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Step 1: Remove any inserts from front panel

On the front of almost all cases, you will find some type of insert on the front of a drive bay. These are just there to keep out dust and make your case look nice but you have to remove one to install a CD/DVD drive.

If you push in on the insert from the outside, it may come off inside your case and you can just reach in and grab it. Sometimes it pops out from the inside, other times it requires you to remove the front panel first and sometimes they are even screwed in.

However it is set up, remove the insert where you want to install your CD/DVD drive.

There may also be a metal plate inside that needs to be removed as well.

If you need to remove the front panel, since all cases are different, please consult your case owners manual on how to do this.

Most front panels can be removed by using a flat head screwdriver and prying it off. Before you do this though, make sure you don't have any locking tabs or screws on the inside you have to deal with or you may risk breaking it.

Remove one insert per drive for all drives, including the floppy drive if needed, while we are here.

Once the insert is removed, put the front panel back on the case.

Step 2: Install CD/DVD drive into a drive bay

Now that all the insert(s) are removed, slide the drive(s) into the bay.

Some cases require you to screw in the drive to secure it into the bay and others have a "no tools required" type setup. Go ahead and secure the drive however it is set up in your case.

Step 3: Connect IDE cable to motherboard

On your motherboard is a connector labeled "IDE".

Locate this and line up your IDE cable. There should be an outward notch on the cable and it should line up similar to the image below.

Note: Since we did not install an IDE CD/DVD Rom in our original build, the image below is taken from one of our older builds but the installation procedure is still the same.

Once it is lined up, firmly press down and it should slide into place. Like with all cables, do not force it. If it does not go in the first time, you might have it backwards. If your cable does not have an outward notch, the red line on the IDE cable indicates pin #1 so you can line that up with pin #1 on your connector.

Step 4: Connect IDE cable to CD/DVD drive

Connect the other end of the IDE cable we just plugged into the motherboard, into the back of the CD/DVD Rom. Similar to the motherboard, the IDE cable should only go in one way but if it does not have the notch, line pin #1 up with the red line on the cable. Pin #1 is almost always located closest to the power connector.

Step 5: Give it power

Connected to your power supply are several molex power connectors. Connect one of these to the back of the CD/DVD Rom. One side has two angled corners so it can only go one one way.

Next Lesson: Installing a Floppy Disk Drive

Now that we've installed our CD/DVD drive, it's time to continue on to Lesson 15: Installing a Floppy Disk Drive.

If you do not have a floppy drive, please proceed to installing case fans.

If you also do not have any case fans to install, skip all the way to hooking up the front panel.