Migrating to a new computer

The title says it all - I just got a new computer and I’m trying to move all of my preferences (IE favorites, Outlook Express, etc) to the new machine. I tried the utility included with Win XP Pro, but the old computer seems to not be able to communicate through its COM1 or COM2 ports. I also do NOT have a 3 1/2" floppy on the new computer, which is the other option.

Any suggestions out there? I have an archive of over five years of e-mails on my old computer, and I would very much like to keep it intact. The IE favorites and settings can be entered manually, but it’s the archived e-mails in Outlook Express that are the sticking point.

For info purposes, the old computer is running Win 98. I have a Win-based PDA installed on it also, and ActiveSync seems to have commandeered all of the COM ports, including the ones that it doesn’t use.

A coworker ran into that problem with a hotsync program the other day. There should be a place in the Preferences to choose which ports it’s allowed to use. If not you can disable the program on the Startup tab of msconfig, then reboot. That ought to free up the COM ports.

Are there network cards in these machines?

Network card on the new machine, but nothing on the old one.

I will try to disable the ActiveSync since it seems to be another MS root of all evil.

The PDA connected to the old machine through a USB port and the COM ports haven’t been used for the life of the thing.

Network card on the new machine, but nothing on the old one.

I will try to disable the ActiveSync since it seems to be another MS root of all evil.

The PDA connected to the old machine through a USB port and the COM ports haven’t been used for the life of the thing.

Ack! My buffoonery shows through with the double post! Not only do the SDMB hamsters hate me but the 5-year old hamsters in my old computer hate me!!

Beg, borrow or swipe an Ethernet card and either: A) a crossover Ethernet cable, or B) a hub and two regular LAN cables. Plug it all together and boot up. The old PC should see the NIC and set it up, then should be able to see the XP machine’s “shared documents” folder. Without diving deeper into XP permissions and policies than you probably planned on, Shared Docs is as far as you’ll get into the XP machine, but it’s a perfectly fine drop-off point for files.

I second the 2nd ethernet card. It will be easier to setup IP on each machine then to mess around with the serial ports (is the pinout on your cable correct?), and you can get a cheap NIC for under $20.00 at your local Ubermart.

Brutus raises an interesting point: the serial cable you use has to have the transmit/receive wires crossed to allow communication between two computers. Some cables go straight through and are intended for different use; if you’re using the wrong cable you’ll get the transmit on one computer connected to the transmit on the other, which is useless.

If I remember (DB-9), 2=TX, 3=RX, 7=Ground.

It’s not really hard to put together a DB-9 cable to do what needs to be done, even for a novice, but the time involved, the relatively anemic speeds…Feh! Ethernet for me.

OK, thanks!

The XP “help” said to get a “serial PC data transfer cable”. Even at Fry’s this is difficult to obtain. I eventually got a DB-9/DB-9 cable, but I got the aforementioned worthless results.

I’ll try the Ethernet solution and see if I can just let the two machines think they are one!!

forget about the serial port. It’ll take forever. Tou can get another NIC for $10 and you’re left with an extra card but you can also get a USB network cable for a little more nd you can use it again any time you need o connect two computers. I have one with my laptop and use it quite a bit. It is also much easier to set up as far as configuration and you don’t have to open the machine; just plug into the USB ports.

Take the hard disk out of the old computer and connect it up to the new one. I normally disconnect the cable to the CD rom and use that so I’m not fiddling with master/slave jumper connections.

Just drag & drop stuff from the old drive to the new one.

With Outlook Express you will have to find where the emails are stored on your old drive, do a search on the old drive for inbox.dbx and make a note of the directory. Use the file¦import in outlook express to import all your messages from said location.

HTH

chillihead

I have the same situation, but I was just going to burn data on CDs using my CD burner on the old machine. Slower, maybe, but there’s no hurry. I have no idea of Ethernet, DB-9, or any of that stuff, and I plan to leave the old one’s hard drive where it is.

Yes, plugging the old hard drive in the new computer is another option and what I have done most of the time. Burning CD-ROMs also means you have a backup which is also a good idea.

The best, IMHO, would be to use the XP transfer wizard, create the archive file on the same computer you are backing up (i.e. instead of specifying the location of the new comp, just save it to file on the local disk. if you don’t have enough space on the old hard disk, attach the new hard disk to the old comp first). Then shut off the comp, remove the hard disk and attach it to the new comp. Pretty easy, and we can walk you through it if you’re not sure how. No purchase necessary. Serial cable will take too much time to transfer the same amount of data.

Outlook Express is a pain to backup. I strongly suggest using 3rd party software to backup and restore Outlook Express emails, settings, etc. Here are some progs I have used in the past:

http://www.backsettings.com/

http://www.outlook-express-backup.com/

http://www.abf-soft.com/outlook-express-backup.shtml

http://www.backsettings.com/

http://www.ajsystems.com/ea7.html

Pilot141 what you need is called a “Null Modem Cable” or a “Null Modem” adapter for the cable you allready have.
Try your local Radio Shack store or computer parts store, they should have it for cheap ( less than $10.00 U.S.).
Hope this helps.
Peace.
LIONsob

Alos, You can upload your files to the web & then download them into the other computer. You can even email them to yourself.

Maybe you are missing it but everyone here is saying that’s not a good idea. It is complex to set up and then it is terribly slow and inefficient. Of all the solutions proposed that is probably the worst of all.

sailor and everyone else, yes, I got the null modem cable (DB-9 on both ends) but couldn’t get it to work. But now it looks like that would be the worst solution anyway. Since I’m going to be using the old computer for other stuff, I’d like to keep the hard drive intact. I’ll try one or some of the programs that xash mentioned.

Thanks everyone!

You can plug in the old hard drive into the new computer, copy everything and then put it back in the old computer. Simple is you are not afraid of opening the box. Then there’s CD-ROMs and NICs and USB networks. You have many solutions to choose from.