IDE to SATA file transfer

  • Thread starter Thread starter james_hh
  • Start date Start date
J

james_hh

I have (had) a Dell Dimension 4100 PC. In the process of installing
new memory, I managed to fry the memory sockets. I've ordered a new
Dell PC that has a SATA drive. I would like to use some of the files
from the old computer's hard drive, which is IDE. Any suggestions on
how to get that data off the IDE drive and onto the new PC?

Thanks!
 
I have (had) a Dell Dimension 4100 PC. In the process of installing
new memory, I managed to fry the memory sockets. I've ordered a new
Dell PC that has a SATA drive. I would like to use some of the files
from the old computer's hard drive, which is IDE. Any suggestions on
how to get that data off the IDE drive and onto the new PC?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Just plug it into the new PC and start it; it should be seen by the system
and be usable. If not, you might need to enable it in your CMOS settings in
order to see the drive. SATA and IDE drives co-exist fine and don't step on
each other.
Check your CMOS settings to see which IDE bus to connect it to and
whether to set it to Master or Slave with the jumpers. Just don't use the
same as one already used; e.g. optical drive, etc..

Pop`
 
I have (had) a Dell Dimension 4100 PC. In the process of installing
new memory, I managed to fry the memory sockets. I've ordered a new
Dell PC that has a SATA drive. I would like to use some of the files
from the old computer's hard drive, which is IDE. Any suggestions on
how to get that data off the IDE drive and onto the new PC?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


James:
In addition to the suggestions you've already received about installing your
PATA HDD as a secondary HDD in your new system and copying over whatever
files you need to the SATA HDD...

Depending upon the volume of files you wish to transfer, would it be
practical to simply copy them to a CD or DVD, or to a flash stick, or to a
USB external HDD, and then copy that data to your new HDD?
Anna
 
SteveL said:
when you get your new unit, setup windows then shut it down, take the HD from
old unit with the IDE cable plug it in to the new unit, and boot it up, use
explorer to copy files from old to new.
Click to expand...

Depending on which new Dell. My new Dimension E520 has *no* IDE
connections at all, there are four SATA connectors to handle hard
drives and optical drives. The Optiplex GX620 at work has one IDE
connector, which the manual says is a "CD/DVD drive connector".

If you can't boot the old machine - and that sounds like the case -
you may be able to find an external unit that you could put your old
drive into, then connect the unit to your new machine via USB. Or you
could get somebody else to read the disk for you.
 
Thanks for your suggestion. The problem is that the PC in which the
IDE Drive is located doesn't work, so I can't copy them on to anything.
Unless there is a way to do that that I don't know about.

Jim
 
What I commonly use is the BYTECC BT-300. Newegg has them. You only need
your new computer, remove the old ide drive connect it to the BT-300 and any
availiable USB port and it becomes an external drive that you can copy from.
 
Mike said:
What I commonly use is the BYTECC BT-300. Newegg has them. You only need
your new computer, remove the old ide drive connect it to the BT-300 and any
availiable USB port and it becomes an external drive that you can copy from.
Click to expand...

Yup...that's the smart way today.
 
Mike G said:
What I commonly use is the BYTECC BT-300. Newegg has them. You only need
your new computer, remove the old ide drive connect it to the BT-300 and
any availiable USB port and it becomes an external drive that you can copy
from.
Click to expand...


Jim:
Our experience with a number of these SATA-USB adapters has been quite
negative all-in-all. Unlike Mike G.'s apparent positive experience with this
particular device we have found them defective from the beginning and when
they do work they do so fitfully. Admittedly I can't recall working with
that BYTECC device that Mike mentions, so perhaps it's an exception to our
experience. In any event, if you do purchase one we would recommend that you
ensure you have return privileges from the vendor.
Anna
 
I use one, not the brand mentioned. It's tolerable but the transfer
rates are very poor. I wish vendors would quit quoting the max
transfer rate of 480 Mega-'bits' per second. On most USB to IDE
converters or even external drives you'll be hard pressed to get a
consistent data transfer above 25 Meg.
I use mine only rarely when other access/recovery methods aren't
available, but it does mostly work.
 
Mike:
Very true Mike. But when Jim was able to post his messages to this newsgroup
I assumed he was able to access another PC (while he was awaiting delivery
of his new computer) and would be able to access his old HDD by temporarily
installing that HDD as a secondary drive in that PC and thus would be able
to access his data through that means. Alas, Jim informed us the HDD is
still ensconced in his dysfunctional computer. What a pity.
Anna
 
:
: >>> : >>> >I have (had) a Dell Dimension 4100 PC. In the process of installing
: >>> > new memory, I managed to fry the memory sockets. I've ordered a new
: >>> > Dell PC that has a SATA drive. I would like to use some of the
files
: >>> > from the old computer's hard drive, which is IDE. Any suggestions
on
: >>> > how to get that data off the IDE drive and onto the new PC?
: >>> >
: >>> > Thanks!
:
:
: >> Anna wrote:
: >>> James:
: >>> In addition to the suggestions you've already received about
installing
: >>> your PATA HDD as a secondary HDD in your new system and copying over: >>> whatever files you need to the SATA HDD...
: >>>
: >>> Depending upon the volume of files you wish to transfer, would it be
: >>> practical to simply copy them to a CD or DVD, or to a flash stick, or
to
: >>> a USB external HDD, and then copy that data to your new HDD?
: >>> Anna
:
:
: > : >> Thanks for your suggestion. The problem is that the PC in which the
: >> IDE Drive is located doesn't work, so I can't copy them on to anything.
: >> Unless there is a way to do that that I don't know about.
: >>
: >> Jim
:
:
: : > What I commonly use is the BYTECC BT-300. Newegg has them. You only
need
: > your new computer, remove the old ide drive connect it to the BT-300 and
: > any availiable USB port and it becomes an external drive that you can
copy
: > from.
:
:
: Jim:
: Our experience with a number of these SATA-USB adapters has been quite
: negative all-in-all. Unlike Mike G.'s apparent positive experience with
this
: particular device we have found them defective from the beginning and when
: they do work they do so fitfully. Admittedly I can't recall working with
: that BYTECC device that Mike mentions, so perhaps it's an exception to our
: experience. In any event, if you do purchase one we would recommend that
you
: ensure you have return privileges from the vendor.
: Anna
:
:
Did you mean to say PATA-USB adapters?
 
: >>> said:
: >>> : >>> >I have (had) a Dell Dimension 4100 PC. In the process of
installing
: >>> > new memory, I managed to fry the memory sockets. I've ordered a
new
: >>> > Dell PC that has a SATA drive. I would like to use some of the
files
: >>> > from the old computer's hard drive, which is IDE. Any suggestions
on
: >>> > how to get that data off the IDE drive and onto the new PC?
: >>> >
: >>> > Thanks!
:
:
: >> Anna wrote:
: >>> James:
: >>> In addition to the suggestions you've already received about
installing
: >>> your PATA HDD as a secondary HDD in your new system and copying over
: >>> whatever files you need to the SATA HDD...
: >>>
: >>> Depending upon the volume of files you wish to transfer, would it be
: >>> practical to simply copy them to a CD or DVD, or to a flash stick,
or
to
: >>> a USB external HDD, and then copy that data to your new HDD?
: >>> Anna
:
:
: > : >> Thanks for your suggestion. The problem is that the PC in which the
: >> IDE Drive is located doesn't work, so I can't copy them on to
anything.
: >> Unless there is a way to do that that I don't know about.
: >>
: >> Jim
:
:
: : > What I commonly use is the BYTECC BT-300. Newegg has them. You only
need
: > your new computer, remove the old ide drive connect it to the BT-300
and
: > any availiable USB port and it becomes an external drive that you can
copy
: > from.

: Jim:
: Our experience with a number of these SATA-USB adapters has been quite
: negative all-in-all. Unlike Mike G.'s apparent positive experience with
: this particular device we have found them defective from the beginning
and when
: they do work they do so fitfully. Admittedly I can't recall working with
: that BYTECC device that Mike mentions, so perhaps it's an exception to
our
: experience. In any event, if you do purchase one we would recommend that
you
: ensure you have return privileges from the vendor.
: Anna
Click to expand...


Ron Sommer said:
Did you mean to say PATA-USB adapters?
Click to expand...


Yes & no. What I *really* meant to refer to was to both the PATA to USB
mini-adapters *and* the SATA to USB mini-adapters. As an example, we
recently had occasion to work with a (no-name generic) model that was
designed to accommodate either a PATA or SATA HDD and convert the drive to a
USB interface. We had three units. One of them worked fine with a PATA HDD
but not a SATA one. Another was just the opposite. Worked fine with a SATA
HDD but not a PATA HDD. And the third worked erratically with a PATA HDD but
had no problems with a SATA HDD.

As I've indicated, we've not been exactly overwhelmed with enthusiasm for
these types of devices. Our general experience with them has been quite
negative in the sense that we've found they are not consistent performers. I
fully realize that some users like Mike G. have found them to work just
fine.

On the other hand our experience with units having PATA/SATA > USB
capability such as the ones produced by (for example) Kingwin, Vantec,
Coolmax has been positive. It's true they're more expensive than the
mini-adapters and considerably more bulkier because of their enclosures, but
they work as advertised in our experience.
Anna
 
I want to thank all of you for your great ideas. My new PC arrives
today, so over the weekend I am going to try using a Universal HD/Drive
to USB2 adapter to see iuf I can move some of the old files to the new
drive.

I'll post the results!

Jim
 
Per (e-mail address removed):
I've ordered a new
Dell PC that has a SATA drive. I would like to use some of the files
from the old computer's hard drive, which is IDE.
Click to expand...

If the new PC doesn't have an IDE connection on the MB, you could buy a USB2
wrapper for $30-$40, put the IDE drive in it, connect to the new PC via USB, and
the just do a file copy from the wrappered drive to the new PC's drive.

An additional benefit would be that now you've got a backup drive. Get
something like "Second Copy" and it will automagically keep copies of all your
data files on the other drive.
 
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