How to Transfer a Word Document From an Old Computer to a New Computer

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Getting a new computer is exciting, but it is important to transfer all of your important files to the new hardware. Transferring your Word documents to a new computer is not difficult, but it is important to follow the right steps.

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Step 1

Install Microsoft Word, or the full Microsoft Office suite on your new PC. You will need to have that software package installed in order to read the Word documents once they have been transferred to the new computer.

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Step 2

Go to your old computer, click on the "Start" button and choose "Search" from the menu. Click on "All Files and Folders" and enter "*.doc" in the top box. Make sure the "Look In" is set to the C drive and click "Search." This will automatically search your hard drive for Word documents.

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Step 3

Highlight the first Word document, scroll down to the bottom of the search results screen, hold the "Shift" key down and highlight the last file on the list. This will highlight the entire list. Right-click and choose "Copy" from the drop-down menu.

Step 4

Insert a USB thumb drive into a free USB slot on your current PC and wait for the computer to recognize it. Open Windows Explorer by right-clicking on "My Computer" and choosing "Explore" from the menu.

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Step 5

Highlight the drive letter for the USB thumb drive (most likely the "E" or "F" drive). Right-click on the drive letter and choose "Paste" from the drop-down menu. You will see a progress bar as the files are copied to the thumb drive.

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Step 6

Turn on your new computer and log on. Insert the thumb drive into the new PC and wait for the computer to recognize it.

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Step 7

Open Windows Explorer by right-clicking on "My Computer" and choosing "Explore." Find the drive letter for the USB thumb drive and highlight it. You will see a list of all the Word documents on the thumb drive. Highlight the first document, hold the "Shift" key down, scroll to the bottom of the list and highlight that file. All of the Word documents should now be highlighted.

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Step 8

Right-click and choose "Copy" from the drop-down menu. Then scroll up to the "My Documents" folder, right-click and choose "Paste." All of your Word files will now be transferred to your new computer.

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