I have occasionally tried to get away without a floppy disk drive (FDD) on some
of my computers, and without exception, I have regretted not having one at some
crucial moment.
Ensure that one of the 3.5-inch bays in your case is open. If your case came
with rails for the floppy drive, attach them to the sides of the drive and slide
the drive into the front of the computer until it clicks into place. Rails are
small metal pieces which clip or screw on to the sides of the drive and allow it
to be inserted and removed from the case with minimal effort in case you are
wondering.
Otherwise, slide the drive into the front of the computer until the faceplate of
the floppy drive is flush with the front bezel of the case and the screw holes
along the side of the drive line up with the case. When everything lines up,
screw the floppy drive in securely on both sides.
Plug in the power cable (see pic to right) carefully, since it is quite possible
to miss one of the connectors, which will quite possibly cause some damage when
the computer is powered on. Floppy drive power connectors are keyed in most
cases, but if not, the red wire should be connected to the pin designated as 1
on the surrounding PCB.
Ensure that the power connector is correctly lined up with all 4 connectors. A
flashlight is a good thing to have at this point. The floppy (data) cable is
keyed to only fit one way. Note that it is keyed the opposite way to the IDE
hard drive and CD drive, so that the red stripe on the cable should be facing
the floppy drive power cable.
Floppy drive cables are solid ribbon on one end, and the other has a small
section of the ribbon cut and twisted around. Ensure you only attach the floppy
cable as shown in the picture below (cut portion of the ribbon attaches to the
FDD itself).
Connect the data cable between the drive and the 'floppy1' connector on the
motherboard.
