I have a prebuilt WJ CoolMan mini-tower PC and I'm new to working on computers. I bought a Seagate IronWolf 4TB 3.5-inch hard drive, but I can't find the usual drive bays shown in installation videos. I only removed the front glass panel, and I'm wondering whether the drive is mounted behind the motherboard or another panel. Where should it go, and do I need to remove any fans or other components to install it neatly?
3 Answers
The case should have space for the drive on the rear side, near the power supply. Remove the solid back panel—the one behind the motherboard, facing the wall when the PC is in place. The drive mounts there, so you shouldn’t need to remove the fans or front glass.
Before buying brackets or rearranging the cooling system, inspect the back of the case next to the PSU. The drive bays are hidden behind the motherboard tray, which is why they aren’t visible through the glass side. Make sure the drive is firmly secured and has enough clearance for its cables.
That case is designed to support up to two 3.5-inch hard drives, or up to three 2.5-inch drives. Once the rear panel is off, look for the drive mounting area and secure the IronWolf there with the correct screws. You’ll also need a SATA data cable connected to the motherboard and a SATA power connector from the power supply.
I didn’t realize the back panel could be removed. I had only taken off the front glass, so I’ll check behind the motherboard.