Moving files: IDE hd on old pc to SATA hd on new pc

[jh88fan]

Just finished my first build and it is up and running. Now I want to copy some files from the IDE hard drive on my old HP to the SATA drive on my new system. The opticals in my new pc are on the primary IDE. After reading a few related threads here, slaving the drive seems the best option for me.

Can I hook up the old hd to the secondary IDE? If so, does it matter if it's on the master or slave? Also, the OS went bad on the old hd and I suspect there may be some viruses, spyware, etc. on it. Could this pose a problem?

Thanks for any advice,

JH

[doctorgonzo]

Yes, you can hook up the drive to the secondary IDE channel. If it is the only device on the channel, it should be jumpered as either Master or Cable Select, depending on what cable you are using. If there are viruses on the drive, then you certainly could transfer them over to the new drive with everything else. Scan the drive with an AV program before you start moving things.