Many Indian households have one: the old desktop in the study, the laptop from 2012 in a cupboard, the family PC the children grew up using. It still switches on, more or less. You know there are photos and documents on it. But nobody has looked in years, and you would rather not discover the hard way that it has stopped working.
The good news is that this is a job you can do yourself, slowly, over a weekend. This guide walks through it in plain steps.
Before you begin: a few small precautions
- Do not rush. An old computer that is already slow will not be faster for being pushed hard. Let it start fully before you open anything.
- Keep it plugged into a stable supply. Power fluctuations are hard on old machines. If your area has frequent cuts, use a UPS or copy during a quiet, stable time of day.
- Do not clean, reinstall or "optimise" it first. Resetting or reinstalling Windows can erase everything. Copy first, tidy later.
- Listen and watch. If you hear repeated clicking, grinding, or the computer freezes whenever you open a folder, stop and read our guide on what to do when a hard drive clicks.
Step 1: Find out where the important things are
Most people have their data in a handful of places. On Windows, look in Documents, Pictures, Desktop, Downloads, Videos and Music. Also check the root of the D: drive if there is one, because many families kept photos there. On a Mac, check Documents, Pictures, Movies and Desktop.
Also look for things people forget: email data (Outlook or Thunderbird files), saved browser bookmarks, Tally or accounts data if the computer was used for work, scanned certificates, and WhatsApp backups or phone backups that may have been saved to the computer.
Step 2: Decide where the copy will go
You need a destination with enough space. Add up roughly how much you have by right-clicking the main folders and choosing Properties. Then pick one:
- An external hard drive or SSD. Simple, private, and you control it. Get one with at least twice the space you need.
- Cloud storage. Google Drive, OneDrive or iCloud. Check your plan's storage limit first, because the free allowance fills up quickly with photos.
- Both. This is the safest choice, and it follows the simple 3-2-1 idea: keep three copies of what matters, on two different kinds of storage, with one copy somewhere else, such as the cloud or a relative's house.
Step 3: Copy, do not move
Connect your external drive, open the folder you want, select everything, and use Copy (not Cut or drag-and-drop between drives, which may move files). Paste into a new folder on the destination with a clear name, for example "Old PC - Home - 2012".
For a large amount of data, copy in pieces: photos first, then documents, then everything else. If the computer is unwell, copy the things you would hate to lose first.
Step 4: Check that the copy is real
This is the step people skip, and it matters most.
- Compare the folder sizes of the original and the copy. They should be close.
- Open a handful of files from the copy: a photo, a video, a Word or PDF document. Make sure they open and play fully.
- Look for files that failed to copy. Windows will usually show an error message. Note which ones.
Only when you have checked the copy should you think about doing anything else with the old computer. Do not wipe, sell or throw away the old computer until you have verified the copy and, ideally, made a second one.
Step 5: Make a second copy
One copy on one external drive is a start, not a backup. Drives fail too. Put a second copy in another place, such as a cloud account in your name. Our free checklist lists the steps in order so you can tick them off.
Step 6: Write down what you did
Take two minutes to write a note: which computer it was, the date, where the copies are, and what is on them. Joint families especially benefit from this. In a few years, nobody will remember which drive has the 2014 wedding videos.
A word on passwords and locked computers
If the computer asks for a password nobody remembers, do not guess repeatedly or try random tools from the internet. Some of these can damage data or install unwanted software. If it belonged to someone who has passed away, it is better to ask for help than to experiment.
If you would rather not do it yourself
None of this is difficult, but it takes patience, and some families simply do not have the time or the confidence, especially when several devices are involved. If that is you, you can start with our free risk assessment, or just write to us and tell us what you have. We will tell you honestly whether you need us at all.