I am embarassed to ask, but... What is the easiest way to copy ALL my documents onto a thumb drive?

  • 23 September 2016
  • 8 replies
  • 37 views

Userlevel 6
Yes, it's me again, remedial Teffie...
 
Since I am going to have to attempt the upgrade to Windows 8.1 again, I feel that I need to copy all of my documents, both Word and PDF files, as well as my Print Shop drafts and.jpg files all onto one thumb drive so that I can access them on this laptop or another when it gets here...
 
So, would anyone out there be willing to give me the simple ( and oh, so easy to follow steps ) to copy all of the files from my C drive onto my thumb drive so that I have a copy of all of my work should the worst case scenario play out when I attempt this upgrade to Windows 8.1,
 
Again, I appreciate the help and the patience with my less than tech savvy inquiries!!!!

8 replies

Userlevel 7
This is from my Mac but a PC works the same way.
 
Single Files - Right click on the file > Copy. Got to the Thumb Drive >  Right Click >Paste.
 
Many Copys - Left click BY (NOT ON) the first file > Holding the Left click down, drag across all the files you want. Let go of the Left click. Right Click the hi lighted > Copy > go to thumb drive >  Right Click > Paste.
 
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HTH,
Dave.
 
 
 
 
Hi gr8auntteffie,
 
How are you?
 
Just to add to the great info PTD posted. If you have trouble trying to drag and highlight all of the files into one bunch (can be difficult to do on a laptop touchpad) then instead, click the Organize button on the top-left and click Select all. Then right-click the highlighted files and select copy. Paste where you choose.
 
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Have a good day!
BD
Userlevel 6
Thank you both for the great information.  I am printing it out so that I can follow it as carefully follow each step!:D:heart:
 
Wish me luck wiht my upgrade to 8.1...  hope it doesn't freeze my computer again!!!!:@
Userlevel 7
Badge +56
@ wrote:
Thank you both for the great information.  I am printing it out so that I can follow it as carefully follow each step!:D:heart:
 
Wish me luck wiht my upgrade to 8.1...  hope it doesn't freeze my computer again!!!!:@
Win 10 1/2 is the best version! LOL 😃 https://community.webroot.com/t5/Techie/Windows-10-Insider-Preview-Build-14931/m-p/268694#M11645
Hi gr8auntteffie,
 
You're welcome. I would recommend you set a restore point on your PC before upgrading to 8.1 just in case anything should happen.
 
To do this do the following;
 
Open control panel and select System & Security. (click photos to enlarge)
 
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Then click on System.
 
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Then click on System Protection
 
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Then be sure your C: drive is highlighted and select Create, then click OK.
 
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Then choose a name for the restore point, something like Pre Windows 8.1 install, and select Create.
 
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That's it. Now, if anything should go wrong you can go back in time to this restore point prior to installation.
 
Hope this info helps. Let us know how it goes or if you need any further help. We will be glad to help as always. :)
 
BD
Userlevel 6
? Thank you so much for that, I have printed that out to use as my cheat sheet as well!  :D
 
Would this negate the need to copy all my documents onto a separate thumb drive as a just in case measure, or would it be a good idea, and just prudent, to do it anyway so that I have it all in one place should something unforseen happen or I need to load those docuemnts onto a different computer?
 
Thank you EVERYONE for being so nice and so patient.  LIke I said before, remedial doesn't really begin to cover how tech challenged I am!!! 😳
You're welcome gr8auntteffie!
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@ wrote:
 
Would this negate the need to copy all my documents onto a separate thumb drive as a just in case measure, or would it be a good idea, and just prudent, to do it anyway so that I have it all in one place should something unforseen happen or I need to load those docuemnts onto a different computer?

No, I would still do that. It's very easy and you'll be covered in any event.
 
You said that you print out these posts for future reference. You could also just Bookmark any relevant posts (Ctrl + D) and save yourself some ink (you'd think it was liquid gold for what they charge for it). The list of bookmarks/links can even be exported to a HTML document that you could also save to your thumb drive, just in case of trouble. (just ask for directions if needed).
Just thought I'd mention that.
 
Have a good evening,
BD
 
 
Userlevel 6
? Thank you for all of the great information, all of the steps didn't show up in the quite the same way as you provided but I was able to figure it out and saved all of my documents onto a thumb drive and then, as of now, have upgraded to Windows 8.1 as per the excellent input and advice that I received here in another inquiry I had made.
 
And, the only thing that I can see that has changed significantly on start up after the 4 hour process of upgrading is that my Intel RST Service is NOT running upon startup like it did before and I don't know if this is something that I need to manually address or if it will right itself the next time I turn on my computer after safely shutting it down for the night like I always do...
 
But, again, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for being so very patient and kind to someone who knows nothing about tech things and gets sweaty palms and a queasy stomach when faced with anything technical to attend to with computers.
 
You all are the best!

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