external hard drive

[proudmary]

i have had a lap top for a while now
recently i bought an external hard drive to free up some room al i seem to have done is move my files to it so they still on c drive on laptop????? how do i actualy put my files and programes onto my new drive???? do i actualy have to uninstall and re install to new drive ????sem to have just copied it to new drive

[fo3nix]

Programs on the external drive are a bit of another issue really. It's best to have that sort of stuff all on one drive, typically your internal drive. Use the external one to put stuff like films you've downloaded, pictures etc. on.

[vehelpfulguy]

I agree with fo3nix.

The drive in your laptop should have Windows on it, plus any programs you have installed.

The external drive should have your mp3 files, digital pictures, large video files like TV programs and films.

Make sure you MOVE the files from the C to the external drive, not just COPY them. If you COPY them they will be on both drives.

Make sure these files are also backed up to CD or DVD.

A hard drive has moving parts and can easily crash. If a hard disk crashes you will likely lose EVERYTHING on it, so ensure you have things backed up.

[proudmary]

but how do i move files????and do i then remove from c drive???

[fo3nix]

"Copy" means to have the files on your C drive as well as your external drive. "Move" means to have them only on your external drive, if you're transferring from C drive.

Go into my computer, and open up a window for your C drive and one for your external drive. With them both open, highlight the files you want to move from C to your external drive, and with your right mouse button, drag one of the files to the external drive's window (the other files you've highlighted will follow too). A little menu will appear by your cursor asking if you want to move or copy. click move.