I suggest your new computer have two disk drives (if it's a desktop, it's easy to add a second, 2-or more TB one). Your system (Windows and applications) will be on the C: disk and copy your files from your external 2 TB HD to the second, which will be the D: drive. Of course, you will have to reinstall all your applications.

mtvhike, don't you first want to ask how much data storage he's using and what kind of files they are?

So I'll ask - big al, what kind of files do you have and how much space is being used in total? A file is a file is a file as far as a Windows version is concerned. File compatibility can be in issue with different versions of a program/application, but not with different versions within the same operating system family. And sometimes not between families either.

I'm not a fan of having more than one internal drive, unless the extra space is needed for apps using very large files frequently accessed. That's true for few people.

You're really better off having backups files disconnected and offline and not on the PC you're using ( to be safe from power surges) and with extra files on cheap external drives easily replaced.

Thank you to both of you who answered. My concern is going from a window 7 OS to a window 10 OS. The data I have backed up isn't that much the only, reason I am using a 1 TB ex HD is that I got a good deal online and yes that external is separate from the main unit. I just plug it in when I do back ups .

So having said that do you all see any problems going to a win 10 system as opposed a win 7 ? I really don't want to have several HD's in the new unit if I can help it.

Added comment -

One thing to always be careful of when removing external memory of any kind - an SD card, a USB hard drive, a thumb drive - is that if the PC is turned on, you need to first "eject" it before detaching (unplugging) it.

There's a symbol on the far side of the task bar that leads you to doing that. Or, open Windows Explorer, highlight the external device, then right click over it and then choose "Eject" on the menu that appears, using a left click.

If these steps seem difficult, shut down the PC completely before unplugging an external memory device. On a PC that is running, an external device can be connected any time.

The reason I like to have my data on a separate drive (either internal or external) is that if something goes wrong with my main drive, I can simply get a new one and reinstall Windows and the apps; none of my personal data has been affected. Of course, that's also backed up. Plus, when I recently got a new computer, I just took out my old second drive and put it into the new computer.

mtv, there are many ways to skin this cat. Including network attached storage, an external drive connected to the router. I believe big al is a senior citizen and for him and so many others (including me, for that matter), the simplest vanilla approach the user can do on their own is often the best choice.

big_al said:

"So having said that do you all see any problems going to a win 10 system as opposed a win 7 ?"

It all depends. If you are familiar with the Win 10 operating system, you should be able to find your way around. However, if you have never used Win 10, there is a huge learning curve. Its nothing like Win 7. Expect to be very frustrated. Taking a short course about Win 10, or wading through a tutorial session before attempting to do anything with Win 10 is advised.

A hint for Win 10: In the lower left corner of the screen, instead of left clicking, do a right click to get a panel that whose appearance and operation is similar to Win 7.

I went from Windows 7 to 10 last Christmas. I was worried because of all the horror stories and people saying how hard 10 was to learn. Well I didn't find that to be the case at all. Anything I can't find I just type in the search to see where it is. I find I love windows 10 even more than 7. All my important files and photos are on an external drive and I do have stuff on memory sticks also for travel. I am 55 and do like all this technology and learning new things. I was deprived as a kid because I wanted a Commodore 64 when they came out but we didn't have money for that so all I could do was play with the display at the store. Mary

Windows 8 was a marketing mistake , a change to Windows 7 to put in place icons and tiles that Microsoft thought would explode their business by making PCs more closely resemble tablets and smartphones. It wasn't well received. Microsoft changed the user interface, they skipped the number 9, and rushed out Windows 10 to put some distance for it away from Windows 8. Other than the normal enhancements that happen along the way, Windows 10 wasn't substantially different under the hood from Windows 8.

Everyone should know that Windows 10 can easily be made to resemble Windows 7 from a user experience standpoint. Otherwise, it's not very different or difficult to use And PCs with Windows 10 can be used in exactly the same ways and with the same software as PCs with Windows 7 or 8.