Fstop12 Loc: Kentucky

Tranisitoning from an old desktop PC, OS Windows10 to a newer Desktop PC OS Windows 10 Pro. The old computer has a 1 TB storage drive full of Photos and documents. The new computer will have a 4TB hard drive for storage of Photo Files and documents. What is the best way to transfer from the old to the new?

BBurns Loc: South Bay, California

Fastest way is remove drive from old computer temporarily.
There is almost always an additional SATA connector available on the motherboard.
So connect the old drive to the new machine as an additional drive.
You can then see all of your folders and transfer what you wish.
When finished, replace the drive back in the old computer.

grathbun Loc: Placerville, California

It depends on your level of technical expertise. Assuming that you're not much into getting "under the hood", I'd suggest copying the files from the old computer to an external USB-connected hard drive, then copying from there to the new system. A side benefit of this is that you'd have a backup of your files on the external drive.
Another option would be to back up your files from the old computer to a cloud service, then download them to your new computer from the cloud service.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

It may be the time to set up an external drive system to keep your pictures. As a mater of fact consider two hard drive with the same info. This will protect what you have. Hard drives all die sooner or later, to have them both die at the same time is improbable.

Mr. SONY Loc: LI, NY

Yep they can and do fail at the most inappropriate time.
That is why I have 4, 4tb drives and 1 5tb drive.
Three which are kept in a fire-resistant safe.
Then there are the 5 other 2tb drives for my music backups.
3 kept in the same safe.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That's what I did recently. In addition to C (OS and programs), I had D and E. I simply dragged folders from one to the other - Copying, not Moving. One thing to keep in mind: temperature. I use CrystalDiskInfo (free) to keep track of hard drive temps and usage. After running them for a while, both drives were heading toward 123°, which is the upper limit. I stopped copying and usually put the computer into Sleep mode when they got to 115°.

Of course, if you have no way to monitor temperatures, you can just assume that everything is fine, and keep copying. Be on the lookout for smoke, though.

EDIT: There are lots of external USB hard drive enclosures available. That makes the process simpler, but probably slower. On my new Dell, I didn't have data cables for the additional drives, so I had to wait almost two weeks for them to arrive from Amazon.

https://smile.amazon.com/RSHTECH-Enclosure-External-Docking-Station/dp/B076HNWDMX/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=hard+drive+enclosure&qid=1596640346&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyMEVaUFE3WUFJVVFQJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjcwNTg0MjZVOUxNTE1GM0ZINyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODI0Mjk3MVNZMFJPWUtTRUZRSiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

BBurns Loc: South Bay, California

I go one step farther My 'C' is OS only.
I added a second SSD for my 'D' drive and install all of the applications on it.
I save nothing to either of those drives and keep back ups of each.
I use a Drive Dock. It is quicker and easier to use, also from Amazon.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That's a clever idea. I like those drive docks. They're very convenient and easy to use.