How to Transfer Data From One External Hard Drive to Another

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Transferring files from one hard drive to another is a simple way of sharing files and more. Portable hard drives vary in size; therefore, some drives are better suited for storing large media files such as videos and animations. Your computer makes transferring files from one hard drive to another a simple process. Using these simple instructions, see how easy it is to accomplish this task.

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Step 1

Connect both portable hard drives to your computer using the supplied USB or FireWire cable and turn them on. If your hard drives use USB cables, connect them to the USB port. If they use FireWire cables, connect them to the FireWire port. Your computer will automatically recognize both devices.

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Step 2

Click The Windows "Start" menu and click "My Computer." You should see both portable hard drives listed as removal disks. They are also both assigned a drive letter such as J, K, L, G or D. This helps you distinguish between the two drives. For Mac computers, both hard drives are displayed on your desktop. Click the Windows "Start" menu again and click "My Computer" to launch an additional window.

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Step 3

Double-click one of the portable drives on the first window to launch it. You should see all the content saved to that drive. Double-click the second hard drive from the second window to launch it. You should also see the content saved on the second hard drive.

Step 4

Drag files from one hard drive window to the other to transfer the files. Additionally, you can right-click a file from one of the hard drives and click "Copy." Right-click an empty spot on the hard drive you want to transfer the file to and click "Paste."

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Step 5

Close both hard drive windows when you are done transferring files files and click the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon on the system tray if you are using Windows. Click the letters assigned to your portable hard drives and click "Stop." When prompted, disconnect both drives from your computer. For Mac users, click the portable drives and press the "Eject" button on your keyboard. Disconnect the drives from your computer.

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