# How do I move stuff to a new computer?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-move-stuff-to-a-new-computer/210965>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 2, 2003, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-move-stuff-to-a-new-computer/210965 "2003-11-02T06:17:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Mort\_Furd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mort\_Furd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mort_Furd)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-move-stuff-to-a-new-computer/210965/21 "2003-11-03T22:23:43Z")

</div>

I’d do it this way:  
Install the new harddrive in the old PC as slave.  
Format the new drive with ext3 or Reiserfs.  
Use cp with --preserve=all to copy everything to the new drive.  
Install the new drive back into the new PC - remember to set it back to master.  
Boot from my Linux CD, and flip over to a console.  
Mount the new hard disk as root.  
Run Lilo to get the boot sector done right.  
Remove CD, reboot.

All happy. No software to buy, no funky cables - but ya gotta be using a real OS instead of that kiddie crap.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-move-stuff-to-a-new-computer/210965/22 "2003-11-03T22:33:25Z")

</div>

" Yes, but are they trustworthy?"

They are are. THose aren’t store sites, those are sites that show you how to get those prices from Dell dot com directly. I use them alot.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-move-stuff-to-a-new-computer/210965/23 "2003-11-04T02:19:39Z")

</div>

Actually, I got one of those USB stick things today and it worked like a charm, what a brilliant invention.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-move-stuff-to-a-new-computer/210965.md?page=1)