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Step 1: Check your system requirements
Before you buy a drive, make sure your PC meets the minimum requirements, unless you're willing to accept performance that's slower than the drive's rated speed. To reap the benefit of our Plextor's 8X DVD+R speed, we needed at least an 800MHz Pentium III CPU, and Plextor suggests at least a 1.6GHz Pentium 4. Consider saving money by opting for a slower drive if your system doesn't meet the recommended requirements.
Step 2: Document cable connections
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 Make a note of your system's current cable connections before unplugging anything. Snapping a photo or two for reference is a good idea. |
Your system's boot drive probably occupies the master position on the primary ATA channel. Your optical drive may act as slave on the same channel or occupy the master position on the secondary ATA channel. If the hard drive and the optical drive share the primary channel, one ribbon cable will connect the two; otherwise you'll see separate ribbon cables running to each, as with both our test systems.
Your new drive should work fine as the master or the slave on either channel. If your configuration allows, set the newer drive as master on the secondary ATA channel to ensure optimal performance.
Tip:
Snapping a photo or two of your PC's interior with a digital camera provides a "before" shot that may serve as a useful reminder later.
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as i do not know much about computers i need to know which driver to set to master and which to set as slave. i have a combo drive in all ready which allows me to burn and play cd and play dvd's. if this drive does not use the audio cable does this mean my computer has a digital sound reader so i dont have to connect the audio cable on the dvd burner i am about to install. if i could have someone reply to my questions i would be very greatful