Windows® 7 Bible

Chapter 12. Transferring Files from Another Computer

IN THIS CHAPTER

Knowing what you can and can't transfer

Choosing a transfer method

Using Windows Easy Transfer

Transferring files from older computers

If you bought a new computer with Windows 7pre-installed, you may want to bring some files from an older computer into the new one. If both computers are on the same network, this is a simple matter of using drag-and-drop across folders. But if the two computers are not on the same network, it's a little trickier.

You could copy files from the old computer to a jump drive or other external drive. Then copy files from that drive into corresponding folders on the new computer. But that could take some time, especially if you have hundreds or thousands of files to copy.

Windows Easy Transfer provides a better way to get files from an old computer to a new one. You connect the two computers using a special cable. Then you run the program, tell it what you want to copy, and go to lunch. (Or possibly to bed, because the copying could take several hours.) This chapter explores all the possibilities. But first, let's talk about what you can and can't transfer so that you come into the whole thing with realistic expectations.

What You Can Transfer

You can't transfer everything from your old computer to the new one. But you can transfer just about everything you created or downloaded yourself. Specifically, you can transfer the following:

• Files and folders: Everything within the My Documents and Shared ...