This Local Disk Q looks like a virtual disk. Did you by chance install Office 2010 recently (but there are other programs that could have created it). If you reboot, it might go away.
But since Q does not show up in Disk Management, it does not exist as far as the OS is concerned.
Office 2010 IS installed on this computer, and I'm pretty certain it was a factory install from dell.
I might be wrong, but I think that the drive you see might not be your old hard drive. Did your computer come with Office 2010 installed? When Office 2010 is installed with default settings it creats a virtual hard disk labeled Q. It does not always appear immediately but if it doesn't it does very soon. Here is a link to a thread where Derekimo explains it all: Office 2010 Drive Q
EDIT: I see whs beat me to the punch. Great minds must think alike.
Bob,
I asume this computer has NO IDE connections on the MB, since you had to buy the adapter.
How many SATA connectors are on the MB ?
I believe there are 2 used from the factory and 3 unused, and I'm now using one of those 3 for the old hd.
I looked on newegg and found an extenal IDE hard drive enclosure. I looked at the prices and the reviews and this one seems to be the best for the money. If you can't get the computer to recognize it a different way, this might solve the problem.
Newegg.com - VANTEC Nexstar 3 NST-360U2-BL Aluminum 3.5" USB 2.0 External Enclosure
The only drawback is that this enclosure has no built in cooling mechanism. I recomend not leaving it plugged in all the time, as hard drive produce quite a bit of heat. An hour is okay, but being left on for several days at a time might be pushing it.
I thought about that, but the heat issue concerns me, plus my wife uses the computer quite a bit for her photography. Thats what made me decide to keep it an internal drive.
the small power adapter powers the adapter board & the other powers the old IDE drive. and one end plugs into a free cable from your power supply.
That plug adapter that comes with the card is useless for me. The power connections in the dell are different. They are the same width, but much thinner.
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