Changing Computers (Part 2)
By: Mr. JM
We all make Backups of our data… right? So the simplest thing to do is set up the new computer with all your programs and then copy your documents, music, videos and personal settings over from the backup.
For those three people out there who haven’t made regular, complete and timely backups of their work and pleasure, there are ways to perform the move to new hardware which offer a chance to clean up the current mess and allow for a better chance in the future to save your electronic treasures.
Now, if your new computer is truly new, fresh out of the box, you can concentrate on the parts following that deal with how to find and save, then transfer, your data – the sections dealing with how to clean the not-so-new computer, how to set it up so it is ready for its new life, will not apply.
A big step to all of this is having a Windows Boot CD or DVD. Unfortunately, most computer manufacturers don’t even provide this with a brand new PC, and if you’ve got a second hand computer, the chances aren’t good it was passed along with your purchase.
But you need it.
Also, you need to have a good idea of what it is you wish to save. If you’ve been saving stuff all over the place on your hard disk, it can be quite a task to find it all. This can also apply if you’ve been using computers for a long time and have gone through a variety of versions of Windows.
Microsoft programmers are paid a lot of money to provide human-friendly environments on computers – given most of them have never met a human in person, they do a fairly good job, but over the years, they have altered how things work, so if you’ve upgraded a couple of times over years, your information can be hard to locate. Windows may know where it is, but chances are, Windows ain’t going to tell you about it.
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