Question Can I just plug my new hard drive in without mounting it in the drive bay ?

[niceman]

I never did this before so I'm being very delicate with it. i can see you must be.

I would take off the old HDD and mount the new one but I dont have the right screw driver. if I just plug in the new one without mounting it in the drive bay, can anything bad happen?

In other words, can i just plug it in and let it lay carefully in the pc tower?

Can the new hard drive explode? anything that is gonna cause me hardship? it says i must ground myself to avoid ESD problems. this is not my expertise somebody please help?

Am i gonna get a static shock if i dont ground myself? sigh. why is this so hard!

 

[Lafong]

Having a hard time understanding your issues.

Maybe you can re-write it.

Nothing is likely to "explode". If your drive is new, it may be dead on arrival right now for all we know.

If you don't find a usable screw driver, you aren't going far.

Is this a traditional spinning hard drive or an SSD?

A spinning hard drive should not just be laid down in a PC tower. You might get away with that if it is an SSD.

Shocks might have some effect on components and can be avoided, but I'd guess most do not use a grounding strap. You personally are extremely unlikely to be shocked as long as you don't get inside the power supply.

 

[niceman]

its a wd blue hdd

 

[Lafong]

You should be able to just connect the proper cables to it to see if it will spin up at all....without physically screwing it down to anything.

Handle it carefully. Don't drop it or bang it against something.

But I wouldn't go farther than that without mounting it, which you may not be able to do because you lack the proper tools.

 

[SkyNetRising]

i would take off the old hdd and mount the new one but, i dont have the right screw driver.
can i just plug it in and let it lay carefully in the pc tower?
its a wd blue hdd

It will vibrate, make noise and may be even move around pc case, if not secured properly.
Placing drive on a metal surface can cause short. PCB of the drive may have exposed contacts.
If you leave it hanging in wires, then vibrations and weight of the drive may cause cables to disconnect.
Just find proper tools.

If it's just for a short time and you're keeping watch on it all the time, then probably nothing bad will happen.
Make sure, it's placed on non-conductive surface.

 

[niceman]

its working great its on my wooden desk, not touching any metal.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

My advice ---- do the job properly.

Can't you borrow the appropriate screwdriver from a neighbour or friend so you can remove the old HDD then fit the new one securely in it's place ?

 

[niceman]

My advice ---- do the job properly.

Can't you borrow the appropriate screwdriver from a neighbour or friend so you can remove the old HDD then fit the new one securely in it's place ?

no but i could just buy a screwdriver. how hard of a job is this? can this wait or should it be done right away?

 

[SkyNetRising]

no but i could just buy a screwdriver. how hard of a job is this?

Buying and using a screwdriver? I'd say - it's pretty easy.

can this wait or should it be done right away?

If it's just for a short time and you're keeping watch on it all the time, then probably nothing bad will happen.

 

[geofelt]

One should have a #2 philips head screwdriver in their toolkit.
They are cheap.
Plan on doing the job right the first time.
Temporarily you are likely ok .
But an active HDD is likely to vibrate and move around if not secured.