Howdya transfer software from old to newly built computer?

[furnituremaker]

I have windowsXP operating system and a lot of files I like (and a lot I don't) and would ideally like to have the good ones transferred from old computer to new computer. I have disks for some but not all. Some were downloads, etc..
Is there an efficient means of transferring software from my existing machine to the one I build?

 

[AngelDeath82]

Very simple solution on how to do it without losing the files: external hard drive (ie. USB/Firewire/Network attached). Maxtor, Western Digital and LaCie all make external drives, and most of them offer ones with at least USB/Firewire (or both), I believe WD and Maxtor also offer models which attach directly to the network as a NAS device. All links will take you to newegg into the External Hard Drives section for the respective manufacturer.

If you aren't using a router, avoid the networked ones. Besides that, ensure that you have the right connections on your existing PC (if going USB/Firewire), and if USB you'd better be running USB 2.0 or it will take you a VERY long time.

 

[steveosazninvazn]

You should burn them onto a disc. Nero is a great program, and if you happen to have the disc images on your computer, use the Alcohol 120% trial.

 

[joefriday]

Or you could go the fastest and cheapest way possible, and just slave the old drive into your new computer.

 

[swifty_morgan]

Don't have to slave it. Just pull the jumper off, hook it up, boot up, and it will be seen. Can physically move files from it to another drive.

 

[joefriday]

Don't have to slave it. Just pull the jumper off, hook it up, boot up, and it will be seen. Can physically move files from it to another drive.

uh....that's what "slaving" is.

 

[swifty_morgan]

Only "slavin" I did was one jumper set to master, the other set to slave. Set it up in bios. Not having a jumper on just makes it a storage drive.

 

[joefriday]

AFAIK, that's only true if your running a decent ide cable, such as an 80 pin or a more modern version of the 40 pin, and install the old hard drive on the middle connector. In that configuration, it will default to cable select, and since the middle connector is the "slave" connector, the old hard disk is automatically slaved. Also, your trick will not work on other brands and models of hard disks where the lack of jumper actually defaults the hard disk to Master/Single. Also, unless you've been working on computers from before 1995, there is no need to go into the bios once you've slaved the jumper on a hard drive.

Face it, you got lucky. What you did is not correct; it just happend to work for you. If you care to disagree, please point me to online information where it is a universal rule that un-jumpering a hard disk turns it into a storage drive. lol, even the term "storage drive" would imply that it is not the operating system drive, and as such would then have no other choice but to be the slave drive, you hoser. :lol:

 

[swifty_morgan]

Lets not call it a storage drive. Lets call it a great big folder. It just sits there waiting for somebody to add or remove data from it.

 

[hashv2f16]

i think this guy is wanting to add the currently installed programs to a new installation of windows. so wouldn't that involve not only manually moving files to their correct directories and manual registry editing?.. unless you are an IT pro and you do this everyday - which since you are asking us for info on how to do you're prolly not - so i think you may just be better off redownloading and reinstalling the programs on your new windows.

 

[thecornflake]

Re-installing could be problematic here, especially with internet-activated software (like Windows XP).

You can copy an entire hard drive using imaging software such as Norton Ghost, although it's down to whether you want to pay for the software. If you're going to do this more than a couple of times it's probably worth it.

To add my bit the the drive slave configuration discussion, I have had many hard drives and I frequently change them, and they don't all act the same. In fact after my first build I swapped cases, literally taking everything out of the old case and sticking it straight in to the new one. Even though the Jumpers and BIOS were set, the only way I could get the Primary IDE drive to be picked up as primary was to plug it into the slave socket of the IDE cable. The only difference was the case was different. Go figure that one out!

Anyway, if I have files to transfer over like you do I would do that - plug the drive into the new build and just directly copy. Then you also have a backup if you're not going to use that drive anymore.

If there are installed programs and they're not just simple ones you can re-install from CD (re-installing from scratch does help to clear out the inevitable crap from your old build) then I would suggest imaging software (presuming you have the space somewhere for the image).

 

[llama_man]

Next time, you might like to try something I do. When I download a program from the net, I often save the install file in a "pre-install" folder. That way you always have a copy of the intall files if you ever need to reinstall windows. It made more sense to do this in the dark old days of dial-up, but it's still not a bad idea because sometimes files are hard to find on the 'net, and some even disappear altogether.

 

[cubber]

This guy is looking to MIGRATE his existing set of programs and settings to a new PC as well as his files.

Something like Alohabob PC Relocator (http://www.alohabob.com/) would fit the bill for him. It's been around for years now and is stable and mature. It identifies INSTALLED programs and moves the files and the registry settings to the new PC, either via network or parallel-port connection or by generating a "change package" (a really big honkin' file - use a hard drive) that is applied to the target pc.

Here's a review: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1593237,00.asp0

"This flexibility extends to transfer methods as well. Auto mode gives parallel, network, and removable-media choices, while expert mode offers six ways to get the job done, including USB 2.0 and new Ethernet crossover cable support (both kinds of cable are included in the boxed version). A new network assistant wizard helps with connection problems. You can also opt for nonnetwork transfers; Alohabob can split up files to fit on CDs and Iomega Zip or floppy disks."

 

[furnituremaker]

You sir are correct. And I will probably follow your advice.
I am not an IT pro. My goal was to cherry pick the programs I need from my old system. I didn't want a full copy from old to new as I am trying to clear out all the riff raff.

 

[cubber]

It will allow you to pick what programs you want to transfer.