Transferring data

External USB caddy or get an internal SATA - PATA (IDE) converter.

Internal convertor sounds the way to go.

External caddy is cheap and works well - and means you can use it as a backup device afterwards.

cheers, clive

Aye. I suppose that would be one way of doing things. I seem to have old IDE disks coming out of my ears.

And unless you want the extra capacity of another hard drive in your new m/c, it's probably the easiest way to transfer the data. External USB 3 1/2" HD caddies can be bought for less than £10.

I seem to have old IDE

You and me both. I must have near a dozen IDE drives. Ranging from 540Mb up to about 80Gb. Mike.

Where? They seem to be around £15 a pop on aria, if you want something like an Akasa (ie, heard of before).

I've not had problems with my no-brand 3.5" caddies.

cheers, clive

Why would you needed a branded one? All it has to do is let you copy stuff off. Just go on Ebay and buy the cheapest one. I've had my no-name one for about 4 years now. It works fine still.

If you've still got your old PC you could network them together.

Actually are you sure it's SATA only? A lot of new Mobos seem to have a single IDE plug on them, presumably for this kind of eventuality.

I'm typing this before reading all the other replies (catching up after having only recently got back from seeing Bill Bailey at the Eden Project last night), but a USB2 drive caddy wouldn't be a bad way to go. An even better way to go would be a combined USB2/eSATA caddy, along with an eSATA card. Even more of a bonus if the new PC's already got an eSATA port.

Even better still would be a caddy that combines eSATA, USB2 and Firewire800 (or 400, for that matter).