Upgrading old computer with SATA controller card advice?

Resolved question

by j_in_east_tx - 1/4/12 7:51 PM

Hey all, I'm trying to bring some life to an old computer - Dell Dimension 8200, by installing a SATA HD controller card.

I also have a small footprint Dell that I have been using that does have a SATA drive, however the spring-loaded 'circuit breaker' that breaks an electrical connection when the interior overheats has broken in that machine. I'm still using it, thanks to the use of a jumper wire, but am not happy with that solution - thus prompting me to upgrade the older machine.

I've already tried a SATA controller card that I now see was designed as a RAID controller. I'm not using a RAID system, but I naively put that card into the Dimension, hooked up the SATA drive from the other computer, and booted up.

Shortly into the Windows XP splash screen, I got a Blue Screen telling me that the system was stopping in order to prevent something dangerous from happening to the system. Hmmm...

Question - will a SATA controller card designed for a RAID system not work with a single hard drive?

What I'd like to happen is that I put in a controller card and my existing hard drive into the Dimension, the XP OS on the HD automatically recognize the controller and then boot up.

Is this a reasonable thing to expect?

If so, can anyone recommend a SATA controller card that will do this in a plug-and-play fashion?

I'd think there would be a chicken-and-egg issue with respect to installing drivers on a hard drive for recognizing a new HD controller card.

Thanks for any help,
John