External harddrive and moving files to it

Hi! I've been here before and you guys were great help! This is a totally different issue this time. When I realized my computer was running very slow and other issues I checked and found that my C drive has 149 GB used space and only 699 MB free space.

I cleaned it up and defragged up as good as I could but realized I need more harddrive space. So I bought an external harddrive after friends told me it was extremely easy to transfer files and "stuff" to it. Now that I have it (1.5 TB Greendrive, 2.0 usb) I am terrified to try to move stuff. I think that my pictures probably take a lot of space so I could move them and the Picasa program. I also have a lot of financial records on Quicken and assume it would be wise to move them as well.

I've got no idea where to start and am scared of losing everything. Thought it might be easier to do it right than have you help me straighten it out after screwing it up.

Can you be of help?

 

If the drive is recognized by your computer, there shouldn't be any problems. You've got the options of simply drag copying your DATA files from the old drive to the new one, then deleting them from the old drive or cut and paste which will move the files from your old drive to your new one.

You'll then simply need to point your Picasa and Quicken apps to the new location of the directories (folders/files) to access them. I would however, leave the apps themselves where they are.

 

Drag and drop the files onto your new drive and this will make copies of the files on your external drive in addition to the original files still on your primary hard drive. Then you can open the copies to insure they transferred properly. After you're satisfied they've been properly copied, you can clear the original files from your primary hard drive.

 

All good suggestions so far.
Dragging and dropping the files to your new external drive is easy. You can always have a "Geek" friend help you if you feel nervous doing this the first time by yourself...or at least to watch you do it.
Hiring a Computer Tech to do this is also an option. Look online for local PC repair stores or let The GeekSquad or a Staples EasyTech do it for you...but remember to get a firm dollar amount that it will take to do this before you let them start. And also remember that they will be able to view these files as they are being transferred!
Verifying the files were transferred properly is important too. Opening pictures and playing audio and video files (this can be done while the external drive is attached to a computer) and any important data files.
As mentioned earlier, you don't have to back up any Programs...just the data files the Programs use.
It's also never a bad idea to back up Financial records or important pics a second time. Move them to a secondary 16 or 32 GB thumbdrive before deleting from your PC. You can never be too careful on critical data or priceless personal files!
Good Luck.

 

Thanks for the suggestions! I guess I should have mentioned that I am not very well educated on a lot of this computer stuff. So when you refer to DATA files, etc. I'm not sure where to look.

I guess I'd like to start with my photos. They are on my desktop in My Pictures in folders (as well as in Picasa). So If I create a folder in my ext. drive (F) named My Pictures, then open Windows explorer, I can just drag and drop each folder in My Pictures on the C drive to that folder in the ext. drive? If that is correct, then I assume I would have to change some setting in Picasa to redirect new photos to the ext. drive? Also, will they stay in Picasa which in on my C drive? Would it be unwise to move (or reinstall) that program to the ext. drive as well? Seems like it would free up a lot of space.

If this goes well, I will then maybe be brave enough to tackle my financial stuff in Quicken. One thing at a time....... Drinking my Stress Relief tea and breathing deeply....

 

All you would need to do is double click on one of the files in their new location (the external drive) and it would then open the correct application.

If you were to launch the application first, you would need to select "Open" from the file menu and browse to the new location of the file.

Eventually, all of the files will open from their new location.

 

Ok, I think I have all my photos moved. That was easier than I thought! I believe there were about 8 gb. of pictures. And not quite as stressful knowing I have someone on my side to answer questions as they come up.

Now for Quicken. I have used it for many years so I assume there are a lot of backup files but I don't know that. Would I be saving much space by backing up to my external drive? Is it that easy.....just backup to the external drive? Does it back up everything every time.....such as my records back 15 or 20 years ago? If so, how do I find the old backup files on my C drive and delete them? With tax time coming up I would really hate to lose anything.....no added stress needed.

So if I backup to my external drive and a flash drive I should be sufficiently "backed up"??

Also, do you have any suggestions of anything else I should move to the external drive? My C drive shows: 140 GB used, 8.36 GB free. My external drive shows: 8.12 GB used, 1.35 TB free.

Thanks again for you wisdom, encouragement and support!

 

Anyone, there? I still have a couple of questions about freeing up space on my C drive. Mainly, moving my Quicken information.

See previous post.

Thanks!

 

Please look at this to see information on where and how Quicken stores it's files. You can move all of the files to the external drive and then double click on one of them to open Quicken so it associates that file with the new location. When you simply launch Quicken and want to open a file, you'll need to browse to the new location.

I'd still keep the actual application where it is because of the registry values that are written during the installation process.

20 years worth of records is quite a lot. I'm glad none of the records have become corrupted over the course of time. Congratulations!