[SOLVED] Best way to transfer data from old HDD to one in new PC?

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alexswede

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Im just about done with my new PC, but i was wondering hows the best way to go about transferring all my data (Windows, save files, settings) from an old outdated HDD to my new Barracuda 4TB 5400rpm? Thanks for replies

Edit: Im getting a 970 evo plus as a boot drive, and intel optane 32GB for the HDD
 
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SkyNetRising
  1. Connect SSD only;
  2. Boot from windows installation media and install windows;
  3. Connect 4TB drive and old HDD;
  4. Copy necessary data from old HDD to new 4TB drive.
  5. If it's necessary to transfer windows 10 license from old pc to new one, then use windows activation troubleshooter.
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

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alexswede said:
Im just about done with my new PC, but i was wondering hows the best way to go about transferring all my data (Windows, save files, settings) from an old outdated HDD to my new Barracuda 4TB 5400rpm? Thanks for replies
Click to expand...

Why did you get such a slow drive? 5400 rpm drives are a really bad pick for a boot drive. They really should only be used for storage. Get at least a 7200rpm drive, or much better to get a solid state drive. Building a system around a 5400 rpm drive is like building a race car around a 20 year old Civic.
 
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alexswede

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hang-the-9 said:
Why did you get such a slow drive? 5400 rpm drives are a really bad pick for a boot drive. They really should only be used for storage. Get at least a 7200rpm drive, or much better to get a solid state drive. Building a system around a 5400 rpm drive is like building a race car around a 20 year old Civic.
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Im planning on getting intel optane 32GB
 
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SkyNetRising

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alexswede said:
i was wondering hows the best way to go about transferring all my data (Windows, save files, settings) from an old outdated HDD to my new Barracuda 4TB 5400rpm?
Click to expand...
Move HDD from old pc to new pc and copy data over to new drive.
Drive cloning is not necessary here, since hardware is different and there is no need for old windows OS on new pc.
Or you can connect both pc-s to same network and copy data over lan. This will be significantly slower process though.
 
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alexswede

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SkyNetRising said:
Move HDD from old pc to new pc and copy data over to new drive.
Drive cloning is not necessary here, since hardware is different and there is no need for old windows OS on new pc.
Or you can connect both pc-s to same network and copy data over lan. This will be significantly slower process though.
Click to expand...
So i would use the old one as a boot drive to copy over using windows?
 
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Groveling_Wyrm

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To the OP...you will be wasting money if you buy the optane. Optanes are meant for helping speed up hard drives, not SSD drives.

Using the 970 evo plus would be good as a boot drive. Just make sure you get at least 250GB+ if you get one.

You might want a 2nd drive, preferrably a 7200 rpm drive, as a data drive, for all your apps and programs.
 
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alexswede

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Groveling_Wyrm said:
To the OP...you will be wasting money if you buy the optane. Optanes are meant for helping speed up hard drives, not SSD drives.

Using the 970 evo plus would be good as a boot drive. Just make sure you get at least 250GB+ if you get one.

You might want a 2nd drive, preferrably a 7200 rpm drive, as a data drive, for all your apps and programs.
Click to expand...
Isnt intel optane usedto give HDD more Cache which means faster read speeds or have i completely missunderstood
 
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alexswede

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SkyNetRising said:
No.
You'd install windows normally on new pc (clean install, only OS drive connected, disconnect all other drives).
Then you'd connect and use old drive as secondary storage drive and copy necessary files manually.
Click to expand...
Im using a 250gb SSD as a boot drive and a 4tb as a normal drive, so i would just get a new windows license and put it on the SSD and then copy over to the HDD? Im not the greatest at this sort of stuff
 
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SkyNetRising

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  1. Connect SSD only;
  2. Boot from windows installation media and install windows;
  3. Connect 4TB drive and old HDD;
  4. Copy necessary data from old HDD to new 4TB drive.
  5. If it's necessary to transfer windows 10 license from old pc to new one, then use windows activation troubleshooter.
 
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USAFRet

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alexswede said:
Im using a 250gb SSD as a boot drive and a 4tb as a normal drive, so i would just get a new windows license and put it on the SSD and then copy over to the HDD? Im not the greatest at this sort of stuff
Click to expand...
Assuming Windows 10, you probably do not need a new OS license.

For the OS activation, read and do this before you change any parts:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/windows-build-1607-and-activation.2786960/


And don't mess around with the Optane thing. That is a solution looking for a problem.
 
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alexswede

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USAFRet said:
Assuming Windows 10, you probably do not need a new OS license.

For the OS activation, read and do this before you change any parts:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/windows-build-1607-and-activation.2786960/


And don't mess around with the Optane thing. That is a solution looking for a problem.
Click to expand...
So would you suggest just getting a 7200rpm 4tb instead of fiddling with optane?
 
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USAFRet

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alexswede said:
What are the pros and cons of using or skipping out on optane? Ive heard a lot of good things about it
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The 16 and 32GB Optane modules are simply a cache for a spinning HDD.
Very very fast, but still only a small cache.

It does not speed up the whole drive, only that which happens to live in the cache at that moment. Whatever is not in that space is still read at normal HDD speed.
In the context of a game, if you go to a new level, that does not live in the cache. It has no way of knowing that the next thing you want is the particular data for a new level. Load that same level again, and it will probably be in that cache space and read very fast. But only on subsequent reads.
Writes still happen at HDD speed.

Given the rapidly dropping prices of regular SSD's, Optane is a solution looking for a problem in the consumer space.

If you were running a database server, and needed both the space and the speed, Optane would probably be a good solution. The stored procedures would end up in that cache space, and be read over and over and over, very fast.

For thee and me? Just get a regular SSD. Either SATA or NVMe. That is fast across its whole space.
1TB SSD's are around $100 and dropping.
 
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DSzymborski

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100% agree with USAFRet. There are certain, very specific use cases in which Optane makes sense -- and you'll generally know your workload needs it -- but for most consumers, it's a bit like Google Plus in that there's no reasons for it to exist. For most people, it's simply a way to spend additional money for no real benefit and additional complexity. In a world in which regular ol' SSD drives are becoming dirt-cheap, Optane is like spending $10,000 to make a $5,000 car run like an $8,000 car.
 
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alexswede

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USAFRet said:
The 16 and 32GB Optane modules are simply a cache for a spinning HDD.
Very very fast, but still only a small cache.

It does not speed up the whole drive, only that which happens to live in the cache at that moment. Whatever is not in that space is still read at normal HDD speed.
In the context of a game, if you go to a new level, that does not live in the cache. It has no way of knowing that the next thing you want is the particular data for a new level. Load that same level again, and it will probably be in that cache space and read very fast. But only on subsequent reads.
Writes still happen at HDD speed.

Given the rapidly dropping prices of regular SSD's, Optane is a solution looking for a problem in the consumer space.

If you were running a database server, and needed both the space and the speed, Optane would probably be a good solution. The stored procedures would end up in that cache space, and be read over and over and over, very fast.

For thee and me? Just get a regular SSD. Either SATA or NVMe. That is fast across its whole space.
1TB SSD's are around $100 and dropping.
Click to expand...
Currently the motherboard i plan on using has 1 compatibility issue; If i was both m.2 slots then i lose 3 sata ports. Would you recommend still using a m.2 boot drive + an m.2 ssd for gaming? If so, what would you recommend, if not, another recommendation would be tremendously helpful
 
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USAFRet

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alexswede said:
Currently the motherboard i plan on using has 1 compatibility issue; If i was both m.2 slots then i lose 3 sata ports. Would you recommend still using a m.2 boot drive + an m.2 ssd for gaming? If so, what would you recommend, if not, another recommendation would be tremendously helpful
Click to expand...
That depends on your budget and use case.

Loss of a couple of SATA ports is of no consequence if you're not going to use them anyway.

However, expecting m.2 NVMe drives to significantly benefit game performance doesn't work.
However, given the falling prices of m.2 NVMe drives, why not.

The main thing is....don't go for cheap drives, either SATA III or NVMe.
For the secondary drive, given a cheap 3rd rate NVMe vs a top quality SATA III drive....go for the top quality.
 
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alexswede

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USAFRet said:
That depends on your budget and use case.

Loss of a couple of SATA ports is of no consequence if you're not going to use them anyway.

However, expecting m.2 NVMe drives to significantly benefit game performance doesn't work.
However, given the falling prices of m.2 NVMe drives, why not.

The main thing is....don't go for cheap drives, either SATA III or NVMe.
For the secondary drive, given a cheap 3rd rate NVMe vs a top quality SATA III drive....go for the top quality.
Click to expand...
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/alexswede/saved/#view=TT4tgs
this is the build im planning on buying very soon, give or take the barracuda. Would something like a Samsung 860 QVO 1TB work? Still fits around my budget and ive had 1tb harddrive for a long time so im used to the low space
 
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