How to Copy Data From One Hard Drive to Another
The ability to copy files from one hard drive to another is a native function built in to all Windows operating systems. Copying from drive to drive is nearly as easy as copying from one folder to another on the same drive, and the underlying mechanics are the same. Learn the ins and outs of copying just one file or many files from one hard drive to another.
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Instructions
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Connect an external hard drive to your computer by plugging one end of a USB data cable into the drive and the other end into an open USB port on the computer. Windows will recognize the drive as an external device. A notification will display briefly on the taskbar, confirming that the drive is ready for use.
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Open Windows Explorer or your preferred file manager application.
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Navigate in Windows Explorer to your primary hard drive, which is usually the "C:" drive. Browse through the contents of the drive and look for the files you want to copy. To copy just one file, right-click once on the file and select "Copy" from the context menu. To copy multiple files, the contents of a folder or multiple folders, press and hold the "Ctrl" key and click on the files or folders to be copied. All of the selected files are now highlighted.
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Browse to the external hard drive in Windows Explorer or your file manager application. Click on the drive to open its folders for viewing. Navigate to the folder where you want to place the copied files, or create a new folder if you wish. Right-click on the folder and select "Paste" from the context menu. All of the files that you selected on your primary hard drive are copied to the specified folder on the external hard drive.
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Tips & Warnings
ADDITIONAL METHODS Although in some cases a back up program and system restore method would work, this is only the case when larger amounts of data are not being moved. Other issues arrive from the back up and restore method when registries are merged and data is corrupted on the original drive. There is a DOS method of transfer that is very reliable although not for the faint of heart. This method is not recommended for the average user as it is not user friendly and does not utilize the GUI interface.
To sum it up these are the steps that you will need to take to transfer the data. 1. make a backup of the current system on a floppy or to some other media 2. connect and format the new drive 3. add the copied files from the back up disk
As always back up your data before performing a major change to you system.
References
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Comments
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stefyspeak
Apr 02, 2009
This is important. one of my friends is a computer whiz and he just had to do this for my mom. 5* -
bulletbutter
Mar 04, 2009
I have been a computer builder for about 6 years now and have always thought of doing something like this, good info. By the way, could you post a link to a site where we could download the freeware?
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ajkidd
Feb 01, 2009
Okay, that's the easy part. I installed the new drive (F)and transferred all my media files (everything from My Documents). How do I tell the programs that run those media files where they went?
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mountainman21
Nov 08, 2008
I installed a new hard drive in my computer and I also reinstalled my old hard drive. I have tried several times to transfer the date with no success. Can you help me find out what I might be doing wrong. Thanks greg
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mountainman21
Nov 08, 2008
I have installed a new hard drive and I have also installed my old hard drive. I have tried several times to copy the data from the old to the new hard drive and I just cannot seem to figure it out. Any suggestions would be really appreciated. Thank you, Greg
