A portable hard drive is the easiest method to transfer your files from one computer to another. File data includes items such as documents, spreadsheets, presentations, songs, images and videos. Most software, such as programs like Microsoft Office or antivirus programs, cannot be transferred to another computer. For these, you will need to reinstall them on the new computer from your original disks or download new versions of the software, which may require a new purchase.
Instructions
1. Save any open files you are working on, and then close out of all programs completely.
2. Plug your external hard drive into a USB port on your computer using the USB cable that came with the drive. Wait for your computer to recognize the new hardware.
3. Follow any onscreen prompts to install the software driver for your external hard drive. Windows calls this an Installation Wizard.
4. Double-click the icon on your desktop for the new hard drive if it does not automatically open the drive's files in a new window. If you don't see the window or an icon, click "Start," "Computer," and then choose the drive from the devices listed.
5. Drag any files you want to transfer into the hard drive window. This means the "Documents," "Music," "Pictures" and "Videos" folders as well as any other folders you know of that contain data you want to transfer. Microsoft standard software programs such as Office store their data in these folders by default, so they should contain most of what you need. If you have other programs that store files internally, drag the storage folders for those programs onto the drive, too.
6. Launch the "Start" menu if you don't know a specific file's location. Type the first part of the file's name into the search box and right-click the file when it appears in the results list. Choose "Open file location." This opens the file within its folder. You can see which folder contains the file by looking at the address bar at the top of the window. Locate that folder in the left pane of the window and drag it or just your selected document into the hard drive window.
7. Click the USB or hard drive icon in the lower right area of your screen and select "Eject" to prepare the external hard drive for disconnection. If your computer tells you the drive cannot disconnect because it is in use, wait a while and try again. The files are still transferring.
8. Disconnect the external hard drive when the computer says it is safe, and then plug it into the other computer.
9. Follow the Installation Wizard process to set up the hard drive software on the second computer, and then drag and drop the files from the hard drive window onto your new computer's desktop. From there, you can rearrange the files as you prefer.
Tags: hard drive, external hard, external hard drive, your computer, drive window, hard drive window