external HDD,new pc what to save

[trem1]

Mrs T has bought me a new pc and an external hard-drive to remove everything we need from our old pc but i'm not sure how/what i should be saving also what not to transfer over.
Ive plugged the HDD in and found it in 'my computer', dragged my documents in and it appears to have them but what programs should i make sure ive got and what should i leave behind.Theres only 50gb on my original pc and its a 500gb HDD, so EVERYTHING will fit BUT, my old pc is running xp and the new one is windows7. Can i just copy everything including the windows program files onto the HDD or will this cause issues.
Thanks everyon

[john_h]

dont copy any files from:

C:\windows
C:\program files

doing so will cause issues. copying windows files and putting them on your new is a fast way to cause faults. program files will not run as the correct .dll files and registry files are not there. the best way is to insert the program cd into the new pc and install a new.

anything in your documents folder can be copied without issue.

hope this helps....if not ill try and help as much as i can.

[PureJoe]

Basically, you can transfer anything that you created or saved on the old HDD to the new HDD. All documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, images, other graphics, music, videos, etc are all transferable.

It depends on which program you use as to how you can transfer emails, contacts, etc.

You can't transfer programs though, you have to reinstall them.

[alloydog]

You should copy over all personal data, and for really important stuff, such as say photos, you should save them elsewhere, such as to CD/DVD. If you have an email folder, then save that as well.

If you use a security application such as anti-virus and/or anti-malware, save the installation application (.exe). If you need to reinstall Windows, then you can reinstall the security applications before hooking up to the internet. Next, you should be able to install your other applications from their original CDs/DVDs. If the application was downloaded, such as Firefox and so on, you are better off downloading the latest version anyway.

[alloydog]

You should copy over all personal data, and for really important stuff, such as say photos, you should save them elsewhere, such as to CD/DVD. If you have an email folder, then save that as well.

If you use a security application such as anti-virus and/or anti-malware, save the installation application (.exe). If you need to reinstall Windows, then you can reinstall the security applications before hooking up to the internet. Next, you should be able to install your other applications from their original CDs/DVDs. If the application was downloaded, such as Firefox and so on, you are better off downloading the latest version anyway.