Easy file transfer to new PC?

Factual Questions
1

I’m getting a new computer. I would like to transfer files from the old to the new without burning 99 (exaggeration, but not enormously so; there’s 26+ GB in use on this HD, a lot of it is music or images) CDs.

I know there’s an easy way to do this, but I’ve never done it, and am not at all sure even where to start. Well, actually, I decided that SDMB was the place to start. :cool: Some of youse guys will be able to give me expert advice, I know (which will more than pay back for this year’s subscription).

Soooo. What’s the quickest, easiest way to do it? Old machine is running XP Home; new machine will have Media Ctr.

2

The easiest way is to take the hard drive out of the old machine and install it in the new one as a slave or second drive - either temporarily while you copy the files you want to transfer, or permanently, if you no longer wish to use the old computer.

Other alternatives:
-Connect both machines to a network hub/switch or a router (or directly using a crossover ethernet cable), set the old hard drive to be shared on the network, then just browse the network using Windows Explorer and drag the files over.
-Install the old hard drive in a USB external hard drive enclosure and plug it into the new machine.

3

Meh. On preview, what Mangetout sez.

4

I certainly wouldn’t recommend one of those cheap USB file transfer cables - I’ve tried a couple of these and they both required proprietary communication software, which was buggy and unreliable, especially on large transfers requiring sustained throughput.

5

Windows has a built in Files and Setting Transfer Wizard that works really good. It transfers the contents of your My Documents folder, and any settings you have for your profile. It does work better than just merely copying file over via a slave drive or usb file transfer.

Note: If you dont use “My Documents” and store stuff out on the filesystem in your own directories, then you will have to transfer those files yourself.

6

[QUOTE=Mangetout]
Other alternatives:
-Connect both machines to a network hub/switch or a router (or directly using a crossover ethernet cable), set the old hard drive to be shared on the network, then just browse the network using Windows Explorer and drag the files over.
-Install the old hard drive in a USB external hard drive enclosure and plug it into the new machine.
[/QUOTE]

I want the fastest, cheapest way to hook the two machines up. The link won’t be required to support real networking, just the initial transfer and occasional backup.

TMI
I only have two hands; I don’t need to run two computers; I just need to be absolutely certain that I’ve got one that’s working. I intend to keep the old one as a backup/failsafe. I’m disabled and there are more things I can’t do for myself than can, where doing things that involve hands and feet - e.g., I can’t really use a screwdriver anymore. I’ll hafta get help to hook the two machines up.

Living alone, a thousand miles from most of my family and most of my friends, with help coming in 3X per week, I’m sure you understand that in those circumstances, I GOTTA be hooked up to the world. That means, if my connection to the world fails, it’s a disaster. This computer has been flaky for the last several months, and I worried about it until I decided that I really can’t take the chance. That brings us to today.

So what’s the cheapest and simplest way for me to hook them together. I won’t want to keep the backup PC running. I want to fix the problems on the old one, and maybe turn it on 2 or 3 times a month to synch it with the new one, and that’s all. The new machine has a faster CPU, and twice the RAM, and a little bit bigger HD. I’d have loved to have something much fancier, but the money’s not there; AMMOF, it’s financially painful to do this, but I’ve laid out my reasoning.
/TMI

So, what do I do? I’ll most likely be shopping for the parts, whatever you convince me is the best way to do it, on eBay.

7

It’s almost certain that your existing machine will have an ethernet network port, and your new one definitely will - a crossover network cable is probably the cheapest solution. - you can just plug the two machines together and if they don’t see each other at first, run the Network connection wizard.

8

[QUOTE=bcullman]
Windows has a built in Files and Setting Transfer Wizard that works really good. It transfers the contents of your My Documents folder, and any settings you have for your profile. It does work better than just merely copying file over via a slave drive or usb file transfer.

Note: If you dont use “My Documents” and store stuff out on the filesystem in your own directories, then you will have to transfer those files yourself.
[/QUOTE]

The majority of my files are in subdirectories of My Docs. I anticipate using the Transfer Wizard. There will be more stuff, but most of it’s there - all of the music and text, and a significant percentage of the images.

9

[QUOTE=Mangetout]
It’s almost certain that your existing machine will have an ethernet network port, and your new one definitely will - a crossover network cable is probably the cheapest solution. - you can just plug the two machines together and if they don’t see each other at first, run the Network connection wizard.
[/QUOTE]

It has one; I’m online via DSL. :slight_smile:

10

Wups. How do I manage things with the DSL? Just unplug it when I want the two machines to talk?

11

Seeing as you’re only going to be using the old system for backing up a few times a month, a network would seem to be the most convenient; no swapping around drives between the old system and the housing. A basic 10/100 Mbps switch like this is about $25, and two cables would add around $5. This setup has the advantage of having nothing to move; once you set it up, all you have to do is power up the old computer and run a synchronization.

It would also mean that you could share the internet connection between the two computers, which might be convenient. It’s also a fairly hassle-free install; no screws or other fiddly bits involved, just plugging the two systems in. I’m assuming here that they’re fairly close physically, and in the same room, because otherwise running cable is going to be a nuisance, and you might want to look at other options.

12

[QUOTE=tygerbryght]
It has one; I’m online via DSL. :slight_smile:
[/QUOTE]
Do you have a DSl router with more than one ethernet port? If so, then you can just plug both computers into that and they can still be part of the same network. If you have a cable or DSL modem that only has one ethernet port, then you could install a router(both computers plug into the router and the router plugs into the modem) . if your cable/dsl modem is a single-port router, then you can just use an ethernet hub/switch (both computers plug into the switch, the switch plugs into the router.

If you can post the make and model number of your DSL device, I may be able to be more specific.

13

[QUOTE=Mangetout]
-Connect both machines to a network hub/switch or a router (or directly using a crossover ethernet cable), set the old hard drive to be shared on the network, then just browse the network using Windows Explorer and drag the files over
[/QUOTE]

So I just need to buy one of these then? What steps are needed to arrange this network, is it a plug and play type affair? I have a laptop that needs a few music files from my old desktop and both run WinXP.

14

Meant to add, where would such a cable plug into my old PC, would a modem suffice? Or am I being silly?

15

A crossover cable just creates the simplest possible Local Area Network with two PCs - if they both have ethernet sockets (true for most PCs manufactured in the last 5 years), you just plug one end into each computer and if necessary, run the Network Setup Wizard.

Ethernet ports are rectangular with eight sprung wire connections in a tight row inside. They look similar to telephone sockets, but are slightly wider - google the term RJ45 and you’ll get an idea of what they look like.

But I wouldn’t really recommend a crossover cabled network for anything more than a one-off file transfer job, because it ties up the network connections and you’ll probably want those for connecting a cable or DSL modem.

16

I recognise those from the side of the laptop, but the PC doesn’t have one (I think its slightly outside the time limit of 5 years) so I’m assuming I’ll need to get it a card like one of these? I’d pay a few quid to save myself the hassle of burning many CDs and tripping up my girlfriend in the kitchen/dining room.

17

Yes - since the machine runs XP, it should already have the drivers for most common network card chipsets - installation should be simple.

18

Cool, thanks!

19

[QUOTE=Mangetout]
Do you have a DSl router with more than one ethernet port? If so, then you can just plug both computers into that and they can still be part of the same network. If you have a cable or DSL modem that only has one ethernet port, then you could install a router(both computers plug into the router and the router plugs into the modem) . if your cable/dsl modem is a single-port router, then you can just use an ethernet hub/switch (both computers plug into the switch, the switch plugs into the router.

If you can post the make and model number of your DSL device, I may be able to be more specific.
[/QUOTE]

It’s a WireSpeed Dual Connect, Model# C90-610030-06, the one Bell South made me buy, a junky little jobbie that they made me pay $70 for, when you can buy a good router for $35-40. I researched it at the time, and was all set to buy my own, and just pay them for the line. “Oh, no; that’s impossible. You have to use our router.”

Oh yeah, they also included some phone line filters. Nice profit margins. I still get :mad: when I think about it, a year later.

If I get a hub and plug everything in there, can the phone co. tell? There’s nobody but me to use it all, but I don’t want to have to fight with them about it. I’d really like to have something with a hard firewall, to supplement my software firewall, and not have to pay them $3/month for their firewall. Somebody at the phone company has vampire blood, I swear.

20

[QUOTE=tygerbryght]
It’s a WireSpeed Dual Connect, Model# C90-610030-06, the one Bell South made me buy, a junky little jobbie that they made me pay $70 for, when you can buy a good router for $35-40. I researched it at the time, and was all set to buy my own, and just pay them for the line. “Oh, no; that’s impossible. You have to use our router.”
[/quote]
your Wirespeed device appears to be a fairly standard DSL modem; you should just be able to plug a router into it, then plug several computers into the router. I’d be almost certain that you could, instead, buy a combined router/DSL modem and use that to connect - even if your internet account is set only to work with the MAC address of your specific modem, most modern routers can be configured to spoof MAC addresses, so your ISP would never even know.

But just in case they’re doing something esoteric like running custom firmware on the modem, I won’t recommend the second option.

If your computer currently connects to the cable modem via an ethernet cable, then you should be able to do this:
-Leave the modem connected to the wall, but unplug the ethernet cable that comes into it from the computer
-Instead of the computer, plug a router (like, say, this one) into the DSL modem
-Plug the computer into the router
-Power everything up - in most cases, it will just work straight away, but it might be necessary to configure a couple of settings on the router, but it’s all done via a web interface - you just type 192.168.0.1 (or something like that, depending on brand) into the address bar of your web browser and you’ll be into the router configuration utility.*

Then you can just plug additional computers into the spare ports on the router (or connect wirelessly)- they’ll all be able to access the internet and (if you set them up as part of the same Windows Workgroup, and enable sharing) will be able to transfer files between each other.

As far as your ISP is concerned, there is still only one computer attached to the DSL modem, it just happens to be the router.

*some routers ship with wireless networking enabled, but not secured - if the router you choose is a wireless one like the one I linked to, it’s worth going into the configuration interface even if it all just works straight out of the box, then you can either set up the security (WPA passphrase is easiest) or turn off the wireless function completely.