XP/Home from W98

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My old Dell Dimension L500cx has almost given up the ghost. Looking to
upgrade to a new Dimension with XP/Home. What's the
best/easiest/cheapest way to move my files from the old to the new
machine? Is a standard UPS cable used to connect the two machines or
something special? Any pitfalls to avoid? Any and all suggestions
welcome. Thanks in advance to all! Steve Ignots
 
I think the easiest and the cheapest would be if you use CD burner drive and
copy the files to a CD.You don't need to buy a USB cable to just transfer
files,in my opinion it is more expensive.
If you do not have such a CD drive (CD-RW) ,you can take your computer to a
PC store where IT specialists would help you via using external CD-RW.


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In (e-mail address removed) <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
My old Dell Dimension L500cx has almost given up the ghost. Looking to
upgrade to a new Dimension with XP/Home. What's the
best/easiest/cheapest way to move my files from the old to the new
machine? Is a standard UPS cable used to connect the two machines or
something special? Any pitfalls to avoid? Any and all suggestions
welcome. Thanks in advance to all! Steve Ignots
Click to expand...

Along with Jupiter's suggestion for FAST usage I'd have to say that the
best, easiest, and cheapest way would be to take the drive out of the old
PC, configure it's jumpers to set it to slave, and install it (heck, I leave
'em dangling at times) in the new box and the copy/paste what ever you want.
You mention files - moving those are going to be easy. You won't be able to
do things like take installed apps and just move them over (you knew this
but it's worth mentioning) and expect them to work without reinstalling them
for instance but moving the downloaded files, your documents, etc is really
pretty simple and the above method is the easiest way that I can think of
assuming you don't want to network. Then, when you're done, set the jumper
back to it's original position and put it back into the old system and you
are good to go.


--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)

"You know that a conjurer gets no credit when once he has explained his
trick; and if I show you too much of my method of working, you will
come to the conclusion that I am a very ordinary individual after all."

Sherlock Holmes
 
Along with Jupiter's suggestion for FAST usage I'd have to say that the
best, easiest, and cheapest way would be to take the drive out of the old
PC, configure it's jumpers to set it to slave, and install it (heck, I leave
'em dangling at times) in the new box and the copy/paste what ever you want.
You mention files - moving those are going to be easy. You won't be able to
do things like take installed apps and just move them over (you knew this
but it's worth mentioning) and expect them to work without reinstalling them
for instance but moving the downloaded files, your documents, etc is really
pretty simple and the above method is the easiest way that I can think of
assuming you don't want to network. Then, when you're done, set the jumper
back to it's original position and put it back into the old system and you
are good to go.
Click to expand...

There may be complications with this method such as:

1. The new machine may have a SATA hard drive so the old IDE drive
could not be connected as a slave.

2. Some brands of IDE drives use a different jumper setting for
"master drive with slave present" and "stand alone master drive" so it
may be necessary to change the jumper on the new machine's hard drive
if it is an IDE drive.

For these reasons, and also because there are occasional compatibility
issues that arise when old and new drives from different manufacturers
are connected as master and slave on the same IDE channel, I always
prefer to use the secondary IDE channel for the temporary installation
of the drive from the old computer.

Just unplug the data and power cables from the CD/DVD drive(s) in the
new computer and use these to connect the old machine's drive. That
totally avoids all jumper related issues and the possible compatibilty
problems as well.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
 
In Ron Martell <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
There may be complications with this method such as:

1. The new machine may have a SATA hard drive so the old IDE drive
could not be connected as a slave.

2. Some brands of IDE drives use a different jumper setting for
"master drive with slave present" and "stand alone master drive" so it
may be necessary to change the jumper on the new machine's hard drive
if it is an IDE drive.

For these reasons, and also because there are occasional compatibility
issues that arise when old and new drives from different manufacturers
are connected as master and slave on the same IDE channel, I always
prefer to use the secondary IDE channel for the temporary installation
of the drive from the old computer.

Just unplug the data and power cables from the CD/DVD drive(s) in the
new computer and use these to connect the old machine's drive. That
totally avoids all jumper related issues and the possible compatibilty
problems as well.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
Click to expand...

That's an interesting way to do it! I like that. <g> Makes a lot of sense
with more and more people using SATA drives these days. Much thanks for the
alternative thinking process.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/

"A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the
furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the
lumber-room of his library where he can get it if he wants it."

Sherlock Holmes
 
Ron said:
There may be complications with this method such as:

1. The new machine may have a SATA hard drive so the old IDE drive
could not be connected as a slave.

2. Some brands of IDE drives use a different jumper setting for
"master drive with slave present" and "stand alone master drive" so it
may be necessary to change the jumper on the new machine's hard drive
if it is an IDE drive.

For these reasons, and also because there are occasional compatibility
issues that arise when old and new drives from different manufacturers
are connected as master and slave on the same IDE channel, I always
prefer to use the secondary IDE channel for the temporary installation
of the drive from the old computer.

Just unplug the data and power cables from the CD/DVD drive(s) in the
new computer and use these to connect the old machine's drive. That
totally avoids all jumper related issues and the possible compatibilty
problems as well.

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
Click to expand...

Ron, I've not spent much time in my pc's innards (but am certainly
willing to give it a go): assuming I connect the old drive to the new
pc's power and data cables can I then also assume that there are an
extra set of data/power cables for the new drive? Steve
 
Ron, I've not spent much time in my pc's innards (but am certainly
willing to give it a go): assuming I connect the old drive to the new
pc's power and data cables can I then also assume that there are an
extra set of data/power cables for the new drive? Steve
Click to expand...

You will probably have to do something with the jumpers on the back of the
drive. In fact, you will probably have to re-jumper both drives. One can't
be more specific without knowing the drives, but there is usually a label on
the drive(s) to help you.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE
Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com./athome/security/protect/default.aspx
http://defendingyourmachine.blogspot.com/
 
Ron, I've not spent much time in my pc's innards (but am certainly
willing to give it a go): assuming I connect the old drive to the new
pc's power and data cables can I then also assume that there are an
extra set of data/power cables for the new drive? Steve
Click to expand...

The new drive (the one that came with the new PC) will already be
connected. Best to just leave it alone.

The CDROM (or DVD) drive in the new computer will also have data and
power cables attached (plus a third cable for CD sound). My preferred
method is to unplug the power and data cables from the CDROM/DVD and
use these for the temporary drive connection. With most mini-tower
computers I just lay the case on its side and use a mouse pad to
insulate the temporary drive from contacting the metal case.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
 
Ron, Duh! You said the same thing (about using the CDROM/DVD cables)
about three posts up. Will try it as soon as the new machine arrives.
Thanks, Steve
 
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