Well, I know without question that I can win the race to the big W, and likewise have perfectly up to date never-fail AV (hey, to any hackers reading, my words are simply joking) -- so Traildriver your suggestion seems right on. As I recall, my WinXP with SP-2 and m/b will allow a 500-750GB IDE hdd. I'm into more than just surf'n so the extra storage will be handy.
Thanks to all for help. And sminlal I now see how your SATA/PCI adapter installs and works with your drive. I'm just concerned the new SATA drive might not be recognized or another problem encountered. At my age I'm not looking for a challenge or a $ sinkhole.
Thanks again to all.
Mac