DISASSEMBLY

POWER SUPPLY

POWER SUPPLY CONNECTORS

(20 + 4 PIN) ATX POWER
CONNECTOR
(MAIN POWER CONNECTOR)

Connects to: ATX motherboard

power connectors

POWER SUPPLY CONNECTORS

(4 + 4 Pin) ATX 12V Power
Connector

Connects to: ATX 12V power

connectors on motherboards
Note: For most computers, you
will just need to connect a
single 4 pin connector.

POWER SUPPLY CONNECTORS

SATA Power Connector Also
known as SATA power cable,
Serial-ATA power cable -

Connects to: power connectors

on SATA hard drives and SATA
optical drive

POWER SUPPLY CONNECTORS

(4 Pin) Molex Connector Also Connects to: power connectors
known as peripheral connector of IDE hard drives and IDE
optical drives

POWER SUPPLY CONNECTORS

Molex to SATA Power Adapter

Connects to: power connectors

of SATA hard drives and SATA
optical drives

POWER SUPPLY CONNECTORS

(6 Pin) PCI Express Connector
Also known as PCI Express
power cable, PCI-E connector,
PCIe connector

Power connectors of PCI

Express graphics cards

POWER SUPPLY CONNECTORS

Note: Low end graphics cards may not need it at all, while
high end graphics card may require up to 2 such connectors
to run. There are also 8 pin (6 + 2) PCI Express connectors
that deliver more power than the regular 6 pin connectors.

POWER SUPPLY CONNECTORS

(4 Pin) Floppy Drive Connector
Also known as FDD connector
Connects to: power connectors of floppy disk drives

RAM MEMORY

Before touching a RAM memory stick, ground yourself first.

The correct way to hold a RAM memory is grip it by the sides
with your index fingers and thumbs.
Avoid touching its golden contacts at all times. If you look
closer, you will see that your RAM memory has a small notch
(circled in yellow below). It's there to make sure you
align your memory in the correct direction during
RAM installation.

RAM memory are installed into the DIMM slots (RAM

sockets) on your motherboard. Just like RAM memory
modules, DIMM slots have little notches as well (circled in
yellow below). Together they form a foolproof design such
that you can only insert your RAM memory in one direction.

How to install RAM memory:

Flip open the retaining clips.
Note the position of the notches to align your RAM memory
correctly.
Hold your RAM memory as shown in the image below,
apply equal downward pressure on both sides and push it
into the DIMM slot.
Both retaining clips will snap into place once the RAM
memory has been fully inserted

While installing RAM memory requires

you to apply moderate pressure, avoid
excessive force or you may end
damaging it.
If both retaining clips don't snap in,
check if the RAM memory has been
inserted in the correct direction.

HDD

(SATA)

A SATA hard drive has 2 L-shaped

connectors: The larger connector (on
the left) is the power connector
while the smaller one is the data
connector.

Connect a SATA power cable (see image

below) from the power supply unit to the
hard drive's power connector. SATA power
cables are notorious for coming loose so be
sure to insert it fully into the connector.

Connect one end of a SATA data cable

to the hard drive's data connector.

Plug the other end of the SATA cable

into a SATA connector on your
motherboard.

Most modern motherboards have both

SATA 2 and SATA 3 connectors. On a
motherboard, SATA 2 connectors are
often labelled as SATA2 or SATA_3G,
while SATA 3 connectors are tagged
as SATA3 or SATA_6G. As always, your
motherboard manual is your best
friend when learning how to install a
hard drive.

In addition, most motherboards will

also color-code the connectors to help
you
differentiate
them.
SATA
2
connectors are blue in color while the
SATA 3 connectors are white.

HDD (IDE)

What Drive Interface Uses a 40 or 80

pin IDE Ribbon Conductor?

Disassembly (IDE HDD)

It is sometimes easier to remove the IDE data cable and the power
cable before you remove the fixing screws as sometimes the cables
can be stubborn.

All IDE hard drives have the same standard socket types
and the IDE cable should have an alignment notch to ensure
it is inserted the right way likewise, the power cable will only
plug in one way.

IDE CONNECTOR/DATA
CABLE

BLUE host bus adapter (for motherboard)

BLACK master device (the HDD you boot from)
GRAY optional slave device

HDD JUMPER PIN SETTING

MASTER (AB)

SLAVE

CABLE SELECT (EF)

SETTING THE JUMPER:
If this is the only HDD in your computer, set the pin setting to
Master.
If this is the second HDD in your computer, set the pin setting to
Slave.
If this is the second HDD in your computer, and the first drive is
set to cable select, set the pin setting to Cable Select.

FRONT PANEL CONNECTORS

Cables that create connection between the
computer case and the computer (via
motherboard)
Allow power and reset buttons on the front of
the case to work, the LEDs (one for power, the
other for hard drive being accessed), and the
built-in speaker to work.

FIVE SYSTEM PANEL CABLES

POWER SW - Power button on the front of
system case
RESET SW - Reset button on the front of
system case
HDD LED - For hard drive whenever
accessed
POWER LED - LED
SPEAKER - Internal speaker the one that
just goes beep

DVD (SATA)

Take your DVD drive and slide it into the 5.25

bay, taking care to align the DVD drive's
screw holes with the bay holes. Using a
screw driver, secure the DVD drive to the bay
with screws or tool less fasteners (that are
included with your computer case).

Next step of installing a DVD drive:

Connecting the drive to your computer.
You will find 2 L-shaped connectors at
the back of a SATA DVD drive: A larger
power connector (on the left) and a
smaller data connector (on the right):

Connect a SATA power cable from the

power supply unit to the DVD drive's
power connector.

Connect one end of a SATA data cable

to the DVD drive's data connector.

Plug the other end of the SATA data cable

into a SATA 2 connector on your
motherboard. SATA 2 connectors are often
labelled as SATA2 or SATA_3G on a
motherboard:

Once you are done installing a DVD drive, it

should end up looking like this: