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I'm going to "move in" to a new computer soon, and need some advice:

Should I pay for a service (Best Buy) to move some of my programs and files to the new computer, or:

Buy a 2 GB travel drive and do it myself, little by little?

If you can spare the cash, get an external hard drive. Loose files can be copied over, as can profiles for certain applications, but everything else is best reinstalled from the original disc or installer.

How much do you have to back up and how good are you with installations?

Just set up a WLAN. WLAN USB sticks are 15€ or soemthing like that.

Bounty wrote:If you can spare the cash, get an external hard drive. Loose files can be copied over, as can profiles for certain applications, but everything else is best reinstalled from the original disc or installer.

How much do you have to back up and how good are you with installations?

There's a few games I use for filming that would be a pain in the ass to re-install, but possible. They're modded like crazy. Everything else are misc files that have to do with my web page, pictures, video, etc.

For some reason, a few of my backup CD-ROMs have become corrupted. One drive refuses to read them at all, and the other (CD writer) will read the contents of the CD-ROMs, but won't allow access to the contents.

Lord Poe wrote:There's a few games I use for filming that would be a pain in the ass to re-install, but possible. They're modded like crazy. Everything else are misc files that have to do with my web page, pictures, video, etc.

What you could probably do in this case is reinstall the game itself on the new computer, and then copy the contents of the game folder from the old computer and paste it right on top of the new folder.

Uraniun235 wrote:What you could probably do in this case is reinstall the game itself on the new computer, and then copy the contents of the game folder from the old computer and paste it right on top of the new folder.

Actually, that sounds like a better idea. Thanks!

If there is no issue with moving the 2 PCs close to each other you can also always just get a crossover cable and direct-connect them to move files that way.

You walk up to him and tell him to move


the best option would either be putting the old drive into the new computer or using norton ghost to make an image of the drive which will take less memory and then copy it over to the new drive.

If the new computer has vista you may have to reinstall it afterwards

So here are the options, in increasing order of software complexity and price:

1. Ripping out the drive from the old computer and putting it into the new (simplest as far as software goes, not very tricky mechanically, but better safe then sorry if you aren't comfortable with it)

2. External hard drive/USB stick/enclosure/something or other

3. Wired crosslink network cable between the two computers (for this and further, you have to set up shares - go to tools>folder options in explorer, deselect simple file sharing, and then open the properties of your disk on the old computer and set up the shares - if you're using the same account details on both computers its better to only allow yourself access, however if you aren't or aren't comfortable messing with them, just give everyone access - but don't leave it like that for the future)

4. Wired USB network cable (same as above plus added fun of possible flaky drivers)

5. Wireless connection through an access point/router (set up of wireless plus shares)

6. Wireless ad-hoc network

+ anything else I forgot

In any case, there are so many ways of doing this that paying for it really should be the last resort. When you select a method post here so that we can assist you with any possible problems or whatnot.

Windows doesn't have a migration wizard??

Someone needs to write a migration tool for Windows like OSX has. With a few clicks and a Firewire cable, the process is simple and painless. Everything migrates -- passwords, software and all, no re-installs.

Although I don't know, I would assume that this would include any installations of Vista, XP, Linux, or whatever else was on your main drive.

Does anyone know better than me about that?

I can't imagine trusting Best Buy or anyone else to do such a task properly. Certainly not if you were worried about such miscellaneous stuff as game files.

Drewcifer wrote:Windows doesn't have a migration wizard??

Someone needs to write a migration tool for Windows like OSX has. With a few clicks and a Firewire cable, the process is simple and painless. Everything migrates -- passwords, software and all, no re-installs.

Although I don't know, I would assume that this would include any installations of Vista, XP, Linux, or whatever else was on your main drive.

Does anyone know better than me about that?

Vista has "Window's Easy Transfer" (you can access it from the Welcome Center)
XP and below have "Files and settings Copy Wizard"

If you do go that route, be sure to doublecheck that it didn't miss things.

I just bought a program that did it. Worked perfectly.

Update: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCK.

This is so goddamn frustrating. I had no problems whatsoever transferring two major games (modded up the wazoo) I use for machinima to the new computer, via a 128 MB flash drive.

Then since things were going SO well, I decided to switch the computers to their final respective places; the newer one on my desk, my old one to the floor. I switched both off at the strip, swapped mice, keyboards, and monitors. Newer computer works fine. My old one...complete pain in the ass.

Now admittedly, it suffered a mini-stroke last month when a well meaning person helped me move, and unplugged it without turning the strip off first. It had to go into safe mode and recover. The only lasting effect was it trying to read the C drive for errors, and not stopping. I let that run for 5 hours one day, and it still did it, so I just cancelled that operation from that day forward: no problems.

But now, it goes into safe mode - and stays there. I have a grey screen, with Safe mode at each corner. Now I may HAVE to make that damned trip to Best Buy.

But now, it goes into safe mode - and stays there. I have a grey screen, with Safe mode at each corner. Now I may HAVE to make that damned trip to Best Buy.

If the HDD hasn't died, you could try salvaging your data with a LiveCD.

Bounty wrote:If the HDD hasn't died, you could try salvaging your data with a LiveCD.

Forgive me ignorance. What's LiveCD?

Lord Poe wrote:

Bounty wrote:If the HDD hasn't died, you could try salvaging your data with a LiveCD.

Forgive me ignorance. What's LiveCD?

An operating systems that runs directly from a CD, using only your computer's RAM and not it's hard drive. You plop in the CD, reboot and you have a (usually Linux-based) desktop from where you can access and backup your data or troubleshoot problems.

Wiki, has a list of LiveDistros.

Or you could put the hard drive from the old computer into the new one to salvage stuff from it - depends on what you're more comfortable with, moving around hardware or learning new software.