Adding an Existing IDE HD to a New Computer System

I have a Dell desktop thats about 7 yrs old so I am thinking about getting a new desktop. I currently have 3 HD's installed, all IDE. I have noticed that the computers today all have SATA drives. Will I be able to install my second IDE hard drive into the new computer? Things have progressed so much since I purchased a desktop, I dont know what I can and cant do anymore.

Thanks in advance!

 

Most new motherboards have only ONE IDE port & 2-6 SATA ports. Its becoming very difficult to find a board with 2 IDE ports. The other ports which have been dropped are serial & parallel ports.

 

If your new m/board only has one IDE port you could always buy an external casing for that 3rd IDE drive and use USB. That's if you want to use all three drives on the new system but then another thing you'd have to consider is internal 3.5" bays and of course the power supply.

My suggestion would be to buy an external case which is capable of easily swapping drives, make sure you have large enough SATA drive(s) in the new system and use the external case to backup your existing PATA drives.

 

Good suggestion wildfire.

Way to go.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. One more thing. Would I be able to boot from the external drive? The drive I want to keep has my present OS and all programs, files, etc.

 

It's unlikely your existing OS would be happy with all the new hardware a new computer would introduce.

A reinstall of the OS and programs is certainly recommended for a stable system.

Once you've done a reinstall copying data should be no problem.