DescentBB

My new machine showed up and I'm debating how to transfer my files/information/email/net favorites to the new machine.
I have a copy of norton ghost, so I could ghost it to the new HD, or I could use the files and settings transfer wizard that comes with xp home.

or as a third option I could just reinstall everything, and copy things manually from my old drive to the new drive (though I cant remember how to copy my address book and email boxes from thunderbird... )

any suggestions on the best and most convenient way to do this?

thanks!

RM

ps--I'll post pics of the new rig as soon as I figure out how to post pics of the new rig. I have a digital camera...but how do I post the pic?

MozBackup

For all your Firefox/Thunderbird backup needs.

harumph. I tried the windows file transfer but after 2 hours of waiting, it ended saying it couldnt find the other computer. bleh. It was finding it just find till right at the end.

I probably could have had most of the files transfered manually by then.

Anyone have any suggestions, recommendations?

RM

ReadyMan wrote:or as a third option I could just reinstall everything, and copy things manually from my old drive to the new drive (though I cant remember how to copy my address book and email boxes from thunderbird...

This has always worked for me. It might not be the quickest way but it ensures everything is where I want it after installation.

For Thunderbird, just go to the address book -> Tools menu -> Export, then save. Import the file on your new computer in a similar manner.

ReadyMan wrote:ps--I'll post pics of the new rig as soon as I figure out how to post pics of the new rig. I have a digital camera...but how do I post the pic?

I'll give you a hint. Click the "New Reply" button and look directly under the box where you type your post. Its only been there for a couple weeks now. It always helps to actually read announcements.

You'll get the most stability if you do new installs.

and Ghost is crap. At least the version I tried was.

the third option is a very good option... clean install whenever possible is always good. even if it is more time consuming, it helps out to have a fresh start now and then. good luck!

Ned wrote:You'll get the most stability if you do new installs.

and Ghost is crap. At least the version I tried was.

Readyman, I have a VERY good "Boot from floppy" copy of GHOST, which copies all kinds of partitions. The only limitations on the thing is that the partition you are copying to must be as large, or larger than the source partition.

It works perfectly, every single time, and means you don't have to reinstall anything.

Don't even THINK about doing it any other way.

Send me an email: chris at 4sure.co.nz and I will upload the floppy contents for you. Guaranteed to work!

Ghost is great, but I prefer to reinstall anyway. Nothing else gives you a 100% clean install with no outdated drivers, missing updates, or forgotten tweaks.

I had a copy of ghost that froze on *any* attempt to use USB, but Im glad to hear SOMEone has a working edition. I wouldn't mind having a copy of that!

I am suprised Mobius. Many software installs verify hardware conditions to optimize conditions, right? How could moving a lot of old programs to a new machine and maybe even a different processor class be flawless?

Thanks for the offer Mobius, but I just did a standard reinstall of each program. I used the file transfer option for a few things, but mainly just copied across my network. I have a copy of ghost that I bought a while back, but i think I have to agree that a fresh install is the way to go...it just takes a bit of time.

I've been hassling with a few other things on this system (the dvd player wont play dvds...yes I have a decoder, the front fan was tweaked so it hit caught on the fan casing/caddy and wouldnt spin--I took the caddy off and reinstalled the fan without it and it runs great now). Still messing with this stupid dvd player. very frustrating. I get a blank screen when its playing, and no sound. The irritating thing is I got it to work when I first fired it up, but not since

You try Media Player Classic to play your DVDs?

Hrm. Well I have media player 10, which is connected to the nvidia dvd encoder.
I dont have a media player classic...can I dl that?
or any other free dvd player software for that matter?
I want to make sure its not the dvd player before I ship it back or make them replace it.

I think it's a software issue, but after many hours of poking around and reading, I cant get it to work.

get this codec pack:

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_L ... c_Pack.htm

includes quicktime alternative, mpc, and some great goodies too boot... install the 'massive' option if you can... you shouldn't have any trouble watching video ever again lol.

Click me:

Yes Krom, I know, you are a CCCP fan.

(keep in mind i use linux mostly, so klite is what i used... CCCP I'm sure is great!)

now where is that thread, where you posted ALL the banners?

Click the CCCP link ---> FAQ/Wiki ---> Banners & Buttons.

OK, I dl'ed the CCCP (isnt that the old russia acronym?), installed it, started the media player clasic and BAM! it worked!
I cant believe I spent so much time fiddling with that nvidia decoder.
Thanks Krom! thanks fyrephlie!

It never ceases to amaze me. Whenever I have a pc problem, the DBB tech crew comes to the rescue!
Makes me want to be a better superhero...

Thanks again!

RM

And just if you are wondering, I use PowerDVD to watch DVDs on my computer not MPC because this version of PowerDVD has direct to SP-DIF audio output which sounds the best on my Dolby Digital decoder.

Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик

yes... Cyrillic Characters, they translate to USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a.k.a. the Soviet Union, also SSSR.... but i digress...

Krom is so COOOL!!!! Can I be a groupy!

p.s. i dumped to XP on this box, and since i haven't done anything in winxp on this one (i mean literally, there was still updates waiting from sometime in november, and it was mad i didn't have anti-virus software...) and tried out the cccp, 'tis quite tight.

back on the (original) topic:

I'd never used the files & settings transfer wizard in WinXP, but it is actually a great tool. We bought 3 new PC's for the office here, and I decided to give it a shot (using my co-workers as guinea pigs muwhahahaaha!) It basically gathers all your email, files and general settings into one place, which you can then transfer over the network and install on the new machine. You can select what you want to keep, or even browse to specific folders, etc.

It takes a lot of the grunt work out of setting up a new PC and I recommend you give it a shot just to see how it works.

You may kick yourself in the butt for not using it. I know I'll be using it in the future for my WinXP machines.

WarAdvocat wrote:back on the (original) topic:

I'd never used the files & settings transfer wizard in WinXP, but it is actually a great tool. We bought 3 new PC's for the office here, and I decided to give it a shot (using my co-workers as guinea pigs muwhahahaaha!) It basically gathers all your email, files and general settings into one place, which you can then transfer over the network and install on the new machine. You can select what you want to keep, or even browse to specific folders, etc.

It takes a lot of the grunt work out of setting up a new PC and I recommend you give it a shot just to see how it works.

You may kick yourself in the butt for not using it. I know I'll be using it in the future for my WinXP machines.

he's done with that part of the topic, which is why we all moved on. (skimmer)

Thread elevated to supervision level orange ..

Just close it already.