he computer. I took off the computer cover, which is accomplished by removing several small screws from the back of the case. I then removed a small cover from the face of the computer where the CD-Rom drive is installed. I slid the drive into the slot from the front and secured it to the frame with the supplied screws. I located the IDE cable, which attaches the drive to the computer, and plugged it into the back of the drive (IDE stands for Integrated Drive Electronics). I then located the power cable and connected it to the drive. These cables can only be plugged in to one place on the drive so it is impossible to mix them up. After I plugged in the IDE cable and the power cable I was ready to test the drive. I prefer to leave the cover off the case when I test the new equipment in case I have to check the wiring or make adjustments. I cannot stress enough that I NEVER work on the inside my computer when it is plugged in, as there are electronic components inside which can carry enough voltage to cause serious injury or death. I proceeded to reconnect the cables on the computer and prepared to start it for the first time with the new hardware. The drive that I bought came with a disk that contains the drivers for the drive. Drivers are software programs that allow the computer to communicate with the new equipment. A new drive simply will not work properly without the correct drivers. My computer has Windows 98 installed on it which allows it to automatically recognize when new hardware has been installed. I started my computer and a message requesting that the drivers be installed came up on the screen. I simply put the disk in the floppy drive and hit the enter key. The drivers were then installed and the new CD-Rom drive was ready for action....
