I’m biting the bullet and getting a new computer. (High time, too.)
Anyway, I know programs will have to be installed from scratch on the new computer, but how about data files? I have, literally, thousands of files accumulated over decades that I want to move to my new computer – text files mostly, but lots of pictures and some music and video files.
The old machine has a not-very-reliable CD burner, a 3.5 floppy, and a 56k modem. Two USB ports, the first kind. (Type I?) No network or wireless connectivity. Runs WinXPHome SP3.
The new machine will most likley be a Dell Inspiron, don’t know model number. It will have a DVD burner, a 3.5 floppy, and a 56k modem for sure. Probably some sort of wireless connection thingy. (See, I don’t even know enough about that stuff to use the right terms. All I know is I want to be able to synch files between the new desktop and a netbook. Which I don’t have yet. Is there a “Wireless for Dummies” type website?) It will have 8 USB type 2 ports. It will initially have Vista Home Premium, and be upgraded to Win7 for free later on.
In the ancient past (might even have been in CP/M days) my brother helped me do a similar transfer using a cable between the two computers – I think he called it a null modem cable, maybe? Anyway, it let me move files to the new machines at a great speed.
Can I do something similar with the new computers using the USB ports? If so, what kind of cable (and software?) will I need?
If that isn’t possible, what’s my next best bet? I’m thinking maybe buying a new CD burner for the old machine (or can it run a DVD burner) and moving the stuff that way might be my next best shot. Third choice involves uploading and redownloading the stuff… <shudder>
Oh, just thought of another possibility – is this a service I can hire some local guy to do for me? Or would they only do that if I bought the computer from them?
I’d first suggest that you just take the old hard drive out and plug it in to the new computer as a slave and just do the transfers in there (and keep the drive as an extra drive!) but I don’t think new Dells have much going on in the way of IDE anymore so let’s just ignore that option.
Your best, easiest option is go get an external drive enclosure, take the old drive out, put it in that, plug that into the new computer, you’ll have all your old data available in minutes.
You do not have to purchase the one I linked to. Just make sure that when you look for one it is:
For IDE drives
For 3.5" drives
USB 2.0
ETA: Missed your last line. Yes a local computer shop will definitely do this transfer for you. They’d do it the way I am suggesting, using their own enclosure. Depends on how you feel about doing it yourself. It’s easy but if you’re more comfortable paying to have it done, go for it.
Uhh- it transferred those files at what may well have seemed like a great speed at the time, but would seem like a slug in molasses compared to today’s options. Seriously, back in the old days I used to transfer files using null modem cables (and, later, their parallel-port equivalents) and these days I’d much rather use another option - even a USB drive with that old type-1 USB port.
There is a very easy way not only to transfer your files, but to save the incredible hassle of re-installing all your programs. It is Laplink. You get a USB cable to connect both computers, install the program on both, and then following prompts and directions. It may take an hour or so, but it is well worth it.
I did it a few months ago and it worked like a charm. There were one or two old programs it could not handle, but they were easy to install on the new box. A couple needed me to go to their sites and download new drivers, but otherwise, I had a new computer than looked and worked exactly like the old one.
You have to buy the cable and the program, but if you ever want to do it again, you just buy the program again (providing you kept, and can find the cable). It isn’t too cheap, but is very easy to use.
Or, you can get another drive or enclosure as suggested, to save your files, then spend a day or two re-installing programs, tweaking it the way you want, along with all the cussing and whining entailed.
BTW, cheers for old CP/M whch I learned way back then, which was a big help in learning DOS when that came along.
I just returned to this topic to mention that I’d just remembered the name of the program I used to use to do serial-port and parallel-port file transfers many years ago - and the program I used to use was Laplink. I found their website, noticed that they now feature USB transfer cables rather than the old serial-port or parallel-port ones - and found that KlondikeGeoff beat me to the punch.
At any rate, consider this another recommendation for Laplink. It’s been around for yonks, so it probably runs about as good as the cables can support.
By far the easiest thing to do would be to get a thumb drive and (8 gig units are often 20 or less - 16 gigs for around 40) just dump the files you need onto the drive and move the drive to the new PC. The transfer will be pokey on a USB 1.1 connection on the old machine, but it will work fine. The bonus is that you now have a very useful thumb drive after the transfer vs a $ 50 laplink cable you used once.
Thanks for the reply! And that sounds highly doable. Hey, I actually replaced the heat sink fan on this computer a couple years back, this probably isn’t any more demanding, right? Assuming I can find instructions with pictures…
And, I’m thinking, after I transfer what I want off the old drive, I can throw that one away (it’s small. And OOOOLD) and buy another drive to put in the enclosure, and then I could use it as an ongoing backup device, yes?
Hmm. That certainly sounds easy. I just looked over their site a bit, and it looks like I’d need MoveComputer since I’d be going to Vista. And that plus the cable means about $100. Not a horrible amount, but more than the other method, and as Astro points out, it wouldn’t have any further usefulness.
Plus…well, I think going through the reinstallation process will be good for me. I have what seems like a zillion programs on this beast, including squards of single-task utility type stuff and over a dozen word processors.
[Really. There’s a couple of versions of Word, WordPerfect, several text editors, Jarte, RoughDraft, several enhancements of Write, a couple of screenplay wp, YWrite, YeahWrite, WriteMonkey, and a bunch of others I don’t even remember. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was even a copy of WordStar tucked away somewhere.]
I only actually USE a handful of programs. The rest sound intriguing, I try them out, they disappoint for whatever reason – or I don’t really have a use for whatever they do – and then they just sit there…
I figure being faced with the job of reinstalling a program will help me thin the herd.
I’d second the enclosure route*, simply because transferring from the old PC using Laplink will take forever at USB 1.0 speeds (12 Mb/second). An enclosure or IDE-to-USB adapter will allow you to simply browse the old drive and pull files/folders down to the new pc at USB 2.0 rates - 480Mb/s, much quicker than 1.0. You’ll shave at least 60% off the transfer time.
*However, an IDE enclosure may not offer long-term use if you plan to scrap the old drive - there aren’t that many high-capacity IDE hard drives available, and those are much slower than SATA. These may fit the bill - same concept as an enclosure, but easier setup, and likely cheaper. Basically, an IDE plug converts to USB, and has a power adapter to power the drive.
Since I posted that I googled some more, and found a page that said that WinXP and Vista both come with a built in utility from MS that will facilitate doing the transfer, not just the files but settings for programs. (Under all programs/accessories/system tools/Files and Setting Transfer Wizard.) On a skim it seems you have to install the programs on the new computer but this will move all your preferences and tweaks for you. Good stuff, if it works.
All in all, I’m feeling much less dread over making the Great Switchover.
Call me paranoid, but I would suggest against removing the old HDD, at least until you have a backup. And reading between the lines, you do not have a backup. I would suggest buying a cheap network card for the old PC and linking it to the new one either by a cross-over cable or a switch or a multi-port router. Then you can use the File and Settings Transfer wizard.
But perhaps better would be to buy a USB 2 card for the old PC, fit that, and back up to an external USB 2 drive, then restore what you want on to the new PC. Afterwards you can continue to use the external drive for your backups.
If you decide on the “get an external drive” option, I suggest you look for one that works on both USB and eSATA … no need to remove the old drive drive; just transfer the files to the external, then transfer from the external to the new computer.
It will take a lot longer copying files from the old computer on USB than it will to transfer to the new computer with SATA … a lot longer.
Another option is to sign up for a backup service like www.mozy.com before you do anything. It is free for 2 GB of storage and only $5 a month for unlimited storage. The procedure would be to set it up on your current computer, let it back up everything, and then restore the files back to your new computer. The initial backup can literally take days but it shouldn’t interfere with anything you are doing on your computer because it just works in the background. The reason I suggest this is that it kills two birds with one stone. You really, really need regular backups anyway and you can use this method to keep all your files perfectly safe always (and even accessible from any computer). After you do the migration, you just set the backup to run overnight or whenever you want and it only takes a few minutes to run. That is the strategy I chose when I got a new computer because many of my files are too important to screw around with.
If that’s your plan anyway, don’t bother with an enclosure - it would be much simpler to buy an external hard drive. Connect it to the old computer and copy all the files, then connect it to the new computer, copy the contents, and continue using the drive as a backup device.
Yes, it works, and it does save a lot of hassle. The only catch is that it does not work with flash drives or cds. It uses 3.5 floppies or network folders, that’s it. If your new machine has a 3.5 floppy, then great. If not, then see if it will let you save all that stuff to a file on the old machine, and then move it to the new one with everything else.
Regarding how to move the files: Why not use the flash drive? Yes, the 1.0 is a lot slower than the 2.0, but it involves no additional outbound cash flow. Start the backup before you go to bed, and it will probably be done by morning.
How large is the total of the files that you are copying. Depending on the age of the computer you currently own, a flash drive really might work. I remember that the computer I bought in 2000 had a whopping 20GB drive. You can get a thumb drive that size now for about $50 or $60.00. I
True, that would be a good solution if you need a thumb drive anyway.
But it sounded like the OP really needs a good backup drive, and I suspect most people quickly end up with more data than would fit on a thumb drive. You can get a hard drive 10 times larger for maybe $80, which would meet backup needs for a few years.
Seconding the idea of the external USB hard drive.
I’ve got a 500 gb Western Digital Passport drive for exactly this purpose - moving all the files off my old laptop which has a 27gb hard drive and USB 1.0. The Passport external drive doesn’t need an enclosure. It cost around $100 at best buy a couple of months ago.
It took approx 9 hrs to get all the files off my old laptop using USB 1.0, and about an hour to sock them all onto my nice new Dell Studio laptop using USB 2.0. It might have gone faster but I was organizing them as I transferred so I dithered around a bit.
The WD Passport is now serving as my once-a-week backup drive.
Anyway, right now I’m leaning towards moving the files via flash drive – I can live with it taking time, so long as it’s a matter of ‘start the process, go away and do something else for an hour or whatever, come back and start the next step, go away’ etc.
And, yes, I really need to establish a back up routine. I think I’ll simply buy an exterior drive at the same time as the new computer. (I’m still on dial up, and will like be until January, so using a web solution won’t work.)
