Computer full ??

PINTACIDER

Hi all , my computer seems to be full with stuff i have installed or downloaded all of which i want or need for work, play etc , this however is causing it to load and work a bit slow , its clean of infections viruses etc scanned regularly. Is it possible for me to transfer all these items to an external hard drive but still be able to use any of them when wanted but one or two at a time without my 'main' hard drive loading them all at once ? would i then be able to remove them from main hard drive and thus hoping this will improve speed or performance. Hope that makes sense, thanks in advance. Pinta.

Toxteth_OGrady

Yes.

Also use CCleaner.

WhiteChristmas

How much free space do you have left on your hard drive?

Assuming you really are running out of space; data files - pictures, music etc - definitely move without problem.

Likewise "installers" - the packages which actually put a program onto your machine.

"Installed" programs can be installed onto an external drive, but will generally run more slowly.

Is it a desktop or laptop PC?

If desktop - fit a big second drive.

Iflaptop - think about replacing the existing HD with a bigger one.

PINTACIDER

Thanx TOG , i already use cc cleaner as well as avast, malwarebytes. what external hd is best for the job and is it easy to transfer also how would it work when i needed to load off it back to main ? Having never done this im a little worried ill mess something up !! Pinta

Toxteth_OGrady

I take it from the questions you are asking that you do not have a back up strategy and are at risk of losing all your stuff if your hard disk dies.

Have a slow time read through this sticky thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/40297

Once you know how to back up your data safely you will learn different (all easy) techniques for moving data to and from different devices.

PINTACIDER

Hi WhiteChristmas, yes its a desktop five years old Dell not sure of the model. How would i fit a second drive ? ., sorry not overly techie but can follow instructions. also where do i find the free space info ? thanx

PINTACIDER

Thanx TOG will have a read through that shortly and yes your assumption is right ! lol. many thanx for your help. Pinta

WhiteChristmas

For a desktop, I'd definitely go down the second hard drive path unless you particularly want the portability an external drive offers.

It's probably the second easiest modification you can make to your machine (after fitting memory) and there are lots of "how tos" on line (including on YouTube where you can actually see it being done).

For free space info, open a Windows Explorer window (press windows key and E at the same time). In the left hand window, right click on the "C:\" entry and select "Properties". It'll tell you the total size of the drive and how much is used.

Toxteth_OGrady

I agree with White xmas that you could fit an internal disk to your PC but the easiest way to start for a non-techy would be to get something like this:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176613

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002E7HEVU/ref=nosim/?!!!!!hotukdeals-21

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00371POJG/ref=nosim/?!!!!!hotukdeals-21

In addition to copying/backing up to one of these I would also burn your most precious data (photos, documents, music) to DVD so that you have two back ups of the stuff you can't afford to lose, because external hard drive can fail as well.

Toxteth_OGrady

Sorry, pointed to wrong sticky link earlier, read this:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/597170

spakkker

Get Windirstat, free, - http://sourceforge.net/projects/windirstat/ it will scan your hd and show you in a very easy way what is taking up space. Programmes don't usually take up much space.
An internal hd is easy and cheap -tho' if you have a dvd writer it's even cheaper to burn data to dvd's.
Do you know what size your drive is ??