I am not sure about WD, but my maxtor came with proprietary install and partitioning software, and it was painless. If you don't have a complete copy of an operating system, be sure to either copy your old HD, to the new, or start from scratch if you have your system restore disks. In any case, you'll need to make a windows start-up disk, and make sure you set the jumper in the back of your hard drive to the correct position so that the system will recognize it as either a master or slave. Most of this will be included with your new HD, per instructions. But, I would go to western digital's web site and read as much as you possibly can about installing a new hard drive, and what your different options are. If WD's site doesn't have any info...I haven't ever been there but they should, you can go to Maxtor's site and read there... you could at least learn some general stuff.
I installed a HD in my comp for the first time a few months back. After reading a ton, and thinking the whole thing through...visualizing possible problems, and finding answers for all of the questions in my head, I finally attempted it, and it went off without a hitch. It seemed easy because I felt that I knew exactly what I was doing.
Good luck, Matt.
