Brain Picking time!!!

[The hooded Claw]

I had some really good news today ...................my son visited & brought me my Christmas present..........A Brand spanking new Desktop PC!!!!!

Needless to say I was utterly speechless.............Made more so when he then produced a New laptop for the missus as well !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But with it comes a question for you PC literate guys..................Whats the best way to transfer all of my Files (Cumulus included OF COURSE) over to my New PC

Pen Drive?? CD?? Obviously I don't want to copy ALL my C drive over just the bits I use/need ect


Your Advise would be most welcome, ( I'll probs do it over to nite (in the Early Hours) Mrs will be asleep then & not come in giving me Grief about sitting for Hours at the PC )

Thanks Guys


Keith

[TNETWeather]

Really depends on what you are going to copy, what versions of OS you are coming from -> to etc...

For the most part, you are most likely better off reloading as scratch programs that you want to use rather than attempting to copy them.

For cumulus, you can do a new install and then copy just the data directory to get what you want.

Ref:
http://wiki.sandaysoft.com/index.php?title=FAQ

[daj]

As Kevin says, it depends on a few things. However, In windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 there is a file transfer Wizard which will help you along the way but to be honest it is a bit of a faff and doesn't do the best job. Even if you do use it you still need to re-install all your applications on your new computer.

If you store most things in MyDocuments and sub folders then i would simply use a USB Memory stick/CD/DVD to copy the stuff assuming you have sufficient space on the Stick/CD/DVD

There are lots of commercial tools to help you too.

[The hooded Claw]

my neighbour suggested I remove the HDD from the old PC & buy a BOX?? & then use the HDD as a "Store" connect it my new pc Via a usb connection Cherry pick what I need off it then reformat it clean & use as a "protable storage" device or just more memory for the new one


Is this a GOOD IDEA???

Thought.................if I leave the old HDD connected perminatly I COULD just "Use" the programmes I need from it as & when necessary after removing the XP operating system from it of course...............Errrr Couldn't I ?????

[Repairman77]

my neighbour suggested I remove the HDD from the old PC & buy a BOX?? & then use the HDD as a "Store" connect it my new pc Via a usb connection Cherry pick what I need off it then reformat it clean & use as a "protable storage" device or just more memory for the new one


Is this a GOOD IDEA???

Thought.................if I leave the old HDD connected perminatly I COULD just "Use" the programmes I need from it as & when necessary after removing the XP operating system from it of course...............Errrr Couldn't I ?????

You could but it wouldn't be the best situation.

Your old machine will have a lot of old programs and rubbish that you never use so you need to start afresh with the new PC. Just load the programs you really need, and transfer the data (like Cumulus) over with a memory stick.

Make sure you have good security on it as well.
The best free ones are Avast for antivirus and OnlineArmour (or the best, Comodo Firewall if you are computer savvy) for a firewall.

Mike.

[beteljuice]

Yup you coud get a 'box' (That's what I did) - I assume the old PC has 3.5" ATA HDD ? So make sure you get the right box with it's own power supply.

Or if it is small and past it's sell by date you can get just the electronics which plug-up to the bare HDD (I got one of those as well for under 5 GBP all-in) http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-TO-IDE-SATA-S-S ... 3ca5b15fd3

BUT, most of your existing programs will rely on entries in the old Registry and may have serial keys which are also dependent upon the kit you have / had !

Some will work, some will seem to work - most the big boys stuff WON'T. This is why various posters have asked if you still have the INSTALL programs.

Note. If you did the M$ thing of keeping everything in 'My Documents' - .........

[gemini06720]

Keith, how did your older computer access the Internet - how will your computers access the Internet - through a router or directly connected to the modem?

Now that there are two (2) new computers in the household, you might want to connected all of them to a network - either through a network switch or to a router with multiple network connectors.

All of my home/office computers (there are 8 computers) are connected to 2 high-speed switches - those 2 switches are connected to a router - that router is connected to a cable modem - and that modem is finally connected to the cable (as in cable TV) to access the Internet.

I know that are a lot of gadgets and hard drive boxes on the market, but networking has been for me (and my network) the most reliable option.

True, that are a few directories/folders an a hard drive that cannot be accessed via a network - an operating software protection (Microsoft). But, even those folders can be made available to a network...

You know, once you have removed the software and data that you use in your daily computer life, you could use the on PC as a dedicated weather computer...