Copying to new laptop

[LizzieW]

I have bought a new laptop and had OneDrive on the old one.  I signed on to OneDrive on the new laptop and the files and folders from the old laptop have appeared.  So far, so good, but whereas I had them all in My Documents under various headings, they are all just in OneDrive on the new laptop.  I checked and they are also in OneDrive in the old laptop as a copy of what I have under My Documents.

Why have they not transferred exactly as I had the on the old laptop and how can I get all my files and folders to My Documents.  It has been suggested I just move them one by one but that would be tedious as I have hundreds of documents, plus my Legacy family file.

Please help.

I tried local computer people but everyone wants to take both laptops away and I don't want that, I want them to come to me.  We did have someone who would come to us, but I found he wasn't as efficient as he appeared to be and I spent a lot of time getting my old laptop as I wanted it.

My husband also has a new laptop, and as he is treasurer of a local society and does everything on line, he also needs things transferred to be like he uses them.

I have an external hard drive which backs up daily, if I plug that into the new machine will it transfer everything as I like it.

I downloaded Chrome as I prefer it to Microsoft, and everything downloaded instantly, including all my bookmarks, I also downloaded Thunderbird and all my emails were there, plus some files I have down one side which I use until the subject is completed.  So why couldn't OneDrive do the same, or is it just that the previous computer man didn't set it up correctly?

[RJ_Paton]

According to the Microsoft help lines you need to synchronise One drive on your new laptop

On your new laptop

    Sign in to OneDrive: Click the OneDrive icon in the system tray (bottom-right on Windows) or menu bar (on Mac), and sign in with the same Microsoft account you used on your old laptop.

    Set up and select folders: Go to OneDrive's Settings > Account > Choose folders to select which folders you want to sync. Click OK to begin the syncing process.

    Make sure files are local: If you want files to be permanently stored on your new laptop, right-click the folder in File Explorer and select "Always keep on this device".

On your old laptop

    Check for sync completion: Ensure all files have finished syncing before proceeding. Click the OneDrive icon to check for any sync errors.

    Disconnect OneDrive: To prevent issues when you uncheck folders or move them, you should unlink your PC from your account.
        Click the OneDrive icon, select More > Settings > Account.

        Click "Unlink this PC".

    Disable Backup: In the Backup settings, turn off any folder backups for your desktop, documents, and pictures. You can also find and adjust this in the Manage Backup screen.

More info at
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/move-files-to-a-new-windows-pc-using-onedrive-430274dd-e414-4745-991a-a544b5174765

[LizzieW]

I'll have a go, thank you.

[Biggles50]

Personally I find One Drive very annoying.

I disabled it.

I do not want any personal files stored in any Cloud.

I have all my personal files under my own control and backed up to two portable hard drives.

[LizzieW]

Personally I find One Drive very annoying.

I disabled it.

I do not want any personal files stored in any Cloud.

I have all my personal files under my own control and backed up to two portable hard drives.

I agree, I was going to cancel it on this laptop, save to the hard drive and the external portable hard drive but I hadn't got round to it.  It was the previous computer bod who set it all up with OneDrive etc. even though I told him I didn't want it.  How do you back up to two portable hard drives?  Can you plug them in both at the same time, or back up to them at different times?  Is a memory stick good enough as a 2nd one?  I don't know anything about computers, only how to use it, rather like a car, I can drive it but I'm not a motor mechanic!

[Biggles50]

Lizzie

All my files are in appropriate sub-folders that all are located in the “My Documents” folder.

With a new portable USB powered hard drive connected and seen by Windows Explorer it is simply a case of selecting the My Documents folder and copying it to the USB hard drive.

Connect the second USB powered hard drive and repeat the process.

Thereafter I use a program called “FreeFileSync”.

With the program running and both USB hard drives connected I select the Source as the My Documents folder on the PC ‘s hard drive and the Destination set as the My Documents folder in one of the USB hard drive.  Select Sync and after the analysis select Mirror and enter.

It then only copies new files or files that have changed from the PC to the USB hard drive.

I then repeat the process for the second USB hard drive.

Using this App (other similar Apps are available) is a quick and easy process.

All my Genealogy files are in the My Documents folder in a folder called Genealogy.  I have a 128Gb USB Memory Stick that has a copy of the Genealogy folder and I use FreeFileSync to make sure the two folders contain the same files.  In the Genealogy folder are folders named Keynote & Powerpoint and these contain about 50 Presentation that I have created and use at the Family History Group to which I belong.  It is easy to take the USB Memory Stick with me to the Group meetings that I can use there as and when required.

[LizzieW]

Thank you very much for your help.  I've copied your post so I can do as you suggest with my new laptop.  Like you I have all my files in appropriate subfiles located in "My Documents", it's so much easier to find the one you want then.  I'm try to persuade my OH that he should do that.  At the moment he just presses "save" and then wonders where his files have gone to.

[Biggles50]

With any Windows app i.e. any Office word, excel, publisher file always perform a “Save As” as soon as a new document is started, navigate to the location where the file is to be stored and press Enter.

Windows will default to saving to the One Drive so the Browse for destination is selected and the above process followed.

Thereafter whenever the Save is performed it should save the file to the chosen destination and it over writes the older version of the file.

Because you have the file stored in, say the “My Documents/Microsoft Word” folder it is easy to find the next time you wish to open it.

Do the above a few times and it will become second nature.

Last task before shutting down the PC, is to use FreeFileSync.

By the way, I do not keep the USB hard drives connected and in reality I only use one of them, the second one is kept in our detached garage and I only FreeFileSync to it monthly and then back in the garage it goes.

[LizzieW]

I do the saving like you, because I have a lot of documents to save.  Apart from the work as a treasurer, my husband doesn't save much and the program he uses is the same one all the branches of the club uses, so it's automatically saved on the national site and always available to him when he logs in.