How can I transfer files from my old computer to my new one - it's tricky, see details below...?

My old computer won't connect to the monitor (which is why I bought the new computer) so I can't run the Files %26amp; Transfer Wizard. I've got a serial cable to connect the two PCs but you have to run the wizard from both, not just the receiving computer. I've been assured that the hard drive is fine, it's probably a problem with the motherboard on the old PC that stops it working with the monitor (cables and graphics card have been tested and are fine). Can it be done through the cable without using a monitor on the old PC? Otherwise, would it be possible to put the old hard drive in my new computer (there is a slot for it) and transfer files that way? I had a look for instructions but it all seemed very complicated, going on about partitioning the drives etc - is all that necessary? I didn't really understand it. What does that do? At the moment I just want to get what's on my old hard drive onto the new one. Please help! Thanks...|||Swopping the old hard drive into the new computer is easy once you get the hang of it. I am assuming the hard drive is an ide (the usual sort) and there is only one drive in the new computer.





You can do one of two things. If you have a spare ribbon cable to fit the hard drive, and a spare IDE slot to plug it into the motherboard, do that. The spare slot will be close the where your main drive is plugged in, and will say IDE 2 or something like that. Pay close attention to the pin numbering on drive, one end of the cable is marked to help u.





If you do not have spare cable/spare slot you can still fix it but it is slightly more tricky. You need to set the old hard drive to 'slave' on the jumper pins, (look on the drive casing for details) and connect it to the same cable as the other hard drive- there usually an extra plug half way down the cable.





Remember to plug in a power lead to the old drive too, obviously.





Usually you will be able to access this extra drive as d: for both read and write.|||are you shure it is the motherboard or the moniter. if you want i could ask my friend who nows a lot more about this then me.|||I suggest that first you copy all your programs in CDs. Subsequently, transfer them to a new drive. I can give you a link that deals with hard drive problems.Some drive problems can be easily fixed by yourself using easily available tools. I found the info at http://fixit.in useful. Try this site, if you can get what is required.|||Now you know why you should have an Apple Mac, with them you simply connect a firewire between them and over everything goes.|||You don't have to partition just take the old hard drive out and make it slave by moving the jumper one spot away on the two lines pins and hook it to the new computer then copy what you want .|||Whenever I do this (change to a new PC) I do exactly what you have talked about - I install (temporarily) the old hard drive in the new PC (make sure you set it to be a "slave", so as to avoid any conflict with the existing master drive) and then simply use Windows Explorer (Windows key + E) and copy any files across to the relevant folder on the new drive.


Not everything is in "My Documents" - remember your extra fonts in Windows %26gt; Fonts and your Outlook .pst file (if you use Outlook) and any files created in your applications which may be stored in subfolders of your application's main folder.





I usually leave the old drive in for a while (6 months or so) as I always end up forgetting something and then, when I realise it, all I have to do is find the file on the old drive and then copy it across.





Of course, you will have to reinstall any applications as you can't just copy them across. But this way at least you can look at what was on your old drive to remind you of what to install on your new one. You probably won't install everything you had before.





Good luck.|||http://www.techtutorials.net/|||We had a similar problem with our last computer, and got round the problem by fitting the old hard drive as a "slave" drive on the new computer. On the old drive there should be a small switch that can be set to the "slave" setting, then simply install it into the new computer (there should be a slot for another drive next to the one in there). As far as I remember it was just a case of attaching a couple of ribbon cables which were already in there to the old drive. You can then access all the data on the old drive, but you will NOT be able to save to it.





Hope this is useful =)|||assuming you have a desktop, just assemble [put in] your old hdd in the new pc. all desktops have the ability to fit at least 2 hdd. If you don't know how to, just take both pc's to a computer's workshop, it takes 10 mins tops to do that. and maybe a few [10, 20 quid].|||The easiest thing to do is get a USB external hard drive enclosure. You can take the drive off of your old computer and put it into this device, and then attach the drive to your new computer just like a small USB keychain drive. Word of warning though...if you have any sort of virus on your old hard drive, it can replicate into your new hard drive by doing this. Best bet is to thoroughly scan your old drive with an up to date virus scanner before moving files over. Also, only move data files. Program files sometimes require registry changes which do not transfer from computer to computer easily.|||Just open up both cases and transfer the old hard drive to the new case. Most likely, there will be a slot for it.


When you boot up your new computer it should recognize the drive and assign it a letter.


Just drag and drop in Windows Explorer.