Laptop upgrade ?

[Boog]

My trusty HP 10 is trying to crap out on me. 8 yr old maybe. Thought it was a gonner yesterday. It went through a lengthy HP diag and repair and for now seems to be ok? We are looking at upgrading to another HP with 11. It's only used for news and entertainment and such so no need for a more expensive unit.
I am concerned with saving and transferring my data and if this unit craps out completely can I still retrieve my data? Favorites, logins, passwords, etc.
I have read about apps used for transferring data from one to another. One looked good up until it said "up to 65%".
I think there may be a cable that might do it.
Any experiences with such?

[davischevy]

I bought my last laptop from the guy that does my computer repairs here in Harrison because he helps me with all issues.

[Boog]

I'm not familiar with any local pc guys and just figure I can buy another one from WM or Staples and be happy with one of theirs and not have to order either.
A friend suggested Microsoft One drive. I have heard of it only.
I am cautious about storing any of my stuff "in the clouds". If it can be lost in my pc, it can be lost "in the clouds" too. Know what I mean?

[Dead Parrot]

As long as you remember that "The Cloud" is just someone else's computer with a very large number of hard drives attached, you will be fine. Use it as one of your backup points, not your only storage place. Assume that any files you store there might be viewed by someone else. Encrypt any files just in case a security issue happens at The Cloud provider.

If your primary use is web and occasional streaming, pretty much any basic laptop with a screen that matches your streaming use should be fine.

Ask if the selling place offers a data transfer service as part of the purchase price. Might be free, might be a nominal charge.

Better to get the new laptop before the old one craps out. Much easier to transfer files from a working drive then attempt to recover files from a dead one.

[Steeveedee]

I backed up my data on a thumb drive(s) and loaded it into the new computer before the old one went all the way bad. I probably ought to refresh that backup to the thumb again. A person's data can be hacked, if someone is determined to do it. I have my whole family's info at the gov personnel site because I held a security clearance. Of course, it got hacked. Pretty embarrassing to have to tell family members about it. I don't expect One Drive or some other mirror to keep it private, either. Fun fact- if you are on a company network, and can see your co-workers machines on that network, you can store information on their drive. Might be tough to retrieve if their computer is turned off or removed, though. At least it was that way when I was working. You can also view data that isn't in their personal folder. I store nothing in the Cloud.

[Getter-Done]

I store my stuff on Thumb drives also.

Make sure to label your thumb drives.

[LS short box]

Were I worked for over 36 years all we ever used were first IBM desk tops and then IBM laptops. We had a good IT support. But when some wanted something like a IPAD we got a IBM laptops with a removable screen. Many many issues. Then we went back to a "standard" IBM laptop and problem solved.
When I retired 6 years ago I had to turn in my laptop so I had to buy another. Local computer company will only sell Lenovo. Years before we bought desk top from them and their service and advice has been top notch. It's been 6 years with zero issues.

[Boog]

Well we bought another HP with 11 and now are trying to load a thumb drive to move folders. It's a slow go. I've got a lot of pics and stuff! We'll see.

[dmjlambert]

I recommend get a couple of these external disk drives. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06W55K9N6/

Drag and drop all the data you care about onto both of them. Leave one of them at a friend's or relative's house, it will be your backup in case you have a flood, fire, burglary, disappearance, etc. If you have sensitive data or photos, encrypt the drive using your computer's built-in encryption software, that would be bitlocker for Windows, or disk utility for Mac.

If your computer craps out before you can get this done, and if the problem is with something other than the internal drive, you can open your computer and take out the internal hard drive or SSD and put it in an external case. Then your data will be accessible from a new computer by plugging in the USB cable. Example:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M08LCXW/
This example is for a hard drive or SSD that is in a 2.5 inch case attached with a ribbon cable in your computer. SSD cards that plug in to a slot would need a different type of enclosure like this: https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-NVMe-En...8G14NBCS/?th=1 I don't have direct experience with enclosures for SSD cards like this, just know about computers in general. If you can figure out the model number of your computer you can probably find youtube videos where people show how to remove or replace the internal drive, and you can use that information to remove the drive and put it in an external case.

A computer shop or a teenager can often help you with this sort of stuff if you're feeling out of your depth.

[dmjlambert]

If you're using Edge Browser and the only place you save the passwords to the various sites you visit is by allowing the browser to save them, you can go into the settings and export your favorites and passwords to a separate file, and back that file up onto an external drive. That will get you the ability to transport the information to another computer via an external drive or thumb drive. Edge Browser will warn you the passwords will be readable by anybody who can get their hands on the file. So, proceed with care and lock up the drive, and when you are done transferring data securely reformat the drive.
As an alternative, and I don't know if it's good or bad because it involves cloud, in the browser settings you can sign in to a microsoft account and turn on sync, and your passwords and favorites will then be in the cloud. Sign in to the same microsoft account on another web browser on another computer or phone, and your passwords and favorites will be there. Once again, a computer shop or teenager can probably help.

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by Boog

Well we bought another HP with 11 and now are trying to load a thumb drive to move folders. It's a slow go. I've got a lot of pics and stuff! We'll see.

It does take a While.

You cannot Drag and Drop 10,000 pictures in a 2-minute time frame.

Guess how many pictures I got?

This is not a competition
We are all Krazy

[special-K]

I tried to put my files on the cloud and it said I had too much giggythingies

[Boog]

Whaaaat? So you CAN have have too much stuff, even in the clouds? I thought it was unlimited. Not that I have anything on computer really worth anything, I don't trust those clouds.

[Palf70Step]

One drive only gives you so much space for the free account. To get more you pay for it by the gigathingie space you want. I would get an external case USB drive and put the hard drive from you old computer in there and use it as a back up of your files.

[Boog]

So far we have copied all of my pics to thumb drive successfully. Now looking to copy my favorites and passwords, etc to same thumb drive. Ima turn into an IT guy after this. NOT!

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by Boog

So far we have copied all of my pics to thumb drive successfully. Now looking to copy my favorites and passwords, etc to same thumb drive. Ima turn into an IT guy after this. NOT!

Good deal.

This way you won't be throwing money in the Clouds.

[davischevy]

I have cloud storage on the company account, but I still store files on gmail and thumb drives. Gmail deletes them at some point so old files go away.

[Boog]

Yep. I've lost emails and contacts from gmail. I thought some were safe in the deleted folder for when I decided to go through them and clean them out. That was a mistake. They are gone.
I may not have a choice some day about cloud storage but until then I am avoiding it.