Setting up a new laptop

zuzuspetals

I have Samsung R540 winging its way to me now. It's five years since I bought my current laptop and somebody else set it up for me. I seem to remember him burning loads of CDs.

I've been reading about the Samsung Recovery Solution which apparantely asks you to partition your hard drive. A reviewer on Amazon stated that this isn't a good idea for various reasons.

1. If I decline the option at set up to partition the hard drive, do I need to burn CDs or DVDs? Which type should I buy and how many approx will I need?

2. I plan on buying an external hard drive to back up files. I've never backed up files before :embarasse. Do I just plug it in now and again and keep re-saving all my folders or is there a programme that does this for you automatically?

3. What is the best way to move files from an old laptop to a new one? Should I save them onto an external hard drive and then transfer them?

4. What size of hard drive is recommended for backing up? I was looking at this one on amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-500GB-Expansion-Portable-Drive/dp/B001XM4P1O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307734338&sr=8-1

I really don't know much about this sort of thing and would be grateful for any help. Thanks.

Dan_Iggulden

zuzuspetals wrote: »

I have Samsung R540 winging its way to me now. It's five years since I bought my current laptop and somebody else set it up for me. I seem to remember him burning loads of CDs.

I've been reading about the Samsung Recovery Solution which apparantely asks you to partition your hard drive. A reviewer on Amazon stated that this isn't a good idea for various reasons.

1. If I decline the option at set up to partition the hard drive, do I need to burn CDs or DVDs? Which type should I buy and how many approx will I need?

2. I plan on buying an external hard drive to back up files. I've never backed up files before :embarasse. Do I just plug it in now and again and keep re-saving all my folders or is there a programme that does this for you automatically?

3. What is the best way to move files from an old laptop to a new one? Should I save them onto an external hard drive and then transfer them?

4. What size of hard drive is recommended for backing up? I was looking at this one on amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-500GB-Expansion-Portable-Drive/dp/B001XM4P1O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307734338&sr=8-1

I really don't know much about this sort of thing and would be grateful for any help. Thanks.

Nice laptop firstly!

Recovery partition is usually already formed, this just means that if you need to recover your laptop, instead of putting in a disk, you hold down F10/F11 (different on different machine) and it will boot into the recovery partition. Some machines will give you the option to burn a disk when you first boot into windows, if it gives you this option, then you need to do it, as usuallt this will mean there is no recovery partition on the laptop and the disks will be required if you ever need to recover. One blank DVD-R (assuming your laptop has a DVD bruner) should do the job.

For backing up, some hard drives have auto backup software, so you can designate certain folders to be backed up daily, weekly etc. The other way is the good old fashioned way of dragging and dropping as and when you want to backup on the external hard drive.

For transferring, you've nailed it. Either use a USB pen drive or an external hard drive. Only suitable for data, you will struggle to transfer software unless you have the original disks to install from.

For size of backup drive, all depends how much you intend to backup! I currently use a 250GB external for all my photos and vids, not even up to 100GB full yet so just apply common sense!

Hope that helps

NeverAgain_2

Transferring data can be a fit of a faff, so how much do you really need to move over?

Most people's laptops are like their lofts, full of junk they never use, so the new laptop is a chance to have a clear out.

Backing-up is important, but easy,

The Seagate drive you are looking at should do the job, unless you have loads of data.

It may come with a backing-up programme, but there's one on your Windows operating system which will do the job just as well.

Windows should ask you how often you want to back-up, then it will throw up a window to remind you.

Frequency of back-ups is up to you, some people do it ever few hours.

For most users there's no need - my data doesn't change very often or to any great degree - so I only back-up every couple of weeks.

Which reminds me, haven't done one for a while....