HDD help: SATA HDD to IDE motherboard

BruceD11 · 04-12-2008, 10:56 AM

Hello all-
I'm the new boy so go ahead and beat me up if I say something retarded.
I want to replace my HDD with a newer faster one. The current HDD is an 80 GB IDE. Plenty of room left, but it's about 5 years old so I thought I might as well replace it with a bigger one. I plan to clone the present HDD as my WinXP came pre-loaded & I do not have discs for it.
This is on a HP Pavilion 734N which has a AM37 motherboard of uATX formfactor. I don't play games or do other processor-intensive things, so I have no performance problems with this old beast.
It also has only IDE inputs on the motherboard, being an older pre-SATA model.
I have seen at least one adapter that plugs into the rear of a SATA drive and yields IDE-type power and data connectors so I can use the present cable. I do NOT know what other options there may be, or what the performance consequences of using such an adapter may be.
I am looking at something like the WD 3200KS Caviar 320GB SATA drive because it seems to be highly regarded and is cheap ($75 at J and R).
So here are the questions:
1. Am I right in thinking that I should go with a SATA HDD rather than look for an IDE drive to replace the present one?
2. If SATA is the way to go, what is the best way to connect it to my motherboard?
3. Any strong opinions out there about my proposed replacement -- the WD 3200KS Caviar 320GB?
Thanks in advance for your help!

**Deleted090308** · 04-12-2008, 12:05 PM

Welcome to TSF.

Those adapters are very unreliable IMHO.

I would get a fast IDE drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148316

...or a controller card + a SATA drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16816102061

Another thing is - your motherboard/BIOS may not support drives larger than 127GB.

BruceD11 · 04-12-2008, 12:14 PM

Hi, Eneles -- thanks for those thoughts.
Followup:
--Your first link seened to take me to a SATA drive, not a fast IDE drive. Did you have a particular fast IDE drive in mind?
--Can you guide me on how to find out what my BIOS's max drive size support is?
Thanks

**Deleted090308** · 04-12-2008, 12:38 PM

That's right - how did that happen?

Another link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136109

The latest BIOS for your computer is from 2003 - but it doesn't say if it supports 48-bit LBA (HDDs larger than 128GB).
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/s...os=228&lang=en

A way around that (possible) limitation would be to get one, or more, 120GB HDDs (that would be faster too).

A controller card will bypass a LBA limit in BIOS as well.

04-12-2008, 10:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
BruceD11 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 2 OS: XP SP2	HDD help: SATA HDD to IDE motherboard Hello all- I'm the new boy so go ahead and beat me up if I say something retarded. I want to replace my HDD with a newer faster one. The current HDD is an 80 GB IDE. Plenty of room left, but it's about 5 years old so I thought I might as well replace it with a bigger one. I plan to clone the present HDD as my WinXP came pre-loaded & I do not have discs for it. This is on a HP Pavilion 734N which has a AM37 motherboard of uATX formfactor. I don't play games or do other processor-intensive things, so I have no performance problems with this old beast. It also has only IDE inputs on the motherboard, being an older pre-SATA model. I have seen at least one adapter that plugs into the rear of a SATA drive and yields IDE-type power and data connectors so I can use the present cable. I do NOT know what other options there may be, or what the performance consequences of using such an adapter may be. I am looking at something like the WD 3200KS Caviar 320GB SATA drive because it seems to be highly regarded and is cheap ($75 at J and R). So here are the questions: 1. Am I right in thinking that I should go with a SATA HDD rather than look for an IDE drive to replace the present one? 2. If SATA is the way to go, what is the best way to connect it to my motherboard? 3. Any strong opinions out there about my proposed replacement -- the WD 3200KS Caviar 320GB? Thanks in advance for your help!

04-12-2008, 12:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: HDD help: SATA HDD to IDE motherboard Welcome to TSF. Those adapters are very unreliable IMHO. I would get a fast IDE drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148316 ...or a controller card + a SATA drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16816102061 Another thing is - your motherboard/BIOS may not support drives larger than 127GB.

04-12-2008, 12:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
BruceD11 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 2 OS: XP SP2	Re: HDD help: SATA HDD to IDE motherboard Hi, Eneles -- thanks for those thoughts. Followup: --Your first link seened to take me to a SATA drive, not a fast IDE drive. Did you have a particular fast IDE drive in mind? --Can you guide me on how to find out what my BIOS's max drive size support is? Thanks

04-12-2008, 12:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
Deleted090308 Not... Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 22,277 OS: Xp	Re: HDD help: SATA HDD to IDE motherboard That's right - how did that happen? Another link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136109 The latest BIOS for your computer is from 2003 - but it doesn't say if it supports 48-bit LBA (HDDs larger than 128GB). http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/s...os=228&lang=en A way around that (possible) limitation would be to get one, or more, 120GB HDDs (that would be faster too). A controller card will bypass a LBA limit in BIOS as well.