I know I'm lame at computers so please don't throw a shoe or anything..

[suziepeace]

I'm new to this site and can't for the life of me find out how to start a new thread with a really important question.
THere is no button for me to click saying "start topic" or what have you.
you guys seem smart so I thought I'd piggy back if anyone could possible help me/????? I'm a single mom who doesn't know diddly about computers and I'm trying to take all my info from one computer which is pretty much dead (that's another issue) and put it onto another computer. I bought a WD external hard drive and when I push the "button manager" thingy..... nothing happens... am I missing some software I'm supposed to install?? Because it didn't come with a guide or anything. Just 3 steps listed on a single piece of paper. :-(
Sorry to be the loser that comes in and bugs you guys... but I'm not sure how to post on this site!!!!

-Suzie

 

[Doctor Q]

We moved your post to this thread in the "Mac Basics and Help" section so people who can help you are likely to see it.

Although we can give you help here in the forums, it would be ideal if you could get help from someone who has moved information from an old computer to a new computer before. Is that a possibility? For example, if your new computer is a Macintosh and you live anywhere near an Apple retail store, they can do the transfer for you; it's something they do all the time.

If you need to get help here in the forums, please tell us what you know about what brand and models of computers these are, what "pretty much dead" means, and what information/files you want to transfer.

 

[Moof1904]

Well, you posted this, so that's one hurdle overcome...

Can you tell us more?

1) What is the computer that's failing? Model? OS?
2) What is the new computer? Model? OS?
3) What data are you trying to move?

It's possible that you can use Migration Assistant for a relatively pain-free transfer experience but we need to know a bit more.

 

[MacDuck]

Just to clarify, "pretty much dead" may mean the computer boots up, but does not recognize the drive, the computer may have viruses/malware, full hard drive (which slows the computer down), etc.

If you are dealing with all Macs, forget the WD software that came with it. Just drag and drop all the folders/files you want from the old computer to the hard drive icon that shows up on your desktop when the WD drive is turned on and plugged in.

Eject your WD hard drive when you are done by dragging the WD hard drive icon to the trash.

Hook up via USB/Firewire your WD hardrive to your other Mac and then double click on the WD hard drive icon when it shows on your desktop.

Your files should be in the hard drive, waiting for you to do with what you please.

If you are dealing with a PC-->Mac, then things get a little more complicated; if you could clarify the computers being used, it would help the community here diagnose your problem. Hope that helps.

 

[Moof1904]

I'm wondering if Suzie, being a newbie, has lost track of her message now that it's been moved and will be unable to find and therefore reply to our subsequent queries...

 

[Doctor Q]

I'm wondering if Suzie, being a newbie, has lost track of her message now that it's been moved and will be unable to find and therefore reply to our subsequent queries...

I sent her a message about this thread, so if she sees her message she'll find this thread.

 

[suziepeace]

thank youuuuu!!!!!

Okay... I have an ibook G4 12 inch.
And I"m transfering to an ibook g4 but it's a little bigger... haha.. I don't know the size but I don't think that matters.
I think I have Mac 10.4.11 and so does the new one.

My big question.. which I only touched on by saying that my computer was sort of "dead"... is that it was going to black screen... so I called up and they told me to hold down the power button with the battery out and charger cord unplugged for 5 seconds... that would release the static. That worked for like a day. Now it appears that when I plug the charger in to recharge the new (expensive) battery I bought, that it goes to black screen almost immediately unless I hold the cord in rrrrreally tightly... and I can't do that for hours until the battery is charged and keep looking at the battery icon to make sure it's still charging. it appears that it's not connecting "inside" the computer where the input for the charger is maybe?... I'm not sure.. what can I do about that??? Because I really need to get my stuff off of this almost "climbing up the ladder invisible" computer and onto the new one.
**sigh**
I would try the suggestion of just dragging the files that I want to the mybook icon but I have two problems with that... ONe) my computer "black screen" problem... and two) I don't know how to get the files onto my desktop. I have a bagazillion pictures and videos in iphoto and just as many songs in my itunes and no memory left to make copies onto my desktop in a file and I;m guessing that would take HOURS anyway...and what about all the rest of the info on my computer? I'm really so Amish at this it's embarrassing :-(
but thank you guys so much for the help!!! You have no idea how you've perked me up today to know that mmmmaybe I might be able to get this resolved without having to spend money I don't have going to mac solutions or something like that.
xxxooo

 

[suziepeace]

hmmm

I just reread some comments and I think all the ibooks come with Migration assistant?? Would that be what I used to transfer "everything" over?
And also, when it shows up on the new computer will the files and info be in the exact same places they were in my old computer? Or do I have to spend a week arranging it and finding out where everything is.
(I really am a smart person, HONEST!! ;-).... just only have used computers for email and photos and music.... I should have boned up these past 10 years or so! eeerggg it's frustrating!)

 

[Moof1904]

Migration Assistant

Yes, Migration Assistant is a great tool for moving as little or as much from your old computer to your new one. The computers can be connected via FireWire or the transfer can happen across a network, if they're both connected to your home network.

Vital to the success of this is that the old computer can stay booted long enough to complete the transfer. If the problem with the old computer is merely the display, that won't really be a problem. If, however, the problem is that the old computer is shutting down, then it obviously won't be able to complete the transfer.

Migration Assistant is in your Utilities folder (Hard drive > Applications > Utilities) and will walk you through the process of transferring the data. Basically, for a FireWire transfer, you'll connect the two computers via a FireWire cable, reboot or power up the old computer while holding the "T" key down (this puts the old computer into "target disk mode" which basically means causing the old computer to act like an external hard drive to the new one and not act like a computer). This will allow Migration Assistant to do its thing.

If the old computer can stay running on its own, then use migration assistant. If the old computer cannot stay running and shuts down spontaneously, you must either solve that problem first or in a more drastic step, pull the hard drive from the old computer, pop it into an external enclosure and then attach it to the new computer.

 

[Doctor Q]

And yes, it will take care of your mail, photos, and music. These are all stored in subfolders of your home folder, and they will be transferred over.

 

[suziepeace]

Cooooooll!!

this sounds so easy... but life always throws a curve ball right??
I guess I first have to figure out what's wrong with my old computer.
Any idea how long migration assistant takes to transfer?
And also, what happens to the things on my desktop that I want to transfer over and the other apps besides the content of iphoto and itunes???

Anyone know what could be wrong with my old computer??? or any trick to keep the charger cord in tight!!!??? ;-)

 

[Doctor Q]

And also, what happens to the things on my desktop that I want to transfer over and the other apps besides the content of iphoto and itunes???

Files and folders on your desktop will be transferred just as you'd expect them to be.

More correctly, I should say that files and folders on each desktop will be transferred, since a Mac can have multiple user accounts, e.g., one for each person in the family, and each user has his or her own documents, music, photos, and desktop. Perhaps you have only one user account on the old iBook, but Migration Assistant is prepared for you in either case.

Applications that come with Mac OS X, like Preview and iTunes, aren't transferred since you already have those on the new iBook. The other applications, i.e., applications that you installed yourself, are transferred.

In short, Migration Assistant should do just what you want once you solve the charging problem. As Moof1904 says above, you don't need the old iBook display to work, but you need the old iBook to stay powered on. It's hard to say how long it will take to do the transfer, since it depends on how many megabytes of data need to be transferred, but it's likely to be longer than you could stand there and hold the cord in place.

 

[suziepeace]

sick of me yet??????

Well, if iTunes and iPhoto are on the other computer...will migration asst at least transfer all the music and photos/vids on my apps over there?? Without me having to put alll the stuff in a file?
ugh.
And I think you said that anything on my desktop would just automatically go over to the new computer's desktop?
I'm thinking I'll just have to start with getting my old computer back in shape.
then see what happens.
xxxxxooooo
you guys are really wonderful for helping me. I really appreciate it

 

[Doctor Q]

Well, if iTunes and iPhoto are on the other computer...will migration asst at least transfer all the music and photos/vids on my apps over there?? Without me having to put alll the stuff in a file?

Yes, it will transfer all of the music, photos, videos, and other documents and files you created.

 

[Moof1904]

If the problem with the old computer is that the ac adapter isn't making proper connection with the connector on the laptop and as long as you have a charged battery, the laptop works, then you could invest in a used external charger (available off of eBay) and charge the old laptop's battery to its full capacity and hope that it lasts long enough for the transfer. The problem is, you'll be racing against the clock doing so. A Migration Assistant transfer can take anywhere from a few minutes to three or four hours, depending on the quantity of data being transferred.

And the Catch-22 is that attaching the old laptop as a FireWire drive (using target disk mode) will be much faster than doing the network connection but the network connection transfer will use your battery at a much slower rate.

Here's a good tutorial on Migration Assistant.

http://www.mostofmymac.com/articles/how-to-transfer-your-data-from-your-old-mac-to-your-new-mac/

Ultimately, solving the problem with your old mac, at least long enough to transfer the data, seems like a critical first step here.