How to transfer user profile folders on an external drive to a new external drive?

[wondermuse]

A number of months ago I moved several folders in my User Profile folder to an external drive; mainly to see if it would improve my computer's performance by ridding it of some of the accumulated glut. I don't know if I really noticed any improvement, but then I'm not using it as much as I use to since I bought a 13.3" notebook computer. I would still like to keep those folders on an external drive, and I would like to know how I can transfer them to a new external drive.

When I open the Properties>Location tab for any of these folders on the external drive, there are two choices: 1. "Restore to Default" and 2. "Move...". I am just wondering if I have to "Restore to Default" before I can officially move them to a new external drive.

 

[JamesH]

Depending on the amount of data, and also because it's never a bad idea to back up your data you may want to consider a disk imager to clone the drive. There's some pricier options out there like Acronis True Image but there's also programs like Macrium Reflect and Drive Cloner Rx which are more cost effective.

You could also drag and drop, the real question is how much data is involved. It may be more time efficient to clone the drive but if you want to keep it simple, dragging and dropping will work just fine.

 

[wondermuse]

Ok, I tried moving just one folder, the most obvious one to be noticed, the 'Desktop' folder, to another external drive, and it seemed to work. My desktop did not disappear.

I have about 145 GB on the drive, so I will probably clone it to the new drive.

Thanks for your input.