[size=5]i need more hard drive for pics and music can i get a portable H D to work as my built in H D. or would i do a better job installing a new and larger H D . what software do i need to either transfer data or make my old H D a slave. what would you do. keep in mind my wife uses the pc and she is more challenged than i am with programs. Dell dimension 4400 750 RAM ; 19 Gig HD thanks buud

Why would you want the external hard drive to work as your built in HD? Couldn't you take all your music and pictures and run them off the external? Thats what i do and i just have it plugged in almost all the time so i can access my music, pictures and videos and all my programs and xp is installed on my internal HD.

You should be able to install a second hdd inside the case. There is a jumper on the rear of the hdd that you use to change the hdd from master or cable select to slave, there will be a diagram on the hdd showing that configuration. The cable that your existing hdd is connected to should have another conncetor between it and the motherboard connector, this is where you want to connect the slave drive.

I'd agree with dc3 - install a 2nd hard drive as a slave. Then point your My Documents folder to it - the change should be transparent to your wife.