Best way to transfer photos between laptops? I'd like to get rid of my old Intel i3 core laptop but want to transfer all the files I can and don't really want to go to 'Worst Buy' and...

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I'd like to get rid of my old Intel i3 core laptop but want to transfer all the files I can and don't really want to go to 'Worst Buy' and give them my hard-earned cash to tether the hard drives and transfer everything I have from one to the other. I looked at the properties of my photo files and see that I have 365 GB of folders...over half the capacity of my entire hard drive! I have a few assorted capacity thumb drives, but it would probably take quite a few file dumps. I occasionally send pics I don't want anymore to my recycle bin and just emptied it this morning but it obviously didn't do much good!!.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

planepics wrote:

I'd like to get rid of my old Intel i3 core laptop... (show quote)

I would get a large thumb drive (at least 64 Gb) and take them folder at a time. This is a wonderful opportunity to remove duplicates and organize things. The next best thing would be a 1Tb external hard drive to make the move en masse. Then, when you're done, you'll have a backup drive available.

ejones0310 Loc: Tulsa, OK

brucewells wrote:

I would get a large thumb drive (at least 64 Gb) and take them folder at a time. This is a wonderful opportunity to remove duplicates and organize things. The next best thing would be a 1Tb external hard drive to make the move en masse. Then, when you're done, you'll have a backup drive available.

1TB hard drive is the way to go. You get your files moved and have a drive to backup your files. Win win.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Some might network their units.

Haydon

I would buy an external HD and transfer. You would have a backup of your files as well. Two terabyte drives can be had for under 100.00. If your USB port handles USB 3.0 buy that in preference. Your transfer speeds will be significantly increased.

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

I didn't think about that, but I have a 500 GB hard drive I bought several years ago and I think the only thing I have on it is FS that won't even work on Win 10. I'll take a look at it and see how much space is still on it...if it still powers up after all this time. I probably paid about at much for it as a HD 5x the capacity of today's models.

Kuzano

Simplest buy a hard drive caddy or enclosure that converts the old laptop drive to a USB external drive ($20).

Take the drive out of the i3 laptop and insert in the enclosure. Attach it to the new computer. Copy away.

If you plan to put the old drive back into the old machine, you have not done anything to prevent that. The old OS in intact and will boot the old machine. You could have moved your data, but I tend to copy until I see the data in the new location. In fact the old drive makes a great backup and is in a readable device, the enclosure.

You, or the new owner can buy a replacement drive for the old i3, and load new windows or Linux (free). That's if you decide to keep the old drive for your own use.

There are variables on this practice and other options. PM if you like.

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

As mentioned, a 1 TB hard drive is in order. If you've been good, you may get one for Christmas.

twowindsbear

Get an interconnect cable that allows you to transfer the contents of 1 computer to another via the USB ports. You may have to install a program on 1 or the other, or maybe even both computers to allow this to work. The 'transfer to' computer will see the 'transfer from' computer as just another drive & allow you to copy any or all files.

However, this cable may be as expensive as a new external HD that would give you even more flexibility for back up and such.

The enclosure idea & remove the HD from the old computer may be the least expensive option.

Good luck

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

I'd set networking (read, write, modify) privileges on both the old and new laptop drives so they can talk to each other and connect them with a Ethernet cross-over cable that allows connecting two computers. (Not the cable that would go from a computer to a router, it's different.)
I use this method to connect my laptop to my desktop, but I have to turn off WIFI on the laptop, as it seems to elect to use that first, which is MUCH, MUCH slower. Ethernet connection is lickety-split.
Otherwise I would bite the bullet and use the largest USB stick or SD card I had and transfer in groups.

Addendum - If you can get both laptops connected to a router via a regular Ethernet cable (not a cross-over cable), you'll still have to set networking privileges on both computers, but you will be using Ethernet speed. (None of my computers are near the router.)

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Samsung makes an excellent 500GB SSD external drive with a USB3 interface which is on sale at Amazon for $169. Small, light and very fast at a great price if the capacity is large enough for you (they also make a 1TB). Dramatically faster than a spinning disk, very robust, and small enough to put in a pocket.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

TriX wrote:

Samsung makes an excellent 500GB SSD external drive with a USB3 interface which is on sale at Amazon for $169. Small, light and very fast at a great price if the capacity is large enough for you (they also make a 1TB). Dramatically faster than a spinning disk, very robust, and small enough to put in a pocket.

An Ethernet inter-connection between the two computers would be much cheaper (cost of a cable) and faster though.

Rongnongno Loc: FL

planepics wrote:

.../...

Responding to the title only...

Setting a connection:
a) Create a shared drive or directory
1) Use blue tooth and make the laptop 'speak to each other' Cost $0.00
2) Make the shared drive laptop discover-able on your wireless network. Cost $0.00
3) Connect a 'cross over' Ethernet cable between the two laptops. Cost Price of the cable

Need: Basic computer understanding.
Caveat: Both (1) and (2) have security issues if you leave one PC discover-able when you change location.

Other solutions:
1) USB thumbnail (2GB to 500GB)
2) USB drive (Can be used as a backup too... Even better, use it as a common drive, another becoming the backup of this one).
Difference? Size and price.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

planepics wrote:

I'd like to get rid of my old Intel i3 core laptop... (show quote)

Assuming you have a USB 3.0 bus... using an external 1TB hard drive makes sense... however, if you have USB 2.0 or even 1.1 on an older machine it will take quite awhile to transfer your image.

Advice from others regarding use of a 1TB external is good... The external drive can then be used as a backup, or one of several for backup and/or maintaining your images.

FWIW - I keep all my 55,000 plus images on an external drive connected to my Mac - I have another 4 TB drive that is used 24x7 as my Time Machine backup of my Mac plus my images, I also use Crashplan off site cloud backups for my Mac, including my images, the crashplan backup runs every 15 minutes, the Time Machine back runs every hour.

I also keep a 2 TB external drive in a fireproof box which is used to backup my images and some important files each month...

Do not be afraid of adding external drives for storage and for backups. Make a plan, follow it thru and test it every now and then before relying on it!

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Longshadow wrote:

An Ethernet inter-connection between the two computers would be much cheaper (cost of a cable) and faster though.

Cheaper, but not faster. If the slowest laptop has a 100Mb connection, it will theoretically move ~12 MB/sec and the actual speed will be about half that. If they’re both GigE, then we’re talking 125MB/sec, and again, probably half that in practice. The SSD is about 10x that speed (but only if both machines are USB3 or later). Regardless of the speed, I was thinking it might be a good excuse to buy a (fast, portable) external drive 😎 (and you now have a backup, which it sounds like the OP doesn’t have at present)