First, you can't install a SATA drive in any notebook that shipped with an EIDE drive. On most Dell systems that shipped with EIDE drives below 120G, there is a BIOS barrier to installing drives over 120G - this is a limit that can cause severe problems if you try to install a disc with a Windows partition that crosses the 120G barrier.
On some Dell systems, the presence of a hidden Media Direct partition hinders cloning - you CAN clone, but you cannot clone the drive in its entirety.
See the link below for details.