Have to format the c drive on my laptop due to problems with Windows and I want to save all my documents, movies, pictures etc to the external hard drive. Is it best to to a backup or to use the Windows Easy File Transfer option and is there a difference between them? Thanks, Janice
Hello Janice,
Since you are just wanting to backup those files, I would recommend to just manually copy and paste the folders that the files are in to the external HDD. It will be a lot more reliable, and just as easy to copy the files from the external HDD back into the new installation.
Hope this helps,
Shawn
Ok, Thanks Shaun. I have already done both but the backup said it did not copy all the files and wasn't sure how the easy transfer option worked as far as getting them back onto the computer. What do I do about the programs that have been downloaded? Do I have to transfer those over to the external HD as well?
Yeah, that's one reason why copy and paste is more reliable. You shouldn't have any issues doing it this way.
Unfortunately, programs and drivers will need to be reinstalled on the new installation.
I don't recommend Windows Easy Transfer in this case, but you can learn more on how to in the tutorial below.
Windows Easy Transfer - Transfer To & From Computers
Quote