Import/Export Files

[fishingfanatic]

Hi fellow canuckers! I have a laptop that a family member wants me to upgrade to Win7 Ult with their new disc which says anytime upgrade incl. I believe it's currently Win7 Basic.

There is also another computer upgrade on a desktop. Now common sense says to make a copy of all the files to be safe. This is for a friend who runs a charity org, so can't lose the files!!!

This 1 has either 2000 or xp, don't remember which.

If I read correctly, when you upgrade, the files on the current OS will not be lost.

I've never imported/exported files b4 and need the help of the pros here to walk me thru the process in simple layman's terms. Older guy, fairly new to computing, but have built a few systems.

Is it quicker to copy/paste or import/export? I would think the latter, but honestly don't know. Simply connect the 2 computers using ethernet cable?

Thanks in advance folks.

[maverick_brent]

my suggestion is to either burn them onto a cd/dvd or move them to an external device. Then theres no way the files are lost. Thats my opinion to be safe.

Mav

[grinder]

The Files and Settings transfer wizard works very well. Connect the laptop to a external USB hard drive and save the data there. Unplug the USB hard drive during the win7 upgrade process. And restore the data using the same Files and Settings Transfer Wizard.

[Nodscene]

If data is that important, I'd either use a program like Acronis to ensure you don't miss anything or copy/paste to an external drive then verify the number of files and folders match.

[DCCV44.2223]

Originally Posted by fishingfanatic

This 1 has either 2000 or xp, don't remember which.

If I read correctly, when you upgrade, the files on the current OS will not be lost.

Upgrade from XP/2K to Windows 7 is not supported, it has to be a clean install.

Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 - Help & How-to - Microsoft Windows

As others have mentioned the File and Setting wizard does work but your mileage may vary, and when you're working with someone else's system it's not easy to tell if anything was missed.

With 500GB hard drives going for $50-60, I'd consider the additional step of getting a new drive and install W7 on that (after removing the old drive first). That way you can keep the old drive intact and as a backup if at a later date your friend discover something was missed by the transfer wizard.