Hi Vicki,

The easiest way would be to remove the drive from the old system and connect
it to the drive on the new system.  Unfortunately, this can be very easy or
very difficult, depending on a few things.  First off, when you remove the
drive from the old system you may need to change a jumper to make it a slave
drive.  This will depend on how the drives in the new system are connected.

If the hard drive and the CD ROM have a different cable going to each, you
should have a second connector on the hard drive cable that you can put the
old hard drive on.  In this case you would set the jumper on the hard drive
so that it is a slave.  The hard drive should have a diagram on it that
tells you which jumper needs to change.  If you don't know, the jumper is a
piece of plastic with metal in it that connects two metal pins together.
You should see the jumper near the back of the drive where the cable
connects to it.

If the hard drive and the CD ROM are on the same cable, and there is no
second cable, there should be an empty connection on the motherboard for an
IDE cable.  You will have to buy or find an IDE cable to plug into it, and
you won't change any jumpers on the hard drive.

The other option would be through a direct cable connection or through
network cards, but both of these can be a little more complicated that
hooking up a hard drive, and you may need additional equipment as well (i.e.
network cards).

One last option is to sign up on a site that offers free storage space for
backing up to.  It would be painfully slow on a 56k modem if you have lots
of data, but it would be the most simple.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Kyle Elmblade
Distinct Computer Solutions
Sales - Upgrades - Training - Consulting
[log in to unmask]

From: "Vicki Funk" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2003 2:13 PM
Subject: [PCBUILD] Transferring Files


> Hi all.
> I've just purchased a Dell 4550 , replacing my old HP 3250. The old pc
runs
> Windows 98, the new one Windows XP. I have several files on the old pc
that
> are too large to fit on a floppy disk to transfer to my new pc, and I've
got
> no idea how to get them from my old pc to my new pc. I'm on a beginner
level,
> so any advice would be appreciated! Thanks.
> Vicki Funk

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