* Jim,* * Yes, I do have a free drive bay and one free IDE PCI slot. Also, I like the idea of having the drive inside the computer case as opposed to the outside of it. Would there be a power supply issue here? I noticed that the extra/unused cable connector that is supplied for a second drive hookup has a different configuration and is incompatible with the old drive. There is another unused connector there that does has the correct configuration but I believe it is for a ZIP drive hookup/installation and is a bit short in length. * * * On 7/11/05, James Maki <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Donald DeWitt > > > > Dear Members, I'm running a 4yr old Dell Dimension series > > 4550. All my files > > (Word, photos, MP3s and etc.) are stored on a Western Digital > > Slave drive. I > > recently acquired (new) a series 8400 Dell. When I attempted > > to install the > > slave drive from the old computer into the new I found that > > the new computer > > has an ATA Master drive and that all the connections to it > > are unlike the > > Western Digital connections that I'm use to seeing. > > > > Question: Is there a way I can install my old Western Digital > > slave drive > > into the new computer (as a slave) using adaptor wires? Would this be > > practical? If not, what do you recommend? > > > > > > Thank You for your advice, > > > > Don DeWitt > > Don, > > A quick look at the Dell website did not show an 8400 series anymore. But > the models shown all had the newer Serial ATA (or SATA) drives. It may be > possible to purchase a SATA to PATA (Parallel ATA, also known as IDE) > adapter, but a quick search of some online stores revealed PATA to SATA > adapters (i.e., and adapter to utilize a newer SATA drive on an older PATA > interface, the opposite of what you want to do), but no SATA to PATA > adapters. > > I would suggest adding an IDE PCI card instead. As long as you have a free > PCI slot in the computer, and an empty drive bay, you could add one of > these > cards to allow access to your older PATA hard drive. The Promise Ultra 133 > TX/2 card (such as > http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=130401 > and > http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=130405 > would do the trick. > > Another option if you have a free USB2 port is to add an external drive > enclosure, such as > http://www.dealsonic.com/plpmsiusb20e.html > which would also give you access to the old slave drive. > > Hope this gives you some ideas you can utilize. > > Jim Maki > [log in to unmask] > > PCBUILD maintains hundreds of useful files for download > visit our download web page at: > http://freepctech.com/downloads.shtml > PCBUILD maintains hundreds of useful files for download visit our download web page at: http://freepctech.com/downloads.shtml