Written by Gijs

How do I transfer files from a laptop to a new one?

Congratulations: you bought a new laptop and want to use it as soon as possible. In this case, you probably need files from your old laptop. In this article, I'll explain how you can best transfer data from your old laptop to your new laptop.

1. Think about which files you want to transfer

Files in Explorer on a laptop.

Before transferring all of your old files from laptop to laptop, it's important to figure out which exact data you want to transfer. When you use a laptop, you save a lot of files that you hardly or never use. This is the perfect opportunity to say goodbye to those files and start with a new, 'fresh' laptop. Once you've deleted the old files, you should check how much data in GB there's left to transfer.

2. Transfer data via WeTransfer

Transfer data via WeTransfer.

Only left with 2GB of data after your cleanup? If so, use an online program such as WeTransfer. You can upload your files from the old laptop to WeTransfer and email them to yourself. Open your email on your new laptop and download the files with the link you just emailed to yourself. There you go, you now have the old files on your new laptop. Do you have more than 2GB of data to transfer? If so, use an external hard drive.

2. Transfer data via an external hard drive

External hard drive in laptop.

Before you transfer any data, it's wise to put all of the files you want to transfer in one folder. This way, you don't waste any time copying separate files to the external hard drive. Connect the external hard drive to your old laptop and select the files you want to transfer. Copy these to the external drive. Depending on the amount of files, this may take some time. Remove the hard drive when all of the files have been copied. Next, connect the external hard drive to your new laptop and copy its files to the SSD or hard drive of your new laptop.

4. Transferring files in a different way

It's possible to transfer files to your new laptop in a different way. The internet has different programs for this, such as PCmover Express. I don't recommend these methods, since they often cost money and prove to be more complicated than necessary.

Article by:
Gijs Laptop Expert.

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