How to Install an External Hard Drive

If you’ve purchased an external hard drive, you may wonder exactly what it will take to install it. Fortunately, installing your new external hard drive is going to be incredibly easy. For most of these devices, all you have to do is plug in the power supply (if the drive requires one—many are now powered via USB), plug in the USB cable to your computer, and then turn on the drive (if it has an on/off switch). The hard drive, in many cases, is then automatically installed. You may need to restart your computer before you can use the drive.

If your drive isn’t plug and play, you may have to install drivers off of a CD. In this case, you may need to install the drivers before you plug in or turn on the external hard drive. Read the instructions that came with your external hard drive to see if this is the case. With many drives, everything is actually contained on the external hard drive itself, including drivers. The hard drive is recognized by Windows or by the Mac OS and the drivers are launched directly from the hard drive. The instruction manual is often included on the hard drive in a PDF format as well so there is no booklet to lose.

Many times, if you find that your computer is refusing to recognize the external hard drive for whatever reason, you can visit the manufacturer’s website and download drivers for the hard drive. These drivers only take a few minutes to download because they are fairly small. If you find that this doesn’t work, the website usually has troubleshooting tips or answers to common errors that can help you install your hard drive. They usually have a help line or email address for additional help as well.

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