what type of drive do i need IDE or SATA?

[rhcp]

hey im looking for a good 100 - 200 gigabyte hard disk on ebay because this is a 2004 mdg (dont ask, just dont, not my decision) computer with a stock western digital "caviar" 80 gigabyte drive. my mom has virtually the same computer but from a year before and her hard drive faded so it had to get replaced. mine is starting to fade too but isnt quite there yet. i don't want to lose valuable data so i'd opting for a seagate, only i dont know anything really about hard disks. the one they took outa her computer was IDE and its sitting right beside me, but how do i find out what kind I have in here and what kind I need to buy? also, do you think i should replace it myself and what if my mobo can only support 1 hd at a time how will i replace it (i want to just copy the entire contents of it onto a new hard drive). do i need to do BIOS work before? please explain the process. thanks.

[Gee]

If you purchased your computer in 2004, chances are it will support SATA

Your computer can support up to 6 hard drives. Either IDE or SATA.

Foget eBay, just get one from the Buy and Sell. You should be able to replace it easily yourself.

[Amourek]

Do not assume that it supports SATA just because it was purchased in 2004. Find out the make/model of your motherboard and Google for specifications.

[BeaverLiquor]

if your mobo has these then you can get sata drives

[willy]

mine is starting to fade too but isnt quite there yet. i don't want to lose valuable data so i'd opting for a seagate,

Backup your valueable data now You should always backup your stuff regardless.