How to Move Everything from an Old PC to a New PC

[@GreggRoberts]

My Mom got a new computer for her 92nd Birthday last week. She said she used the "onedrive thingy device" to move all of her stuffs. Then on the new computer she is installing the programs when she realizes she needs them. The first thing she get installed was roboform as her memory isn't what it used to be. I was really proud of her.

[@PurpleKnightmare]

Holy shit dude, I would be super proud of her!

[@hainedriven5511]

thats so cool

[@Johnnyy832]

@@PurpleKnightmare they’re aren’t babies!

[@PurpleKnightmare]

@@Johnnyy832 ???

[@rustynails8756]

I am a bit younger than your Mom, 65, and just love the fact she is 92 and still keeping up. I have been trying to decide if I even need a new computer and based on your story I have decided I do absolutely. Your Mom sounds like a fun lady I can understand your pride

[@deadly_mir]

Honestly that lighting makes the video feel more...cozy and at home

[@TheBurnsStuff]

Fun tip, holding Shift, while dragging to a new drive also switches to Move. When Move is the default, holding CTRL switches to Copy. I transfer files quite regularly and this is faster for me.

[@zadekeys2194]

Nice tip! Only issue with move / cut is that if the files get corrupt in the migration you have no backup, hence why I always copy and paste.

[@Marcelis]

@@zadekeys2194 that’s a good point

[@Marcelis]

Thanks for that.

[@onweekendpass]

if you think that is handy, try Directory Opus. if you move files regularly, you'll love this.

[@gloth]

I am a bit paranoid that I will move when I need to copy and vice versa and I never trust what windows/programs is considering default for drag and drop (move copy or make a shortcut) :D I always use right click

[@HockJamChaz]

May have missed it mentioned but the hidden AppData folder in the User folder can contain important files, for example some games store their saves and/or settings there. Set file explorer to show hidden files to find it or search "%appdata%".

[@kcmsterpce]

This is true. AppData and "LocalLow"

[@BrandonDoran00]

It still pisses me off that developers haven't settled on one standard for save data location, they go hiding your data in the most obscure directory and wonder why people have problems with their software.

[@okkrom]

I usually copy the entire user folder...Don't know why you would do it any other way. Unless your drive is failing maybe.

[@abdullahibrahim9001]

@@okkrom me2

[@scottyim9841]

It’s really easy to transfer. Just copy the c:\users\profile you are using and copy that whole folder and paste it to the new pc. Everything from docs to desktop will transfer. It even goes to the original destination. It will copy the local app data and roaming app data.

[@BWpepperr]

Paul, I(and many of your subscribers and fans) love your content. Please keep making more! I know the last couple years of the state of the computer component industry have made things more challenging for tech tubers, but we are here to support you through views and merchandise purchases.

[@TheWolfLoki]

"I'm in our computer room today and the lighting is not that great" says Paul, standing in the most majestically lit room imaginable.

[@o0Donuts0o]

Dimitri approves.

[@DLCoker666]

For my SSD, couldn't I just physically remove it and put it into my new computer? Or would it explode?

[@MrCrow-tl5tv]

I am wondering the same thing

[@kabakugan]

2:00

[@GemOnWebb]

Hi. If you're happy with your current drive and your old drive's compatible with your new pc, that's okay. Used to do it for my past 4 computers until now, because my new hard drive is faster, and physically different, so... 😊

[@MikesComputerTips]

No couse the drivers are different

[@johnbod]

I consider myself somewhat of an advanced user and I loved this video. Sometimes it's easy to overlook some really basic steps and this covered everything well for all knowledge levels. Thank you for putting this together.

[@PLANTBAT]

Man, I needed this video back in October, but I'm still here to support the channel my guy

[@plaiddood]

Man I literally just finished building a new PC for myself today and I've not been looking forward to having to move everything over... excellent timing on this vid sir!

[@proofy7744]

Not for me. I did it Sunday lmao

[@holdenman8850]

Just copy data over the network

[@obsey]

Why not use the Macrium Reflect software application to clone the contents of the drives in the old computer onto the drives that will be in the new computer? Of course, new software license keys will need to added, especially for Windows and MSFT Office and such, but that too is easy. Cloning drive contents with Macrium Reflect is a much more efficient approach to this task, one I've done many, many times, than copying files by hand.

[@holdenman8850]

@@obsey fresh is best, cloning is quick and easy but can cause problems down the track

[@obsey]

@@holdenman8850 Are you "serious"? A clone is an "exact" sector clone. Unless a "old" computer is absurdly old, a clone is a far better way to avoid problems than the gazillions of pitfalls in trying to copy individual files and folders by hand, possibly creating disasters like skipping essential files / folders on an historical disc. Even for a system drive, a simple trip to the Device Manager is the way to clean up, verify correctness of, and updated it device software. this is the way to avoid problems, the infinite potential problems than can result from hand copying files / folders, especially by using the File Explorer GUI. The video above, just was not very good advice at all, imo.

[@azmotorhead3614]

Quick note 1) The shortcuts that were leftover after moving the files from the Desktop folder stayed because they were in the 'All Users' folder (a.k.a. C:\Users\Public) Many programs put their shortcut into this folder so they can appear across all user profiles on the PC. Like Paul said, they're usually disposable, but it's worth looking before you delete them.

[@JohnFuhrmann]

The is a very good tutorial and I have recommended it to a friend who lives a couple of hundred miles away, who has bought a windows 10 Laptop. The only issue I have with with this tutorial, is that it is almost impossible to read any of the file or folder names, as you move though explaining the process. Next time you do something similar, I would recommend using the Windows scaling feature to make text and screen objects larger. This will make your tutorials much easier to view and comprehend.

[@wesclevenger1349]

you're the best paul. i built my first computer a few years back with lots of help from you. keep up the good work.

[@lost_lt9736]

Not going to lie, I really enjoyed the lighting in the beginning when you stated you thought it was poor conditions.

[@posmobin]

At 13:42 when you show the system the side radiator fans are set to exhaust.. I thought your tests showed the positive pressure setup (top, bottom, and side fans all intake) was best. Why did you change?

[@posmobin]

I had thought about testing that situation, but wouldn't it result in hotter CPU temps? You're blowing warm chassis air throigh the radiator instead of cool air if it was an intake.

[@GregM]

Good tips. If you are not using a password manager but rather have your web browser saving your passwords make sure you export the passwords being stored in the browser. If you are using Google Chrome and have a password on the Windows account then Chrome will encrypt these passwords when the browser is closed. As I work on other people's computers I use a commercial piece of software called Fab's Autobackup to do this backup of the data. The software is not cheap but its a good way of backing up the data when moving it over to a new computer and you do this process fairly frequently. P.S. scanned the comments and reported the darn spam bots to KZbin for what its worth.

[@Dragon_Gaming2020]

2:10 I asked that exact question on another tech channels video and his response was "Did you watch the video?", I'm building a new PC soon and since I'm giving my current PC to somebody I'm keeping the Boot drive in it obviously, but my Storage drive I was planning on just removing it and installing it in my new PC AFTER installing Windows and getting everything up to date etc. Is it as simple as just unplug from current PC, plug into new PC and thats it? Everything should be fine?

[@redpillgymnast]

My best advice is to plug all the old PCs drives into the new PC temporarily, then boot off that main drive. You can use a program like Acronis backup or similar that will allow you to copy an entire drive (even a boot drive) in their entirety. Your only snag might be if your board has only 1 m.2 and you’re upgrading, but that’s uncommon. You could always copy old m.2 to sata drive, the. Sata drive to new m.2. Upgrading my PCs m.2 from PCIe 3 to PCIe 4 took me only about 5 mins in setup, and whatever the transfer time was. Take the old drive out, boot off the new, good to go!

[@silvercoulter]

yeah or get a $20 m2 PCIe card

[@catlee8064]

Im not to tech savvy, i was going to get another PC without OS/drives etc and just move my old SSD/NVME across...would that work ?

[@redpillgymnast]

@@catlee8064 Oh that’s the easiest way. This video and my comment only apply if you are changing boot drives.

[@Lukiel666]

@@catlee8064 Umm. Not so much. back up everything apart from OS on USB. Easy to get even a 240Gb USB for under $20. Hell I turned one into an ear ring as a fashion statement. But do a clean install and install clean new drivers for MB Video drivers updated everything drivers, basically new driver for every single new piece of hardware in your system. And the software to best interface with that system. Without more info that's your best bet. I mean you haven't even said if going from Intel to AMD. But even Intel to Intel a fresh new install is ALWAYS your best bet.

[@Hjorth87]

I kinda did that when I got a new 2tb ssd instead of my old hdd. Only I never got around to actually plugging out the old one, so now I have to figure out how to save all my possibly dublicated data.... Sigh. I have found the tools, just not the motivation

[@hugoheintz]

5:51 About what you say here, is it a must to copy game folders or can you just download all your games on the new PC, log in on your account and be good to go?

[@cursed_cats5710]

Depends. Steam usually syncs any game files with the cloud, but some games may store data locally that isn't synced despite being on Steam

[@gloth]

most important tip is not your documents folder or the %appdata%, is this: You will 100% forget something :) Keep your old pc somewhere for at least a couple of weeks before deciding it would be a nice experience to install arch on it - preferably somewhere connected to your network with remote desktop enabled - so that when you need that cv you had created using that old template and you need now you can turn on your old pc and get it :)

[@sharbymj]

Wow. This video is really helpful. I had my first computer back in 1980. TI/994A. Since then I've had pcs, mac, worked off mainframes. I installed hard drives and software for myself and coworkers. I've gone from a 300 baud modem that took hours to download a file, to lightning speed. My first hard drive was 10Mb. I now have 27 Tbs of storage. I even programmed some in basic. I've gone from the earliest version of Windows and Mac and am now on Windows 10. The reason I am so thankful for your video is that I'm 69 years old now. Things are harder to understand. I was able to use advanced Excel and Databases. A lot of what you have shown I have done many, many times in the past. But for some reason it now seems like a daunting task. I have a brand new computer sitting in my living room. I've had it since May of 2023. I'm going to set that bad boy up!

[@ColinDyckes]

PCMover is an amazing utility to transfer from old to new, either via network cable or a mounted disk image. I needed a 64 bit version because of the sheer number of files on my old machine which broke their 32 bit version and their level 3 tech support/developer supplied a then beta and got it working. Highly recommended!

[@VeerMaharaj]

8:00 you for got to talk about the appdata folder for game saves and other app specific config and preferences files for those who don't use steam's lovely autobackup functionality.

[@Rac3r4Life]

One nice thing about having a Microsoft 365 subscription is that all your files are backed up to One Drive. You can log in on the new PC and all your personal files are already there. You can choose to either download them all or just stream them in as needed. I also find it nice because I can be working on some Project on my desktop and pick up right where I left off on my laptop.

[@BrodyStag]

We’ve all sinned man. We’ve lied, stolen, used God’s name in vain, and more. We now need to repent and trust that Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross. This is very urgent tomorrow isn’t promised. Our works can’t save us but Jesus can!

[@40watt53]

Genuinely the best tutorial I've watched on KZbin, thanks Paul!

[@Razear]

I think using disk imaging software such as Acronis will reduce a lot of the manual legwork that you have to do unless your intention is to do a fresh install and minimize the bloat that gets transferred over to the new PC, but for most people, the process will be much less tedious and time consuming. Also, in terms of game save files, many games support Steam Cloud so it will simply pull the latest version from Valve's servers once you launch the game, which reduces the headache of finding where individual save files are located as they vary per game.

[@RalphvandenBerg]

One thing I like to do upon setup is pointing the documents, music, downloads, desktop, etc folders to a location on a separate drive. That way, in case of re-installing windows, you don't lose any of the things stored there.

[@zadekeys2194]

On paper that works fine but you should have a proper backup elsewhere. Many programs look to the default folder directory, and not the "new" locations.

[@RicardoPenders]

Hey cool, I didn't even know about the right-click and drag to move the files over to the new location. Even after using Windows for as long as it exists I'm still learning new things to this day.

[@davidthornton123]

You forgot about winget! Really fast way to see what you've got installed, and it will even pull what it can from the internet automatically if you import the file on the new machine. winget export -o export.txt By default it saves to C:\Users\, but you can change the path.

[@cardsfanbj]

Ninite is a useful utility for downloading a number of programs easily, I think Linus recommended it When I first built my PC about 4 years ago now, I had only a 128 GB boot SSD and a 1 TB HDD so I mapped my docs, music, videos, and Steam games onto D: instead of C: and it definitely came in handy when I had to RMA my SSD. Then when I had to reformat my boot drive again for whatever reason I had everything backed up already. Steam games especially saved me plenty of time not having to download everything again.

[@msongs]

do the old and new computers have to plugged in to each other. does each have to be on a monitor to see whats going on?

[@NotAGeek]

Another thing to consider when using "Copy" or "Move" is that copy with change the files creation date as where move will retain the files original creation date attributes.

[@danzfamily]

YES! Not addressing this issue is huge, a "move" can be dangerous if something goes wrong during the transfer so people will often use "copy" but then they are surprised when they organize or search by creation or modified dates and realize they are not all the same and they lost all that invaluable information!!!

[@danzfamily]

Also, 440 comments, and you are the only one who mentioned "attributes." But that is the precise reason people will use windows robocopy or some type of mirroring software. Not to mention the long file names issue or the need to verify huge writes. Copying large amounts of data from old to new computers is more complex than presented here and presents many pitfalls for the unaware.

[@NotAGeek]

​@@danzfamily I don't usually comment on channels I follow, but I felt this was worth mentioning. I have had several clients realize this mistake after the fact.

[@charan.n15]

thank you for the heads up!

[@sharbymj]

I have often wondered why that happens...

[@KingdomUploader]

Sure glad you produced this video! I will be setting up a new pc alongside my old one and have them both running - so once i get there, i will def be re-watching this. Thank you for this.

[@greaper1976]

For personal data, outlook files etc I have a dedicated downloads drive and just save everything there directly so I don't need to do backups when I format my pc (something I do every 6 months or so) so I find this to be a very useful tip. I also do the same to my family's pc since I'm apparently the pc tech on call in my city :P

[@Josiuh]

Hi just curious...why do you reformat every 6 months?

[@greaper1976]

@@Josiuh I have a boatload of apps I'm running for work. All kinds of graphic and video editing stuff, coding and web design stuff, games etc etc etc, and my PC tends to get slower after some time and a fresh install cures it. Also I refuse to use antivirus or anti spyware stuff so it's for safety too. My system runs around 80TB of space and those apps try to police ALL of it.... All the time and slows it down even further

[@Josiuh]

@@greaper1976 thank you

[@jennrodriguezdaluz]

my husband is just about to build my new computer (last part arrived yesterday) so this is very timely, thanks Paul! 👍

[@TogonzoMedia]

A good rule to thumb: never ever store any personal data you can't afford to lose on C drive unless you (1) backed it up using your methods or (2) imaged the drive with Macrium Reflect. I try to make images of Windows 10 and Windows 11 on Intel and AMD hardware with all the drivers, apps, and updates every 6 months - a total of 4 disk images - so that I can just boot to a Macrium Rescue USB stick and deploy the relevant image as needed.

[@obsey]

I've got all my computers setup to clone their system drives to backup drives every 48 hours during the wee hours of the night. Its so easy, and so well worth it. I use traditional HDDs because they are much better suited to the quantity of disc writes involved with frequent full disc backup, , although they are slower drives.

[@projectartichoke]

Excellent advice! I try to image my system disks at least once a month. And, what's really nice, is that you can mount the images as pseudo drives and dig through the file structure to restore specific files and folders. Say you web browser becomes corrupted, you can just replace its application data folder from a mounted backup. You're back in business with all of your plugins, bookmarks, and configuration intact. It's saved my bacon more times than I can count.

[@TogonzoMedia]

@@obsey I have my Macrium images stored on the root of a 3TB Seagate USB 3.0 + Hub. It also has my music and my life on it. My OS drives are 500gb SSDs with only about 20% file usage, so both the imaging and deploying goes by quick - 8 to 12 mins - and only take up 17GB to 24GB of space. Saves me a lot of time!

[@NurmYokai]

Yes. For full separation, store data on a second and/or third internal drive. When switching to a new system it's a simple matter of physically removing the data disk(s) from the old system, and installing them in the new one. That, and changing the references in any programs on the new system, that refer to a specific drive. Or copy the contents of the removed drives to the new system; external drive case. Then store the removed drives in a secure location, to be used as an off-site backup.

[@setitfree78]

I've been following your tutorials since 2015.

[@Aerowixx]

Just a heads up when installing a new OS. Upon installation windows attaches existing HDDs to your OS. So if you remove those HDDs or swap them out later, it wont boot anymore. I wanted to swap one of my empty SSD to bigger SSD but it didn't boot anymore. So I had to keep all of them instead. Still not fully understanding the whole feature, but feel free to read more about it.

[@DontFuckWitDreDay]

Thanks for hte heads up. I am new at this migration.

[@DDPizazz]

I liked the content your video taught. You were a bit fast for me, so I appreciated having the transcript. Thank you.

[@jodiedoman7612]

Hi Paul, keep up the great content! I'm very happy with my alienware 3821dw monitor....sensible size / resolution compromise (38 inch, 3840x1600) nano ips, 120 hz (or 144 with chroma subsampling) gsync premium, good responsiveness and input lag, nice curve, well put together, overall great picture - just no complaints really other than price so just need to wait for a big dell sale....

[@BoltRM]

Thx for the monitor info, do you happen to know what 42" Dell monitor his wife has? I have an iiyama 43" I really like, but I like to stay informed on which ones are good 😁

[@gho5tspartan26yt]

1:06 so all of my stuff is currently on the HDD plugged in via Sata cable. Can I just put that sata cable into my new pc and have all my stuff? Mostly just worried about some RPG maker games and the sort. I wanna be able to play them again as I can’t find where I got them. They are stuck in my downloads folder. My buddy said if I just tried to plug in my current hdd that they may be security issues on the new one because it’s not the same pc

[@jayp25]

or if you are on windows 10/11 simply remove your ssd, pop it in your new machine and boot (finally remove all old drivers in device manager by selecting view -> show hidden devices)

[@TogonzoMedia]

This is problematic when jumping from AMD to Intel (and vice versa) because even if you uninstall platform specific drivers after the SSD swap, Windows Update will turn around and still offer driver updates based on the old machine because the HAL was never reset. You'll need to use the "Reset This PC" option or clean install Windows.

[@TogonzoMedia]

@@bowlinbob6 If the NVME is formatted as GPT and you're using UEFI mode in the BIOS, it'll boot up to Windows on the new board. I was on an i5 4670k and when I moved my Samsung SSD over to the Ryzen rig I built in October, it booted into Windows 10 without issue. I removed everything Intel related, installed AMD chipset drivers, left it idle for a few days. Came back to Windows Update prompting me to install Intel LAN drivers and said, "Yup, I better install clean!" 😂

[@jayp25]

@@TogonzoMedia Very true, however it is a simple solution for most people. You can in fact edit the registry or run a batch script or even software to clean up the chipset drivers etc, just wanted to keep it simple. I certainly do this more often than I actually transfer but the 3rd solution is of course just to make a system image.

[@jayp25]

@@bowlinbob6 As of Windows 10 you can it just pops up "getting devices ready" and installs the drivers prior to booting system32.... Technically yes, however if you do switch to a Ryzen you will need to clean up the firmware (chipset drivers). To be fair once you boot from it you can just do a non destructive reset anyway so it's still super simple this way.

[@fadedlogic1]

This was serendipitous timing! Thanks, Paul!

[@blufoxful]

Oh , was never this early before.

[@thomaszynda]

caught you off guard there ey?

[@DaboInk84]

Lots of handy little tips here, helpful for a noob or someone who just hasn’t had to do this for a while, thanks for this one!

[@mleii1169]

Others mentioned this but AppData is definitely a place that has a lot of files that you might want to back up. That said it's a much more complex topic that might be better handled elsewhere. At least you mentioned the various game data like for example Steam that'd be a loss for folks depending on the game and how they're backing it up. Often times you want to turn off the Steam online backups as there are some games that have problems with that. :( That said this was a great video for the basics. Thank you Paul.

[@mleii1169]

Also "c:\Users" as mentioned. Again adds a whole lot of complexity to backing things up. Maybe a video about how to make those things less complex? Though that'd be complex as well. :joy:

[@maxwattage3205]

Were you watching me? These are the exact steps I used in late December. After purchasing all needed components and driving to my sister's, I had her new computer built and Windows installed in a few hours. We then went through the steps you outlined here to get her data from her old PC to the new, using an external drive. Easy, fast and complete. Great minds.....

[@Eric_In_SF]

No, it’s because these are the same steps everyone takes for the last 40 years of computing

[@JamesArthurHurley]

The fact that its almost 2023 and this process is STILL this tedious say a lot.

[@CosmicHarmony58]

you’d think it’d be easier cuz greedy corporations and more sells…I’m surprised 🤣

[@meagainokay7673]

I am in this process with a new build. I would recommend cloning instead. No hastle as everything is as it was on your old pc and so much less time.

[@shiningstarsspace]

Question: Is it possible to move my pictures, music and videos from my outdated windows Vista to my windows 10 and will my music and videos still work, and all my pictures open up for me without issues, if yes, how do I do it please and thank you...

[@metaltone4891]

I already did all of these steps. I was hoping for a quicker option XD

[@shooflyshoo1754]

I use an Aorus FV43 for both work and gaming, it is the best all around monitor 43" 4k 144hz

[@bertnijhof5413]

The Music folder is essential! It contains all wma copies of my LPs and CDs. The copies are from 2005, done by Windows XP during a couple of months. The number of fans in your PC seems crazy, my Ryzen PC only has one CPU fan! The power-supply fan and the reused 2-pin case fan sounded like jet engines, so this month I disconnected those fans. To compensate for the case fan I left the side panel off, the desktop now looks very modern. The power supply probably does not need a fan, because my PC only needs 50 to max 150 Watt (R3 2200G 65W), the power-supply feels lukewarm most of the time. Besides another 600W xTech power-supply only costs DOP850 ($16). That xTech power supply is special, it only has a 24 pins motherboard connector; a 4 pin CPU connector and 2 Sata and 2 Molex connectors :) I assume it is tin plated and I use it now for 3 years for 24 hours and 7 days/week. Converting from my old Phenom II system to my Ryzen desktop was very simple, I just moved all disks in the right sequence to my Ryzen desktop and rebooted and afterwards I used it for half a year :) Maybe Ubuntu (Linux) helped by just reorganizing itself. Later adding a nvme-SSD I had to do a lot more work. If I want light on my desk, I don't buy 9 rgb fans but I buy a desk lamp :)

[@vypGMD]

yes bert, this content is mostly for gaming pcs and gamers, youre describing what sounds like a office pc, the main difference being the lack of a graphics card. The RGB fans arent really about light, but more about the looks, and additionally due to the fact that gaming pcs like the ones shown in the video run WAY hotter than your machine, bigger cooling solutions are needed. :)

[@bertnijhof5413]

@@vypGMD I play games on my PC, like Wolfenstein-3D, SuperTuxKart and others. You seem to believe, that you need an expensive PC for gaming, otherwise you should shut up.

[@blitzrigen]

⁠@ZaHandleit seems like bert thinks he is running the best of the best in gaming machines when in reality the games he won’t make any machine go higher than their idle temp. So Bert, the guy you told to shut up is still right. Modern games now would make a computer like yours heat up and possibly damage itself. Because of all the resources these modern games use, you actually do need an expensive gaming pc. Will all of the expensive parts comes the increase in heat which is why there are so many fans in the cases. The colder the components are the faster and more efficient they can run. If you played newer games that are vastly bigger than SuperTuxKart and Wolfenstein-3D. You would see and understand why some gaming PCs are so large and have so many fans. Also I leave you with a tip regarding your computer. If the fans themselves are getting loud it could mean one of three things. 1: the fans have to speed up due to the heat contained within your computer which they are programmed to respond to. 2: Your pc was set up to run them at maximum speed by default which most fans would get loud. 3: The fans are just not designed for quiet operation, different kinds of motors for those fans can be loud or quiet with varying lifespans depending on what you get. Now for the games you are playing, your right. You don’t need very much to run them whatsoever. But for games that were released past your Wolfenstein-3D (1992) and supertuxkart (2006) release dates. Your computer would not be able to handle even their loading screens. This is not even an exaggeration.

[@donnawoods4874]

I'm a little confused. How do you have both drives open on your desktop so you can transfer files> Also it would help if you can slow down so someone can see better what you are doing.

[@AspasiaMoundros]

Not all of us are as tech savy as you or most of your followers are. I am very unsophisticated on tech issues and am transferring files( desktop, doc and photos from my Windows 7 to my new desktop Win 11 in next few days. How about a very basic tutorial? Also, you speak so fast that its hard to follow. Yes, I'm 70 years old. JD

[@lshulman58]

Is there a more direct method to transfer files? Like just use a USB cable to connect the two computers and copy directly from old to new, rather than copy old computer to external drive and then copy it all again from external drive to new computer? (more time saving process)

[@PyroShields]

Is it so hard to make a tutorial video without rambling about nonsense. Stick to the tutorial like most successful video creators do.

[@Triaxx2]

Instead of a physical media, if you have the cables, can also just plug both into the network and transfer files PC to PC. That's what I did since I lacked anything big enough to move files.

[@uggupuggu]

One of, if not, the best tutorial video I have ever seen on KZbin. Very easy to understand and follow. Earned a sub!

[@aj0413_]

And this is why everyone should always have two drives and/or a NAS; makes it super easy to maintain the files you actually care about so I can just reformat my OS drive whenever I want with minimal down time

[@godboy114]

I.most definitely did it wrong then. I just unplugged the ssd from my old one and plugged into my new pc and turned it on. Was wondering why the monitor wasn't detecting it

[@PatJamesRicketts]

I did a data/email audit about once a year for a couple years, it only took 2 passes to cut the bulk of redundant files and folders, organize, and set up a folder structure I am content with. Now I just do a bit of housekeeping every 6 months or so for newly stored data. I have a WD Black 4TBx2 HDD RAID 1 array that is just about maxed with a neatly sorted collection of everything, a Samsung 1TB SSD for larger downloads and game storage overflow, a Samsung 512GB NVME M.2 SSD for the OS and primary games, a 2TB external backup for easy transfers and core keepsake storage, and assorted USB's/SD cards along the same lines for off-site backups. Over 7 years strong on this current configuration, just turning 8TB into the RAID 1 when I made the upgrade from i7-5930K/X99 to 5900X/X570, and I couldn't be happier. I pretty much follow the same protocol as you describe, I love having Firefox sync with a bookmarks folder for every manufacturer driver download page, apps and programs downloads, basically all software and drivers for every single piece of hardware and assorted peripherals. Unfortunately I have a Windows 10 USB from 2016, so updates are a bit of a pain! The real task is optimizing windows, setting overclocks, and downloading/installing games. I have built a pretty sturdy system that is upgraded as needed but generally has been the same format for almost 10 years now. a custom loop with a 5000RPM pump, 200mm glass reservoir running distilled H20, dual 140mmx30 rads in push-pull, 3000RPM Noctua fans that only ever see over 1500RPM when going for overclocking records, 1/2" I.D.-3/4" O.D. tubing, and solid nickel-plated copper waterblocks (Heatkiller/EK). It is absolutely overkill, and I should be ashamed of how much it has cost over the years, but combining my old parts with a new power supply paid for my CPU, and I make money through it's use, a small price to pay for one of the only luxuries I grant myself other than coffee. Having an enjoyable experience is paramount, and should be heavily invested in.

[@ViciousXUSMC]

If both computers are up at the same time, I would just copy data over the network. Transferring with external storage just adds an extra unneeded hop. I wrote a backup script that we use at work to replace peoples computers that gets all the personal data, browser favorites, outlook settings, specific app data directories, etc. In that case the script writes to an external drive. The other thing often smart to do is just take the old drive and install it to the new PC and use it as an extra disk and then you can move anything you want off of it.

[@TonytheCapeGuy]

Oh. This was a lot more straightforward than I was expecting the process to be. xD

[@nelliemartinez6136]

I have a question I have a older hp all in one desk top and it’s slow could I just purchase a new tower and use in on the older desk top? Thank you for your time. I’m not worried about saving nothing from the old desk top.

[@Friedbrain11]

I am about to take the SSD and HDD for the W10 part of my dual boot PC and transfer them to a separate PC of its own. Any hiccups I might encounter?

[@3-crows]

I have a hard drive from my old computer that I want to use to transfer to another computer. I've connected it as an external HD but I don't know how to make the transfer. It shows up in 'My Computer' and that's as far as I could get. How do I get the data, pictures and music off the old HD and onto my computer?

[@KylezUwU]

Can I just install my old ssd from my old pc to a new system? the ssds just have games/programs on it (no OS)

[@BWodarski]

If your wife still wants to maintain that size / resolution, I just upgraded my setup with the Aorus FV43U. 4K, 144hz, Gsync / freesync, hdr1000, It's a VA panel not IPS. Think microcenter carries it so might be able to go see it locally. It's got a weird BGR subpixel layout so very small text is kinda dumb but zoom 10% or so and it's not noticible imo. Definitely a great large format gaming monitor that has good out of the box calibration and has a KVM switch built in which is nice bonus feature.

[@OpAfAnx]

Can I swap my nvme m.2 with windows 11 on it to my other PC that doesn't have anything or any is on it ?

[@alanhowitzer]

Is it possible to run a USB wire between the two computers and move the files using that connection?

[@nickgarcia1292]

This is great, just ordered a new case, cpu, aio and mb so this should be helpful moving over everything else

[@titaniumshadow4251]

a question i have is that i have 2 hard drives one internal which is my c drive and one external but my downloads folder is located on my external drive. what should i do?

[@kishdogg1594]

Can you do certain programs? I just wanna take 2 programs from a newer laptop and put thrm on a desktop

[@LatNStrategy]

How about subscription services that cannot be on more than one PC? I would think once we are all set just remove from the old launch the new so it connects and identifies as a new PC...

[@bloodybucket213]

Yo spooky Paul, I spoke to my brother yesterday about possible upgrades to his system. Yesterday. Thanks Dude.

[@ravenfeeder1892]

I usually make a folder on the new PC called 'OldPC' for all those things that don't necessarily get copied elsewhere. Of course this means I now have that folder nested four times as it keeps on getting transferred to new PC's over the decades.

[@Naju_ALS]

can I transfer my internal hdd to my new pc without losing the data in it?

[@CharleyMarion]

Great video! I have a 10 year old Acer laptop with windows 8 and all my programs in it... the laptop is working great but I needed some features it does not have. I purchased a 5 year old HP laptop with Windows 11 in it. I wonder if I could erase this new hard drive with Windows 11, install windows 8 for which I have an original CD, the same I used for my laptop now and then replace the hard drive with my current hard drive with windows 8 and all programs in it. Would that help the newer computer to "accept" my older hard drive? Thanks!!

[@TheBlueBunnyKen]

So if you have windows installed on your drive, can you just swap the drive over to the new PC with no issues? I have had an issue before when I swapped motherboards I got locked out of my account

[@jjlw2378]

I have 3 m.2 in my system. A 500gb OS C: drive, a 1tb D: drive and a 1tb F: drive. I just bought a new 2tb m.2 drive. Can I just use Aomei or Acronis software to copy one of the 1tb drives to the 2tb drive and then erase the 1tb drive, so I can then do a fresh Windows install to replace my current 500gb OS drive?

[@Ro-Bucks]

I gto a new mobo mem and cpu combo, will that trigger my windows keyto fail?

[@LoudTheOneandOnly]

Just to confirm, cause I’m getting a new build and gifting my mom my current build, would I need format the C: Drive and other drives so that it’s factory ready for her out of the box?

[@davidhollfelder9940]

What is the new case? Have similar left hand setup. How did you get th3 USB on the side bottom!

[@Idtelos]

The 49" Samsung Odyssey Neo would be epic with that sweet pc build.

[@Happy-Trails-To-You]

I have an old HP Pavilion Desktop running Window 10. I upgraded it with a new 1TB SSD to replace the old HHD. But the computer is old and limited. I want to do video editing so I want a new desktop. I would like to simply take out my SSD from my old Pavilion and put it into a new desktop to use it for booting and the operating system and all applications (i.e., replace the new computers HD). The new computer would be an HP Envy. Can I do that, and will it boot and work?

[@gwaites6329]

Awsomeeee! Thanks!!!! Have my old PC and sooop torn between using the new GPU and CPU in it as an overhaul till I do a platform swap with am6, OR IF I just build a new am4 system for fashion and have 2 great systems to nerd out for 2 years till am6 orrrrr go for a am5 enthusiast build and stressing and oc fun and then upgrade CPU for 8000 ryzen or wait till like 10000 series or w/e 5 years later hah. Any upgrade is massive, but I think I have the money and will enjoy the build fun and power way more even if it's a waste of money. Just such a hard choice cause if I don't salvage the 5 year old build which is safer, I'll need a full gear up anyway at which point am5 is way more cost effective even tho I bought a 5800x3d~ my current PC is BAD at fitting a tower cooler for it so I might need a stock cooler and 5600x for my old system to get another 5 years out of my 1080 casually and just do a perfect tier am4 build with it, sell it to someone from r most money back, or just keep it as a 300$ paper weight for stupidity and build am5 anyway with 7800x3d idk XD good thing is once new system is up and perfect, I can spend years modifying old system to fit or push 5800x3d even with an aio and just have fun for once

[@soulfulsunflower4328]

Can do this same thing with cloud storage instead (my OneDrive), or would I have to get a large memory drive to do this?

[@philp1072]

Hey Paul im in a pinch,I had a laptop go down. I was able to pull the Hard drive out, and access all the information. How or can I pull off all my accounts and passwords with them moving them to the new laptop? Where do I need to look on the drive? Thanks Phil

[@420MRBlueberry]

Will this work with work related files, like on board system for vehicle and will still function normal on the new computer??

[@rowanpei7254]

THANKS SO MUCH i just got a new pc and wanted to transfer my files but i would like to know if you can transfer settings???

[@dom3335]

I'm just trying to copy over personal files and it seems you can't transfer between 2 PC's using a USB cable without buying a particular product. Is this really a hardware limitation for PC and not a Windows thing? I'd love to know why.

[@pbf_ads]

Hey, recently my PC died so I bought a new one. I was wondering if I need to do any extra steps to install my old SSD or if I just have to put it in

[@bett059]

Thanks!

[@amyramsey9100]

will this work for seting up a user account pc with edge non exsistant?

[@joenichols4580]

Colin Robinson just saved me! New system coming tomorrow so cheers for this 🙏

[@kingjames4886]

I'm kind a fan of just hooking up my old hard drive as a storage drive and moving things over from there... idk how it could be any simpler, plus you get an extra storage drive... or 3. always better to have too much data than to lose data!

[@Candyon240fps8]

im building a new pc and i would like all of my files and everything to transfer over could i just use the same hard drives im using right now and plug them in to the new pc and i would i have all my stuff ?

[@michaelbrady1463]

I am trying to move Itunes over from one laptop to another. And keeping everything in the current order. But, it keeps placing everything in alphabetical. Mixing jazz, gospel music and books I listen to. Any thoughts on how I can get this done?

[@Aldarux]

Thank you Paul! This is something that no doubt will be necessary for me when I am finally ready to build my new PC.

[@heinzerbrew]

Read the comments for additional tips. Lots of good ones.