Sorry, put this on the wrong place.

[m74731]

I just purchased a Western Digital Essential 320gb external hard drive. Wife needs one to keep work essentials. We also need to transfer files from one computer, her old one, to another, her new one. Uses a 2.0 USB connection. Any help as to whether this will work well and sugestions as to what to do would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all of you.

[Murf]

Depends on the operating system when you transfer files between computers. XP/Vista have a file transfer program you can use.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l.../bb457074.aspx

[m74731]

This would be for transfer. I will be updating my computer to XP. Right now it is Me. Hers is XP. We will be moving files from my computer to her computer. Will I need to do this now are after I update to XP?

Thanks. Hope I haven't gotten you totally confused.

[Murf]

1. If you have the original program cd's it is always better to do a complete fresh install of XP.

2. Actually upgrading Windows 9x/Me to Windows XP is actually a bit of a misnomer. When you upgrade such a system, Microsoft actually examines your installation, moves your documents and personalized settings to a backup location, and then performs a clean install of XP. Then, it goes back and applies those personalized settings to the new OS and moves your documents into the correct location (My Documents, which is located in a different place in XP than it was in 9x/Me). This is why it requires so much free space for the upgrade, by the way.
Also, by default, XP Setup will backup your existing 9x system so you can uninstall XP and go back if you have problems. I strongly recommend allowing it to do so (you'd have to go out of your way to prevent it), because this gives you an out if anything goes wrong. And trust me, with a move between two very different technologies, something very well could go wrong.

3. During the upgrade, XP Setup will examine your current system and create a report explaining what types of problems you might have with hardware and software. A hardware device might not be supported under XP, for example, and require a new driver from the manufacturer. You might have to reinstall certain software, or may find that some software--especially virus scanners, disk utilities, and the like--will not work at all under XP. If you want to run this test before installing (or even purchasing) XP, please read part two of this Installation Super Guide, Using the Upgrade Advisor, first. This tool will provide you with the same information as XP Setup, giving you time to collect the necessary updates ahead of time.

4. A totaling clean install would wipe the hard drive completely and start all over. You loose everything on the drive.

As far as when you move files depends on which route you take in installing XP, if upgrade and XP takes your files and moves them back, then you can transfer anytime, if wiping the drive clean then obviously you would want to move before that.

Honestly, I personally think you should dump ME altogether one of the worse O/S MS came out with.

Start fresh with XP, you will have less problems

[m74731]

Would this work? Let her load all her files from the harddrive onto the external hard drive, then she could transfer from the external to the internal hard drive on her computer. That way I can clear everything from my hard drive and start over. I also am adding a 750gb second drive to this systm. I then will have a 1gb processor, 2gbs of RAM and a huge amount of internal hard drive.

Thanks.

[Murf]

YES,

Just remember starting over you loose all Programs as Programs cannot just be copied over, they must be installed.

[m74731]

She has several medical dictionaires, etc. Those can be transferred, can't they? Also, what about music she has on the computer?

murf, I really appreciate your help. I have never done this before. Don't want to lose any of her files.

[m74731]

May I ask one more question then I will leave you alone.

Is this why if I send a pfg, jfg etc, who ever I send it to has to already have the program to open it? Dumb question, huh?