How do I transfer my data from a PC onto a new laptop - and how can I clean my hard drive of personal data?
341082
there are a few ways.\n1. purchase a CROSSED network cable. (regular network cables are straight-thru). Plug each end into the network jack on each computer. this will allow both computers to connect to each other.\n2. if you connect to the internet with a hub or router, you should be able to plug both computers into it and then share the c drive on your computer so you can access it from the laptop. copy the files you need.\n3. use a software like laplink\n4. usb to usb connection\n\nTo wipe the hard drive on the PC you an either delete all the files or do this:\n\n"If you want to format your drive when XP is installed, please try the following:\n\nSet your BIOS to boot to the CD-Rom or hold down the "F8" key to access the system. Perform the following.\n\n1. Start Computer booting from CD\n2. Choose Recovery Console (R)\n3. At the dos prompt type: "format C:" (without the quotes)\n4. If it asks for the "Administrator Pass Word", Type it in if you have one or just hit "Enter" to continue. If you use a password...\nRemember it. "WRITE IT DONE AND PUT IT IN A SAFE PLACE!"\n5. Commands that you can use, format (drive)/ Q (quick) FS/ (File system fat/ntsf)"\n\nI got this from the 2nd link below.
83330
The last thing you can do is to copy all your important data to a clean and formatted drive or even another HDD(by making it slave and connectin it to the IDE channel) and then formatting your Windows drive and doing a new Windows installation.
921077
Honestly if you are trying to fix your computer, reformatting it will only wipe the data off of the hard drive, there is a lot more to fixing the PC than formatting the hard drive.\nIf you want to 'fix' the laptop by wiping it out and installing XP fresh, then the best way is to boot from the XP CD you got with the laptop. Some laptop don't ship with CDs now, you have to make them (using a utility included with the OS), buy them from the company, or access a hidden partition containing the discs (usually pressing F6 before the windows boot screen)
219081
It's really quite easy. here is a small door on the side of the laptop with a screw in it. Remove the screw, and the door. There is a small piece of ribbon connected to the HDD. Just pull it out. Very simple. Try the link, thhey have pictures.
710195
get this http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1733195&CatId=2213\nstick your hard drive in it and plug it in the usb port and you can get all of the info from your old drive and now you have a handy, portable hard drive!
626790
Your best bet would be to just reinstall the operating system onto the new computer using the original cds.  Then just copy the files you want to save onto a cd or transfer through a network.\n\nIf you dont have the original cds, you can use a program like partition magic, which allows you to completely copy one hard drive to the other, although this would require you to put both hard drives in one computer.
1031185
just remove the hard drive and stick it into the new one.
951826
there are many ways to do this, either you can burn a cd with the saved data and put it in your laptop. or you can have and pen drive/flash drive and transfer the data. another way wud be to network these two computers and transfer the data. you can even use internet for the same if data in not too much, you can email it to your self and later can open and download it in your laptop.
55609
Since your other PC does not even see the hard drive, you need to solve that problem before you can transfer files. \nTo me, the easiest way to transfer many, many files is to physically remove the hard drive from the one computer and install it as a slave into the target computer.  It should plug right into the second computer.  Connect the power and IDE cable into it, restart your machine (hopefuly the new computer will see it), then use Windows Explorer to transfer the files.
650313
yes, usually its no problem, take your hard drive to a comp. store, they can easily transfer all your old info.\nto a new hard drive,,, usually less than a hundred bucks
281733
If you are using it on another computer of your own, just plug it in as a slave drive and then if using Win XP, just go to My Computer and right click on the drive. Then select format and it will wipe it clean for you. \n\nIf you are just going to install windows on it then just format at windows setup.\n\nIf you are not going to be the user of this computer and want to protect your privacy use a tool from http://www.download.com to do a deep format - one in which data cannot be recovered.\n\nGood Luck
1005845
i wouldnt put anything from your old pc on it you have a new one just start fresh and use your old one aswell
805692
If you have access to another computer you should be able to open the case and remove the hard drive, then use an adapter cable to connect the drive to the second computer as a slaved drive. You may have to change a jumper setting on the drives so the new system bios will know which drive is the master and which is the slave. On older systems, you may have to manually detect the newly slaved drive correctly. For this you may need to get manufacturers settings for the laptop drive, so look on it's label for Manufacturer's name and model number, etc. Look up their website and look under support for the correct settings for the correct number of heads, cylinders, and sectors, for your model, or call Compaq and see if they have these settings. Once the laptop drive is detected in the other computer's bios, you should be able to boot up and "see" another drive. Once you can, you can copy the drive's contents and burn them onto a CD, (with the proper software and equipment.) You can just recover precious files, if you have limited drive space and/or no CD-Rom or DVD-Rom burner. Good Luck! : )\n\nCalico.Kitty
515444
You can take off the laptop harddrive and add it to the new desktop pc as another harddrive, then you can access the added harddrive from the desktop. \nI assume your laptop file system is the same as the desktop, if not the desktop must be NTFS.
1054217
you need to either do one of the many listed below:\n\n1.  get external/internal burner one for backup disc onDVD or CD\n2.  get a LAN line cable and network it transfering files\n3.  get a removable USB HARD DRIVE folder by folder\n4.  get a USB Cord that can transfer one PC to other\n5.  get PC with music and add Hard Drive to existing PC\n     (this creates C drive and a D or E drive added for big space)\n6.  get external Hard Drive and back up everything\n7.  get MP3player and transfer from space given slowly\n8.  get memory card that comes with reader or ya cam/PSP/etc
866830
Put the notebook to in a dry place for 1 week..then\nTry to see if it starts up if not....then\nYou can buy external 2.5" HD caddy cases, so that you can take the Laptop harddrive out and put it in the caddy and connect to any computer with a USB port to transfer your data.\n\nCould be a costly repair job, if you've not got accident cover
671031
Just note on getting the "exact" information from your old drive to a new drive... Manufacturers like maxtor have a built  in hard disk copy program in their MAXBLAST utilities, as do many other hard disk companies. You have to get the disks working on the same computer though... and only the newest widescreen laptops have 2 harddrives! You can use a utility from the manufacturer, like MAXBLAST to copy the entire contents to a "new" drive, by getting asmall laptop-to-IDE\nconverter and plugging in the drive to a Desktop, and running the program from a floppy ( newer versions allow you to run in windows, iff you don't "boot" from the new drive).\nyou could copy the image to a big drive in your DESKTOP, and then, put in your other new laptop drive, and copy the image back to the new laptop drive.\nIf you got 2 cable converters, you could plug both the old and the new laptop drives, say as master and slave on the \ncable normally connected to the 2 CD ROMS, and run the programs. Another approach is to use a program like Norton GHOST, and make a CD 'IMAGE" of the first drive. Then install th esecond drive, and use a floppy with GHOST on it to copy the CD to the NEW drive.\n Partition Magic may also help you get an image of the first drive....\n If you have a CD burner, and the information fits on a standard CD ( the image is compressed to 1/2 the size of the  original data, so that with 700 megs, you are copying 1.4 gig... ) If you have a DVD burner, then you you can copy \nabout twice as much information as the DVD burner capability,\ndepending on whether it is dual or single layered...\n You can also copy the Partion magic, or GHOST image, or\nother similar utility's image, to an ETHERNET connected harddrive, and use GHOST or whatever to copy the entire contents back to the laptop. ( It is a bit difficult to do unless you are network guru ). You could also copy the image to an EXTERNAL harddrive attached to the laptop, and then copy the image back...\n\nIf I were you, I would ask around at local laptop repair shops, to get their input on what "they" use and recommend to quickly replicate laptop harddrive contents...\n\nhope this gives you a few more ideas to play with...\n\nrobin