OK,
Basically the hardware process is very easy to do, unplugging the hard drive and putting in the new one before you do that you'll want to backup your information and copy it to the new hdd... You will notice that there is only 1 IDE cable in the 2350, which allows for either 1 Hard drive and 1 cd/dvd-rom (or Burner) at the same time. This is alright because all you have to do is unplug the cd-rom and plug in the new hard drive alongside your original, so that when you log in, it shows as another hard drive letter in "my computer".
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:H2m8eZ_tjJQJ:support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim2350/replace.htm+dell+dimension+2350+replace+hdd&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
FOR RAM (Random Access Memory) REPLACEMENT:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim2350/replace.htm#1183874
FOR HARD DRIVE REPLACEMENT INSTRUCTIONS:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim2350/replace.htm#1126855
The Hardest thing to do with computers is backing your information and When Upgrading the RAM, keeping yourself grounded so that you dont ZAP the Memory, IVE never had a problem with this... Just keep touching the metal casing on the computer every once in a while while working inside. Just 5 seconds is enouph to keep static off you:
Use this program to backup your files or Just use the software that WILL come with your particular brand of (HDD) Hard Drive:
http://www.acronis.com/promo/ATIH2010/ATISpecific/index.html?source=us_google&ad=norton&c=3061507427&k=acronis%20true%20image&gclid=COzPof-6lJ4CFYZM5QodgGZPqA
OR THIS TRIAL:
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/download/backup-recovery/workstation/
OR USE THIS LINK IF YOU CANT AFFORD IT:
http://www.downarchive.com/software/system/54311-acronis-true-image-home-2010-13-build-6029.html
DIRECT LINK:
http://hotfile.com/dl/16571497/813c1b1/TI20106029en.rar.html
select REGULAR DOWNLOAD, wait 30 seconds, new page will load, "click here to download" link will apear and voila you have the program.
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This Is the one im going to use,
but you might not need it because
it has extra content like the bootcd
which is useful for emergencies!!
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http://www.downarchive.com/software/system/56147-acronis-true-image-home-2010-v13-build-6029-addon.html
-------------------------------------
Above for advanced users
might not fit on 1 cd
-------------------------------------
Backup Guide and easy to follow instructions:
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:1xW5rnpI-u4J:www.ugr.com/nl0102.html+backing+up+hdd+files&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
"I QUOTED THIS FROM ABOVE DOCUMENT"
What type of backup software is available: There are two very different backup utilities on the market today -- File backup utilities and Partition backup utilities. File backup utilities are by far the most common. These utilities backup individual files one at a time. They can also be used to restore individual files to your hard drive. A good feature of File backup utilities is that they can select individual files from all parts of your hard drive. This is great for picking and choosing your important data files to backup. On the other hand, File backup utilities tend to be quite slow in backing up your entire hard drive and you would need to make many extra steps in rebuilding your hard drive partitions in case of a total failure. That is where Partition backup utilities have the advantage. Partition backup utilities backup entire partitions and all the files contained in them. Some of these Partition backup utilities work at the lowest hardware level and are very fast. Restoring a partition to an empty hard drive using a partition backup utility will create and format partitions as it restores the partition file.
Acronis Corporation has an excellent backup software package that will easily backup your entire hard drive. This product is called True Image and has a list price of $50. Let's take a look at how this utility can be used to backup your entire system.
Backing up your entire hard drive: The most important part of your backup plan is to backup your entire hard drive at least once a month. Having this backup in place will protect you from a major failure of your entire hard drive. Using Acronis True Image to backup your entire hard drive you have two approaches to select from. Let's look at each of these approaches separately.
The first full-drive backup approach is to use True Image to copy all of the partitions from your main hard drive to a backup hard drive. Both hard drives must be installed on the same computer system to do this approach. Using True Image's Disk Clone facility, you copy the partitions from your main drive to the backup drive, one at a time. When True Image copies a partition, it creates a new partition on the backup drive, so the drive can be empty of partitions before you start the process. Also, copying a partition copies not only the partition, but also all of the hidden files, system files, and other files contained in the partition to the backup hard drive. So, when you finish copying all of the partitions from your main drive to the backup drive, you have an exact duplicate of your main drive that could be used if your main drive failed.
After copying all of the partitions to your backup hard drive, you need to disconnect the backup drive and remove it from your computer system. You should store the drive away from your computer, so that if anything happens to your computer, your backup drive will not be affected, too. Once a month, you'll need to retrieve this backup hard drive and insert and connect it back into your computer and repeat the backing up of all of your partitions, then remove it again from your computer. If something should happen to your main hard drive, simply get your backup hard drive and replace your main hard drive with the backup drive, setting it as a master drive, and you should be able to immediately start your computer and have it run. To simplify the frequent removal and replacement of your backup hard drive, you can purchase a hard drive rack mounting system from your computer store for about $25 that will let you remove and insert the drive without removing the covers of your computer.
/"END QUOTE"
When you successfully back up your hard drive and verify that it works by booting into it, making it the first hdd on the IDE chain, or by simply taking out the old one and putting the new one in, you can use the old one as a backup, or erase the hard drive, and use it as extra 2nd hard drive, but you have to get a "usb enclosure" or (External HDD case) for it, because your still going to want to use your cd-rom/dvd-rom or whatever you had in there, which you will plug back into the same connector it was plugged into. Im checking now, and the middle ide black connector, not the one on the end is the PRIMARY Hard Drive or Device, and the IDE connector at the end of the cable is the secondary for your cd-rom. But it all depends on the jumper on the device your plugging in. This works if each device's jumper is set to "Cable Select". Look on the label of each device you add into the computer, be it a hard drive or dvdburner, and it will show you the pinout for Cable Select (CS), for the jumper...
IT is MOST IMPORTANT to make sure you have at least 512MB' of RAM for windows XP, which i was only running 256MB, which is why my father ended up giving this computer to me. I upgraded it with 2x 512MB's of RAM 1 at a time and when i recieved the first 512MB, along with the 256MB's i had, it was like a totally different computer. Im really suprised my dad was able to go without it for the 7 years he's been using this dell dimension 2350. The RAM will improve your performance more than a hard drive depending on how big the programs are that you are running. If you already have 512-756MB's of RAM, it might not make a big difference. So getting a graphics card might do more than the ram upgrade would, UNLESS your using photoshop, or playing games with the computer, which i havent had experience with, because thats not what im into. Now that i think of it, im going to go try out the n64 emulator that worked great 7years ago on this with the 256MB's of RAM, and see if the 1GB helps out even more, most likely not though because EMULATION is more based on the calculations (Processor), than the RAM, and maybe ill even get a graphics card...
Peice OUT
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