nathanb

iTrader: (1)

I'm considering shortly scrapping my desktop in favour of a laptop and my only concerns moving between the two is transferring my iTunes library and all my vids/photo's.

What is the easiest way to transfer my iTunes to a laptop?

Thanks in advance!!

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

All you need to do is to copy over the entire itunes music folder complete with xml files from your Documents folder from one PC to the other.
Then install itunes and it will open all your exisiting files

As for movies/pictures. Pretty much the same thing. Copy over the files into the same place

nathanb

iTrader: (1)

Sorry to be a div!! How do I do that in a step by step way tony?

I'm useless at computers!!

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Well based on that last comment, I suggest you pack up the laptop and desktop and go back to bed




Joke

If you look at the file structure in your My Documents folder you will see Music, Pictures etc.
If you copy the contents of those folders over from laptop to desktop then you cant go wrong

nathanb

iTrader: (1)

Do i copy those to an external hard drive or something then transfer across or can I directly link the two with a cable?

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Ideally if you have an external hard drive that has the capacity then that would be better.

If not then you have the arduous task of connecting the two machines via a network and sending the files over at a slower speed.

bibicoz

what about burning the files as data onto a dvd thats also quicker if no external hdd available use nero if available

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

Or buy yourself a cheap usb ramstick and copy all the files onto there. You can get 16GB ones for £16 now.

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

what he said.

Most people have a hell of a lot more data than can fit on a DVD so a USB stick is far better and cheaper

Dedrater

Forget all of the above advise Nathan, just go and buy a Crossover cable (usually yellow Category 5 (CAT5) from Maplin/PCWorld for a couple of quid, this is the easiest, one of the quickest and most low cost methods.

You then just connect the two together via the network ports >



Job done, don't bother fannying around with external drives or network switches

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

Forget Dedraters 'advice' he has no idea what he's talking about mate. Just get a USB stick, that way it's easier to transfer files. Plus it keeps a secure backup of your files stored. A crossover cable can't do that

Dedrater

Sack that, thats the retard way to do it. What if he has 40+gigs worth of stuff? he is going to have a back up on his other computer anyway.

nathanb

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the advise lads. Ive got my laptop now so ill have to give the above a try. I got told on another site to transfer my iTunes onto a DVD disc a transfer that way. I'll give that a bash 1st. Thanks again lads!!

alistair

should be follwed by

Assuming that having 2 copies of the data (one on each computer) isn't enough of a backup already.

Both approaches are valid - if you want to take a sub-set of the music, i'd go with the USB approach - if you want a full copy and will re-synch in future, then I'd go with the crossover approach

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

How about getting a 64gig ram stick? Exactly he needs to backup his stuff, htf is he going to do that with a cross over cable

And no having 2 copies on 2 puters isnt enough, as HDD's fail. USB ram sticks are far more reliable. Plus you can carry them on you, in case of fire etc

Dedrater

So in summary then:

1. Spend hours and hours burning DVDs then hours copying them back to the new computer, plus the hassle of buying the media.

2. spend nigh on a grand on a 62gig flash drive /or £50 or so on a external HDD.

3. spend 2 quid on a cable, plug it in, highlight all files to be copied, then drag and drop then just wait till it has finished.

Choice is yours.

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

a grand? for a 64GB ramstick, again u show your ignorance, try about £100

You seem to be missing the point, yes a xover cable is the cheapest option for xferring files between TWO pc's. But once he's done the xfer he won't be using the old desktop anymore. Therefore he will not have any backup. So the USB ption is the fastest way, be it ramstick or external HDD.

Dedrater

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

FX02

iTrader: (5)

If he only wants to transfer it rather than back it up, then whats wrong with the cable way of doing it? It seems to be an easy and cheap option.

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

Because you should always backup data that's important to you.