Help with combining two hdd into one pc

[Amyrainbow]

Hi there, sorry if this is an obvious question but I have done searches that turned up with so many options and none of them were definitive in what I actually needed, maybe i wasnt specific enough in my searches but anyway, I have decided to ask the leading authority on this... you guys!

I have 2 pcs I built myself. One I used until I built a new one and subsequently 'handed down' to my so. Due to space and him retreating into a Mac studio, and xbox one man cave, we no longer require both pcs.

I would like to transfer and consolidate the user data and files onto my newer build so we still have everything, lose the duplicate OS (both Windows 7 premium 64bit) and turn the second hdd into additional storage.

I thought this would be a simple and common occurance but I can't seem to get a simple and effective answer on how to do this. The 2nd hdd is currently happily sitting in the newer pc and the PSU is more than capable of powering it's new buddy.

I can specify additional specs if necessary, but I can't really see the relevance in this particular case.

I'm sure WET may come in here but want to be sure I'm doing everything correctly so I can wipe and partition the new drive for music storage etc.

Please can you help this hardware happy software scaredy girl! Thank you all so much in advance!

 

[Paul NZ]

You cant combine the user files and data. Just connect the other hdd and format it

 

[Amyrainbow]

Thanks for your swift response! So I take it there is no way to save all the files without manually copying them over then formatting?
I'm not worried about user preferences etc but it's a long job to go through and sort everything, especially the media files. Is there really no other way to do this?

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks for your swift response! So I take it there is no way to save all the files without manually copying them over then formatting?
I'm not worried about user preferences etc but it's a long job to go through and sort everything, especially the media files. Is there really no other way to do this?

The only things you can retrieve and use from the 'other' drive are personal files. Copy/paste over to the new PC drive.
Applications, settings, all that other stuff...nope.

 

[ArtPog]

Besides a few other things we'll get to, the principal question is the kind of "data and files" you desire to transfer to your new PC. If this "data" involves programs/applications that were installed on the "old" PC, you would need to install those programs/applications on your new PC. By & large (with a few exceptions) programs/applications need to be reinstalled on a new PC, regardless that both the "old" & "new" PCs contain a similar OS.

However, if those "data and files" consist of user-created material, e.g., documents you created in your word processor or audio/visual files such as photos, that material could be transferred to your new PC and could be accessed in the new PC. So as you can see so much depends upon the precise nature of the data involved.

The volume of data involved together with the available disk-space in the new PC would also be factors in precisely responding to your query.

(What is the meaning of WET?)

 

[Amyrainbow]

Thank you both too. WET is the windows easy transfer application. Usually used when adding old user data to a clean built (I assume).

Programs etc are installed on both so that isnt an issue but there are many user created files on different accounts and a great deal of media.

It seems I will just have to baby sit the lengthy locate, copy/paste process then... yawn!

Thank you all for your input I really appreciate it!

If there is a swift and methodical way of doing this, any guidance would be also appreciated!

 

[Amyrainbow]

Also space on the destination hdd is ample

 

[Paul NZ]

You can copy documents / text files, and media like videos thats it