Hard drive replacement help that had no previous HD

I have a 21.5” iMac I got from Goodwill.

It came with no hard drive but was told that it worked. I want to put in a 1 TB hard drive since they cost less per storage.

I was looking at buying one from here but saw that it has to be the same brand. My question is: Can I boot it up from a USB stick and see if there is a way to figure out the brand or i just try each brand and lose more money.

This is the first time I have had a Mac. I have fixed iPhones multiple times but this is my first time and I do not know what to do except take it to Apple which I don’t want to do.

It looks like the donor who gave the Mac to Goodwill took the hard drive out but also the supporting hardware and I’m lost where to get that or if I can even do this repair.

I want the hard drive option as it is cheaper for more storage and I thought it would be fine for my normal use I want to use it for.

Before you leave and think, the baseline is I have an iMac that works and functions. Has no HD and I want to replace that missing hard drive with a 1 TB one but I don’t know that brand and I am also missing the hardware to attach the hardware to the Mac. I also don`t know what to do after I have installed the hard drive in the system.

So the 1 Tb hard drive that Ifixit sells would work with the requirements of the iMac I have(It does list that drive under parts of this certain model and also has the same specs as the one you( @danj ) posted)? Then I just add the Inline temperature cable with the new hard drive. May I ask why this cable has to be added(newer style hard drives)? unlike the repair guide it does not make mention of this cable, just that I need to plug the temp cable back in with the correct orientation.

As for the hardware that is missing after some research, I found that the Hard drive bracket along with the screws are missing including the Hard drive mounting pins. I found Beetstech`s website that has what I believe is missing but they do seem a little pricey. The picture attached are from the drive bay. If I am correct it looks like the screws to hold the drive bracket to the mac is there but none else.