My last chance for free computer advice
- Thread starter Nitt1300
- Start date
Clone the drive
www.acronis.com
The Best Disk Cloning Software of 2025 – Acronis
Looking for the best cloning software? Explore the vast options available and learn about the top factors to consider for optimal cloning software selection
www.acronis.com
thank youClone the drive
The Best Disk Cloning Software of 2025 – Acronis
Looking for the best cloning software? Explore the vast options available and learn about the top factors to consider for optimal cloning software selection
I assume you just want your personal files and not the system files. If so, just get a flash drive with enough storage and copy each directory/file that you want to keep to the flash drive. Then, either copy from the drive to your new computer or just use the flash drive when you want to retrieve a file.
It's usually best to create some folders on the flash drive so that you copy the files in an organized fashion.
Do you know how to copy files to a flash drive?
It's usually best to create some folders on the flash drive so that you copy the files in an organized fashion.
Do you know how to copy files to a flash drive?
no, I'm old and nearly obsolete
one of the things I'm looking to do is duplicate all of my saved info for online banking and bill pay- I have two houses and two banks and I'm a little paranoid about missing a utility payment somewhere along the line
since I crashed my desktop, I'm relying entirely on my one remaining laptop- and it makes me a little nervous
Clone the drive
The Best Disk Cloning Software of 2025 – Acronis
Looking for the best cloning software? Explore the vast options available and learn about the top factors to consider for optimal cloning software selection
That isn't going to work unfortunately. The chipset is going to be different on the new one and the drive is not going to boot. The best thing someone can do (on a Windows machine) is to copy the user account folders onto an external USB flash drive or hard drive and copy the user account folders back on to the new machine in the user account folder. That will give you all of you important files in the same locations.
Cloning the drive works great if the new harddrive is going in the same computer, not great for new computers. Between the operating system and drivers there is a large chance it won't start properly. First off, no matter what, you will need a USB to sata cable. They're a few bucks.
The old drive will work as a slave drive, but laptops don't have spare bays for 2nd hard drives. Your best bet - get the usb cable, plug the old drive into new laptop and copy stuff over. It's like having an external 2nd hard drive. You can try cloning, and it might work, but expect significant extra steps to get everything working properly, including potentially having to reinstall the OS.
Copy the user account folders.
They are located in c:\users
Choose whatever user you want and copy it to a USB flash drive or external USB hard drive. Once you have the new machine up and running copy those folders folders back into the appropriate user account folder and choose to replace the files in that folder if it asks. Select "do this for all' when it prompts you.
They are located in c:\users
Choose whatever user you want and copy it to a USB flash drive or external USB hard drive. Once you have the new machine up and running copy those folders folders back into the appropriate user account folder and choose to replace the files in that folder if it asks. Select "do this for all' when it prompts you.
What web browser are you using? If you are using Chrome you can do this easily by being logged into a Google account and turning on Sync in Chrome. When you get the new computer up and running you log into the same Google account in Chrome (after you install it) and turn on Sync in Chrome on the new machine.
To be honest, it sounds like you need a professional to help you out that can do this for you.
Ok. What kind of computer do you have and which browser do you use to access the internet? If you don't know, look in the upper left corner of the screen. You'll see Chrome, Firefox, etc. Which one is on your screen?
I think this is my answer- or maybe getting one of my kids to do it for me
Yup. I have a guy at my house right now doing some drywall work. It's nothing to him. He knows exactly what he's doing but I don't know jack squat about it. For me, doing this is second nature and I could do it in my sleep (I am an IT professional) and if you hire someone to do this it should only cost you a few bucks if you go with someone that isn't a part of some big corporate big box (I used to work for Geek Squad over a decade ago) and while we were very good technically at all of the stores I worked at it was stupid expensive.
For someone who is a pro it will be fast, easy and inexpensive.
If both the old and new drive are both Sata and the same size look at the orico disk cloning tool.It has two slots target and source.I mention size because it will be a duplicate of your old drive size wise also.So you will need to reallocate the the extra space.Win 10 has the ability to do this but there are some great software out there that make it really easy
Online banking and bill pay is probably all stored online on your banking website, so all you really need is the bookmark and login info. If you have any files on your harddrive those are small and easy to copy, but not necessary for the banking.
What you really want to do is resurrect that old pc, which is easy. Unless it took a lightning strike there's really only two failure points, the power supply and the harddrive. If nothing comes on, it's the power supply. Buy a new one and install it. It's a few wiring harness connections and a few screws, about a 10 minute job. If it's the harddrive, clone it with mini tool software. You will need two USB cables, one for the pc harddrive, one for the new harddrive. Download the free version of the software, plug both harddrives into your current laptop, and follow instructions. Put the new harddrive in the pc and you're as good as new.
Looking at the old pc, if you see any text or prompt, the power supply is fine, and it's 99% the harddrive. Just get the same size harddrive or bigger, preferably an SSD for faster performance, and cloning is easy. If if the new harddrive is smaller, it will work as long as it has enough space. Its a little more complicated, but doable.
Edit: cloning has the added benefit of keeping your pc experience exactly the same as before, no learning new browsers, programs, etc.
2nd edit: if you can work a screwdriver you can do about 99% of all computer repairs, and pcs are much easier to work on that laptops. Everything in a computer has a specialized connection, so it's not very easy to screw them up.
Edit: cloning has the added benefit of keeping your pc experience exactly the same as before, no learning new browsers, programs, etc.
2nd edit: if you can work a screwdriver you can do about 99% of all computer repairs, and pcs are much easier to work on that laptops. Everything in a computer has a specialized connection, so it's not very easy to screw them up.
Last edited:
It's probably still fine and can be cloned. Unless it asks for safe mode at startup the OS is fine, and its just the hard drive beginning to mechanically fail. The OS fails it at startup because it's not stable, but the information is fine and can be cloned without any problems. I've done it several times, and it works every time.
Also, chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge Microsoft Internet Explorer, Safari, etc browsers all allow an account to be set up to easily transfer bookmarks, etc although you will still need the login info.
BTW, windows can always be downloaded from Microsoft's website, although you will need your account info. For cloning you never get to that point.
The new one will typically have directions. When you start it up it will ask if you want to transfer data from an old laptop
For cloning I like MiniTool Shadowmaker. It's simple and works great. Scroll down to cloning a hard drive for instructions:
Download Minitool Shadowmaker here. Free trial is all you need along with the two USB cables:
Download Minitool Shadowmaker here. Free trial is all you need along with the two USB cables:
MiniTool Products Download Center
MiniTool Download Center offers freeware to get your hard drive well distributed, your data well protected, your lost files easily retrieved and your videos creatively edited.
www.minitool.com
I get that, but there will still be login, passwords, etc needed and the new interface will be different. For $30 Kingston 240 gb SSD harddrive on Amazon and a couple of $5-10 cables he can have the exact same computer with everything identical and no logon/passwords/etc needed by cloning the pc harddrive. When I read his computer skills levels and his desired for little change I think the cloning is his best bet. It also happens to be his cheapest option, but I don't think that is a concern.
