Transferring files between hard drives

[AndyD]

Hello all,

I have recently bought my parts for a new new pc which I am going to build for the first time, however, I currently have all my old files on a nearly full 500gb seagate hard drive. I bought a new WD Blue 1TB drive and I intend on transferring the files from the old drive to the new drive, and wiping the old one clean. I'm wondering if it's possible to simply copy+paste all the existing files onto the new drive and have all my programs able to launch and perform their regular functions, such as the OS booting up, and steam/skype,etc starting up normally. 

 

If copy+pasting is not the way to do it, please let me know how to so that I do not need to reinstall all my programs on my new drive.

Thanks!

[Chronos5618]

Copy and paste won't work for programs. Rather, I would clone the old hard drive- I use Acronis for this. There are 101 walkthroughs on the web on how to do it.

[Rheinwasser]

yes thats possible but only if all components stay the same. i doubt that is the case for you.

 

i suggest doing a fresh install and installing all your programs, the hooking up your old hdd and copying over all your data.

[AndyD]

So if I clone the files over to the new drive, the OS and programs will boot completely fine, as if I was using the original drive? 

 

And does the cloning still work if I use the cloned new drive on a new pc?

[ManIkWeet]

So if I clone the files over to the new drive, the OS and programs will boot completely fine, as if I was using the original drive? 

 

And does the cloning still work if I use the cloned new drive on a new pc?

Make sure the cloning software is able to clone the MBR (Master Boot Record) or you're in for A LOT of trouble...

[AndyD]

Any software recommendations you are certain clone MBR off the top of your head? 

 

Thnsk!

[Chronos5618]

If the hard drive you want to boot off is going in a new computer, then no- you will need to do a new install. This is because the OS becomes tied to the motherboard, so moving the hard drive to another machine will invalidate the OS. However, if you are simply adding a new hard drive to an existing machine, then cloning will work as all other components are the same. 

 

Quick forum tip- quote the person you are addressing so that they can see you've responded

[AndyD]

If the hard drive you want to boot off is going in a new computer, then no- you will need to do a new install. This is because the OS becomes tied to the motherboard, so moving the hard drive to another machine will invalidate the OS. However, if you are simply adding a new hard drive to an existing machine, then cloning will work as all other components are the same. 

 

Quick forum tip- quote the person you are addressing so that they can see you've responded

 

Okay thanks for all the information, you've clarified a lot! That's a bummer, I was hoping I to skip out on all the gimpy installation processes. This is going to be a pain, especially with all my torren- I mean all my programs I have installed on my drive. 

[Chronos5618]

Okay thanks for all the information, you've clarified a lot! That's a bummer, I was hoping I to skip out on all the gimpy installation processes. This is going to be a pain, especially with all my torren- I mean all my programs I have installed on my drive. 

Haha. Normal files can just be copied across as normal- video files, documents, music etc. It is just the programs that will need reinstalling as their destinations will all move around if they are copied over. My recommendation- install the OS on the new hard drive, and reinstall any programs you have, then plug in the old drive as a secondary drive and copy and paste all your files across. You will be able to access it just like a giant memory stick, even if you can't boot from it. 

[conspiravision]

Copy and paste won't work for programs. Rather, I would clone the old hard drive- I use Acronis for this. There are 101 walkthroughs on the web on how to do it.

Acronis /thread

[Captain_WD]

~snip~

 

Hey there AndyD,

 

I would also recommend cloning the whole drive to the new WD Blue. This way you should be able to keep everything and won't need to reinstall applications and move manually files. you can get the Acronis True Image WD Edition tool and use it. It should work just fine with no trouble. Here's a link: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=H6AJIz

 

Let me know how it went and feel free to ask if you happen to have any questions,

 

Captain_WD.