how do I retrieve photos from an old computer?

Question

I have updated my computer and need to retrieve my photos from the hard drive of my old one and put them on the new one.. I know there will be several ways to do this so can some whiz kid tell me the options? Thanks

the computer has no cd drive but is still working. Also can't access the internet with the old one.

Answer 1

The answer really depends on how computer savvy you are.

1. Take your old Hard Drive out of the old computer and make it a Slave in your new computer. Basically you would have 2 drives. The 1st being the C: Drive (Master), and the 2nd being a different drive letter, (Slave), which depends on how many other installed drives you have (CD/DVD Drive, Floppy Drive, etc.) If you are not familiar with the inner workings of a computer then this option is not for you.

2. Use a USB Drive (Flash/Jump Drive). Plug the Flash Drive into a USB port on your old computer and copy the pictures from your old computer onto it. Then plug the Flash Drive into a USB port on your new computer and copy them off of the Flash Drive onto your new computer. This option is pretty easy but you'll need to purchase a Flash Drive if you don't have one already.

3. Burn the pictures to a CD or DVD. If you have a CD or DVD burner on your old computer, you can just burn your pictures to a disk and then copy them off of the disk onto the new computer. If you have a CD or DVD Burner on your old computer, you will most likely know how to use it. This option is also pretty simple.

4. Add both computers to a network/workgroup, and copy them over the network. You may have to create a share so that the new computer can see the folder that has the pictures in them on the old computer. If you don't have your computers networked or don't know how to network the computers, this option isn't for you either.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

If the old computer is still up and running you can do one of the following:

1. Make a backup of the Photos (i.e. Copy the Files) to a CD or other large capacity device (i.e. USB based External Harddrive, etc.) and then restore that data to the new PC.

OR

2. If both mathines can be connected to your home based network, then, on the old machine, share the folder that contains the pictures (see Windows Help on how to setup a Folder Share). Then, from the new machine, access that share and copy the files from it (see Windows Help on connecting to or using a Shared folder on another machine).

If the old machine no longer works, then you can try on these solutions.

1. Remove the hard drive from the old machine and install it as second (or third) harddrive on your new machine. Then you will be able to access the pictures as if they were on your new machine (but on the D drive instead of C).

OR

2. If your new machine is laptop or other machine that cannot have another drive installed, then you can buy an "external harddrive enclosure". Put your hold hard drive in the enclosure and you will essentially have a USB based external drive. That can be hooked up to your new machine as described above.

If you will try removing the harddrive, take care, harddrives are very sensitive and can be damaged beyond repair very easily. Also, there are some tricks when installing them that you may need help with if you are a novice.

Hope one these ideas works out for you.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

If the old computer is still working...

1) add both a to network, and simply transfer the files

2) copy the file to a CD or a flash drive, and hand-carry them across the room to the new machine


If not...

Add the old disk drive to the new machine as a "slave" device, or on the second bus, if you have two... and copy/paste the file to their new homes.



Failing all else... pretty much any computer or office supply store will do it for you

Answer 4

Im not a Wiz Kid.... Your choices are simple.... Either..
1. connect the old drive as a secondary drive in your system and be sure to assign it as a slave.
or...
2. buy a USB hard drive adapter kit and so you can connect the old drive via USB.

Or you can ask a friend with a computer that has a free drive on their IDE bus and let him back up and burn the files you want onto CD.

Answer 5

You can put all the file on the CD or on the flash drive and then transfer em that way, also you can connect both computers to your router and make a network, so you can transfer file directly from one to another.
You can put all the pictures online, and then download them on the other computer, but that will take awhile :).

Answer 6

Why not recycle your old drive by putting it into an external usb interfaced case and attaching this to your new computer, then you have access to all your old files and also additional space to save new ones. Do a search for usb hd case on froogle I found them as little as £15

Answer 7

Upload the files from the old HD to the internet using a website like http://briefcase.yahoo.com or http://megaupload.com and download into the new pc.

Connect the HD to your new pc and convert it to a slave. Heres a guide: http://www.mikeshardware.com/howtos/howto_connect_ide_hd.html

Burn the files to a cd or copy to/from a usb or floppy.

Answer 8

If you have a PC monitor with a VGA (blue D shaped) port - you could try linking the laptop to that and try pressing the FN and usualy F5 key which switches the screen from LCD to external monitor - this will only help if the problem is with the LCD screen.

Answer 9

if both pcs are on internet u can use file transfer from msn or use usb flash from cd burn or yahoo on both pcs file transfer

Answer 10

you could use a usb flash memory stick and copy the pics to that, then put it into new comp and copy onto that