An external drive bay is like where the CD or DVD drive is ... it is a bay (ie some specific space) which is accessible from the outside. And opposed to internal bays, which are not accessible without opening the case, eg the main system hard drive.

Maybe you are up for learning about PCs ... but (no offense intended but ... (never a good start to a sentence!! :))) ... if you have to ask what an external drive bay is, then you might be better to get a professional or techie friend to have a look and advise you and carry out any work.

 

It is simple enough to install a cradle (if you have a free slot) and a disk, but only tackle it if you are sure you know what you are at!! And make sure you are "grounded" before opening the case and touching anything!!

 

Good luck ...

Should be possible OK ... you get a thing called a cradle, which is the same shape and size as a CD/DVD player. The disk fits into this, and you connect up then inside the machine as normal. I've one in my Dim 8400. What you can actually achieve will depend on your system, but in principle this is all simple enough. Do a bit of research on "disk cradles" to see ...

 

Here's an IDE version from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Lorex-ACC-DRW80-Disk-Drive-Cradle/dp/B0002C99YE

 

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vic5014 wrote:
How many external 3.5" bays does a Dimension 8300 have?

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Assuming you have an 8300, if you look at it you'll see two locations for CD/DVD drives.  Both are likely full, one with a CD and one with a DVD.

First of all let me tell you I'm a real rookie.  I was advised by my tech to purchase one so that I could back up my files to it in case of a crash.  All of my files are backed up to it on a weekly basis.

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Grandmom3 wrote:

First of all let me tell you I'm a real rookie.  I was advised by my tech to purchase one so that I could back up my files to it in case of a crash.  All of my files are backed up to it on a weekly basis.

 

What you purchased was an external USB drive, not an external drive bay.  Big difference.