Stephen R Stanfield wrote:
> Addendum to post:  One of the main issues in this build is to be able to 
> re-use my hard drive as there is some valuable information that I need.  
> How do I get the old hd to shake hands with the new motherboard?

HD technology hasn't changed all that much in the last decade.  And most 
changes have been on the motherboard side to allow motherboards to talk 
to the newer and larger HDs.  So an 18 month old drive (either PATA with 
a ribbon cable or SATA with a small red or blue cable) will have no 
issues being installed in a newer system.

...

If all you want is to migrate the data files from the old system to the 
new (such as contents of My Documents):

1) Make a backup of some sort

2) Install the drive in the new system

Now, ideally, I'd recommend using the existing drive as a second drive 
in the new system.  (Build the new unit using another drive.)  That way 
you can setup the new unit on a fresh drive before moving your old drive 
over to the new case.  You won't have any left-over cruft from the old 
system on the new drive.

Then you can copy data from the old drive to the new drive.  Afterwards, 
you can use the old drive as a place to store backups.

Plus, a system build is easier when you have both systems up and running 
at the same time.  It gives you the ability to still use the old system 
in case things go awry with the new.

...

Now, if you're talking about migrating programs from the old system to 
the new system without having to reinstall those programs; I'm not sure 
what to recommend.  (I always do fresh installs and only migrate data.)

              The NOSPIN Group is now offering Free PC Tech
                     support at our newest website:
                          http://freepctech.com