96 MAY2020|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE387
O
ut of everything thatyou might want
to keep from an old computer,files
aregoing to top anyone’slist of
items thatyou’ll want to transfer.Thereare
many ways to do this, and we’ll cover our
favourite ways to do so here.
USE ACLOUD SERVICE
We findthatthe best way to transfer and
protect files is to use acloud-synchronisation
service, such as Google Drive or Dropbox.
These services constantly makebackups of
files as they’recreated or saved, with
everything going to the cloud. Not only does
this mean thatyour files areprotected in the
event of an error,but you can also use these
cloud services to synchronise files between
multiple computers. Here, we’reusing
Google Backup and Sync, which comes with
15GB of free storage, and requires afree
Google account to use (you can create one at
accounts.google.com/signup). Dropboxis
very similar in operation. If you need more
storage you can pay for 100GB (£1.59 a
month) or 1TB (£7.99 amonth). Microsoft
OneDrive is built into Windows 10, but you
have to install it for Windows 7; in our
experience, OneDrive really isn’t very good,
so we prefer DropboxorGoogle Drive.
First, you need to download and install
Google Backup and Sync (google.com/drive/
download)onyour old computer.Once
installed, you’ll be prompted to enter the
details of your Google Account and your
passwordtolog in.
Once logged in, the first screen you see is
for My Computer.Here, you’ll see alist of
folders thatare automatically backed up
to the cloud, but you can add new
ones to the mix. These folders
appear online (drive.google.
com)under My Computers, but
arenot synchronised to other
computers. As abackup tool,
this can be useful, but herewe
want to synchronise everything,
which requires using the
Google Drive folder.
Next, you can select the
destination of your Google Drive
folder.Everythingcopied into this
folder will be uploaded to the cloud.
By default, this folder is kept in your user
folder,but you can click the Change button
and select afolder elsewhereonyour
computer,such as asecondary harddisk.
By default, Google Backup and Sync will try to
download all the files from your Google Drive
to your computer,but you can select the
‘Select these folders only’ option and then
choose just the folders thatyou want to
synchronise with your computer if you prefer.
Click Startwhen you’reready.
To get files to upload, you need to first
copy or move them to the Google
Drive folder thatyou created. You
can open this folder in Explorer
by double-clicking on the
Backup and Sync icon in your
computer’s Notification Area.
Next, you need to move
files and folders into this new
Google Drive folder.Itmakes
sense to startwith the default
Windows folders, such as
Documents and Pictures.
In Windows 7, open
Explorer and click on the little
triangle next to Documents. Right-click My
Documents, select Properties and click the
Location tab.Click Move, and browse to
the folder in your Google Drive whereyou
want this folder to go (you can right-click
and select New,Folder to create anew one).
Click Move and then click Yeswhen asked if
you want to move files. Repeat for any other
default system folders thatyou need.
In Windows 10, the best way to move
system folders is to open Explorer and click on
This PC. Right-click Documents and select
Properties, then click Location. Click Move and
then navigate to your Google Drive folder,
right-click and select New,Folder,and add a
new folder for your Documents.Enter the new
folder and click Select Folder.Click Apply and
you’ll see adialog boxasking if you want to
move your old files from the old location to
the new one. Select Yestodothis.
If you get an error message telling you that
Windows ‘Can’t move the folder because
thereisafolder in the same location’,this is
because of OneDrive.
Theworkaround is to follow the
instructionsabove but to select No when
asked if you want to move your files, then
select Yesonthe next dialog box. You’ll now
need to manually move your filesfromyour
old Documents folder (located by clicking the
OneDrive icon) to the new Documents folder.
Repeat for the Pictures, Music and Videos
ABOVE:Google letsyou choose specific folders for backuponly
ABOVE:Google Backup
and Sync synchronises
your files in the cloud
HOWTOMOVEFILES
BETWEEN COMPUTERS
