How to install a Floppy or Zip Drive

All 3½” Floppy drives are the same. Just follow these simple directions.

Also, you can use these same steps to install an internal ZIP Drive.

1. Remove second side panel from case. Using the same steps for removing the first side panel to remove the other side. Sometimes removing this side of the case is a little different so please refer to the manual that came with the case. Removing the other side of the case will enable you to screw the components in on both sides so it's more securely in place.

2. Remove face plate and insert drive into floppy bay. On the front of cases there are plastic plates. These just pop out, usually just push it out from the inside. Slide the 3½” floppy drive into the floppy bay as shown below.

3. Check to see if you need to install mounting brackets. Sometimes the drive bay is way too big and you need to install mounting brackets but don't worry, most drives come with these. What you should do is go ahead and do step 5 to see if you can screw the drive into place. If you can screw in the drive, then you don't need mounting brackets and you can skip step 4. If you do need to install mounting brackets, go ahead and do step 4.

4. Installing mounting brackets. These generally come in the box with the drive when it is purchased and there is usually a guide that comes with them on how to install them. There are usually two ways they can be installed and one is generally better than the other depending on how the brackets are made.

1) You can screw them onto the drive and then insert the drive into the bay opposite the way you did in step 2. Usually they slide right into place and the screw holes will line up, however, they sometimes are a little off and require some trial and error to line them up but this only takes a few moments and isn't that big of a deal.

2) You can mount the brackets inside the bay first and then insert the drive into the bay and continue on to step 5. As with the first method, the screw holes sometimes don't always line up like you wanted but it only takes a few moments to adjust them.

5. Screw in the floppy drive. After you slide the drive into the bay, line up the screw holes and insert the screws on both sides of the case. If you find that you cannot screw the drive in because the drive bay is too big, refer to step 4 on installing mounting brackets.

6. Locate FDD Floppy Disk Drive cable. This is the cable that attaches the motherboard to the Floppy Drive. The FDD cable looks the same as a regular IDE cable but is smaller in width, has less pin holes, and has a set of twisted wires on it. It is usually included with the floppy drive.

7. Hook it up to the Floppy Drive. Using the same FDD cable, connect the end with the twisted wires to the back of the floppy drive. There should only be one way it can go in, but to make sure it is installed properly, line up the red wire on the FDD cable with PIN #1 which is almost always located closest to where the power cable plugs in.

8. Hook it up to the motherboard. Locate the FDD connector on the motherboard. It should look similar to the picture A below. If you are unsure of its location refer back to the motherboard users manual. Using the opposite side of the FDD cable, connect it to the FDD connector like in picture B. Again, there is usually only one way to connect IDE and FDD cables but if you find there are two ways, you must always line up the red wire with Pin#1.

A) B)

9. Adding power. This is the easiest step. Grab an unused power cable, preferably one with two leads on it. We recommend this since we can use the second lead for the hard drive in the next lesson. With the power lead in hand, connect it to the back of the floppy drive. The power lead can only be inserted one way.

The installation of the floppy drive is now complete. Lets go ahead and install the hard drive.