Please help, need advice on USB1 to new computer

Blackpool_Saver

Hi, please can someone advise the quickest/easiest method to do this thanks...

I have an old xp computer with USB 1's, I want to get all my stored data from this computer to an external drive and put it on a new computer, there is a LOT of data!! I will be buying a large external drive, but how do I connect the two together?? :question::doh:

timbo58

you could use a usb to usb connector but it would take ages if it worked at all.
easiest way is to connect the old computer via usb to the backup drive and backit all up and then reconnect the drive to the new computer.
USB1 is very slow for large data transfer though.
Maybe backing up via cdrom might be easier?

Blackpool_Saver

Hi Timbo,

There are 2 drives, both full.


I doubt there are CD-ROM's big enough, I was hoping there was some sort of converter from 1 to 2 if that makes sense ...

Browntoa

easier to connect both the old and the new PC to your home newtork and then network share, just copy the data direct over the network

cheaper , easier and quicker

tanto

buy yourself a external hard drive case and put the old drive into that you will then be able to access the drive and get your data off it

John_Gray

Your USB2 external drive will be 'compatible' with the USB 1.1 sockets on your old XP computer. The only snag, as stated previously, is that data transfer will be even more agonisingly slow than you could ever imagine possible, and it could literally take days to copy the data across to the external drive. Then you would have to copy it from the external hard disk to the new computer. Somewhat more quicker.

If you are confident with PC hardware you could buy the appropriate USB2 disk caddy (probably/possibly 3½" PATA - but CHECK!!) for around £10-£20, and remove the drive from the XP computer and put it in the caddy. Now you can plug the caddy's USB plug into your new computer, and it will be recognised as another drive. You can then copy across to the new computer's hard disk at your leisure. When you've finished, you can put the disk back in the old XP computer, if you want.
Advantage: only one copy operation, not two.
Disadvantage: you may then have a disk caddy but no disk to put in it!

scheming_gypsy

Just plug the external drive into the USB ports and copy everything onto it, you just won't get USB2 speed.
Or you can get a USB2 card for the PC
Or copy over the network as Browntoa said

Blackpool_Saver

Ok, thanks for all the replies, I am reading and digesting them.........hmmmmm, back with more questions soon no doubt lol !!

Blackpool_Saver

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

Or you can get a USB2 card for the PC

please can I have more info on this?

Blackpool_Saver

please can someone direct me to a tutorial for sending files via the router from one comp to the other.....would this be best done by ethernet cable or would wifi be ok?

InsideInsurance

Cable is quicker than wifi

Depending on the warranty situation etc I would be tempted to follow John's advice of actually removing the HDs from the old PC and either putting them in an external caddy connected by USB2 to the new computer or if warranty isnt an issue and their compatible then actually inside the new PC itself.