Moving files to your new PC (part 2)

To read part one of this three part series read >>> Moving files to your new PC (Part 1)

To perform the physical task of copying files over multiple hardware platforms you’ll need what’s called a crossover cable, which runs between the ‘Ethernet’ ports on your two PCs. (You may already have one between your PC and modem/router, so you can use that as long as you won’t need internet access during the transfer). Once the cable is plugged in, your PCs should automatically recognize one another as a ‘Local Area Connection’. You’ll need to enable file sharing

on each folder you want to transfer across, which you can do by right-clicking in Windows Explorer and going into the ‘Sharing and Security’ menu. (It’s possible to simply share an entire drive, but to be safe you should only do so if you are confident about your firewall set-up, or if you have unplugged your router.) Remember to turn off the file sharing when you are finished.

This is a possible option if your old machine doesn’t have a network socket. It works in the same way as a network cable, but will be listed as a ‘1394 connection’.

This is the simplest to use option if you have enough storage space on the device and aren’t confident with networking. The downsides are that it will take at least twice as long. You’ll need to copy the files to the device, then from the device to the new machine, plus transfer rates are usually slower than with a direct PC-to-PC connection, and if you find you’ve missed any files you’ll have to go back to the old computer (which could involve unplugging and reconnecting your monitor, keyboard or mouse).

This has similar advantages and disadvantages to a USB device. A recordable DVD usually stores about 4GB of data, which is more than many USB sticks. The big downside is that each time you find you’ve forgotten a file, you’ll need to burn a new disc.

You can e-mail files as an attachment to your own address and pick them up on your new machine. This is pretty much a last resort as it can be very slow and you’ll likely have a limit to the amount of data your e-mail provider lets you send on a single message. However, this is a possible solution if your old computer is so badly damaged that it will only run in Safe mode, and this prevents you using external storage such a USB stick, or from networking successfully.

Once you’ve decided how to transfer files, you’ll need to decide what exactly to transfer. We’ll look at that in part 3 of this series.

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