A computer question

[hornet driver]

OK, I'm not the most computer savvy guy, That said, I've got a new tower to hook up. nothing wrong with the old one just old. How do I transfer photos/files and bookmarked items from the old one to the new one. Talk to me like I'm 3. Thanks in advance--H

 

[justinwebb]

get a large USB flash drive and drag and drop all your files onto it. Otherwise if they are both connected to the same router you could use windows file sharing to copy between them but they both have to be on. Another way is take the hard drive out of the old one and put it in the new one to copy files but that requires a bit of knowledge to do so

 

[smugglervt]

+1 on the flash drive. For your favorites you will have to find the the folder FAVORITES and copy it to the flash drive as well. The FAVORITES folder is located in C:\Users\your user name\FAVORITES (assuming you are using Windows).

 

[Gary Byrum]

I burned my files to CD's & some DVD's just so I could keep hard copies. But whichever form you choose, make sure you double check what you moved over. For some reason, some files seemed to magically disappear. I caught nearly a dozen really important files that should have transferred, but didn't.

 

[Cl(VII)]

I got a 2TB USB external hard drive pretty cheap, and copied all of the files from the old tower to it. I then dragged what I needed onto the new one, and if I ever discover I forgot something it is preserved on the external. I keep the external physically disconnected except once every couple months when I copy all of the document, pics and moves folder from the new computer to it. Minimizes my losses if I get a catastrophic HD failure, or worse one of the encryption viruses.

the directories mentioned above should be the ones you need unless you implemented a different structure. Also, don;t forget your desktop if you are one to throw files on there.

 

[terryg]

+1 on using a flash drive. For bookmarks you need to export them to a file which can then be used to import them to the new computer. I just did this on the notebook I am taking to NSL. The exact steps to do this depend on the browser you are using. Also do not forget to take over any rocksim or open rocket files you have on the original computer.

 

[Rex R]

the usb drive is the simplest method...however I would suggest using a port on the back of the computer as they are usually faster. also the transfer rate is faster if you put the files into one or more compressed file archives(one big file as opposed to a bunch of little ones). good luck,
Rex

 

[o1d_dude]

An external USB hard drive is your best friend for back ups and transfers.

I use a simple 4Tb hard drive in an Anker external dock. This is a caseless solution and I store the hard drive when not in use in a commercial protective case specifically designed for that purpose.

Anker USB 3.0 dock - about $30 or less on Amazon
Storage case - about $10 on Amazon
Hard drive - price dependent on brand and size. Mine is a Western Digital 4Tb that cost less than $150 on Amazon

Yes, the system cost me about $200 but my entire system is backed up weekly.

Costco sells a Corsair(?) 256Gb USB 3.0 thumb drive for about $35. I have three of them and can recommend them as a low cost transfer solution. They are however too small for a complete backup of my machine.

 

[Nathan]

If you have a bi-directional variable bitrate TPS adapter then I would recommend syncing the D-RMZ channels using SCPS-L2L protocol. But don't forget to first reindex your virtual NMS segment hub multiplexer.

 

[hornet driver]

If you have a bi-directional variable bitrate TPS adapter then I would recommend syncing the D-RMZ channels using SCPS-L2L protocol. But don't forget to first reindex your virtual NMS segment hub multiplexer.

I have dual hub multiplexer---what now!!

 

[o1d_dude]

This could all be done a lot easier with a Mr. Fusion power supply.

 

[OverTheTop]

If you have a bi-directional variable bitrate TPS adapter then I would recommend syncing the D-RMZ channels using SCPS-L2L protocol. But don't forget to first reindex your virtual NMS segment hub multiplexer.

Tried that last week but got an NFI error...

 

[Nathan]

I have dual hub multiplexer---what now!!

Then you will have to transfer the files using diskettes. You will need approximately 3,670,000 blank diskettes.

 

[PhlAsh]

Use your ubiquitous Google Drive account (or set up a DropBox account - use phlash1@gmail(dot)com as a reference so I can get some extra space) and move everything there. Mirror it to the new PC.

 

[hornet driver]

Thanks guys -success- and thanks for the good humor too!! Now if I can just set the clock on my oven!!

 

[o1d_dude]

Remember when the solution for the flashing "12:00" on a VCR was a short strip of black electrical tape?

 

[hornet driver]

Remember when the solution for the flashing "12:00" on a VCR was a short strip of black electrical tape?

Sadly, yes I am that old!

 

[blackjack2564]

Sadly, yes I am that old!

Remember this for TV remote.......

"Honey while your up...how 'bout changing to channel 3" There were only 3 VHF + 2 UHF for total of 5 channels...lol

 

[hornet driver]

Remember this for TV remote.......

"Honey while your up...how 'bout changing to channel 3" There were only 3 VHF + 2 UHF for total of 5 channels...lol

Back in Atlanta it was 2,5,11,8,17

 

[GDJ]

+ on the USB Flash Drive (They come pretty big nowadays)
+ on External HDD (probably the best bang for the buck. You can transfer EVERYTHING in one shot)

I'm neutral on hooking up the two computers and using file sharing. It can work great, but if there is any issues (trojans, virus's, etc) then the chances of it transferring from one computer to another is greater.

- on using DVD's now (a few years ago it was a great idea, especially using DVD-RW discs) simply because Dual Layer DVD's are only good up to 8 gigs. The cheapest USB flash drives are the same size)


My 2¢: External HDD.

 

[dhbarr]

Words of caution:
- HDDs that haven't been used in a while can refuse to start up
- when SDSDs ( including cheapo thumbdrives ) fail they often do so totally and without warning​
- all burned media bitrot over time

The most proven technique for the last 30 yrs or so is just keep copying and testing. If you don't have a Plan C, your Plan B sucks.

 

[ttabbal]

Bitrot and sudden failure is why everything important to me lives on ZFS arrays. Scrubs verify every bit of data, and fix it if needed, reporting any errors to me. Drives that report errors are replaced immediately and all drives are thoroughly tested before use.

Backups are stored similarly, on a separate machine, preferably off site. Something like Crashplan makes that easy.

Snapshots can even protect against ransomware as they are not writable. Though if the malware gets root and is aware of the snapshots it could destroy them.

Treat data storage like it's actively trying to kill your data, then be happily surprised when it doesn't.

 

[OverTheTop]

I saw a TV show once where they asked someone what his job was. He was in IT and specialised in data recovery. He described it as being a combination of hardware specialist and grief counsellor.

 

[modeltrains]

He was in IT and specialised in data recovery. He described it as being a combination of hardware specialist and grief counsellor.

Actually, that sounds 100% accurate.