Rubbish old computer

[flashpig]

I have a load of music and videos on this computer I type on now, but it is old and the cd writer thingy has stopped working. Is there any easy way to connect it to a newer computer and transfer all of the stuff. I have no idea about computers and stuff. Speak slowly.

[j2buttonsw]

Make sure both PCs have ethernet cards then network them together with an RJ45 cross-over cable. Work out a way of authenticating (best to setup a workgroup using the networking wizard) then drag and drop.

[flashpig]

Oh crikey, I thought this would happen. What?!?

[j2buttonsw]

http://www.homenethelp.com/web/howto/HomeNet-start
.asp

[gdburton]

1. If you buy your next PC from a smaller local supplier they are quite likely to be able to transfer huge globs of data from your old PC to the new one. They may want to change a bit for this, but not a huge deal! 2. Depending on what connectors you have on your current, and new computers you can go down the path of learning a bit about "networking". It really isn't that difficult, especially with sites like this one. Ethernet cables and connections can be confusing at first, but there is another way. 3. As long as PCs are not TOO old. (~5yrs) they are likely to have USB ports (http://computer.howstuffworks.com/usb.htm) for around �13 you can buy a cable to connect the two PCs via the USB connectors. It comes with all you need to make a mini network. This may be an easier option. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ca
tegory=176&item=5701496866&rd=1

[flashpig]

Oh brilliant. USB I (kinda) know. So you can get music from old to new by USB? Hope all works well.

[stevie21]

Another possibility is to remove the hard drive from your old PC and put it into the new one as a second (the bit of jargon is slave) drive.
If you do this then you will need to change a jumper on the back of your old hard drive so that your new PC recognises that it's not the main (primary) one. Check online for more detail, it's really v.simple.
You could then either keep this backup drive in your new PC or put it back into the old one. If you plan to bin the old PC then this saves you buying a network card/cables for it that you'll never use again (plus you'll also have an extra hard drive in your new PC)