Are Computer hard drives interchangeable between brands?

They should be. You do need to pick the right *type*, though --you can't attach an IDE harddisk to a SATA interface.

installing a hard drive is very easy; you can attache 2 to the IDE cable BUT you must set the jumpers to master and slave, the master will have your operating system on it. there is a diagram on the hard drive how to set them. and a few screws to secure it in place at this time you should buy a round cable to replace the flat ribbon cable. That was the easy part now you need to partition and format the hard drive or it wont work, google it for step by step instructions not easy not real difficult just take your time and you can do it, sometimes the new hard drive comes with a cd that will walk you thru it, but if you buy a raw drive (drive only) it is quite a bit cheaper just need some screws and you can usually talk the tech dept to give them to you free.

pretty much .

The hard drive is where all the computers drivers are stored so it is not recommended to take a HD from one computer and put it in another without first formatting it.(trust me it will save you alot of headaches)

also make sure you dont insert the cable backwards take the cable and look at it.you will see three connectors,the one in the middle will be closer to one of the connectors on the end that is the end that connects to the hard drive and the one in the middle is for a second hard drive if you have one.

depends on if you have 40 pin IDE or 50 pin SCSI. IDE drives are pretty much interchangeable. the newer computers automatically configure the BIOS to accept the new drive (as long as the new drive is formatted and has an operating system). don't drop the harddrives. cabling should be keyed so you can't hook it up wrong. you might have to go into setup to configure the BIOS manually. good luck

As long as the interface is compatible with your motherboard you shouldn't have any trouble physically installing it; but you should re-install your operating system with all appropriate drivers for the new system as there can be problems when just switching drives.