I apologize for not responding sooner with the results of trying some of the different fixes mentioned above.
In order of fix attempts:
Knoppix ? tried downloading a couple of different versions from a couple of different university websites. None worked. Could very well have been operator error.
USB Driver set for DOS ? the config files on the old desktop were too fouled up and the sys files with this software did not work.
PKZIP / split.exe - same problem as above, too many of the old files were corrupted.
USB/IDE Cable Adapter from Geeks.com ? worked perfectly. I was able to transfer all the files from the old HDD to the new one without any problems. Setup was easy, as soon as I connected the USB cable to the new laptop it immediately recognized the old drive as E:.
Many Thanks! to all those who made recommendations and provided suggestions. I greatly appreciated it.
Cheers!
Mike