Transfer files from old comp to new comp?

[Aeolius]

Apple has addressed this rather well: Setup Assistant

 

[Krieg]

Personally I would just take the old HDD, put it in the new machine & do a direct drive to drive transfer. It'll be the fastest method by far.

Scotley did a reasonable job of explaining how to do so above.

First, USB drives are the wave of the future and if your files are under a 128 mb or so then the easiest way to do things is buy one and use it. Even a 256 sized one is less than $100 and 64 mb ones are less than $30 at your favorite local office supply store.

Actually the prices are currently even lower.

128MB = $29
256MB = $59
512MB = $99

(give or take $10 or so on the above given the manufacturer & reseller)

There is also a 6GB(!) USB drive, but it would currently set you back about $1600 which is probably a tad more than you want to spend!

 

[reapersaurus]

What is the best/easiest way to transfer files from the old computer to the new?

It's critical for us to know how much (approximately) data you are looking to copy.

If it's in the multiple-GB range, just swapping in your old HD in the new computer is the best.

If it's small (1/2 a GB or so, the memory stick is the best approach.

 

[drothgery]

Personally I would just take the old HDD, put it in the new machine & do a direct drive to drive transfer. It'll be the fastest method by far.

I don't know about that; I was going to do that when I got a new PC a few months ago, but my old PC had a rather odd bracket for the hard drive, and I couldn't figure out how to get it out. I ended up just shuffling things between them via a USB key, but I think picking up a crossover cable would've been a better idea.

 

[Krieg]

I don't know about that; I was going to do that when I got a new PC a few months ago, but my old PC had a rather odd bracket for the hard drive, and I couldn't figure out how to get it out. I ended up just shuffling things between them via a USB key, but I think picking up a crossover cable would've been a better idea.

Reapersaurus had a very good point regarding the quantity of data being transferred is important.

More than a couple of gigs makes using a USB drive a pain in the butt.

Depending on what operating systems he is using a direct connection via cat5 can also be a bit of a pain depending on the user's knoweledge base.

Regarding the HDD bracket, it not strictly necessary to remove the drive from the bracket, as long as you can get the bracket out of the old machine. Since data transfer is the only goal, it's not mandatory that he be able to put the old drive in a new drive bay. He only needs to be able to get it connected to the IDE & Molex connectors.

All of the various suggestions will certainly work, the original poster just needs to find out which set of pros & cons he is most comfortable with.

 

[drothgery]

Regarding the HDD bracket, it not strictly necessary to remove the drive from the bracket, as long as you can get the bracket out of the old machine. Since data transfer is the only goal, it's not mandatory that he be able to put the old drive in a new drive bay. He only needs to be able to get it connected to the IDE & Molex connectors.

Y'know, I never even thought of that. I certainly wasn't going to keep the old HD in the new system, as an extra 10GB on a box with a 120GB HD is of little use, so spending a few minutes copying everything with the cases open would have been just fine.

 

[Quasqueton]

The old machine runs Windows 98. The HD is only 3G, and is maybe 80-90% full. The data to be transfered is a small percentage of this -- maybe, at most, 500M. Quite possibly only 100M.

As for my technical expertise. . . I used to be quite handy on and in a computer. But I haven't been inside the box or software in several years, so my skills are old and only half remembered. I'm not afraid of going inside, or going through the operating system to configure something, but I must have the steps and proceedures listed (or given by something like a setup wizard).

Thanks for all the advice so far. I've found some step-by-step guides online (now that I know what proceedures to look up).

Quasqueton

 

[Scotley]

Y'know, I never even thought of that. I certainly wasn't going to keep the old HD in the new system, as an extra 10GB on a box with a 120GB HD is of little use, so spending a few minutes copying everything with the cases open would have been just fine.

Yes, if your cables are long enough you can perform this operation without removing a drive at all. Saves time and hassle and to my way of thinking you are less likely to make a mistake, or drop one of those little screws... I hate that. :\

Scotley

 

[Aeolius]

You could always invest in a 15 GB iPod , which can double as a FireWire or USB 2.0 hard drive.

 

[Breakdaddy]

Apple has addressed this rather well: Setup Assistant

If only it wasnt otherwise a paperweight that would be brilliant