How to Transfer Data from Old Pc to New

If you need to transfer data from old pc to new there are various ways to do this, to begin with you will either need a device to backup onto such as an external hard drive or flash drive, or both computer connected to the same router, either via Wifi or Ethernet cable, or a network crossover cable which will allow you to connect both computers directly together via their network ports.

If you have a home router regardless of how computers connect to it, both can share and copy files from and to either.

If you have purchased a desktop computer why not simply remove the hard drive from your old computer and add it as a secondary disk to your new computer? This way you can keep two copies of all files, which gives an added level of protection in case of hard drive failure. More on installing hard drives here ..

Note – if you intend to do this - most hard drives are now Serial or SATA, but if your old hard drive is IDE you will need to purchase a PCI IDE controller, they are cheap and easy to fit.

transfer data from old pc to new article

In regards to the transfer of data from old pc to new – which files need to be backed up? Operating systems such as Windows Vista and XP have file transfer/backup wizards built in, this can be accessed by going to the Start Menu – All Programs – Accessories – System Tools – Windows Easy Transfer – this will then backup User Accounts – Folders and Files – Program Settings – Internet Settings and Favorites – Email contacts, settings and messages.

It is pretty comprehensive, but be warned if your current or old computer is having any problems, you could in effect copy the problem over to your new computer, so in this respect it can be better to manually backup exactly what you need, this usually includes..

For more information click on the link for each of the following
Files – which are normally stored in My Documents
Internet Favorites – which can be exported directly from internet explorer or Firefox itself
Email settings – email accounts and settings
Emails – Backing up all your emails
Email Contacts – How to export and re-import
Backing up wall paper –
Backup Fonts – do you have any custom fonts to backup

Also have a think is there anything else you need to backup before hand? Pretty much everyone has different file/applications, stored in different locations

Such as
a) Applications that you have downloaded and still have the install file locally on your hard drive.
b) Files that have not been copied into the My Documents area.
c) Outlook email archives or Personal folders that are no longer used, but need to be kept.
Word – Email or any other application templates

Will you sell your old computer?
Make sure its ready for sale and none of your data can be recovered from your hard drive – more here ..

If you need to transfer data from old pc to new - checkout our main backup page where we cover just about everything you need to backup

computer adviser transfer data from old pc to new article