Moving to a new computer? You should probably take the hard drive out of your old one first. In this article we will explain why.
What is a hard drive?
The hard drive is where all your data is stored. Whenever you save a file, it is written to the hard drive. Whenever you review a picture or read a document, your computer reads it from the hard drive. Even if your data is stored in the cloud, there will also be a copy on your computer’s hard drive.
When you buy a new computer, the new hard drive is empty. Your personal files are still on your old computer. One of the first challenges you face is how to transfer your files.
Disk-to-Disk data transfer
Services like iCloud, Dropbox and OneDrive will sync information from the cloud to your new computer. But if you have a lot of data, that transfers will take hours – or even days to complete. The synchronization process is limited by the speed of your internet connection. It’s also important to realize that if your old computer is too old, it will not be able to connect to the cloud service anyway.
It is much faster is to perform a disk-to-disk transfer. To do this, you will need to remove the physical drive from your old computer and plug it into a hard drive dock attached to your new computer.
Sounds complicated? Not really. In most cases, you just need a screwdriver and the data transfer dock. Setting up the transfer should only take a few minutes. Make sure you check iFixit or the website of your computer manufacturer for instructions on how to locate and remove the hard drive before you start.
A hard drive dock is inexpensive and the transfer process is much faster than with other methods.
Warnings
There are a few other things to be aware of before getting to work with your screwdriver. First, if your hard drive is encrypted, you should power up the old computer and disable encryption. Windows users can disable BitLocker in the Settings control panel. Mac users can find instructions for disabling FileVault here.
Second, it is notoriously difficult to remove hard drives from Apple Mac computers. Many drives have proprietary connectors, which means they cannot be used with generic hard drive docks. Apple has designed newer Macs in such a way that users cannot remove the hard drive at all. If this is the case, you will need to use the built-in Mac OS file transfer app.
Always remove old hard drives
Even if you are not planning to migrate files between devices, you should still remove hard drives from your old computers. Why? Because they represent a significant security risk.
Old hard drives contain plenty of sensitive information that is still valuable to criminals. They will often buy old computers and use file recovery tools to extract information to use for identity theft and other crimes. Removing your hard drives and storing them securely (or physically destroying them) will prevent this.
Need help? Consider the Panda Total Care service – our engineers can help you find the best way to transfer your data and protect your old computers against cybercriminals.
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