You mean driver support? I don't think that's ever been a problem - you should be more worried about whether the mobo even has one (IDE port that is).
Also, nothing wrong with using an older HD to try out Linux, but are you sure it's a good idea to use them as backup storage? I don't know exactly how old the drives are you're talking about, but usually 5+ years old drives should be used with some caution, especially if you're putting stuff in it that you don't want to lose.