How to get files off your old PC before you move

However sentimental you consciousness astir that aged machine (or seven) you’re hanging connected to, possibly you’ve decided you can’t return it pinch you nan adjacent clip you move. Maybe it doesn’t boot. Maybe it’s truthful old, it doesn’t link to nan internet. If you want to prevention immoderate is connected nan difficult drive, you don’t request your aged PC to activity aliases link to nan internet. All you request is simply a screwdriver and a compatible plug-and-play retention thrust dock aliases adapter.

The process is simple: region nan thrust from your aged computer, look astatine its size and connector type, and past bargain nan due adapter. You mightiness request to investigation really to region nan retention thrust from your circumstantial device, but nan older nan device, nan easier it should beryllium — and it’s almost surely a batch easier than a unreality transfer. 

I can’t transportation my files to nan cloud?!

You can usage nan cloud, but it’s an unnecessary hassle, and nan older your computer, nan bigger nan hassle. Bandwidth, Wi-Fi, package compatibility, and much each go unavoidable obstacles.

Wi-Fi 5 and up is backward-compatible, but your wireless upload velocity will only beryllium arsenic accelerated arsenic your oldest device. You tin usage ethernet if your aged machine has it, but nan aforesaid rumor applies. Google Drive, OneDrive, and different unreality retention desktop applications are only compatible pinch Windows 10 aliases macOS Catalina 10.15.7 and up. Same woody pinch web browsers. (Dropbox, surprisingly, supports all nan measurement backmost to Windows 7.)

Even if those issues didn’t exist, you’ll still walk nan balanced of a bully adapter aliases outer thrust conscionable connected unreality retention successful respective months aliases little — and you’ll support paying aliases other get locked retired of your data. If your machine has a moving USB larboard (USB 2.0 aliases newer), transferring everything to an outer thrust mightiness make nan astir sense. But again, costs is simply a factor. So usage a dock aliases adapter; they’re nan ibuprofen of preventing information transportation headaches. 

How do I get nan retention retired of my aged computer?

Desktops usually person a straightforward measurement to entree storage, moreover crossed generations and brands. Laptops are wherever things tin beryllium tricky, truthful I urge searching iFixit’s repair guide to find circumstantial steps for your computer. However, location are a mates of things to look for that tin show you really easy it will beryllium to entree and region a retention drive.

Drive bays

On a desktop, look for what lucifer mini metallic cubby holes, either stacked vertically connected 1 broadside aliases laying broadside by broadside connected nan bottom. You’ll request to region nan full ammunition casing, aliases conscionable a sheet aliases two, to get to your drive. But erstwhile you’re there, unscrew nan thrust from its cubby (if needed), unplug each nan attached cables, and propulsion it out.

For my IBM PS/Valuepoint 433DX/D, I slid nan full ammunition casing off, removed nan halfway support, and past unplugged nan retention thrust earlier I unscrewed it from nan bay. The full process took maine little than 5 minutes.

Access panels

Some older laptops person mini removable panels that screen nan retention drive, a awesome DIY characteristic from nan “old days.” If you spot 1 of those screwed into nan bottommost of your laptop, unscrew it, region it, disconnect nan cablegram from nan retention drive, and propulsion it out.

There’s 1 connected my Asus UL80J laptop, and it took maine half nan magnitude of clip to region nan thrust from that laptop compared to my aged IBM.

What if I person a Mac?

It takes a batch much clip to region a retention thrust from a Mac successful general, but it tin beryllium done. Again, I recommend looking to iFixit for your model’s nonstop steps. The process isn’t arsenic cut-and-dried arsenic a PC and tin alteration wide betwixt generations.

What retention is successful my aged laptop aliases desktop?

You tin show what type of retention thrust you person conscionable by looking astatine its size, shape, and connector pins. (They are each easy to show apart.) What follows is simply a rundown of nan type of retention drives your aged machine will astir apt person based connected erstwhile nan machine itself was released.

Note: nan day ranges beneath are based mostly connected erstwhile each modular was introduced and erstwhile it fell retired of fame aliases became obsolete. It’s perfectly imaginable for personification to person a machine from, say, 2017 that has a SATA HDD. (My aged Lenovo Legion Y720 gaming laptop had one.)

HDD (PATA): 1986–2003

Originally called AT Attachment, Parallel ATA (PATA) lasted from nan mid-1980s to nan early 2000s. If you person an aged IBM, it’s astir apt going to person a PATA larboard and a 2.5-inch aliases 3.5-inch difficult disk thrust (HDD) pinch nan aforesaid type of connector. While location were plentifulness of difficult drives of each different sizes during those eras, those 2 were nan astir commonly utilized HDD sizes successful desktops.

PATA is besides known arsenic IDE, aliases Integrated Drive Electronics. It was Western Digital’s sanction for its HDD connector, and a batch of ’80s and ’90s Compaq computers utilized its IDE drives, but they were compatible pinch IBM PCs because their connectors were precisely nan same. The 2 position are still utilized interchangeably.

HDD (SATA): 2003–2010

This relationship modular was introduced successful 2003, and 5 years later, PATA / IDE was obsolete. If your machine came retired betwixt 2003 and 2010, it astir apt has an HDD pinch a Serial AT Attachment (SATA) connection. Laptops sewage nan 2.5-inch HDD versions while desktops sewage nan 3.5-inch versions, though nan 2.5-inch drives were compatible pinch some owed to their size.

Like PATA, nan 3.5-inch SATA HDD will request its ain powerfulness source. All you request for a 2.5-inch thrust is simply a elemental USB adapter, but plentifulness of difficult thrust docks are compatible pinch that smaller shape factor.

SSD (SATA): 2010–2014

The 2.5-inch SATA solid-state drives (SSD) were commonly utilized successful laptops and desktops during this time. The much modern ones person sleek lawsuit housing, truthful they look cooler. Some modern desktop cases still travel pinch dedicated bays for these drives, too.

But astir important: SSDs usage NAND flash, aliases nonvolatile flash memory, which made them tin of moving overmuch faster than HDDs. And until M.2 SSDs became much communal (see nan adjacent section), SATA SSDs were cheaper. For a short play of time, location was a azygous type of standardized retention instrumentality that worked successful astir consumer-focused desktops and laptops.

There was besides nan Mini-SATA (mSATA) drive, introduced successful 2009. It was a amended prime for laptops based connected its size, but by nan mid-2010s, it was superseded by M.2 SSDs.

SSD (M.2): 2014–present

Originally dubbed Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF), M.2 SSDs are nan existent modular for laptops and desktops. They slot into a circumstantial PCI definitive (PCIe) larboard connected nan motherboard, and nan astir communal size is nan 2280, which is nan size of a instrumentality of gum. M.2 SSDs didn’t commencement showing up successful laptops and desktops until 2014, but nan ones we person coming are doubly arsenic fast. 

But I person a Mac…

If you person a Mac that predates 2010, you’ll person nan easiest clip uncovering a compatible dock aliases adapter; Apple utilized nan aforesaid retention standards arsenic Windows machines. But starting pinch nan precocious 2010 MacBook Air, Apple began putting its “blade” SSD drives pinch proprietary pin connectors successful its computers. It besides didn’t evenly sync nan rollout betwixt each of its Macs.

In all, Apple created 4 proprietary pin connections that were utilized crossed its laptops and desktops. That’s why immoderate Mac-specific retention adapters, for illustration nan OWC Envoy Pro, are only compatible pinch circumstantial Mac devices from circumstantial years. iFixit sells an outer enclosure for mid-2013 done mid-2015 Macs, but it’s $100.

If you person a Mac, I urge researching what circumstantial drive it has — and if an adapter really exists — earlier you region nan storage.

Should I get a dock aliases an adapter?

If you person a 2.5-inch SATA HDD aliases SSD, you tin usage a elemental USB adapter. Those from Sabrent, StarTech, and Vantec are awesome affordable options. If you person a 3.5-inch PATA aliases SATA HDD, you tin usage either an adapter aliases dock, but nan second must person a powerfulness cablegram since these types of drives request their ain powerfulness root to move on.

Some adapters and docks tin accommodate some thrust sizes, for illustration these Sabrent, Insignia, and Thermaltake docks. This adapter from Unitek has its ain powerfulness root and supports some PATA / SATA and HDD / SSD retention types. (Some PATA adapters and docks usage nan IDE acronym alternatively of PATA successful their online listings, truthful conscionable beryllium mindful of that erstwhile you are looking for 1 to buy.)

What if my HDD aliases SSD is encrypted?

If you cognize nan property of your machine and its operating system, decrypting your retention thrust could either beryllium an easy process aliases it could make you weep into your keyboard. Start by figuring retired which type of Windows aliases macOS you have, and that will usually show you if nan retention thrust is software- aliases hardware-encrypted.

Software encryption

If you person a machine pinch aliases anterior to Windows XP (2001) aliases Mac OS X 10.2 (2002), nan encryption is astir apt package based. If you cognize what third-party package was utilized — and you cognize nan cardinal aliases password — you tin decrypt nan thrust connected nan original machine if it still useful and has nan original package installed. Some celebrated programs astatine nan clip were TrueCrypt, SafeGuard PrivateDisk, and BitLocker To Go. (There is an extensive list connected Wikipedia if nary of those ringing a bell.)

BitLocker To Go Reader came to Windows XP pinch Service Pack 2, which eliminated nan request for third-party software. If you encrypted nan thrust pinch BitLocker, nan scholar package should person been automatically installed connected nan thrust itself. If you forgot your password, you’ll request your BitLocker betterment key.

Hardware encryption

Hardware-based encryption, aliases TPM (Trusted Platform Module) for Windows and FileVault for macOS, was first introduced successful nan mid-2000s; if you person Windows Vista aliases OS X 10.3, aliases immoderate later version, nan retention encryption is astir apt hardware based.

For Windows Vista done Windows 8.1 pinch TPM 1.2, nan decryption process should beryllium simple: move disconnected BitLocker Drive Encryption successful nan OS settings, and it will automatically commencement decrypting nan retention drive. Then restart your machine and cheque to spot if you tin entree nan files. The process is nan aforesaid for TPM 2.0-enabled computers pinch Windows 8.1 and later.

For Macs pinch FileVault aliases FileVault 2, nan process is nan same: move disconnected FileVault successful nan information and privateness settings, participate your administrator password (if needed), and nan decryption process will begin. Restart your machine and past cheque to spot if nan process worked.

What if I don’t person nan original machine to decrypt nan drive?

You tin still plug nan thrust into your existent machine and decrypt from there. The aforesaid accusation and processes I mentioned supra still apply: cheque for nan basal package aliases hardware and level compatibility and availability, person your administrator password aliases betterment cardinal handy, and make judge you person administrator privileges connected your computer.

Photography by Joanna Nelius / The Verge