How to Directly Copy Files from One Hard Disk to Another?

/ Data Management / By

Congratulations! You’ve just got a new branded computer compatible with the much awaited Windows 11!

Before you jump right in with joy and start using your new computer, hold your breath a little longer and think about the data stored on your old PC. After setting up your new computer and installing the required applications, the first thing you should do is get back all the data from your old machine.

Of course, transferring data is easy these days, thanks to the immense popularity of cloud technology. However, the cloud may not be a handy option if you’ve 200-400 GBs of data on the old hard disk, or if you don’t have a fast and stable Internet connection at home. So what should you do? Curious whether there are any direct data transfer methods available? Read on to find them out..

Method 1: Buy a SATA Hard Disk Enclosure

Using a SATA Hard Disk Enclosure (also known by different names, SATA Hard Disk Case and USB Casing for Hard Disk), you can connect your old computer’s hard disk directly to your new PC externally using the USB Port. It eliminates the need of transferring data from your old hard disk to another intermediary storage device, and then again back to your new PC. It can save a lot of your time and clicks. You’ll see the data from your old hard disk into File Explorer exactly as you would see other files on your new PC. The partitions from your old hard disk would appear in the File Explorer (obviously, with drive letters changed) and you could directly copy or move your files without relying on an external hard disk, USB flash drive or a DVD.

SATA Hard Disk Enclosure Features:

  • Comes into different colors
  • Plug and play. No driver installation is required.
  • Led light indicator
  • Easy to use

How to Use?

  1. Remove the screws and push the plastic body out.
  2. Place your old hard disk and push it inside.
  3. Now, plug it to your computer via a USB cable.
  4. Wait for a moment and look for the LED light indicator.
  5. Windows will automatically recognize the externally connected HDD and display the partitions of your old hard disk into the PC.
  6. Browse through your folders and select the sub-folders/ files you want to copy. Use Ctrl + A to select all files/ folders or select random folders by pressing and holding the Ctrl key of your keyboard and selecting your desired files/ folders.
  7. To copy these files to your new computer, press Ctrl + C and go to a partition on your local hard disk. To paste your files, press Ctrl + V.

Method 2: Transfer your Files Using a LAN Cable

Many of us use the LAN cable to connect our computers to the Internet through a router. One end of our LAN cable is connected to the computer and another to the router. But did you know that a LAN cable can also be used to directly connect two computers? Much like your router, you can directly connect the LAN cable to both of your machines at the same time and seamlessly transfer your files. After connecting your old machine to the new computer, you’ll need to perform the initial configuration to start file sharing. This technology uses the Network File Sharing feature on your computer.

Steps to be performed on Computer-1 (Old Computer):

  1. Buy a CAT5 type of LAN Cable, if you don’t have it, and connect one part of the LAN Cable to the LAN Port on your computer, and another port to the LAN Port to the old computer.
  2. Type Control Panel in the Search Box on your Taskbar and open it.
  3. Open Network and Internet | Network and Sharing Center.
  4. Click on Change advanced sharing settings on the left hand side panel.
  5. Expand the All Networks category in the new page.
  6. Select the option Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can read and write files in the Public folder.
  7. Turning off Password protected sharing would allow you to 
  8. Click on Save Changes.
  9. Go back to the Network and Sharing Center page (Step # 3).
  10. Click the Ethernet option under the Connections category on the right.
  11. Click on Properties.
  12. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/ IPv4).
  13. Click on Properties.
  14. Select the options: I) Use the following IP Address II) Use the following DNS server addresses
  15. Specify the following configurations:
    • Internet Protocol (IP) Address: 192.168.1.1
    • Subnet Mask: 225.225.225.0
    • Default Gateway: 192.168.1.2
    • Preferred DNS Server: 208.67.222.222
    • Alternate DNS Server: 208.67.222.222
  16. Click on OK.

Steps to be performed on Computer-2 (New Computer):

  1. Repeat over all the steps (Step # 1-14) in the above section for Computer-1.
  2. Set the following configurations:
    • Internet Protocol (IP) Address: 192.168.1.2
    • Subnet Mask: 225.225.225.0
    • Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
    • Preferred DNS Server: 208.67.222.222
    • Alternate DNS Server: 208.67.222.222
  3. Click on OK.

Transfer your Files:

Follow the steps given below on your new computer to transfer your files:

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Click on the Network icon on the left.
  3. Your new and old computer would appear as icons.
  4. Double click to open them and transfer your files as you normally do.

Bonus Tip: Simple Way to Make the Data Transfer Faster & Easier

It’s obvious that the old computer that you used for years, has accumulated a lot of data over years. The actual file transfer process can become slow and tedious if you’ve a large chunk of duplicate files.

Duplicate files are the identical copies of your documents, images, videos, music, etc. These files not only take additional storage of your hard disk, but also make the file transfer process painfully slow. Finding duplicates manually is not easy as the duplicates can be located in different folders, sub-folders and partitions. By eliminating the duplicate files, you can make the transfer faster and organize your files in a better way.

  1. Download and install Clone Files Checker on your old computer.
  2. Click on System Scan.
  3. Click on the Add button.
  4. Select a partition (for example, drive D:\) that you want to scan for duplicates.
  5. Click on Start Search.
  6. After the scan is finished, click on Review & Fix.
  7. You can review your files manually, or use the automatic selection patterns from the Select Duplicates button’s menu options.
  8. After selecting the duplicates to delete, click on Select Action | Delete.
Vikas
Sorcim Technologies (pvt) Ltd.

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Vikas is a technology enthusiast who loves writing articles on computers and technology. He writes on various topics related to software, software reviews, troubleshooting and tips & tricks to make people's digital lives better.