How to Transfer Files From PC to PC in 3 Different Ways

Yous tin can transfer files from one PC to another PC easily using deject storage services like OneDrive or Dropbox.
Y'all can also copy files to an intermediate storage device like a USB flash drive, or external hard drive, then move the device to the other PC and transfer the files to their concluding destination.
If the two computers are in close proximity, you lot can buy a file transfer cable, which comes with software to simplify moving files between PCs.
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Transferring files from 1 PC to another used to be a real hassle, and often required moving floppy disks back and forth, using arcane cablevision connections, or software like Microsoft's (now defunct) Easy File Transfer, which was not equally like shooting fish in a barrel equally its name implied.

These days, there's an embarrassment of riches when it comes to hands getting files from one PC estimator to another, whether yous need to transfer just a few files or an unabridged hard bulldoze.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Windows x Home (From $139.99 at Best Buy)

Plugable Transfer Cable Uniform (From $18.55 on Amazon)

Microsoft Office 365 (From $69.99 at All-time Purchase)

How to transfer files from i PC to some other PC

Transfer files with a USB flash memory bulldoze or external difficult drive

USB wink memory drives — likewise known every bit memory keys and memory sticks — can copy a few files or an enormous amount of data, depending upon the chapters of the drive.

But in general, this technique is a good option when y'all have just a few files to transfer.

i. Insert the flash drive in an bachelor USB slot on your estimator.

A USB wink drive is a handy tool for copying files back and forth.

2. Open a File Explorer window and find the entry for the flash drive in the pane on the left.

3. If y'all need to delete everything on the drive to make room for the new files, correct-click the drive and choose "Format…," then click "Starting time." Alternately, you lot could only select and delete unwanted files from the flash drive.

Format the flash drive if you need all the space on the bulldoze, and are willing to erase all the files currently on it.

4. Drag the files you desire to copy onto the folder for the bulldoze.

Copy files to the bulldoze from locations on your figurer.

v. When you lot're done, remove the flash bulldoze and insert it in a USB slot on the other PC.

6. Open a File Explorer window and copy the files to the new PC by selecting and dragging them into another folder.

If you demand to re-create a very large number of files, you can use an external difficult drive instead.

External hard drives come in big capacities (1TB or more) and are generally very meaty and portable. They plug into your PC'southward USB port and you tin can use the exact same procedure to copy files with a hard drive as you lot used for a USB flash drive.

Transfer files with OneDrive, Dropbox, or other cloud storage systems

Cloud storage has made it simple to copy files betwixt PCs without needing any intermediate drives, cables, or other hardware.

You can get a few gigabytes of online storage with a free OneDrive or Dropbox business relationship, or a much larger capacity with a paid subscription. If y'all accept a subscription to Microsoft Office 365, for case, it comes with 1TB of OneDrive storage. Google Drive starts with 15GB.

one. In a File Explorer window, click your OneDrive or Dropbox location in which you desire to store the files for transfer.

Later setting up a cloud storage service, it appears as an ordinary folder on your PC.

2. Drag the files you want to transfer from your computer into the folder.

3. On the other computer, install the OneDrive or Dropbox software and log into the same account.

4. After it has had a chance to sync and copy files, open up the deject storage folder in File Explorer and copy the files to the new location on your new PC's hard drive.

Transfer files with a transfer cable

While it may seem like something of a throwback, a file transfer cable is still a solid mode to motility files between two PCs if the computers are in close proximity to i another (for example, yous can position them on the aforementioned desk-bound or table).

The Plugable Transfer Cablevision is a reliable and affordable option, and works with nearly every version of Windows still found in the earth, from Windows XP through Windows 10.

To utilise information technology, you lot connect the cable to both PCs via USB ports and apply the included transfer software to select files and folders to move from one figurer to the other.

You tin copy large numbers of files quickly using a traditional file transfer cable.

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Dave Johnson

Freelance Author

Dave Johnson is a engineering journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew upwards in New Bailiwick of jersey before inbound the Air Force to operate satellites, teach infinite operations, and exercise space launch planning. He and then spent eight years every bit a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. Every bit a lensman, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environs; he's too a scuba teacher and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.