Help! Trouble transferring Pics/ Videos from W 10 to W 11!

[ujayujay]

I bought a new Asus laptop with Windows 11. Now I'm having trouble transferring my photos and videos from my external backup HDD to my SSD. My Windows 10 data from my previous PC is still on the HDD. Help... what should I do?

[DezLez]

3 hours ago, ujayujay said:

Now I'm having trouble transferring my photos and videos from my external backup HDD to my SSD

What trouble?

[Will B Good]

3 hours ago, ujayujay said:

I bought a new Asus laptop with Windows 11. Now I'm having trouble transferring my photos and videos from my external backup HDD to my SSD. My Windows 10 data from my previous PC is still on the HDD. Help... what should I do?

 

🛠️ First, Check the Basics

Connection: Make sure the external HDD is properly connected via USB. Try different ports if needed.

Power Supply: If your HDD has an external power source, confirm it’s plugged in.

Detection: Open File Explorer > This PC — do you see the drive listed?

 

🔍 If It's Showing Up but You Can't Transfer

Permission Issues: Right-click on a file or folder from the HDD > Properties > Security tab. Ensure your new Windows account has access.

 

File System Compatibility: If the drive is formatted in a legacy file system like FAT32, it could have limitations on file size (4GB max). Consider converting to NTFS if needed.

 

Drive Errors: Right-click on the HDD > Properties > Tools tab > Check under "Error checking".

📥 If You Can See and Access the Files...

Try transferring smaller batches of files at once. If the SSD is too full or if large files are tripping it up, breaking it up helps.

Use Copy and Paste or try apps like Robocopy or FastCopy if the drag-and-drop method is unstable.

 

🧯 If You Can't See the Drive At All

Open Disk Management (press Windows + X > choose Disk Management) to check if the drive shows up there but is unassigned.

If it appears as “RAW” or “unallocated,” DO NOT format it — that would erase your data. Instead, use data recovery tools like Recuva or EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard.

 

A1 my own work

 

[ujayujay]

6 minutes ago, DezLez said:

What trouble?

The folders are not transferred from the HDD to the SSD, the process stops after a few seconds!

[topt]

2 hours ago, ujayujay said:

The folders are not transferred from the HDD to the SSD, the process stops after a few seconds!

What does the dialogue box say when it stops?

What are you trying to transfer exactly - actual files just copied or sent from the Win 10 machine or a backup made from software - EG. a macrium file or similar?

 

PS - this should be in the computer forum not mobile.