. The current SSD is currently split into a Windows and an Ubuntu partition. Could I have Windows running from one hard drive, and Ubuntu running from a separate one, or is there some hardware factor which means that the computer has to boot from exactly one hard drive?

 

[B4zookaw]

Manual can be downloaded from here: https://aerocool.io/product/bolt/

To remove side panel, there's probably a screw or two holding in place, either at the back, or on the same side as back panel. Once screws are released, just slide the panel back to the rear of the case. Should pop loose. Do the reverse to put it back on.

Answers to your questions:
1) Yes, you'll just need to run a new data cable to the motherboard, and power cable back to the PSU (some SATA cables are daisy chained, allowing you to connect the new second drive to the same power cable as existing drive. Check the cable once you have panel removed)
2) I'm not an expert on Linux and boot managers, but I would say this is likely to be possible. You might need to figure out how to select which OS to boot from, but I'm sure a quick google will provide a guide

 

[tomhosker]

Okay! So I ordered a Seagate Barracuda HDD, and it arrived today. This came with some unwelcome discoveries:

1. The HDD is 3.5", and therefore cannot be mounted at the smaller point for secondary SSD.
2. I've discovered a tray for mounting several HDDs. However, the HDD will not slot in "bareback". It's slightly too big. It looks like it needs to be mounted in a bracket first (see
   ).
3. The desktop case did not come with any such bracket, and neither did the HDD.
4. Also, while PCSpecialist sent me a SATA data cable to go with the HDD, they didn't send a power cable!

I know how to remedy the power cable situation; I've ordered a SATA splitter cable already. But how do I fix the issue of the missing bracket? The fundamental problem is that I'm not sure WHICH MAKE AND MODEL OF BRACKET to order.

 

[SpyderTracks]

The desktop case did not come with any such bracket, and neither did the HDD.

Any spare parts for the motherboard and case will have been in a separate box in the PC box when it was delivered.

Also, while PCSpecialist sent me a SATA data cable to go with the HDD, they didn't send a power cable!

They wouldn't, it's not related to the drive, it's part of the PSU. Again, any spare cables will be in the welcome box

 

[Martinr36]

If you still have the same PSU as in the spec you posted, I'm GUESSING that all the cables will be integral, so you'll have to and see what cables come out of it

 

[tomhosker]

Any spare parts for the motherboard and case will have been in a separate box in the PC box when it was delivered.

Okay, but, given that I no longer have said box - I ordered my desktop almost two years ago - where do I purchase a replacement HDD bracket? Not looking to whinge, just looking for a solution!

 

[SpyderTracks]

Okay, but, given that I no longer have said box - I ordered my desktop almost two years ago - where do I purchase a replacement HDD bracket? Not looking to whinge, just looking for a solution!

According to the manual, there's no brackets or anything, they're just held in with screws?

 

[Rakk]

Okay, but, given that I no longer have said box - I ordered my desktop almost two years ago - where do I purchase a replacement HDD bracket? Not looking to whinge, just looking for a solution!

For future reference always keep the welcome box, or at least its contents, it will have any spares that came with your components eg SATA cables (for extra drives) that were not used in the build, and all the screws that came with the case, and often various other bits and pieces.

Yes I realise its a bit late to say it now thus the 'For future reference' clause

 

[B4zookaw]

Okay! So I ordered a Seagate Barracuda HDD, and it arrived today. This came with some unwelcome discoveries:

1. The HDD is 3.5", and therefore cannot be mounted at the smaller point for secondary SSD.
2. I've discovered a tray for mounting several HDDs. However, the HDD will not slot in "bareback". It's slightly too big. It looks like it needs to be mounted in a bracket first (see
   ).
3. The desktop case did not come with any such bracket, and neither did the HDD.
4. Also, while PCSpecialist sent me a SATA data cable to go with the HDD, they didn't send a power cable!

I know how to remedy the power cable situation; I've ordered a SATA splitter cable already. But how do I fix the issue of the missing bracket? The fundamental problem is that I'm not sure WHICH MAKE AND MODEL OF BRACKET to order.

1) Yep, this is to be expected (size difference) as you’ve ordered something different from what you have. SATA SSD (Solid State Drive) are 2.5”, HDD (Hard disk drive) is 3.5”, although you used to get smaller size for laptops
2) Presume you mean the tray is larger than HDD? You need to screw HDD in to place, and if HDD is loose, trying using smaller washers to keep it tight against the tray sides.
4) Power cables are unique to your PSU, so you need to use the cables that came with PSU. I’d agree with what someone else said in that the cable is probably already attached to the PSU, you might just need to unbundle the nest of cables in the bottom of the case to find it. I’d be surprised a PSU of that spec is fully modular (meaning you can add and remove cables as you need them).

 

[tomhosker]

According to the manual, there's no brackets or anything, they're just held in with screws?

View attachment 35147

Okay! I've ordered the screws! I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[tomhosker]

1) Yep, this is to be expected (size difference) as you’ve ordered something different from what you have. SATA SSD (Solid State Drive) are 2.5”, HDD (Hard disk drive) is 3.5”, although you used to get smaller size for laptops
2) Presume you mean the tray is larger than HDD? You need to screw HDD in to place, and if HDD is loose, trying using smaller washers to keep it tight against the tray sides.
4) Power cables are unique to your PSU, so you need to use the cables that came with PSU. I’d agree with what someone else said in that the cable is probably already attached to the PSU, you might just need to unbundle the nest of cables in the bottom of the case to find it. I’d be surprised a PSU of that spec is fully modular (meaning you can add and remove cables as you need them).

Will a splitter - i.e. a device which turns one SATA power connection into two - not do the trick? I'm a bit wary of poking around too much in the PSU, but it looks like all the available connections are already taken.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Will a splitter - i.e. a device which turns one SATA power connection into two - not do the trick? I'm a bit wary of poking around too much in the PSU, but it looks like all the available connections are already taken.

You shouldn't need it, the PSU should have spare SATA power ports on it. There are usually at least 8 SATA power connectors on 2 or 3 separate cables.