Dell question

[jeffreywalters]

Hello,

I have a Dell Dimension 8200 from back in 2002 that I want to add a new Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB Internal Hard Drive to.

What I need to know is whether or not the Hard Drive and the Dell Computer are compatible with each other.

My present hard drive has an ATA-100 (ULTRA) EIDE/PATA Interface and I believe the new Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB Internal Hard Drive has a Serial ATA-300 or SATA Interface and I don't know if my Dell Motherboard is compatible with the SATA Interface.

I hope I have provided enough information to understand my situation.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jeff Walters

 

[C12Friedman]

Welcome to Tom's Hardware Forums,
Your motherboard will not support a SATA hard drive but... there are still IDE hard drives available (not 500GB though) like these here http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007603%2050001306%20600003442%20600003340&IsNodeId=1&name=Western%20Digital
Hope it helps
Note: NewEgg link used because of descriptive value, not an endorsement (although I do shop there)

 

[jeffreywalters]

Thank you C12Friedman,

I will move forward based upon the information you kindly provided.

Jeff Walters

 

[C12Friedman]

Looking at the prices there and what you are getting, you might be better off going with this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200196 and a SATA hard drive although I really don't know how well it'll (or if it even does) work
Another possible option

 

[jeffreywalters]

OK, I am back and here is what I have done and what the results are:

I purchased and installed one of these:

Refurbished: Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JB 250GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 / ATA-6 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive


My pre-existing configuration was as follows:

C Drive - Western Digital WD1200JB-75CRA0 - 120GB 7.2K RPM IDE 3.5" Hard Disk Drive


I also had a Western Digital 1TB MyBook External Hard Drive connected via a USB Port (I believe this was listed as "Drive F" under "My Computer"


Here is what I did:

Installed the 250GB Hard Drive and hooked up the IDE ribbon cable from the original 120GB Hard Drive into the 250GB Hard Drive unit.

Hooked up the IDE ribbon cable "Slave Connector" to the original 120GB Hard Drive unit.

Both the 250GB and the 120 GB Pin Jumpers are in the "CS" position. (I am assuming CS means "Cable Select" so the old 120GB unit "should be recognized" as the Slave to the 250GB unit (the Master)

I then booted the computer up and installed a fresh Windows XP Professional on what I assumed was the 250GB Master Hard Drive. The Windows XP Professional install was successful and I now can access the internet.

The "PROBLEM" I have is now when I go into "My Computer" under "Hard Disk Drives" it shows my "C Drive" is the Western Digital 1TB "My Book" External Hard Drive.

My original 120GB Hard Drive is listed as "Local Disk D" and my new 250GB Hard Drive is listed as "Local Disk F"



Any "suggestions" as to what I should do now?


Thank you very much.

Jeff Walters

 

[C12Friedman]

I'm going to suggest reinstalling windows with the external drive disconnected from the PC and if possible make sure the 500GB is in position 0 on the cable (unless it's reserved for the optical drive). I think you'll be okay with 'cable select' setting.
My concern would be data on the external when the OS was installed.

 

[jeffreywalters]

OK, I will try that.

I am not certain what "Position 0" on the cable is, so I will Google it and find out.

Thank you very much.

 

[C12Friedman]

It should be printed on the cable itself - usually the furthest connection

 

[jeffreywalters]

Very good then...

I will have a look.

 

[dragonlord12832]

Also, make sure you have the new hard drive set up as the master.