Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
Transferring files from one PC to another is an important part of moving to a new PC. Unfortunately, it's not the only part.
Recently I needed to purchase a new computer. I arranged for all of the data from my old computer to be placed on an external drive. When I open a file, it says that there is information there, but the programs will not run.
It is my assumption that the program, which was originally on a C drive is looking for information on a C drive instead of E where the information actually is.
Is there some way, other than purchasing the programs again that I would be able to make them work?
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It really all depends on what you specifically mean by "open a file".
Placing all of your old hard drive's contents on an external drive is an excellent approach to moving from one computer to another.
But it's not the only thing you need to do.
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Documents and Data
If by "open a file" you mean you have a document - say a Microsoft Word document - which you locate on your external drive and double click on, then Microsoft Word or some compatible program that understand's Word documents must be installed on your new computer.
It's not enough that the Word program files might be on the old, now external drive. The program actually needs to be installed on your new computer - which typically means installed on the new computer's hard drive.
If you have the original installation media that you used to install Word onto your old computer you can just use that again to install it on this new computer.
Remember, Word here is just an example. I have no idea what kinds of data documents you might be working with. The concept applies though: your external drive contains your data files, and to open them you likely need a program installed on your new computer that knows how to work with whatever type of file it is you have.
And yes, if you don't have the original installation disks for the programs that were installed on your old computer, you do need to go out and get replacements. Remember, though, replacements don't have to be the exact same program - using Word as my example, that ".doc" file can also be read by the free Open Office Suite. It has its pros and cons, but it is free and might be a viable alternative. What alternatives work for you will depend once again on exactly what types of data files you're working with.
Programs
If by "open a file" you're attempting to run a program - perhaps you've found Word.exe on your old drive and are trying to run it from the old drive, then no - most of the time that will simply not work.
The rule of thumb is that if a program needed to be "setup" when it was first installed on your old computer then it will need to be set up again to work on the new. That means you'll need the original installation media in order to perform that setup.
That's why getting and keeping the original installation media is so important.
In short: data files work just fine from old hard drive, as long as you have some program installed on the new computer that knows how to open them. Program files typically do not work, and usually have to be reinstalled on the new computer.
Article C4353 - June 25, 2010 « »
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
June 29, 2010 6:25 PM
I learned 20 years ago to not only always keep installation media, but also programs downloaded from the Net. Keeping them on acouple of external HDs has saved my butt a dozen or more times. Who wants to purchase programs you already bought?
June 30, 2010 7:16 AM
May I suggest you also consider setting up a folder to have the setup files on it ... as well as a download folder. if possible download the setup file and copy that file to the setup folder ... then rename the setup file to it's current version for instance say you use AVG you can download the setup file ... rename it AVG number Setup and then copy that to your setup folder. Click on the setup program and setup the AVG version on your hard drive ... this works in most cases ...
it is my experience that Windows 7 has a few quirks one has to get used to, but in my opinion doing this especially in transfer of old hard drive contents to new hard drive or new system it would be wise to reinstall most of the programs from a CD or the copy you downloaded from the internet. Where possible copy the download in its original place downloaded to this setup folder. Do not RUN it from the INTERNET.
Another thing I do is keep all the tools in one folder called My tools. Inside this folder I have sub categories like AV tools, Download Tools, Chat tools, internet search tools, office tools, Maintenance and security tools ... after I get the icon of the tools on the desktop I move it to the appropriate folder in the tools section! I keep the desktop clean from 50 icons or more to a few that I use frequently
July 1, 2010 7:00 AM
Leo, you are right about having to have the original copies of the "Word" app, but he is not dead in the water yet. If he has a friend that is Windows savvy. They could transfer the old registry (back up the new registry on a thumb drive or a 3.5 disc first) from the new external to the C:> hard drive and the "Word" app to the C:> drive. Then once this is all done successfully open "Word" and the "options" and reestablish "Word" where to find the files on the external drive and to save them there.
01-Jul-2010
July 6, 2010 12:51 PM
so what is some file "*.doc" work fine with admin user , but other user "limited" not working, i already copy the files from admin user to other, but it doesnt run.
hope to hear from u.
regards
November 6, 2012 3:05 PM
My files have been transferred from old pc to new laptop, but when I try to open them, I get a message saying files failed to open because they are corrupt. What does this mean, and how can I get round it?
06-Nov-2012