Hey ... me too !  Exact same situation.  See my post.

 

Anyway, what you got is a SATA (Serial ATA) drive.  data cable and power connections are totally different from your older IDE drive.

 

There's some options, but I haven't figured it all out yet.  If you have a open PCI slot, you can get a IDE controller card and a ribbon cable, and use that for your IDE drive.

 

Power, I don't know yet.

If you just need to temporarily install an IDE drive to copy data, disconnect the CD/DVD drive(s), jumper the old hard drive for cable select, and connect it.

Actually, I would like to keep the old drive to use as a backup. Do they make an SATA to IDE convertor? Are you sure on the power cable --- I didn't try it, but it appears to be the same as older pc's.

I’m having the same problem.  My options appear to be to use the converter referenced above – good deal at $20, but I have 2 HDDs that I want to hook into my e510.  I’m using this mainly for video, so I need fast transfer.  I found that NetGear makes a box for ~$150

http://www.netgear.com/products/details/SC101.php

where you can hook your existing drives in.  I’m leaning towards that.  It uses your Ethernet port to do the data transfer.

So which is faster?  I saw on the converter URL a comparison lf ATA 133 to SATA t0 USB 1&2 and IEEE and got some surprises.  First I didn’t know there was an SATA2.  Which does the e510 use? 1 or 2?  Also, Ethernet transfer wasn’t listed.  Is that faster than Firewire?  Will it be fast enough for video transfer?  I have lots of questions in this area.

Has anyone used an external enclosure for IDE drives that can hook into a SATA plug on the Dell Mobo?

Thanks

You could get a EIDE Hard Drive contoller card that goes into a PCI slot. It will handle two drives that attatch via a ribbon cable. If you have only one DVD drive, there's probably enough space to mount your two HDs. If there's not enough power plugs, a simple Y adapter would work. Controller card about $30, Y about $2, and you might need a HDD mounting kit (brackets). Don't know about transfer speeds, but it seems like an internal configuration would be faster than anything else, as that's how HDDs are normally installed.

I agree that internal is better if you don't have any external needs.  However, I would like to have the ability to transfer files from home to work and visa versa, so a portable HDD has its appeal.  But my main objective is video at home, which requires HDD speed.

I have found that Addonics has a pretty good option here http://www.shopaddonics.com/Itemdesc.asp?CartId={F2282AFB-1C6B-40B4-9CBD-B94EVEREST7A815961A}&ic=AE5SACSUF

for a portable HDD at $75 that includes the IDE to SATA conversion.