Expert: Karl Zick - 9/10/2010

Question
I don't know if I'm in the right section of all experts - this area seemed to fit my question best.  I recently heard I can use a migration cable to transfer info from my old computer to my new.  I've never done that.  Will it prompt me on a screen what to do and can I just transfer SOME of the files and not all?  (Later I'll wipe the old disk clean).  I also heard there is a Solutions software program and wonder if that might be better at prompts.  Thanks

Answer
What I do is use my ide/sata-to-usb converter (about $20 from Newegg.com) to connect my old hard drive to my new computer and then use Windows Explorer to selectively copy my personal files over.  This works great with everything but email and depending on the email program you are using you may have to export it on your old machine to a file and then import it on your new one.

Another option is just to copy your files to an external hard drive and then copy them from the hard drive to your new PC.  This has the additional advantage of keeping your files backed up if your computer fails.  You can order a very nice external hard drive these days for about $50 (try Newegg or Amazon).