Dell Dimension 3000 Hard Drive replacement

I am not sure what you are asking. Your PC takes PATA/IDE hard drives which are slightly more expensive than the SATA drives now being used on all brand new PCs.

I've done some research and think that something like the following might be compatible? http://www.pcupgrade.co.uk/productdetails.asp?productid=5007&categoryid=123

That will work.

If you want a faster alternative, there's SATA, but you'd need to add a SATA card.

Thanks for your help - Its a shame that I have to spend a bit more for an older, outdated drive.

Do you know if this is a good price (UK) for this kind of drive? They seem to be few and far between..

Lastly, can you point me in the direction of some good drive installation instructions for the Dell and the Windows installation procedure?

Fructis

The IDE hard drive price is fair, remember that all hard drives prices have increased after the floods in Thailand.

The procedures for replacing the Dimension 3000 hard drive, are HERE

Remember to set the HD's jumpers to the 'Cable Select' [CS] setting.

HOW to carry a manual reinstall of windows and load the drivers.

Bev.

Thanks - Those guides are very useful.

In order to double check prices and choices of drives before purchasing, what exactly should I be googling for?

I tried searching for variations of the following (IDE, Ultra ATA, 500GB) and was expecting a bit more choice, even from an outdated technology, but didn't find much.

Can anyone suggest where I might have missed good compatible drives (UK)?

Fructis

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&source=hp&q=Buy+IDE+hard+drives%2C+UK&pbx=1&oq=Buy+IDE+hard+drives%2C+UK&aq=f&aqi=g-v1&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=0l0l2l1359l0l0l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=f218a136fb10bc24&biw=1120&bih=557

The choice for IDE/EIDE drives, is unfortunately limited, due to them being discontinued.

Bev.

An alternative to PATA is adding a SATA card like this.

If you do use a SATA card, you regain the front hard drive activity LED with something like this.

Bev,

Thanks for the suggestion.

Should I be searching for 'PATA drives' or is this just another name for IDE drives?

Parallel ATA (PATA) = IDE drive (??)

#confusionensues

An alternative to PATA is adding a SATA card like this. If you do use a SATA card, you regain the front hard drive activity LED with something like this.

rdunnill,

Thanks for the suggestion - If it's as straightforward as adding the card so I have the option of upgrading to SATA drives instead, then that's an excellent option.

A few Q's:

-Do you know if this type of SATA card would put any excess loads on the PC (power unit etc)?

-Do the SATA drive leads plug straight onto the card inside the tower?

-Does the PCI card you suggested (ebay) fit the smaller mobo slots of the Dell Dimension 3000 (Mine is a shorter business tower that they produced and limits the card lengths - PCI-e I think)

Thanks again.

Fructis

"Parallel ATA (PATA) = IDE drive (??)"

Yep, the above is correct.

PATA, IDE, EIDE are all basically the same

THIS is an interesting read about SATA v PATA.

Bev.

Sorry, just to reiterate my questions from before:

-Do you know if the recommended SATA card (see above) would put any excess loads on the PC (power unit etc)?

-Do the SATA drive leads plug straight onto the card inside the tower?

-Does the PCI card suggested (ebay) fit the smaller mobo slots of the Dell Dimension 3000 (Mine is a shorter business tower that they produced and limits the card lengths - PCI-e I think)

Bump

Thanks for the suggestion.

Why wouldn't you recommend the SATA card and drive?

I guess I figured a cheap SATA card, more plentiful (and cheaper) SATA drives that are potentially more robust, would be a much better idea...

If SATA does prove a viable option, are you able to help on any of the following questions?:

-Do you know if the recommended SATA card (see above) would put any excess loads on the PC (power unit etc)?

-Do the SATA drive leads plug straight onto the card inside the tower?

-Does the PCI card suggested (ebay) fit the smaller mobo slots of the Dell Dimension 3000 (Mine is a shorter business tower that they produced and limits the card lengths - PCI-e I think)

Hi Fructis,

A used IDE drive is so cheap and so much simpler, I personally would not recommend an SATA card and drive. You can find an IDE drive for $20-25, and the OS installation will be completely straightforward.

According to the on-line documentation, The Dimension 3000 has only standard PCI slots, no PCI-e.  Are you certain that you have a Dimension 3000?  Dell's literature does indicate that the Dimension 3100c is a business version of the Dimension 3100, and that computer has two standard PCI slots and one PCI-e x1 slot.  But it also has a SATA interface for the hard drive, not PATA.  There is a PATA port on the Dimension 3100c mainboard, but it was used for the DVD/CD drive(s) and not for a hard drive.

Assuming that you do have a Dimension 3000, the answers to your questions:

1.  The SATA adapter card would not put significant additional load on the power supply, only something around 10 watts or so.  The power supply would hardly know you have plugged it in.

2.  Yes, the SATA data cables would plug directly into the card inside the tower.

3.  Given that the Dimension 3000 has standard PCI slots and is a full size tower, yes, just about any PCI SATA adapter card would work.

If you actually have a Dimension 3100c, the answer to question 3 is that you need a low-profile PCI card, one that uses a shorter than normal mounting bracket in order to fit the smaller back-plate found on the Dimension 3100c.  The answers to 1 and 2 are the same.

What are you actually trying to do?  If you are replacing the original hard drive, and you have a Dimension 3100c, you already have one SATA port for that purpose.