Took the plunge, bought a new system. Short of using a flash drive to go back and forth, is there an easier way to get my old info over to the new system?
Can a simple cable connect them and transfer the files? (I know almost nothing about Win7 except it's supposed to be better than 8 and Vista.)
You can do it over a network. Even wireless would be faster than a "simple cable" (you're thinking Laplink or similar, slow and obsolete tech).
Software-wise, you can use this:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=4503
But unless you want to transfer ALL your cruft, I'd recommend just transferring files instead using a shared folder.
File and transfer wizard.
Start -> all programs -> accessories -> System Tools.
Just take the drive out of the old one and stick it in the new one as a spare. Copy the files off it to the new drive that you want to keep, format it and then use it as backup.
The Windows Easy Transfer cable works well.
Grtechguy wrote: File and transfer wizard. Start -> all programs -> accessories -> System Tools.
This. Or like GPS said take the old drive out and install it either permanently or temporarily into the new PC and pull the files over from it. Alternative to both these, if both have network cards but you don't have a home network, you can use a cross-over cable to hook them up and pull the files off.
third variant:
1) buy a large USB backup drive
2) copy the xp machine onto it
3) copy the contents off the drive onto the new system
JoeyM wrote: third variant: 1) buy a large USB backup drive 2) copy the xp machine onto it 3) copy the contents off the drive onto the new system
This has the added advantage of being a good backup drive once your new machine has all the data you need on it. You can schedule a backup job to run in Windows 7 so that each night you get a fresh backup of your pictures, files, etc.
I have an external drive that only gets switched on to backup photos and videos, thinking it's only .5TB or so. The drives in the XP machine are fairly old & I believe a few generations behind, therefore slowing everything down if I leave them in the new setup?
I plan to give the old XP desktop away, the fiancee said she might like it for herself. So I have to leave the thing running...
It's a weekend project, I'll look over all these ideas. Thanks!
Having the old drives in your new computer won't slow anything down (just increase power consumption a bit), but booting from them will.
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