You don't need a fancy external hard drive or even a flash drive to transfer your important documents from an old computer to your new Chromebook. Since digital storage apps like Google Drive are built into the Chrome OS, you just need to make sure everything is backed up to your Google account. Once they are, the transfer will be fast and easy.
Information provided applies to devices sold in Canada. Available screens and settings may vary for Chromebooks sold in other countries.
Your Chromebook will require your Google account because its an integral part of the Chrome OS. So, to transfer your files from your old computer to your new Chromebook, you just need to make sure everything is backed up and saved in your Google account.
On your old Mac or PC, open the Chrome browser, and make sure you're signed in to your Google account. Next, youll want to back up all of your files to your account.
- For documents,download Drive, the backup and sync program provided by Google, and use it to upload your files to your Google account.
- For photos and pictures, upload them toGoogle Photos. To make things a little easier, you can selectUpload newly added photos and videos to Google Photosduring the Backup and Sync setup, so you wont have to upload them separately.
- For music, you can upload your personal song files toYouTube Music. If you are still using Google Play Music and havent made the switch to YouTube Music, youll have totransfer your musicto YouTube Music.
Once your files have been successfully backed up and uploaded to your Google account, you can access them whenever you set up your Chromebook and start using it. Please see the next section for more details.
Note:Setting up your Chromebook will only take a few minutes. After your Google account is added and the OS is ready, you just need to go to one of the apps where you backed up your files, such as Google Photos.