How to transfer data from the old hard drive to the new hard drive

Buying a new hard drive solves the immediate storage space and can also help improve your computer system and rejuvenate your computer. However, before you transfer data from your old hard drive to your new hard drive, you need to be clear about how to decide. In this article, you'll learn how to transfer applications and files from your old hard drive to your new hard drive.

If you have partitioned the regular Windows partitions, the operating system can also identify new, blank hard drives, and you can also format the hard drive in the system. Now, how do you get the data from point A to point B?

You might think that dragging a file into the target area would be a mistake, and in some ways it is. However, if you want to set the new hard drive as the primary hard drive, you need a suitable tool to handle the data transfer. After all, moving data from the entire hard drive to the new hard drive is not the task of the Windows system.

If you currently have enough hard disk storage space and want to add an extra hard drive to meet more storage needs in the future, you can just drag and drop the files onto your new hard drive. However, if you drag and drop files that are stored in a Windows default folder (such as My Documents, my music, my videos, and so on), the application runs by default from these system folders, unless you change the system design.

Scenario One: Set the new hard drive as the main drive

You can't just drag the contents of the old master hard drive onto the new hard drive. First, Windows cannot run in a vacuum (it cannot be detached from the use environment). The operating system itself is made up of a series of files in the hard disk. In addition, depending on whether you set up the display hidden system content, you may not be able to select and drag the contents of the old hard drive. In short, you need third-party tools to get help.

One option is to buy commercial software. Norton Ghost (USD 70) has a strong backup capability, and it also supports cloning for one-to-one hard disk replication. After creating the clone (in a non-Windows environment), you can remove the old hard drive, substituting the new hard drive.

You can also use the free software driveimage XML (click to download) to perform the same task. It allows you to create an archive of your entire hard disk in two simple files: An XML file containing the backup information, and a compressed copy dat file containing all the files. Once you have installed your new hard drive, you can extract the archived files by driveimage the XML CD to achieve the overall "relocation" of your data.

Scenario Two: Set up a new hard drive as a satellite drive

If you are satisfied with the capacity and speed of your current hard drive and just want to add new hard drives to supplement your existing storage settings, it will be much easier to operate. After installing the hard drive, use a program, such as free cubicexplorer, you can achieve the overall file transmission. As you can see from the diagram, the Windows Explorer is replaced by the File Management window that fills the tag window and bookmarks. In this way, you can easily switch between different file directories in the same window without having to open the individual directory windows. With powerful filter detection tools, it can help you drill down into the various file types you are dealing with.

Once you have set up your personal folders on your new hard drive-Files, downloads, videos, and so on-find the original location of these folders on your XP or Vista drive, right-click and select the Properties option. In XP, you are looking for the target tag (the Goal tab), and the path tag (Location tab) in Vista. Click this option and find details that describe the path where the folder is located in the current Windows partition. Enter the path information for the folder in the new drive and click OK. In this way, you set the Windows default Primary folder path on the new hard drive.

Finally, note: This technique is only suitable for multimedia folders such as "My Pictures", "My Videos", "My Music", which are created to meet the needs of new XP or Vista users. You cannot use this technique to map the Program Files folder.